Finding Treasures

You wouldn't know it to look into my apartment but I am actually planning to leave here on Tuesday morning. This afternoon I've been busy cleaning some seldom cleaned niches and I happened to run across some treasures...a thank you notes from a friend with whom I learned a lot about forgiveness, a letter from a friend about the incredible weeks leading up to the birth of a first baby...you know stuff that I've stashed to pull out at a later date. It's cool because it reminds me of how God has moved and worked in my life and the lives of my friends!

Stashed in with all that were some letters and drawings from important kids in my life. For example, this one from my friend, Malik. "Just a pencil drawing," you might be thinking, "Not much of a treasure!" But Malik and I lived through some very challenging moments and through him, God taught me that He can work miracles in my heart. I loved this kid and this drawing along with a year end thank you note from his Mom are incredible treasures.

Then there is this letter. It's a treasure because it just makes me laugh. Why you might ask? Because it's a request from a student for me to go and teach my friend Leonard how to read...Ms. Leonard could run circles around me in the reading department. Not only that but she was pretty much responsible for teaching this little guy everything he knew about reading.

There is nothing more interesting or entertaining than a kid's perspective!

A Favorite

Here's my favorite pic from our return to Quebec. Grand Falls, the horseshoe falls east of Niagara, are in the background. And now I'm back in Quebec, my mom and dad helped me clean my apartment all day Saturday. It was a big job and I was thankful for their helpful.

Today it was back to class to face none other than the -a word that could strike fear in the heart of any French language learner! Of all the possible things, we had to end with this? So I got up and studied for about 20 minutes and wonder of wonders when I got to class, it didn't seem half as hard as it did before! Thank you, Jesus!

Seeing the Sights - Day 6

Charlottetown it was! The birthplace of Canadian Confederation. We toured a little museum that related the history of those first meetings in which politicians from the various territories discussed the possibility of uniting. P.E.I. seems a somewhat insignificant place for these meetings to take place but apparently the Islanders didn't want to leave their island to come to any meetings so the rest of Canada came to them. Mom & Kent are on the steps of the building in which the meetings were held. Here's a view of the inside of the building.Here I am chatting it up with Sir John A. Macdonald discussing matters of confederation and what it was like to go to a high school named after someone as important as Canada's first prime minister himself, Sir John A. Macdonald.After a day of history we treated ourselves to some COWS ice cream. The ice cream was good but their t-shirts are even better. If you are Canadian and like hockey you would get this one. Here's one that Starbucks lovers might like. Really ingenious take offs. Loved them!

Seeing the Sights - Day 5

We spent this day driving along the coast. We drove into one of the largest harbours for lobster boats but it stunk pretty badly so we weren't at all sad to leave town! :) (Speaking for myself mostly!) Then we headed to North Cape where there is a wind farm and a museum about them. These turbines are incredible. They don't look that big from far away but they are huge! These are just the propellers. We spent some time walking along the coastline looking at the red cliffs.

Anne's Day - Day 4

Day 4 was Anne's Day. Tourist Season really kicks into gear here around the beginning of July because school doesn't finish in Canada until the end of June. That means it's really quiet here which is nice but it also means that not everything is quite as animated as it would be in high season. We are staying right down the road from Lucy Maud Montgomery's inspiration for Green Gables. So we started there. The gardens were beautiful. Mom and I took a turn on the bench. Remember Anne and the rat that she found in the crock of pudding she was serving to Miss Stacey - had to take a picture of that. Here was Anne's room...the puffed sleeves give it away. Then we took a stroll down Lover's Lane. There were quotes from the journals of Lucy Maud Montgomery throughout the trail. She had quite a way of describing things. Here was one quote that caught my attention because of the picture it created:

"It has always seemed to me. ever since early childhood, amid all the commonplaces of life, I was very near to a kingdom of ideal beauty. Between it and me hung only a thin veil. I could never draw it quite aside, but sometimes a wind fluttered it and I caught a glimpse of the enchanting realms beyond-only a glimpse-but those glimpses have always made life worthwhile." -Lucy Maude Montgomery

Very romantic! Wouldn't you say?

It's hard to believe looking at the success they have become, that Lucy Maud Montgomery's manuscript for Anne was actually rejected five times before she finally got it published. I stopped and sent a few postcards from the Green Gables post office where you get your postcards postmarked with a cute little hat and braids stamp.

And that was Day 4!

Sights Along the Way - Day 3

We left Hopewell Rocks and traveled on to Moncton, New Brunswick where we visited Magnetic Hill. I didn't take any pictures of our little drive on Magnetic Hill but if you ever get the chance it's great fun to experience.

Then it was on to Prince Edward Island where we got to cross the Confederation Bridge. It's the world's longest bridge at 12.5 km in length. Before we crossed we stopped to take pictures. Here on the island there a lot of little cottages with bedrooms, living room and dining room/kitchen areas. These are really nice for a longer stay since you can cook your own meals if you so desire, do laundry and generally spread out and relax a little bit more. We are staying at the Swept Away Cottages. Although we aren't right on the ocean, we can see it. Here was the view out our window the first night.

Sights Along the Way - Day 2

Day 2 started with a visit to the world's longest covered bridge in Hartland, NB. Then we continued down the highway to the Bay of Fundy. The tide was out. On the way to the lighthouse on Cape Enrage we stopped to walk on the beach a bit. This beach was covered with small smooth stones. Dad had a blast trying to break them up and watching them bounce around! Then we continued on to Hopewell Rocks where the tide was still out and we got to walk on the ocean floor.

Sights Along the Way - Day 1

We started out our trip headed down the back roads to Quebec city. Every time I have been there I've headed out on the highway so I had no clue what I had been missing at Thetford Mines, a town right alongside of Route 112. Right alongside of the road were these huge asbestos mines. We continued taking the back roads down by the St. Lawerence River. We ran across this Boat Museum and took some pics by the St. Lawrence. Now for my K.A. readers, we stayed the night with Lorne and Debbie Shaw and their son Josiah in Hartland, New Brunswick. We had a really nice visit with them.

Roadtrip

****UPDATE****
My replacement license arrived! Big praise!

My family had so much fun roadtripping it together last summer that we've decided to do it again. And why wouldn't we when we can experience moments like this together? I have a week off of class and so we are going on a hastily planned vacation to Prince Edward Island so we can pay hommage to Anne. This won't be any well planned Travis family vacation (had to put that in there, Jen!)...which was a rockin one to Boston and beyond! This will be a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants vacation in which we will pretty much do whatever strikes our fancy. My brother was intrigued by the Bay of Fundy and I can see why when the tides create a difference of 40 feet of water. So at the moment those are the only two things on the agenda.

I'm still waiting on my license. I'm hoping it will get here tomorrow so that I can help with the driving on this fabulously spontaneous vacation!