SCCT - South Carolina Children's Theater

Isabelle and the rest of us recently went to the SCCT. Sleeping Beauty was nothing like I remembered it. It was pretty intense. Isabelle spent most of the last act on Jane's knees with here face buried and her ears covered. Anyway, she made a few friends and got a few autographs in the end.

Here is Briar Rose's mother, the lovely Queen Guinevere...

...then the good fairy Branwein...

...and then there was Gryff, the good fairy's sidekick...

...and finally our little princess.

A Big Week

Last week was spent driving around Nova Scotia. Now before anyone gets all bent out of shape because I didn't visit remember I was there for work and only spent two nights in a row in the same place. Things were busy but enjoyable.

I had a quick visit with the Hennigars in Kentville to start. A night in the Valley, and then two nights out by the airport. The hotel was central to the tour I undertook with 22 other participants on a whirlwind visit of the three Nova Scotian Michelin plants. Friday was back in the Valley and a day in the plant in Waterville after picking up a rental car. Ohhhh but not just any car.

Usually muscle cars aren't my thing. I'm more of a practical wagon or SUV/crossover with a good roof rack kind of guy. However I couldn't turn down the car they offered me. The 2010 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 was pretty fun to drive and turned some heads. if only it had been red! I ended up with it all weekend and got to take my Dad and a few others out in it. It certainly wasn't the most practical car for my activities on Sunday but I'll get to that later.

Friday night was back to the city for the Reel Paddling Film Festival. As Paul Pilon put it: "it never ceases to amaze me the lengths that whitewater 'yakkers will go to toward ending their lives in some spectacular way." I have to agree, although some would say the same thing about me sometimes.

Saturday I caught up with my parents and attended a lovely celebration. Most people would call it a wake but this one was special. I came away from it thinking everyone should go to a funeral, particularly a young person's funeral, at least once in a while. It's an inevitable tragedy that people have to die but when they do we should celebrate their lives and take it as a reminder to make the best of our own lives.

Sunday was a good day despite the pouring rain, although there are no bad days on the water. Paul Pilon and I headed out from MacCormacks Beach Provincial Park and made our way north to Lawrencetown Beach Provincial Park. This, the latest 20 km, is part of my quest to slowly circumnavigate the province counterclockwise. I just want to be able yo say I've paddled the whole thing, and since I can't take two months off to do it all in one go I am going to pick away at it one piece at a time. (How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time of course!)

By the time we got to our destination the sun was out and the temperature had risen by 10 degrees. Alas, in the end Lawrencetown Beach did not live up to it's reputation for surf, at least not on that day. I did play around a little but by far the beach just before Lawrencetown, called Stoney Beach, was way more fun. The long regular waves made for some good surfing and playing. Even Paul got "into" the action.

My last night in Nova Scotia was spent at Sodero House in Halifax. Everyone was in bed early having all had big days and good feed of Peter's Pizza. the next morning it was off to the airport, home by 2:00 (the corporate jet is the only way to fly) and back to the girls. What a week.

East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival 2010

A few weeks ago a longtime friend of mine drove down from Ontario to spend some quality time with me at the beach. Now your idea and my idea of the beach are likely different. This involved lots of time on the water in kayaks, camping out in tents, and lots of seafood. We did get to the sandy part of the beach but certainly not for any lounging around.

Mike and I go way back to Acadia University. After that we've had our ups and downs but have kept in touch for the most part as our lives have changed through weddings, kids, jobs, moves, and all sorts of things. We both stood at each other's weddings (I wouldn't call it being the bestman) but then life and geography got in the way.

I actually tried to get Mike into kayaking way back in 1998, I think. It didn't go very well but I'm glad I didn't ruin it for him.

This was the first real time we've had together in a few years. It started with Mike driving 14 hours all the way from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. I had some work to catch up on so the first day he poked around with Jane until I got home for the four hour drive to Charleston. The goal was James Island County Park, home of the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival. The link goes to a page that talks a little about the festival. If you watch the picture slide show you can see a good picture of me waiting patiently as a lesson is going on (it's the last picture). There is also a shot of Mike just before mine (he's the one in the middle with the red PFD on his belly climbing back into his boat.) Here they are.

This year despite the plan to go together we actually didn't end up on any courses together. The courses I did were good but the range of people and skill levels ranged from intermediate to advanced (in this case me.) I did enjoy taking a session with kayaking legend Nigel Foster and other master coaches like Ben Lawry. My only issue was the coaches having to tone down some of the content for some less experienced paddlers (even though the title said "Master's Class.") Next year I will likely go again but will be a little more choosy about my courses. It's hard to pass up a festival when it's practically in your back yard. Maybe Isabelle and Jane could come?

In the end Mike and I had a pretty good time. Lots of catching up and talking about things we've done since we graduated from school. We ate some good food and certainly ate entirely too much of it. I always try to justify it with the fact we were very active all weekend, but I'm not sure that really counts. Folly Beach is nearby so we went every night to have a look and enjoy the salt air, something we both miss.

For me best course of the festival was likely the Advance Open Water Workshop offered by H2Outfitters. It involved getting out into the ocean on a windy day with a nice little tidal rip. I didn't learn a whole lot, I know tides and wind from growing up on the Bay of Fundy, but it was nice to paddle and surf with some other competent paddlers. Once again I was amazed at how warm the water was, even in April.

So now the planning has started for our next adventure. We aren't going to wait years this time, rather just a few months, hopefully. I'm looking at some festivals and symposia in Canada for the fall. I may reciprocate and drive up to the Georgian Bay Storm Gathering in October. Who knows? Anyone else want to come?

Easter Treasures

Easter morning was great fun at our house this year. Isabelle had a good time hunting for eggs with a little twist.

Easter has always been fun for us but when I grew up it was mainly a candy grab. There always a few other presents too. With Isabelle we didn't want to make it too easy so with some help form the Easter Bunny we put together all the little bits and made a treasure hunt out of it. (By the way, where I come from it's the Easter Chicken or La Poule de Pâques that delivers the eggs and candy but that's another story. I looked for info on the Internet but couldn't find anything on the so called: Poule de Pâques.)

It started with a basket she was sure would be brimming with chocolate when she woke up in the morning. In fact it only had a few little chocolate eggs and one plastic egg. We didn't realize the consequence of this as she was pretty peeved when she saw it. In fact she pretty much left it alone and sulked for a while until we caught up to her and explained what was up.

In the plastic egg was a note which told here where to find another basket. From there multiple plastic eggs with multiple clues led her to more eggs and eventually some treasure. She had a blast running all over the house and outside to find the clues and treasure. There were a few times I had to help with the clues, but overall she read them all by herself and found everything. I guess this is how traditions begin. Now I wonder what the Easter Bunny will bring next year...

Catching Up with the Sun and the Stars

Here I am sitting on the back deck in shorts and a T-shirt, sipping a cider, and listening to Dar Williams as I think back and forward.

It’s been a few long weeks. Since I’ve been back from Ireland I’ve had a whole lot going on. We had some company while I was away. Jane’s Mum and Dad were here. They stayed through three weekends and were here while Isabelle was off from school. Isabelle gets a whole two weeks off around Easter.

I think Peter and Elizabeth enjoyed their time here. It was the hottest end of March and early May SC has seen in a while. Temperatures got up into the 90s on some days. As our neighbour put it, we went right from winter to summer. I must say I enjoyed it. This week we got back to the 70s so it’s still really comfortable. It is nice and dry now which makes it bearable. July won’t be so forgiving.

So my week finished with a big presentation and me preparing for another. I’m looking forward to next week and a visit from a long-time friend. We are heading to Charleston for the East Coast Canoe and Kayak Festival. It should be a good time. I really enjoyed it last year but going with someone else will be even better.

Last night had Jane out to play Bunko at one of the neighbours. I think I’ve mentioned it before. It’s a game of chance that involves some interesting rules. It seems to be pretty popular here as there are leagues or clubs in most neighbourhoods. Anyway, I took advantage of the time to have what I have called a DDD. That stands for Daughter-Dad Date. I usually head out with Isabelle about 5:00 or so and we go off to find somewhere to eat. Last night it was Sticky Fingers on Woodruff. They make some mean ribs, and Isabelle likes the chicken fingers. Add a sweet tea and some lemonade and we were all set. After that we usually head off for some shopping or some play time somewhere. Last night we did both. First a few stops at Target and Wal-Mart, looking for a two legged kick stand for Isabelle’s bike.

Jane thinks that a two legged one will be more stable than a single. She’s likely right but it is only as good as the kid using it. We’ll have to see how it turns out. We didn’t find one. In fact I’m not sure there is one to be had. I remember having them when I was little but none in the stores knew what I was talking about. Maybe they don’t make them anymore. I’ll have to ask the grandfather back in Saulnierville if he still has one squirreled away somewhere.

We also found some time to go to a local park. Hollingsworth Park at Verdae is an interesting neighborhood (sub-division) with a great park. It has a playground and some rolling hills. There is a nice walk all the way around the park, a nice sand volleyball court, and the usual picnic shelter and washrooms. We brought the kites along but there wasn’t quite enough wind. Isabelle tried and tried but it just wouldn’t fly. She did run around a little with one but quickly tired of that.

On the way home I started talking about the stars, the sun and the moon. One thing led to another and she rattled off most of the planets and a few other interesting facts. I explained how Pluto is no longer a planet and then asked here about the sun. I specifically asked if the sun was a star that was close of if the stars were suns that are far away. She thought about it for a while and then explained to me that the sun is not a star. You see, stars have five arms when you draw them but the sun has lots more, like twenty or something. Well, I don’t agree with her science but I can’t argue her logic. I left it for another day.

That’s the story for now. Talk to you all soon. Here is a video from the park last night to go with the picture at the top.