Christmas is Coming

When I wrote this we were on the countdown to Christmas. Decorations were everywhere and the shopping was crazy. I went out a week ago on Wednesday with Isabelle to get a few things for Jane and had to fight traffic like a salmon going upstream. Thankfully Isabelle was very good and a big help in the stores. Two weeks ago on the weekend we took a trip up to North Carolina to do some shopping and see the mountains. There still isn't any snow and I don't know when we will see any. Maybe later when we head north to see my sister in Connecticut. We had two main goals in NC: go to REI and hit a stamp shop/sale for Jane. The sale was OK but Jane didn't buy much. REI on the other hand was very cool. It felt just like MEC and actually is a co-op as well. REI has gotten some bad press for being the big box store of the outdoor gear world. I'm not sure how I feel about them yet. We drove through Asheville as well on the way home with the intention of stopping to walk around. It was absolutely overrun with shoppers. We made a few laps but couldn't figure out the parking. There were people everywhere and even a few groups carolling on the streets. In the end we just kept on going and headed for Hendersonville. It's a whole lot smaller-it only has one main street-but it is easier to get around and was not as busy. The last thing we did on the way home was go to Hollywild. This was another of these places where they put up all sorts of lights and have the public drive through for a few dollars a car. In this case it's more like a safari since at one point everyone drives through a field of deer. There had to be about 200 deer in a space the size of a football field surrounded by 100 or so cars. It was a little stressful for me so I can only imagine how the deer felt. The last stop on the safari was a a Christmas village with all sorts of other animals. We saw camels, bison, llamas, and farm animals too. There were a few inflatable bouncy toys, hot chocolate, and a big warm fire to sit around. Our timing was perfect for Hollywild since we arrived a few minutes before the gates opened and only had to wait twenty minutes to get to the two miles of lights. On the way home the line up to get in was over 2 miles long! I'll post pictures later-hopefully I'll have a little more time to blog in the new year and won't be so far behind. All the best to everyone and I hope you all have (or had) a good holiday.

A Coke and a Smile

Here is a look at some of the Christmas lights I got up this year. Of course it wouldn't do to just put them up without trying something a little different. For those of you who know (or remember) there is a house near Port Williams where we used to live that has a beautiful cross on the barn at Christmas time. It is back lit and makes a lovely shadow on the building. I wanted the same effect with some stars. We have this huge space above the garage that we wanted to doctorate so Jane bought the stars, I put them together, and with a little electric ingenuity we have the pictures below. They are unique but the pictures really don't do them justice. My dad has made bigger ones but these were all I could muster with he tools I have. Tonight our friends from home went back to Nova Scotia. It feels kind of empty not having another four year old running around the place. Jane is off to the airport to drop them off. Below is a shot of the BMW Zentrum I mentioned in the last post. I think this is a must see for most visitors and the price is right-it's free! The girls sure had a good time together. Here is another shot of them playing, this time in the Mast General Store downtown. The game was serious. We also got to Georgia to see the Georgia Aquarium and also spent some time in the Olympic Park area nearby.

Just next to the aquarium is the World of Coke. Now I haven't been yet but this weekend they were doing free pictures with Santa. This is what the set-up looked like. It was too cold to be very busy but we did manage to get out picture taken. Unfortunately Isabelle didn't want to have anything to do with the Big Red Elf but Maggie, Jane and I sat with him.Isabelle has written a letter to Santa. Here is a copy below in her own handwriting. For those of you who need help it reads:

Dear Santa,

I have been good this year. For Christmas I was wanting a medical kit for dogs, a pair of binoculars, and some tools like Papa uses. Be careful of my fireplace because it has a glass cover.

Love,

Isabelle

(Please note the letter has already been forwarded to the North Pole and Santa will be dealing with the gifts personally. He doesn't need anyone to help by getting involved with the above mentioned requests.)

A World Wind Tour

Not a long post as we are entertaining friends form home and having a great time doing all sorts of things. Here is a follow-up to Bubba Melanson called Bubba Claus. It was on the radio earlier this week and thought it was pretty good. Have a look if you want to find out a little about southern culture and sense of humor. Otherwise I'm just going to post a few pictures and videos of the girls playing. We've been to the BMW Zentrum, Harley Davidson of Greenville, the malls and some shopping, Monkey Joe's, and had some traditional barbecue from Bucky's. So far it's been a good visit. There's lots more to come. Here are some of the highlights.

Today we have been downtown to do a little more shopping and to take in the last downtown market of the season. It is very cold by South Carolina standards at about 8 degrees Celcius. Tonight was the Greenville Santa Claus Parade and a visit to Roper Mountain. They have a huge lights display at the science center at Roper Mountain that was pretty spectaular.

Bubba Melanson

With Rhea, Jon, and Sam still here on Saturday we decided to go out for a traditional southern breakfast. We headed out to the the Cracker Barrel. The place was packed as the University of South Carolina Gamecocks were playing the Clemson Tigers. Once again the food was good and the service was OK. I think everyone had a good time. The real story for this blog begins when I arrived at the restaurant. I got there a few minutes early with Isabelle since we had to take two cars to get all six of us there (not enough room for all the carseats!). I stepped up to desk to get our name on the list for a table and the head waitress wrote it down. Then she told me it should be spelled Melancon and pronounced in French! It turns out she is from Louisiana and here maiden name is Melancon. We talked for a bit and she told me more about where she was from. Her parents still live in Louisiana but her grandparents were the last in her family to speak French. She said it was not exactly standard French (I told her I knew what she meant). She came by the table a few more times and to say hello and check on our meal. When Isabelle decided to play shy with her and wouldn't say her name the waitress christened her Bubba. Bubba is used both as an term of endearment and an insult down here, although the most interesting item I found on it was about a fish named Bubba the Grouper. I knew I'd meet Cajuns down here eventually but I didn't think I'd make connections this easily. I told the waitress I'd be back to quiz her on where to visit for more Melans(c)ons in Louisiana when we start planing our road trip to the Gulf Coast. It may not be for a year or two but it definitely needs to happen. We did brave a little of Black Friday. Jane and Rhea made a run for Target just before lunch and then Jon and I hit Lowe's in the afternoon. It wasn't too bad but the staff in the stores were defiantly frazzled. I heard this morning there was even a death on Long Island at a Walmart when an employee got trampled by the "frenzied Black Friday shoppers". In California two men pulled guns on each other and shot each other to death after two women got into a fight. On second thought maybe we'll stay away from the big box stores for a while. Friday was a beautiful day and I took advantage of it to put up the Christmas lights. On Sunday I got a few more items up and finish the lights. I have a plan involving some stars and lights that should be pretty unique. I'll post some pictures here when I get them done. Rhea and the family left on Sunday morning. Isabelle was very sad to see them go. Here we are Monday night and they just got in to Quaker Hill in Connecticut. It was a long drive with lots of traffic but I hope it was worth it. I know I enjoyed having them around for a few days. Hopefully we'll see them more often now that we're all on the same coast.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a quiet day waiting for my sister Rhea, Jon and Sam to get here. Lots of cleaning and raking (we had a beautiful day with lots of sun and temperatures just short of 70). Most people here celebrate Thanksgiving on the Thursday. We decided to hold off until everyone arrived. It's interesting to see all the out of state cars in everyone's driveways. There seems to be people from all over the country here this weekend. The reports suggest that people won't be travelling as much this long weekend but the price of gas being so low has made it somewhat inexpensive. We're down to $1.65 a gallon.

Our company arrived around 5:30 and Isabelle was ecstatic. She loves her cousin. In fact she pretty much smothered him for the first few hours. There was a bit of a fuss when she couldn't sleep in the same room with him but she worked it out in the end. This morning they both slept in (almost 'til 8:00). If it wasn't for Maggie I would have slept in too.

Today is Black Friday here. It's one of the biggest shopping days of the year, often 2nd only to Christmas Eve. I don't think we'll be going out for much. Some stores were opening at 5:00 and a few were even going to be open at midnight! I think the plan is pretty much just to have a quiet day. Maybe I'll get to the gym, and the Christmas lights we bought last week need to be put up, Maggie could use a walk, I need to clean up the garage...

Hugs, Smiles, and Cold Noses

There is nothing like coming home to a warm huge, big smiles, and a nudge from a cold canine nose. Getting home took a while this time but I managed with a little help from my friends. Dublin to Atlanta and a drive to Greenville was not a straightforward as one might think. When leaving Dublin you clear immigration but not customs. Customs is in Atlanta. That makes things faster but not easier. The thing is that when you leave Ireland if you get a bottle of something (Ireland is known for it's whiskey) you don't get to put it in your bags so it gets carried on the plane. In Atlanta once you've cleared customs with all your bags you need to go through the airport to arrive at the main terminal. That means going through security but now you have a bottle and you're not allowed liquids in the airport! So if you forget to put the bottle in your checked bag, which gets checked after clearing customs, you are stuck with it and can't get it home. Luckily I didn't have that problem but some of the people I was travelling with did. They ended up pulling their computers out of their computer bags and checking the bags with the bottles in it. Now that would be fine except that at the other end things go missing. One fellow I was travelling with had to wait (along with the rest of us) until his bag showed up. About forty minutes later we are on our way and singing up for our rental car. Unfortunately the rental cars get picked-up after a shuttle ride to another part of the airport and more delays. In the end I got home about 8:00 to the welcome above (hugs, smiles, and cold noses). I'm glad jane let Isabelle wait up for me. I did get a few pictures of Atlanta as we drove through. I've never been a passenger through this part of I-85 so it was neat to look around. Unfortunately I didn't get a good shot of the flame used in the Olympics, but the skyline was very impressive. The sun was setting behind us so the colours were neat.

Today felt like I hadn't left Ireland. It rained and was relatively cold by South Carolina standards. I still can't complain. It gets below freezing at night but doesn't add up to anything. We haven't seen snow and may not. On the other hand, we just might, you never know.

Here is a little more of Isabelle's artwork. These first two she brought home today. One is a footpath and pond and the other is a tree. They both have brilliant colours and show how Isabelle's imagination has improved. She also does portraits. This is one of her friend from school. I was really impressed when I went to her friend's house to collect her one day and she came out with this.

Now that I'm home for a while I can't wait until all our company arrives. My sister will be here for Thanksgiving weekend with Sammy and Jon. A few days later some friends from Nova Scotia come for a week. After that it's back to work for a few days and then we're quickly into Christmas. Hopefully our trip to Connecticut and Washington will work out and I get to see my parents at my sister's house. Then shortly after that in January Jane's parents will be around for while. All in all it should be a good couple of months. This is part of why we got the big place down here. So if anyone else wants to come...

Down the Rocky Road and all the Way to Dublin...

OK so it might be a little cliche but the song has been with me since I found myself travelling to Dublin. As the song goes:

One, two, three, four five,

Hunt the hare and turn her

Down the rocky road

And all the ways to Dublin,

Whack-fol-lol-de-ra.

Our road to Dublin wasn't bad but like the roads everywhere else there was some construction and we did get caught up in a little traffic. The hotel turned out to be difficult to find but we got to the airport, returned the car, and eventually found the shuttle to the hotel. It is very nice but terribly small. The rooms are very modern and have an Internet connection (which it is always a bonus).

I was hoping to head into Dublin tonight rather than staying out at the airport but things just got the best of me here. The drive was long and we just popped out to the hotel restaurant for a few pints and a sandwich.

I know I've already mentioned this a few times but I can't get over the food here. Last night I went out with two fellows from Ballymenna to the Pavilion. It's in the golf club near Galgorm Castle and is a spot I was at the last time I was there. Well it turns out one of the fellows who took me there is the Men's Captain of the club. The Men's Captain is like any other team captain but because we're in the UK it comes with all sorts of privileges and perks, as well as responsibilities. (Apparently the year after the one year term you can play golf at any club in the UK for free, as well as a few in North America.) He explained how the restaurant had been through a change in management so they wanted to see how things were.

Well we were treated like royalty. Lots of wine and excellent service. I must say that after the first visit I wasn't impressed but now I think I'll go back. The eggs mayonnaise were good and the steak had a great pepper sauce. Dessert was good too. I had a chocolate fudge cake.

On Wednesday after spending the week with eight other auditors some of us decided to go out on our own. We ended up at a little English pub in Ballymenna. I ate a typical Irish meal of mixed grill. There was ham, pork chops, lamb chops, sausage, steak, portobello mushroom, grilled tomato, and an egg. All with vegetables and potato. It looked like this:

Afterwards we heard it was a bit of a dodgy place and that there is likely to be one or two fights a night there. In the end the cider and Guinness were good and we didn't get into any trouble, although I thought things might get a little edgy when they ran out of Guinness at the bar. i figured that would be a crime in Ireland.

Ballymenna also had some serious shopping this week with big sales and lots of people in the two shopping centers. Christmas is in full swing here as much as it is in the US. On Thursday they even blocked the streets and kicked off the season with carols and reindeer. Apparently they bring in real reindeer every year. I wasn't there (so I don't have a picture) but some of the other guys on the trip said it was quite the sight.

Wednesday I took a few hours to run an errand for our team in the office back in Greenville. I think I mentioned I went to Portrush to the Royal Portrush Golf Club for a gift. Portrush is a nice little town on the coast. The golf club is right on the beach in amongst the dunes. It is a nice course but very difficult (although short). The winds make it very challenging as the breeze off the North Sea is almost always blowing. My guide took me around town for a look. I got a few pictures. The one below is for all my the paddling friends at home in Nova Scotia. The surf was just pounding. It was a beautiful spot. The whole town is on a point and seems to be coming back from a hard few years. There aren't many things to do but if you like the beach and a quiet place to sit, read, or take the dog for a walk it can't be beat.

It may not seem like much now but when the sun comes out...

Living the Life

Still in Northern Ireland and still having a good time (if anyone had told me I'd be making regular trips to Northern Ireland ten years ago I'd have thought they were nuts). We've been so busy that we haven't had time to get over the jet lag. Things are busy with 10 and 12 hour days in the plant and big meals at night. There's also lots of beer, cider, and Bailey's to be had. Some in the group here have even enjoyed some local whiskey. I still can't get over how people eat here. Not everything is deep fried but lots is. Potatoes aren't just a staple here, you often get two kinds with your meal. The guys were also saying how everything is so tasty. I think it's because they really believe in buying local. The steak, the salad, the vegetables are all good. The fish here is impressive. One of the guys had cod last night, it was the biggest piece I had ever seen. You can also get good haddock, plaice, and salmon. Driving has been uneventful although it's hard to believe I was ever worried about it. Traffic isn't too heavy and the traffic circles or roundabouts are no problem. The shifting on the left is still a little rough but I'm managing. Tomorrow I'm taking a little jaunt up to Portrush. A fellow from the plant is taking me there in the morning before work so we can go to the Portrush Golf Course to buy a gift for someone. Apparently the British Open has been there but that doesn't mean much to me. It is a beautiful area and last time I was here we did drive around the coast. Tomorrow is another day and Friday is the last one in the plant. On Friday we drive back to Dublin for a night at one of the hotels by the airport. Our flight isn't too early on Saturday so I hope to get out to downtown Dublin to poke around and see what the Republic of Ireland is like. I hear the night life there is very good and that it is much different than Belfast where I was the last time I was here. Hopefully everything will go well until then and the flight home will be uneventful.

Back on the Emerald Isle

I'm back in Europe and am enjoying it so far.

The flight from Greenville to Atlanta was fast but we spent more time on the ground taxiing than in the air. Atlanta was very busy. By the time we got to our gate they were boarding for Dublin. The Dublin leg was fine although the food on the American carriers will never be as good as Air France (oh how I miss those days). I think I slept four hours and felt fine to drive the two and a half hours to Ballymena. Bill B. (one of my colleagues from work) came along and we did fine between my Google Maps printout and the GPS. You just have to remember to keep left and look right.

One thing about Greenville Airport was the football team. Duke University was in town to play the local Clemson Tigers. The game finished with Clemson up 31-7. While we were waiting for our plane the boys in blue (Duke's athletic teams are called the Blue Devils) started wandering up looking a little glum and dejected. In the end about one hundred players, coaches, cheerleaders and support staff came through to board the plane. Then, the buses were on the tarmac to move the gear into the plane. Did I mention the coach had his own state trooper? All I could think of was Dalhousie and SMU and me playing at MUN and how we would jam all our players in a small van or two mini-vans.

Anyway, back to the drive here. We got the rental car and had a bit of a challenge finding it. Once we did that we had to pay for our tolls, ahead of time. That meant going back to the airport to pay ahead of time at a kiosk. The way it works is that you register the plates and off you go. I guess the toll takes place on the highway with a camera at full speed. It seems convenient but it sure wasn't intuitive for me to figure out how to do it.

So far the food here has been good, although I've only eaten once. The restaurant here in the Adair Arms is very nice. They had a nice shrimp salad and a roast pork loin with apple sauce and two kinds of potatoes. The dessert was a strawberry pavlova (I'm thinking of you Rob) with a raspberry sauce.

In Ballymena I've been out around town for a walk. The town has two shopping centers in the old district. We poked around both of them and found some interesting shopping. I hope to go back later this week to shop a little more seriously. I may find some interesting deals for Christmas and maybe for myself, who knows. One of the stores, H&M, is one of Jane's newest favorites. They have a good selection of kids stuff too.

That's all for now...more later.

Off Again After a Rough Week

Well another week is done. If you check the post time on this you'll see I'm doing it midday on a Friday. No, I'm not at work doing, I've taken a day off after a really rough week. Work has been tough with lots of meetings and too much stress. Being here in the Central group means answering to lots of people in various places and balancing multiple priorities. Don't get me wrong, I love the work and the opportunities, but everything always seems easier from the outside looking in. I have to say the people here are very good. My colleagues are very supportive and helpful and I feel like I'm really starting to contribute but every now and then... At home we've had a house guest from home in Nova Scotia. Jane's friend has been here since Sunday and has had an opportunity to experience a little of the Upstate's food, flavors, culture, and shopping. The two of them, along with Isabelle and Maggie have been pretty busy. We had a little party for Jane on Tuesday (her birthday) and celebrated a little. Isabelle on the other hand is not well. She's picked a cough from school, I think, that has really knocked her down. She isn't sleeping well, which means no one in the house is sleeping well, and she's missed two swimming lessons. I think having a sick child is one of the most difficult parts of having kids so far. I feel so helpless because I can't make her feel better. In the end I guess time is the only thing that will help her get over it. Our guest leaves tomorrow and then I leave for Ireland again. This time I go through Atlanta and Dublin rather than Newark and Belfast. Hopefully I won't end up in Iceland this time. I'm also driving back form Atlanta rather than driving. It means I get back about 4 hours earlier and don't have to sit around the airport for 7 hours. After the trip comes American thanksgiving. Rhea, Jon, and Sam are looking to come down. It will be nice to see them again. Sam is like Isabelle, he's growing very fast and changing all the time. They should be around for a few days but we don't expect to get out too much. Sam still takes naps morning and afternoon (how civilized). It will be nice just to sit around and catch up. Thanksgiving here is a four day weekend. After that come some other friends from the Valley. One of Isabelle's best friends will be here with her parents. I'm taking some time off to play golf and show them around. It will be nice to see them since we haven't really been in touch much since we left. It will be interesting to see how Isabelle is with a friend visiting for a whole week. I suspect they'll get on e each other's nerves a little but the plan is to keep them busy and tire them out so they'll sleep at night and play hard all day. Shortly after they leave it will time for Christmas...oh how the time flies!

Ghouls, Junk Food, the Election, & Food for the Soul

Well Halloween has come and gone. It wasn't as big as I expected but it certainly was a good night out. Jack King was here from Kentville to share in the festivities. He was down for a course and had take out pizza with us at the house and helped hand out the candy. In the end there were about 150 trick-or-treaters. Not bad compared to the measly 7 to 10 we used to get at Belcher Street. I honestly expected more but being on a dead end street (some prefer to call it a cul-de-sac) does have its advantages. Unfortunately there is a whole lot of candy left over and it isn't helping with the whole "Chose Well, Life Well" initiative. The apres Halloween was good too. The neighbors all got together on the street next to two fire pits and spent the rest of the evening talking and carrying on. Isabelle did something she hasn't done in a while-she fell asleep in my lap, in her fuzzy elephant costume. It brought back memories of when she really little. Meanwhile we had an election. Now this is nothing like in Canada where there are multiple parties and only two networks to report on the returns. This was an all out, down and dirty, mud slinging election. In the end (everyone knows how it ended) it was interesting to see it from the inside. There were seven networks reporting results and making all sorts of predictions. In one case they called a state for McCain just minutes after the polls closed when Obama was in the lead with only 1% of the vote counted. It was one heck of a media circus. At least now its over and we can move on. Maggie has been through a hard few days. She had surgery yesterday to remove a lump on her side (we'll know more in a few days) and seems to be coping very well. At least this time I don't have to carry her up and down the stairs. The incision is four inches long and looks pretty nasty but she hasn't been at it. It's in a location that makes it difficult to reach, up behind her left shoulder. Maggie also has more meds now than most octogenarians. Between the painkillers, the antibiotics for the surgery, the steroids for her nose, a thyroid replacement, and another supplement, she gets eight pills a day. Jane is in charge because I can' t get my hand far enough down her throat to administer them effectively. Lastly I want to tell you about the Y. Things are going well, though I haven't lost any weight (damn Halloween candy!). The weight routine is good, the running program is coming along, and I've started swimming lessons. Now, I know how to swim, but the spin turns and stroke improvement class will build my technique so I can swim laps for fitness without flailing around like fish out of water. Today I did my second cycling (or spinning class) and had an interesting thing happen. Now I know it's the YMCA (the C stands for Christian) but I've never had an instructor pray for us after a workout before. I guess it just caught me off guard. We are in the South after all.

Weekends Come and Weekends Go

Weekends here are like weekends everywhere else, they tend to get eaten up very fast. Last weekend was a little different. After the Friday and Saturday two weeks ago when we just seemed to go out every night and visit with friends then stay up too late, this last weekend we were more reasonable. I think it made both Jane and I happier and more tolerant with Isabelle and Maggie. Plus, we got up relatively early and got things done. Friday night was the Fall Fair at Isabelle's school. It was fun. I worked the "Pin the hat on the turkey" booth and Jane did face painting. We were so busy we didn't even manage to get any pictures. Isabelle dressed up in her elephant suit an played with her friends. She even got her hair painted blue. (You should have seen the bath water that night!) Saturday we got up early, had a little breakfast, and headed for the YMCA. Jane did Yoga, I did a cycling class, and Isabelle had some time in the care center (cartoons, colouring, drawing, & books). Afterwards Isabelle and I had a swim and did some shopping while Jane hit a local book sale. By lunch it felt like we had done more in five hours than we do in some weekends. Sunday we went to Sky Top Orchard (check out the pictures on their website). It wasn't like the apple orchards in the Valley back home, but the view was incredible. The road to get there was pretty intense too. We picked a few apples, had a snack of apple cider donuts, and bought our pumpkins for Halloween. On the way back we went to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair. It was the biggest bunch of knitters, spinners, dyers, and general animal fiber lovers I've ever seen. Jane had a great time and kept raving about how her mother would love it. I enjoyed looking around but I can only get so much out of wool and yarn. Isabelle was enthralled. She didn't want to leave the spinners. She would just stand there and watch. I don't think I've ever seen her so into something as much as this. In the end she was given a small spindle (used to spin thread) and some yarn by two of the vendors. Now she needs to practice. We'll see how it goes.

Short and Sweet (In more ways than one)

Just a short post to say hello and share some of Isabelle's work. As I mentioned earlier she is really into art and coming up with some very imaginative stuff. She also learned a few songs at school and never ceases to surprise us.

Here is a taste of the artwork.

Boo in the Zoo last week.

A well decorated house in the subdivision (the picture is a little blurry).

And finally a little music for the finish. Jane will have more posted on her Blog soon. Keep an eye on it.

Back to Georgia and Home Again

I've been back to Georgia again, this time for work. The best part of the trip was probably the food at RL's Off the Square. It' s a little New Orleans style restaurant in the middle of Covington. The place was great and had some interesting characters on the wall. Ronald Reagan apparently liked the food there, Stevie Wonder had been there once or twice, and Billy Crystal from City Slickers was there too. The famous New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme was pictured all over the place. The food was great. We ate calamari and fried green tomatoes along with spinach dip as an appetizer. After that I had a shrimp boil. The boil is pronounced without the L and sounds more like "boy" than anything else. It was like a clear stew with corn on the cob, shrimp, andouille, zucchini, potatoes, all spiced up nicely. Apparently a boil down here is like a church supper back home. The meal I had was good but I can see how making 10 or 20 gallons of it would be even better. Now for next subject you have to understand how seriously they take Halloween down here. Somebody got in early here and made this minor event/holiday into a huge deal. There are as many or more decorations here at Halloween as I've seen in some places for Christmas. (Which reminds me I have to go out and get some Christmas decorations before they all sell out! I know it seems early but it's the not a complete exaggeration.) I'll try to post some pictures once I get them off the camera. On Friday night we took Isabelle to the Greenville Zoo for Boo at the Zoo. For $4 you get a bag and get to walk around the zoo and "trick-or-treat". Well when we got the the line-up was about 500 people long. It moved fast enough but was almost as long when we left. The whole zoo was decorated and it took about an hour to walk through. Isabelle enjoyed it and we got to meet some people including a woman who works in my department and her family. There were kids dressed up in all sorts of great costumes-princesses, Spidermen, lots of Star Wars characters, and off course animals. Isabelle went as an elephant but unfortunately the elephants at the zoo were in bed when we went by. We also ate out on Friday at the India Palace. The place was nice enough and certainly felt like a traditional Indian restaurant. The service on the other hand was a little sketchy. We were passed over several times when it came to order and it seemed like our servers had a tenuous grasp of the English language. The food was good, although yet again Jane won (she always picks the best thing on the menu). I had a meat platter with tandori chicken, seekh kabob, chicken tikka, and boti kabob. Don't ask me what it all was but it was good. Jane had the lamb saag which was lamb in spiced spinach. It was better than mine and I don't usually like lamb. The bread basket we ate was also very good. There was naan, prantha, roti, and onion naan (my favorite). In the end, based on my system, I'd say $$ for price, ** for the food, and only one :) since the service was less than average. We'll try the other Indian places next before we go back. On Saturday we met up with some friends to go to another local restaurant. The Bohemian was a neat Little place attached to a classic record shop. The food was from all over the world and the chocolate fudge cake for dessert was excellent. I had steak with beans and rice in a Caribbean jerk sauce. It was spicy and very good. Jane had lamb lasagna (she can't get enough lamb) but I think she was let down. The duck spring rolls we got as an appetizer were nice too and the place also makes their own chips which they serve with blue cheese dressing and spicy cheese crumbs. The whole thing was very nice with a bottle of pinot noir. $$ for price, *** since I liked the food, and :) :) :) since its one of the better places I've been in Greenville yet, although I doubt too many people know about it. The best part was the relatively new friends we went with. I want to get together with them again. It's nice to meet new people who are of the same generation and share common interests. It seems like even after almost six moths here it's still hard to make friends. Its too late now for pictures but I promise more artwork and some shots of our adventures soon. Isabelle is really turning on the creative juices and has been coming home with all sorts of great drawings and paintings. I can't wait to share. We also have some good video of Isabelle signing some of the songs she's learned at school. Keep an eye on the blog for more.

Artwork, Fall for Greenville, Pumpkintown, and the Irish Cough

Before I went to Ireland we talked about it at length with Isabelle so it wouldn't be a surprise for her when I left. She in return made a few drawings for me to take along. Here they are. They sure have progressed from the days of colours on a page. I kept these in my notebook while I was away.

Now that I'm home and back to a somewhat normal routine I need to get to the gym again. My problem is what one fellow in Ballymena described as the "Irish Cough". I have this sore throat that I can't seem to shake. I'm not feeling any other symptoms but if I'm going to get a cold I wish it would just get here already. This weekend we took in two big events in and around Greenville. The first was Fall for Greenville. It is a downtown street and food festival that also includes music and kids activities. We went without Isabelle on Friday night and ate a whole bunch of things from Thai to barbecue to Indian. It all works a little like a carnival. You buy tickets and then use your tickets to buy from the vendors. Most of Main Street is shutdown for it and pedestrians pretty much have the run of the place. They serve beer and wine too but you have to buy a bracelet to have some. It costs one dollar and makes things easier when it come to checking ID and controlling who can and can't drink. Saturday we went to a small place (I can't even call it a town) called Pumpkintown. It's in Pickens County about 35 miles and one hours drive northwest of Greenville. The Pumpkin Festival takes place every year at this time on the grounds of the community hall. There were maybe 150 or more craft and other vendors mostly geared up with fall decorations and produce, with a few getting into Christmas stuff (It's too early for that yet!) Food and drink were provided by local service clubs and the fire department. The foods included barbecue, the usual burgers and fries, fried fish, and fried pies and funnel cakes. The music was pure bluegrass. They had a stage for the bands and then another for the dancers, both young and old. Here is a little sample: Sunday was quiet day with a little work in the garage and a trip to the playground. Hopefully I will be up to my old self soon. I have another short trip this week to Georgia on Tuesday and should be home Thursday night. No flights this time. Thank goodness!

The Longest Flight Ever

So I'm now sitting in Newark Airport, it's 5:30 AM on Thursday. As I told jack my travelling companion in all of this: I didn't think I'd miss this connection with a seven hour layover in a million years! In the end I did miss my connection last night but that's not the half of it. Here goes... Yesterday we got on in Belfast and everything was fine. We boarded early and were off to a flying start. We were about halfway between Newfoundland and Iceland when things started going wrong. I had been moved form my assigned seat to another seat with more room. It turns out I'd have the "front row seat" for the show. The 83 year old lady across the aisle started to turn white. Her blood pressure had dropped, here pulse was erratic, this wasn't good. Luckily there were two nurses on board who did a wonderful job with her. One in particular was an interesting fellow who was built like a truck, had lots of tattoos, a pierced lip, a haircut not unlike mine, and a wonderful bedside manner. They laid her down, got out the defibrillator and monitored here vitals. It's amazing what they carry on the plane for just such an emergency. Things looked good for a while but she eventually took a turn for the worse. When they hooked her up to the IV and moved here to the front I knew things weren't going well. We turned and headed several hundred miles back to Iceland for a medical reroute. That wasn't bad enough, although I'm OK with it, it had to be done, and everyone on the plane was fine, except... In Iceland we weren't allowed to get off. We were not going to clear customs there so they thought it would be a quick stopover. Now, before the lady started her medical issues there were two American women who were acting strangely up front. (It turns out they were refused boarding on a flight out of Belfast the day before, now I know why.) Anyway, they had been acting out for a while and when they were refused more alcohol, the flight crew asked the Iceland Police, who were on the plane anyway, to escort them off. A few questions arise from this: why didn't we go to Newfoundland if we were so close? Well it turns out there were serious headwinds so Iceland was the faster way to get down. Also, what would have happened to the two women if we had not had to stop? Well, lets just say I saw one flight attendant with a plastic bag that had what looked like restraints in it. Remind me not to cross the Continental crews in the future! So we are on the ground in Iceland (a very pretty but desolate place) and are negotiating oxygen bottles, fuel, and maintenance checks. Because of the language barrier, differences in airlines, and the fact that the ground crew didn't want to take the pilots credit card (really), we spent another three and a half hours on the ground. Once we got back into the air everything went fine. In the end we spent thirteen and a half hours on the plane. I have to say the flight crew were excellent and I need to remember to write a letter to Continental (although I don't think I'll be flying with them again for a while because of other reasons). Arrival at Newark went OK. I got through customs and immigration without any issues. The airline put us up in a hotel but getting a shuttle out to it was another 45 minute wait. It turns out the Crown Plaza where we were supposed to go was full so at the last minute we were taken to the Sheraton. It was a nice room but it was 11:00pm local time (4:00am Irleand time) by the time I got to bed and my new flight in the morning meant I had to be up around 4:00am. So much for those meetings today. I think I'll stay home and get some sleep. That is my adventure. Add that to the delays in Greenville trying to get to Ballymena in Northern Ireland in the first place (see previous post) and I see why some people (you know who you are) don't like flying through Newark.

Update from Belfast

I'm sitting in the airport just waiting for my flight. We got here early to make sure everything went smoothly. I can't wait to get home even though I'm certainly not looking forward to the flight. Eight hours is a long time to be in the air. The picture attached is not me at the airport but rather me at the Crown in Belfast. It seems I uploaded the wrong image the other day. That was Jack and David.Wikipedia has a nice little history on the bar. Check it out here.

Other than that the visit here went well. I spent two extra days in the plant and got lots of good information. The weather was the same however, with rain all but one day of the whole trip. I will be changing the way I pack for the next trip here in a month. I need more sweaters and no short sleeved shirts. A nice hat and a scarf, along with some gloves will be along with me too.

We took another trip up the coast yesterday after work. By the coast, I mean the large lake called Loah Neagh that along with the River Bann cuts Northern Ireland in half. It was very much like driving through Cape Breton and going up towards Lake Ainslie and the Margaree River. We ended up at the Glengorm Castle Golf Centre for some supper but the service and food was only OK. The bar named The Pavillion was lovely but they need to work on the food. One the other hand the little place we ate the day before was very nice. The BallyRobin is a traditional English inn near the airport. It had a great menu and the service was excellent. I think we will be returning.

Belfast and the Antrim Coast

Friday night in Belfast was hoping. We wandered down about 6:00pm and walked around. The first stop was the Crown Liquor Saloon. It is owned by the Heritage Trust and is a tradition city pub, complete with ornate carvings, a beautiful bar, little booths with doors that close for privacy, and lots of local characters. We managed to get into on of the booths and enjoyed some drinks.

Next we wandered around downtown and enjoyed the sights. City Hall was impressive. There was a large Ferris wheel standing there, like a little sister to the London Eye. We ended up at a more modern pub and had some snacks. We ate the largest fries (chips in the UK) I've ever seen and prawns on salad.

Saturday we headed up the Antrim Coast. The three things we wanted to see were the rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede, the Giant's Causeway, and the Bushmills Distillery. All in all we were not disappointed. Both the Giant's Causeway and the rope bridge are part of the Heritage Trust and had admission charges. The weather was not pleasant as it rained, at times very heavy.

Sunday was a sunny day-my first since arriving here on Tuesday. Jack and I took another spin into Belfast. As touristy (is that a word?) as a bus tour sounds it was well worth it. The wind was still chilly but we sat in the top of a open air double decker bus. The tour covered the Holland & Wolfe shipyard where the Titanic was built (my favourite part of the tour). We also went by the parliament buildings, some historic sights, and spent quit a bit of time driving through the Catholic and Protestant parts of Belfast. The history surrounding what the Irish call The Troubles was interesting, along with the bombings, the courthouses, and the jails.

The city is divided up by Peace Walls that divide the two sides. In some cases the walls are over 70 feet tall. Even now the walls still stand and serve to keep the peace. There are also lots of interesting murals all over the place depicting fighters, victims, organizations, and others involved in The Troubles. They stand as a memory and a reminder to what happened. Another interesting point is that the Belfast Giants, the local hockey team, was brought to Belfast as a neutral sport to help the locals get behind a common team.

I'm going to try to post some pictures too but if this doesn't work it will have to wait until I get home.

 

Working, Eating, Driving, and Staying Warm in Northern Ireland

Ireland is great. I've enjoyed my trip here so far although I miss the family back home. I feel like I'm missing Isabelle's growing up even though I'm only gone for a little over a week. I also know that Maggie isn't the same when one of the family is missing. She just can't seem to relax sometimes, while other times she's just silly. Anyway, I'll be back in less than a week.

Now, the plant in Ballymena here is relatively old. The people on the other hand are very friendly and seem very dedicated and willing to get the job done. My project went well and wrapped up today. After that I'm spending a few days getting to know the plant and some of the people I'll be working with on a regular basis. That will be Monday and Tuesday, then it's back home to Greenville.

Food here is very good. We've mainly been eating at pubs. Tuesday was Ellie Mae's, a quiet little inn and restaurant just outside of Templepatrick where we are staying at a Hilton. I had a lovely pork chop dinner with beans on the side and an order of champ. Champ is one of the best ways to eat mashed potatoes because they add green onions, butter, and cream.

The Hilton here is attached to a large convention centre, it has two restaurants, a bar, and a golf course. The fitness centre is private but open to guests. It has a full gym, pool, sauna and multipurpose room. The breakfasts are first class with everything you'd ever want including black pudding, beans, kippers, porridge, and the usual American fare.

On Wednesday we ate at the a small pub on the way back from the plant called the Ramble Inn. The fish and chips was huge. It also came with mushy peas. For those of you who don't know it's like mashed peas. Tonight we ate at a golf club just outside of town at a Restaurant called Barnaby's. I had curry but one of the guys had a chicken dish with fried banana and pineapple that we delicious. Jack had a chicken Caesar that had 3 chicken breasts. They sure don't skimp on portion sizes here.

To finish, one of the best things about being here is that I can get a glass of hard cider no matter where I go. As most of you know I don't drink beer but I love cider. The Stongbow was perfect last night. I don't think I've had a Stongbow from the tap since I was in Newfoundland.

Pictures

These are the pictures to go with the post.

On the Road Again, & Again, & Again...

We made it back from Atlanta with little difficulty. Isabelle did have a meltdown once or twice but we are chalking it up to too many activities and not enough rest. She had a big weekend, and so did we. The hotel we stayed at in Marietta was very good and the price was good too. The only thing that could have been better was the temperature of the outdoor pool. It was like swimming in the Atlantic in Nova Scotia. Atlanta itself was amazing. It is as large as it is said to be but getting around was mostly fairly simple as long as we used the GPS. We went downtown twice-once on Friday and once on Saturday-both times traffic was a little heavy but not too bad. Parking was easy. Friday we saw the Georgia Aquarium. It was absolutely amazing! It is all indoors (which surprised me after visiting the Vancouver Aquarium) but was huge and very well done. We didn't get to see the penguins due to some construction but the rest of the place was great. Food was a little expensive and the admission seemed a little high but in the end I can't wait to go back. The aquarium is set-up with seven or eight galleries and each has a theme. By far the best one is the one we saw last. The tank in the Undersea Discovery holds hundreds of fish including hammer head sharks and whale sharks. It was very impressive. I will try to post pictures. (They should be here if this works) I am writing this from Ireland as I am here on business. The hotel I'm at doesn't have a very good internet system but I'm trying to keep up with the blog and my email. The weather here is typical Irish weather. It's rained everyday since we got here and the temperature is hardly ever over 10 degrees C. It feels like Nova Scotia in November. Having said that it is lovely here. Getting here was a bit of a challenge. Hurricane Ike blew up the east coast on Sunday and delayed most of the flights through Newark, NJ. My connection was through Newark so I spent three hours on Sunday at Greenville airport waiting for the flight, and then when I finally got on they said it would be another hour before we left (we didn't have clearance to land in Newark!). In the end my colleague and I got off and went home to try again the next day. That went well but made for a long day on Tuesday as we went from the airport straight to the plant. I was happy to see my bed on Tuesday night. I will try to keep up the blog as I have more time this week. I hope to get out to do some sightseeing on the weekend with a friend form Nova Scotia who is also here.

Third World Country

OK so the gas shortage is pretty bad. Hurricane Ike has made a bit of a mess here and continues to have a significant impact on gas prices and availability. On Tuesday on the way home from work I went to three gas stations before I found one with pumps open-that was in Spartanburg. It wouldn't have been a huge deal but for the fact I was running on fumes. Today we're in Atlanta (or Marietta near Atlanta) and I've just dropped Jane and Isabelle off at the hotel and I'm in line, on the street, to fill up. When we went out to get some supper we kept driving by all sorts of gas stations that were either closed or had huge lineups-the kind you see before a hurricane in Texas or something. Anyway, I decided I'd rather make sure I have enough to get home rather than take the chance on Sunday. You see it's not just about getting home on Sunday but also about catching my flight to Ireland. I have a business trip to Ireland for ten days and decided to fly out of Greenville so Jane and Isabelle wouldn't have to drive home from Atlanta by themselves. So for this weekend we had plans to explore Atlanta but we may end up staying closer to the hotel and Jane's stamp show. I had thought about going to the Zoo on Saturday while Jane was at her show, but we may not. It seems silly in some ways but the gas shortage here is much more serious than I imagined. At least the oil companies aren't gauging yet. Now the price here is nothing by Canadian and European standards. I keeps hovering around $4 a gallon, and has been as low as $3.50 a gallon a few weeks ago. It isn't bad for me but everyone else who got used to paying (and even complained about) $2.25 a gallon last year sure have a lot to say about it. As you can imagine it is a bit of an election issue here but nothing compared to the financial mess this country is in. Anyway, I have to move the Jeep and get pumping-at least the Jeep got 32+ mpg on the way here. It's not the hybrid I wanted but it's not too bad. Hopefully when I get back to the hotel Isabelle will be asleep and things will be quiet. I'll let you know about the aquarium...

What the H*** is Monkey Joe's?

I'll tell what it is. It's this place where you take kids to get them tired. Isabelle had her first birthday party here. One of the kids from her class and her twin sister were having a party. They turned 5 and decided to have some friends over to Monkey Joe's. It turns out there was cake and ice cream, and everything else you'd expect. The venue was a bright building with several big inflatable bouncy toys. One was just for bouncing in, another two were huge slides, and the last one was an obstacle course.

Here is the girl and the layout along with a few action shots and some video for the grandparents.

Isabelle seems to have had a blast. I understand the rates to get in are a little high but for this occasion everything was included. The place has free wireless Internet and a wide screen TV for the parents. All in all a pretty cool spot. The birthday cake was even chocolate! Now, the grass... When we moved in we found a yard that wasn't as well maintained as we would have liked. In addition to weeds, dead trees, and lots of leaves to rake up, within a few months we had moles. The little guys may be cute bet they make a mess. To top it all off Maggie has developed an interest. At least five times she has gone out a dug up some of their tunnels. Needless to say it hasn't helped the lawn. In an effort to get rid of them without poison or chemicals (because of Maggie and Isabelle) I went out and got a couple of sonic deterrents. They seem to have helped since there are no new tunnels but the old tunnels remain...and Maggie keeps digging. The latest was the seeding, lime, and fertilizing. We had a local outfit come in and have a look and they decided we certainly needed some work. The interesting thing was the seeding. They asked us to mow as short as we could. This was supposed to give the new seed a chance to grow. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. It's been two weeks of watering three times a day and the grass is sprouting. Now that its cooler I suppose it has a bit of a chance. Another new thing with us has been the Y, that's YMCA. The workouts have started and I even started a running program. I'll keep you posted on the results. Hopefully there will be less of us around in a few months. Food and restaurants are also newsworthy with us. We've eaten at two new places in the last few weeks. One was Pho Noodleville on Orchard Park Drive. It was some of the best Asian food I've had in a while. The menu was incredible as there was so much to choose from. We had calamari and spring rolls to start. Isabelle had a grilled chicken that just melted in your mouth with all the usual fixings (vermicelli noodles, sprouts, carrots, cucumber, etc...). Jane had a curried chicken that was also very nice while I had their special beef dish. Mine was spicy in a good way while the curry was just lovely. We ate too much and didn't have any leftovers or dessert. In the end the price was right and the service fast and efficient. $$ for price, :) :) :)because we'll be back, and ***for the food. Next is Bucky's Bar-B-Q. We ate there Friday night and had a pretty good meal. It's the kind of place you order and pay and the guys behind the counter plop everything down for you on plastic plates. Barbecue here is nothing without the sides so we got green beans, coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, sweet baked beans, and cucumber salad (next time there will be sweet potato crunch and maybe Mexican pinto beans). Isabelle had chicken, Jane had chicken and pulled pork, and I had ribs and pork. In the end the pork and ribs were the same and left a little to be desired. The sauces on the table were OK but to be honest I appreciated the beans the most. The price wasn't bad and we got there before the rush so it was fast but it likely won't be a regular stop. :) overall, $ for price, and * for the food (for now). Another new discovery on my part is Woodcraft. They are the Lee Valley Tools of the US, without all the garden stuff. When it comes to tools though, they are all that and more. I couldn't believe the woods they have in the store here on Woodruff Road. There was purple wood, red wood, and all sorts of crazy exotic woods. I need to do some research and get back into making kayak paddles. I think I could make some really beautiful stuff.

Another Weekend

Well here we go with another week. It's still hot here. We keep getting up in the 90s and there is very little rain. With all the hurricanes flying around you'd think we'd get a little something-but nothing. We have had the odd rain shower but nothing of any consequence. The drought in the Upstate has been upgraded to disaster status (mainly on account of the farmers-so they can get federal relief) but there is no talk of restrictions (some lakes are 15 feet below their normal levels). I haven't washed the car but have toned back the lawn watering. It still bugs me that I have to do it at all but I am trying to minimize it. One of the deals in the lease for the house is that I won't kill the grass. Isabelle is at school half days now and seems to really enjoy it. The Montessori School is very different than we are used to. The style of teaching is hands off and the children decide what they want to study. I think Isabelle has come in with a good base and is really enjoying having some structure in here days. I know she's been going to bed earlier and sleeping much better. Last weekend was a relatively quiet one. We put in a visit to North Carolina after stopping at Sunfrift Adventures in Travelers Rest. Sunrift is a great paddling and outdoors store and they were having their annual rental blow-out. There were about 200 kayaks on the lawn, along with 20 canoes, 100 bikes, and a field full of tents. Along with all the other gear and clothing it was a sight to behold. I didn't buy anything but had a good time just looking around. We did end up going to another outfitter in North Carolina called Diamond Outfitters and Jane finally found a pair of walking shoes she can wear. I bought a pair of day hikers. Finding narrow sizes for Jane and size fourteens for me is a whole lot easier here than in Nova Scotia. I can even shop the bargain bins and do very well. After a quick picnic lunch on the Blue Ridge Parkway and a quick walk through downtown Asheville (we're going to need a full day or two in Asheville later on to do it justice) we headed home. Isabelle promptly fell asleep in the car so the trip home was very quiet indeed, except for the snoring in the backseat (from both Isabelle and Maggie! On Sunday we headed downtown to the play ground in Cleveland Park. We took along Isabelle's bike, that way she could scoot along as we walk some of the trails with Maggie. On our route we stopped by what could be the cities only dog park. There were lots of dogs there cavorting and carrying on, but of note were two German Shorthaired Pointers. They were beautiful but one was very young and had a whole of growing to do before he fit into his paws. The last item of note is the family membership to the YMCA. The Golden Strip YMCA is located a few miles from home and hopefully will lead to a healthier and more energetic Melanson-Sodero household. They aren't a huge facility but have much to offer. I'm looking forward to getting back to my Canada Games weight if at all possible. I don't think the volleyball will be any good but I hope to get ready for the kayaking season (which seems to be most of the year down here!). Next post: Grass Woes :-(

Business as Usual

I had my first business trip in a while last week. It was a road trip to Covington Georgia. I drove down on Tuesday and back on Thursday. The trip down was interesting because we drove through some of the remnants of a hurricane. There were flood warnings and tornado warnings everywhere (but people here treat those about as seriously as Nova Scotians deal with blizzard warnings). There were people on the road and a few accidents as well. Our trip was uneventful.

Covington itself is not much to write home about. We actually stayed in Conyers at the Hampton Inn there. It was very nice. It had a few extras that I really liked-cold water bottle on check-in, freshly baked cookies when you arrived at night, and a good breakfast. Restaurants there were good too although a little tricky to find when you don't know where you're going. The first night we ate at a small Italian place. I ate calamari to start and had a sampler plate of pasta (too much food!). A colleague choose the wine and I didn't like it but what do I know about wine? The second night we tried to find a little Thai place but in the end it was between locations and would open the day after we got back.

The real winners were lunch. One day we ate at a little place called Little Phillies which made the best Phillie steak sandwiches I've ever had. The second day we at the Butcher Block and had some fantastic sandwiches. I think one of the things I like best of all about living in the US is the abundance of small, independent, hole-in-wall type places I get to eat at. The food is amazing, the prices are always reasonable, and you feel like you're in the the middle of some classic Americana.

The other thing I learned on my trip is that The Dukes of Hazard and In the Heat of the Night were both filmed in Covington, the former in Conyers as well. I haven't been able to find out more about it but the sites above give you some information. I guess the people in Hollywood think Conyers and Covington both look (or at least looked) enough like the typical South to shoot the shows there. (If you're at all a fan some of the stuff in Wikipedia about the cast and cars in the The Dukes of Hazard is worth reading.)

The rest of the week brought a quiet weekend with a trip to Kings Mountain. We visited the Kings Mountain National Military Park. It is the site of a significant battle of the American Revolutionary War-The Battle of Kings Mountain. The British forces didn't do very well here against the American Patriots but the story of the battle, the people involved (including the British commander) and the events leading up to it were interesting. The park was hosting an encampment so there were people dressed in traditional costumes and tents and such to see. We did the 1.5 mile walk with Maggie and Isabelle and finished in time to hear (but not see) the musket firing. Isabelle still doesn't like loud noises.

The walk was lovely but Maggie thought it was a little warm. Isabelle was a little under the weather to but she managed.

The monument at the top of the hill was impressive. Isabelle did manage to fall off of it.

After a quick picnic lunch we headed home along some back roads and found a nice but very quiet little town called York. It was very pretty and had lots of historic buildings. Jane picked up some propaganda on it and the surrounding area and we may have to go back to have a better look. The ice cream place we found was good too!

Sunday brought a relatively quiet day. Jane took me up to a park where Isabelle had enjoyed herself with some other kids a few weeks ago. She, Isabelle that is, enjoyed showing me around. Now if can just shake this cold Isabelle seems to have brought back from school...

Happy Birthday

I write this from a hotel in Conyers GA. I had an opportunity this week to travel to one of our retread facilities and decided to learn a little more about this side of the business. The plant is about 3 hours away from home and the drive took us through some lovely countryside. Tomorrow we hit the plant. I'll be here for two days before going back to the office on Friday. Then it's the long weekend.

First, I need to tell you about a problem we seem to have in our backyard. It seems we have what is known around here as a "varmit". In reality I think it's a mole. Now moles seem harmless enough but they sure do make a mess of the lawn-especially when a sixty pound german short haired pointer decides to dig to find one! Now we have multiple trenches in the backyard and lots of soft spots where the moles have dug tunnels.

Well, Jane and I don't care too much for chemicals and poisons so we went the green way (if you can call it that). We got a couple of sonic blasters that emit a pulse every fifteen seconds. They're supposed to drive the little guys away. Well I think they work because we haven't seen any in a while and Maggie hasn't been digging.

I need to add another item to my list of firsts here in South Carolina. Last week I played my first round of golf. It was after work in honor of the fellow I'm replacing. We played on Bonnie Brae golf course, and in my limited experience it certainly doesn't compare to equivalent courses in Nova Scotia. I think I understand why my father-in-law likes to play down here. In the end the course was good but the play was a little rough (pardon the pun). I still need to work on my game.

I think I'm going to go looking for a cheap set of left handed clubs (hopefully on sale) so I can at least be respectable when I play with company. I'll start on the driving range and work my way up from there. (I did get a list of good, inexpensive, and relatively close courses to play for when company does come.)

Last but not least is the birthday party. This year, because we were away from family and friends, we decided to treat Isabelle to a weekend away instead of a birthday party. So on Saturday morning, instead of heading off for the market like we usually do, we dropped Maggie off at the kennel and headed east to Columbia-the state capitol. It's just over an hour away and has some nice family attractions. The first order of business was to check into a hotel and get our complimentary tickets to the South Carolina Children's Museum, also known as EdVenture. Tante Rhea should be able to relate because it was much like the Science Center in Vancouver. Isabelle got to play, touch, ride, splash, bubble, and do all sorts of things. The place even has a giant kid named Ed that you can walk through to see his stomach, bones, and even his brain. Isabelle liked the air displays where you can play with tubes and fans to make things happen and learn about science. My favorite was the stainless steel water display where you can put in dams and gates to make the water flow differently. They also had a neat bubble exhibit that let the kids (and adults) make all sorts of neat bubbles. The hotel we had was very nice. We had a suit on the top floor overlooking the atrium on the inside, and the river (sort of) on the outside. The room included a pizza from the hotel which turned out to be very good, and of course there was a pool. We managed to talk Isabelle into a morning swim rather than the evening (the pool was too busy) and it turned out perfectly. We slept in until 8:00 and then went down for a swim (the pool was empty). A quick soak in the hot tub for the parents and then off to the biggest breakfast I've had in years. There was cereal, toast, bacon, sausage, omelets to order, eggs made the way you want them, grits, hash browned potatoes, biscuits and gravy, milk, juices, coffee, fruit, yogurt, and on, and on, and on. We ate like royalty! In fact we ate so much we didn't really stop for lunch until after 1:00. After breakfast we went off to Riverbanks Zoo. The zoo is nicely located on the banks of a river (hence the name!) and is very nice. They have an African Safari theme to it that isn't too tacky. The two neatest things we saw (I think) were the giraffes and the sea lion. The sea lion show was very cool and at the giraffe exhibit you could feed the animals. Isabelle even got very close to one. We did see lots of other things including lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, and penguins. The penguins feeding was also pretty cool as they have a glass wall where you can see underwater. Isabelle sat on my knees for almost fifteen minutes watching them fly through the water. In the end it was a lovely weekend. We finished it off with drive through some of lowland South Carolina while Isabelle had a much needed nap. For the rest of her birthday I'll wait for another post.