Having fun in Ottawa!

Ok so I made it to Ottawa! The first 2 nights I stayed in a house of 4 lds girls I'd never met. Let's call them..Meg, Beth, Jo and Amy. ( again the names do not necessarily match the personalities). So I got to their house and was welcomed by a very sleepy Beth, who had just gotten home from a road trip, and then Jo came to chat with me. She had arranged everything with my friend Dawn who is a friend of mine from Edmonton who lives in Ottawa now. Jo is really smart and organized, she's a sweetheart too. I really appreciated her taking care of me. So I went to bed the first morning and woke up late then went to Byward market, I was having trouble getting excited about Ottawa after leaving Toronto, and the Byward market on a Monday wasn't really doing much for me, so I went home and watched netflix and started to get addicted to that show heartland? I think it reminds me of home, even though Edmonton isn't known for its cattle ranches and mountains. That night I met Meg, who is also a sweetheart, we got along really well. All the girls in that house were awesome. Amy came home with her sister Mary-Anne, they were so funny and made me feel right at home. :)
The next day I decided I wanted to try something else, so I went back to parliament hill, wandered around, did a little shopping bought a tour bus pass and then went on a canal tour that left something to be desired, it was an hour long trip and the guide only spoke for 20 minutes so we sat in silence while we passed all these buildings. It was very odd.
That night I went to see the Dark Night Rises, with meg, Meg's boyfriend and his roommate, Meg's sister, Dawn and Mary-Anne. It was a good movie, very intense, but I had some trouble with the violence because I kept thinking about the real violence that occurred in Colorado at that movie. I feel for those people affected by the shooting, and I'm so impressed at how people have stepped up to show support to the victims, including Christian bale. That's my Jack Kelley!
On a lighter note, why do there have to be 4 million batman and superman movies made and no wonder woman?
That night I stayed at Dawns, she is so awesome and sweet I really appreciate all the work she did to find me a place to stay this week!
On Wednesday Meg had the day off and she offered to show me around. So we went for schwarma with Mary-Anne, Amy and Amy's boyfriend Laurie. Schwarma is so good! It's kind of like a donair but so much better because I don't like donairs. And it comes with these garlic potatoes mmmm.....
After lunch Amy and Laurie went off to do their own thing and Meg, Mary-Anne and I went for a hike around lac pink . This really neat lake in Gatineau, it's really deep and the bottom half of the lake has no O2 so theres only certain types of life down there including some of the earliest forms of life.
Then Meg took me to her boyfriend John's house and he took me to this taco night some of their friends were having, they were all really nice and fun. I really enjoyed that night. I think the best part about ottawa was the fantastic people I got to meet.
The next day I was determined to make a success so I grabbed the earliest tour bus I could find, and went on my way. My first stop was the war museum, it was by far my favorite place. It made everything so real the way they had it set up, and I felt a little embarrassed but I was on the verge of tears a few times as I made my way through the exhibits.
Then I grabbed another bus and went to the museum of civilization which was pretty neat too. They had all sorts of exhibits set up in a very interactive way. Then I grabbed another bus- can I just say these buses have the best tour guides? They are so funny!- on my way to Rideau hall, now that is a beautiful house. There's a room there that looks like you're in a circus tent. It's really neat, and they have the guards with the big black hats like the ones at buckingham palace. I got a pic with one. :)
Waiting for the bus there I met this really nice. Couple and we got along really well, so we went on the parliament hill tour guide together. I'm glad I went with them because the tour guide we had was awful! She talked to the group like we were in preschool I kept waiting for he to tell us all to grab a hold of the rope. Haha the three of us had fun though, thankfully we all had the same sense of humor.
That night Dawn and I went out for dinner at the Byward Market, it was really good but dessert was my favorite. Beaver tails! YUM! It's was great to spend the night catching up /getting to know her better.
The next morning I woke up early and made it to parliament hill to see the changing of the guards. I felt do bad for those guys it was so hot out and they have to stand there with furry hats, long pants and coats on. One of the guards fainted, I'm guessing from heat exhaustion, but I'd be open to accepting the fact that I make him weak in the knees.;)
Then I met up with my friend Lorelei and her baby. Her baby is so stinking cute! She showed me the cats of parliament hill this place for stray cats to live, and then we wandered around, got caught up and went to the museum of nature which was cool but it didn't even compete with the war museum in my opinion. Then we went back to byward and did a little shopping and said our goodbyes.
That night I went to a potluck/institute class with Dawn and met some more amazing people, including a guy who served his mission in Edmonton. I thought that was really neat.
The next day Dawn and I spent the day shopping on Bank St. It's like a big whyte ave with more affordable prices. I loved it! And we tried pho too which was interesting because I'm bad with eating in the first place, but when the food is made for chop sticks? Fo Getta bout it! I was a mess, and Dawn is from Korea so I was definitely schooled.
I spent the rest of that night packing and getting ready for my train ride while watching heartland. I was so tired I think pei will be a nice place to rest.
Sunday morning we got up and made it to church. It was a great missionary themed service I was so happy to get to church. It just feels like home.
For the record I have not felt homesick yet, however I do miss everyone and wish they could have come with me.
I arrived at the train station really early to get everything figured out. Then I waited, and waited, and then the train would be 15 min late, and then it was 45, and then it was over an hour. The train finally arrived 2 hours late. But the arranged for us to make our connecting train so now I'm on my way in my private cabin. It's like a hotel on wheels I love it!
While waiting for the bus I met this guy who's a pastry chef and was very friendly, he told me his life story, he was fun, and this awesome girl who I rode with most of the way to
Moncton. She kept me from getting bored. It was awesome!
O, and yes I showered on the train, all though it's a very interesting set up you turn on the water and stand in the bathroom and shower. It's very interesting trying to balance yourself on a wet floor on a moving train with a toilet you could fall onto or worse into. But I survived and I definitely recommend train travel. I woke up to the most beautiful view of the Chaleur Bay in new Brunswick! And the beds are really comfortable.
Well that's about all for now!
Those are the F.A.C.T.s!

Niagara falls and the big TO - part duex

So I said goodbye to Barney and then wandered around the loft and found the cat I was supposed to be taking care of he is beautiful and incredibly friendly. So much so that my yoga pants turned from black to white within minutes. Once I was on the couch cuddling with him and looking out over the city I decided it would be a slow chill at home day because it was so hot and I was so comfortable. But I did need food so I went out and wandered around the little shops by Caroline's place. The area used to be and industrial area and now all these factories have been turned into lofts and businesses its really neat. I picked up only the essentials, a cheesecake caramel apple, some mini cupcakes from this cool cupcake place, some soap that looks like cheese and then I went to this cheese shop and picked out my cheese for the week from this really cute guy who apparently lives in the same building as caroline. I had already fallen in love with Toronto and I hadn't even seen it yet! I did actually buy real groceries before going back, but they aren't that interesting. So I went home, got comfy and spent the day lounging. It was wonderful.
The next morning I decided it was important for me to go to Canada's Wonderland so thanks to google maps I navigated myself from the southern part of Toronto to the town of maple (which is where the park is) for only $12 and i got to ride a streetcar, the subway and a go bus which is like a really inexpensive greyhound, and it only took an hour because Toronto transit is really easy to use.
So I got to wonderland and started wandering around, rode a few rides, but I think I've been to the Disney parks to many times because although it was a fun place it didn't quite meet the expectation I had for it. I think if I had Thought of it less as a theme park and more of an amusement park it would have been better. Also don't go by yourself to an amusement park. It's not nearly as fun as when you're with people, but I'm glad I went.
The next day I had big plans to go to casa loma, lunch with a friend from high school and the cn tower. But I slept late so I went for lunch with my friend Penny who I hadn't seen since high school and was so nervous about how it would go, but once we saw each other it was like old times. I'm so proud of her moving out to Toronto and going after what she wants. She went to school for theatre and since moving there has won parts in legally blonde and rent. We had so much fun talking at lunch that we just spent the rest of the day catching up. It was so great to see her again.
When I got home Caroline was on her way home from the airport so we decided to go out to this sushi place it was really delicious and then watch rookie blue, because it's important and filmed in Toronto so that was kinda cool.
Caroline is really cool, I don't get to see her much because she lives so far away, but she's awesome, a young, funny, beautiful, successful business woman and a great tour guide! I loved hanging out with her.
So the next morning Caroline had to work so I woke up early and went to casa loma. That place is awesome it's really beautiful and all the rooms are so different and it gave me a chance to eat lunch on the terrace of a castle! In the basement there's posters of all the movies that have been filmed there including x men! I have stood where Hugh Hackman has stood! There's also this creepy tunnel that leads to the stables in the basement which I started walking down and then went "hmm dark, damp creepy tunnel...... Who needs to look at stables! " and turned right around.
Then I got on the subway and headed south to the cn tower and got the chance to walk around downtown. If you ever want to feel tiny walk around downtown Toronto. The buildings are huge! And there are sculptures everywhere. It's a really pretty city and I never felt scared there.
So I got to the cn tower and looked out it was really. Neat and I almost did the sky walk. I really wanted to but I didn't want to spend the money for it. The gift shop was really cool too. I found these punny socks that made me smile and I went on this ride in the cn tower that moves around and you get sprayed with things it was a blast. Then I walk around and saw the blue jays stadium and then I found the water front. I LOVE the waterfront there. There are people kayaking, paddle boating and sail boating and there's all these marinas and little shops and festivals. It was my favorite part of Toronto. I actually felt like part of the city when I was there. It's very busy, everyone is always out doing something. I love it!
Then I went home and made dinner for Caroline and I so we would be ready in time for Shakespeare in the park. Shakespeare in the park was doing a midsummer nights dream set in Toronto. It was wonderful! The actors were so funny and totally in character. I think it's my favorite performance of that play. Way better than the movie.
Then Caroline gave me a night tour of downtown Toronto. I saw all the big expensive stores that I can barely afford to look at, and I drove on younge st the longest St. in north America I believe it was a beautiful drive.
The next day Caroline and I went to the st lawrence market to visit her friend who is an amazing artist this is her actual website because she's amazing and I love her art work so you should check it out she puts all sorts of things in her paintings, glass, lace, linoleum, it's gives them a really neat texture. Heres the website http://kareyspady.ca/modernartist/
Then Caroline took me to the distillery district which is this really cool area that was used back when the prohibition was going on in the states to make alcohol and send it across the border. Now they've turned it into this shopping district and condos. There were a lot of really cool stores. But I think my favorite was Soma this chocolate store with all sorts of imported chocolate I bought costa rican chocolate with Moldon salt in it I'm still craving it a week later. And I tried this spicy hot chocolates that wasn't my favorite but it was really neat. Also there are these pianos all over the place that are just out there for you to play I love it! Then we started walking down town. I got to see the much music building and a few other tv studio buildings and do some shopping on queen St. which has really original stores and is full of really neat people. I enjoyed it so much we ended up walking home having walked 8 km that day it was great! On the way home we walked into this weird baby store with really modern furniture and I recognized it from an episode of being Erica this CBC show set in Toronto.
After resting and getting cleaned up we went to beauty and the beast- it was amazing! And there were all these little girls in belle costumes- so cute! When I have kids I'd love to take them to shows like that. And the building it was playing in I recognized as the offices from another episode of being Erica haha I was on a roll that day.
After the movie Caroline took me to this restaurant called origins. It's this really neat place that - there's a special name for it that I cant remember- but you get small plates so you order lots of different foods. We had these delicious deviled eggs and a soft pretzel with mustard seed sauce and this salad and my favorite the steak and egg tostada it was delicious! - I may have missed a plate, but it was delicious and they had mocktails that were so good it was a great experience I wish that restaurant was in Edmonton.
After another episode of rookie blue( who can deny sam swarick) I had to pack up and get to sleep. The next morning Caroline took me on a driving tour of Toronto. I don't think you can ever get bored of that city! We saw tv studios, the different areas of the city, each one has it's own charm. Then we went and looked at these huge houses they weren't houses so much as estates and manors. It was crazy.
Then we went to little Italy for lunch and I had cheese cannelloni made with fresh pasta probably the best pasta I've ever eaten. It was amazing.
After that we went to the airport and said our goodbyes and I got checked in only to find out my flight was delayed. Haha I have had the best luck with planes thus far. So I got to ottawa and grabbed a cab. Now until this trip I'd never taken a cab before, but don't you think they should have a gps or something? I had to map out our trip on my phone and direct him. I found that odd. O well. Now I'm just enjoying my last few days in Ottawa before heading off to pei! I'll write the next blog soon. Promise!
Those are the F.A.C.T.s!
* again the pics seem to have a mind of there own so guess and I'll put them up on Facebook with captions when I get home.

Niagara Falls and the Big TO!

Sorry it's taken me so long to write this, I think I loved Toronto and niagara falls so much I didnt want to admit it was over. :( honestly I could live in Toronto if I could afford it. It's a beautiful place... But I'm getting ahead of myself.
So I arrived at Pearson airport on the sunday evening and my 10615 buddy (10615 was an apartment building I used to live in) came to pick me up with his wife who is the sweetest woman ever I just love her. The three of us got in the car and talked the whole way to Kitchener. It was like they'd never left. They're one of those couples that are so cute together that when you see them interact with each other you do the internal "aww". So we drove into kitchener and without a word to me they pull up to this big expensive looking house and park the car. The whole time I'm thinking " are we house sitting or something? He's still in university. Did they hit the jackpot of rental properties?" then my friend looks back at me and goes" just kidding! " I must have looked like a complete idiot because I definitely fell for it! Haha. But I'll remember to return the favor next time they come visit me;)
So we got to their actual place and it was still a really nice apartment, albeit closer to what I was expecting. We chatted and played this game called blokus which is a lot of fun and it works with my no strategy strategy thing I do. So in short I love it, plus my friends are really competitive with each other so it was fun to watch husband and wife face off in a game of blokus!
The next morning we woke up and started driving to niagara park but on the way - ok I don't want to use people's names, but it's really annoying to do things to way I've been doing them, so let's make up fake names.- so on our way to niagara Betty and I noticed the Welland canal. It connects lake Ontario and one of the other great lakes and it has locks to move the big ships that need to pass through. Now Betty and I had both found locks really interesting so we convinced Barney that we needed to go find a spot to watch these ships go through the locks. We were both ridiculously excited about it. So in our search for a place to watch it we came across a museum about the canal and the town of St. Cathrines. It turns out part of the movie A Christmas story was filmed there and it is also where the lacrosse hall of fame is located ( in case you wanted to go check that out.) and then it was time this HUGE ship came into the locks and it was almost at the top of the lock and then in about twenty minutes the water had been slowly released and the ships was down so low you could look in at the guy steering it! It was so cool. And the ship had some weird James bond esk boat on the back that was cool especially since the ship was carrying soy beans.
Ok enough about the canal, although I have enough pictures I could probably do a presentation.
So then we got back on out way and got to niagara falls. What a gorgeous place! Not just the falls, it's so fun and beautiful I absolutely loved it! We walked around the town saw the falls got soaking wet just from standing on the photo deck, and I found my new house for when I'm a millionaire. And then we went on the maid of the mist. It was so cool the falls we're so close and it was so nice, and I got a complementary poncho.:) then we went in search of the whirlpool but we were so hot we turned back and went home be cause it was time to go anyways. That was a long but really great day. The falls are beautiful and I would definitely like to go back and visit for a few days because there is so much to see and do there, but I'm really glad I had the oppertunity to go this trip. Definitely worth it!
So the next morning we woke up and Barney and I took Betty to work and then Barney drove me to Toronto and on the way we had a great chat about life. I love when you have those friends you can just click with even if you haven't seen them in a while, it's wonderful. I'm really grateful that I got to visit with Barney and Betty, they're wonderful people that I just love.
So we got to my cousin Caroline's loft and WOW her place was like something out of a magazine. I think both Barney and I's jaws hit the floor.

END OF PART 1
* names have been changed. If I changed you're name please don't be offended. :)
** the pictures aren't in order and I'm not sure why. Sorry

Winterpeg.... Not so much

Sorry this is so late I've been lazy/ busy and haven't gotten around to posting it.
I road tripped with my cousin from the cabin to Winnipeg, it was a lot of fun, I love that we can go so long without taking and when we see each other again it's just natural.
Winnipeg was HOT and humid, but a lot of fun.
When I first got there on Sunday night there was this weekly event called cruise night going on so we were driving down Portage(ave? St? Dr? - I don't remember ever hearing that part of it) there were all of these beautiful cars with us, classic cars, expensive cars and fiestas( yes that car belongs with them). The next day everyone was working so I just occupied myself at home and then my cousin and I went grocery shopping for the week at Costco, when we were hungry, that is never cheap and this was no different, but we got some really good food.
The next day my other cousins girlfriend and I spent the day together because he and his sister both had to work. We went to this place called the forks, it's like an indoor farmers market, it was pretty cool, a lot of original stores selling really neat stuff I had to be careful not to spend to much. We found this free exhibition there with weird Canada facts like there was a month in the late 1800s that the niagara falls stopped flowing. Apparently some ice chunks got stuck and formed an ice dam, so the bottom of the falls emptied out and they found all of these artifacts from the war of 1812. - I thought that was pretty neat.
So my flip flops had broken at the cabin the week before, and thanks to a pintrest tip I had been holding then together with a bread tag until it broke too, leaving me walking around the forks with one of three things happening; 1) the shoe pretending to be fixed and then tripping me up in public making me look like I didn't know how to walk 2) me walking with a limp to keep foot and flop together or 3) me walking barefoot on the city streets no matter what you choose I was CLASSY. So we headed to the st vital mall to look for the hiking sandals I wanted. We went into this store called urban trail and there was the cutest sales guy working there. He tried to convince me to buy Birkenstocks, even though when I think of that shoe I either think of a good looking guy or an aged hippie, but I tried them on and they were comfy, but they didn't fit just right and it took me a good half hour to decide that a cute guy was not a good reason to buy them, so I found some tevas that were almost half the price of the Birkenstocks. By the time we left that store the three of us had all exchanged life stories it was fun:).
After that we met up with my cousin( the girl one) for manicures and pedicures it was wonderful.
The next day I hung out with another cousin of mine we'll call him boy cousin 2. He showed me around his work where i think they think he walks on water. Made me proud, then We went on these boats. That showed you part of the city you can't see if you aren't in the water. It was really neat, and thanks to modern technology we got to experience it together because I had to sit at the back of the boat and he had to sit at the front because there we children and elderly people saving seats which meant we got last pick. ( who's going to make a kid or an old person move? ). We saw this big ugly building they're turning into a human rights museum, but every group wants equal space, that's their right, right? Haha part of it reminds me of a pyramid which I found slightly amusing seeing as those were built by slaves.
Then we went to the ledge grounds do I could take a pic with Louis reil for face book and entitle it "keeping it reil" . The Winnipeg ledge grounds are beautiful they go right down to the river. It was a lovely walk.
Then he took me to this vegan restaurant called boon burger, me! Eating vegan? I never thought it would happen, the poutine was good and te burger was ok but the important part is I ate. Vegan and enjoyed it!
The next day I slept in and then me and my cousins girlfriend met up with boy cousin 1 and girl cousin( confused yet?). We went to this Greek place that took forever, but was delicious. Then my cousins girlfriend and I went to the exchange district. It was really cool lots of little vintage shops. I bought this little blue 50's flight attendant dress and the lady made a comment that presumed I wore vintage clothing all the time. I loved it! Yay for being a poser! Then we found my cousins girlfriend some awesome vintage luggage. I'm so jealous. When everyone was off work we went to this ice cream shop that was featured on a food network show. The place is an ice cream shop and it's called BDI I got a thing called a goog. It's a blueberry milkshake with bananas at the bottom , fudge and whip cream on top, it sounds weir but it was so good, then we went to a movie in the same mall I'd got to before and we ran into the shoe guy who Remembered my name so I was happy. Haha and immature obviously. The movie is hilarious and everyone should see it.
On Friday I went to work at a ford store with my cousin. She works with some fantastic people and I got to help them with this fear factor event she had planned it was crazy, bobbing in ice water for balloons, and the people who won that got to fish through applesauce to find candied crickets and worms. Yummy......not.
That night we went out to earls with her friend and I tried my new favorite mocktail. The Bellini, it's like a really yummy slush.
We spent Saturday at the Selkirk fair. It was hot but fun, we watched a lot of the rodeo stuff and I honestly think I'm beginning to tell when some one will make their time with barrel racing. Then we met up with boy cousin one and his girlfriend for poutine at smokes poutinerie. It was so good I shared the cheeseburger poutine with my girl cousin. Then we went back to my uncles to hangout/ clean because they were headed home and I had to say good bye to my cousin and his girlfriend. :( he and I have been close since we were little kids and I hardly get to see him so it was nice to spend time with him, and his girlfriend is wonderful she did a great job showing me around the city. It was nice to see them both.
The next morning I woke up and got ready to go and then we went out for breakfast with my uncle and aunt and my girl cousin before going to the airport. It had been such a great week and I loved spending so much time with my girl cousin. She's fantastic, I'm glad we are still so close. I was also happy to spend some time before I left with my aunt and uncle, they are sweet.
Then I got on the airplane. Next to a woman who didn't really speak English. So I got to watch a flight attendant try and gesture and speak slowly too her. I know that's the only way they could communicate but it was so funny. In thunder bay we waited for 2 hours to leave because there was a thunder storm. When we finally got to Toronto I found my friends who had been waiting there for two hours. I felt bad. Now I'm on to my next weeks adventure I'll try and post it faster this time:)
Those are the F.A.C.T.s!

A week in the sun.... And a sunburn to prove it!

This week I was in Saskatchewan at my family cabin. 14 people 1 bathroom 3 bedrooms and a whole lot of fun!
I got there and as I was falling asleep my cousin showed up and told me I had to go with her to find her friends who were lost on the back roads of saskatchewan, luckily at 2am our friend was still up and more than willing to entertain us while we drove around northern Saskatchewan trying to find her friends with limited cell service for 3 hours. It sounds really boring but it was hilarious. Plus when you're on your 5th wind singing dirty diana at the top of your lungs at 5am nothing is wrong with the world.
So my dad and brother volunteered to babysit this dog for the week we were at the cabin and somehow he became my responsibility and my baby. He was super sweet and would snuggle right up to me every morning. Definitely made me want a dog.
I tried lots of new things this week too. Kneeboarding, water skiing,and wake boarding. I failed at all of them, but let me tell you when I fail I fail well. Drowning yourself behind a seadoo has never looked so good! I also went golfing, only took me 4 hours to play 9 holes. And the part of the game I moved the fastest in was when I thought there was a bear in the forest next to me. I ran so fast I should have tried out for the 100m dash. I added a pic of my brother in his golfing outfit.
Other than that I spent time chillin with the fam, playing kaiser, and havering fun. See you next week!
Those are the F.A.C.T.s!!