I love Halifax. We've probably been over this before. When I'm in there, everything seems fresh, clean, cold...but different. So much like home. I hadn't been there in over 3 years, but the places where I spent the most time haven't changed (significantly).
We went to All Nations Church (after running out on mass at OLPH a few minutes...ok 20 minutes...early). I'd say that half the church was made up of new faces. But there were a few faces that I could never forget! Foster came and talked for a while. Jane was there. Margaret gave me a couple of awesome hugs. It was a cold and foggy day in Halifax but inside ANCRC it was warm and full of awesome memories. Sorry, Pastor Dave, but I was too caught up in history to remember what you actually said during the message! But I remember how you said it. And how the organ played the hymns. And how Dorette and little Sarah waved the flags so beautifully. And just how darned competitive you all are when it comes to walking around chairs to music.
Monday was sunny! The rain left, as did the fog and we headed out to Peggy's Cove, where it was still incredibly wavy (but just a little cold). And there were tourists. There are always tourists. Okay, I was a tourist this time. It was beautiful. It doesn't change.
And then it was a long, curvy, bumpy, beautiful drive to Mahone Bay. I don't think we stopped talking the entire drive. We drove right through the town and headed up to Lunenburg. By the time we got there, which reminds me of a small Nova Scotian town (makes sense...) and also of the Gilmore Girls, we walked to the water, which smelled GOOD (it's still cold). We found lunch. Seafood chowder. When in Rome.... The service was good. But the dining room was a little bit too quiet. We like to talk. It was too quiet to say much!
We stopped for about 2 seconds in Mahone Bay, just enough time to take a few pictures and get cold - and then we returned to the city. We bought warm, matching pyjama pants and everything else on our lists. We got home and watched Hancock and Wall-E. It was wonderful!
Tuesday we went downtown Halifax and we took the cheap-man's cruise (the Dartmouth 3 Ferry) to Dartmouth...and back again! We saw a rainbow beside the sun. We walked the boardwalk. We went souvenir shopping. We ate Thai Food. We parked at Dal illegally...and got away with it! It was great. And then, in the evening, we hit up Dartmouth at a family member's house - scrumptious food, a little too much wine, and excellent company. We stayed up late...and so once 5:55am hit on the alarm clock the next morning, it was not very welcome.
We arrived at the airport. Took a few pictures. And then I disappeared through security. Nothing special. But how did I managed to drop an entire cup of coffee on myself just a few minutes later? How did I drench my pants, shoes, and two pieces of carry-on luggage? And how nice was the lady who sold me the coffee when she brought me another one right away...how sweet. How friendly. And then I was home.
The next few hours flew by. And before I knew it, after some very tearful, regretful, embarrassing moments (why do I DO this to myself moments), I was back at the airport, back on a plane, back in Washington, back on another plane and sleeping the entire way...and then back in Kuwait. As if it was just that easy.
Slept through the night last night. Just like that. Jetlag be darned.
And back to work tomorrow. Classes and students and duty and life...
