Norging it... again...

 It's been way too long since I've blogged about my travels, but in all honesty I haven't been travelling much... well, not true as I've been a few places here and there, but just haven't reported anything...  That is until today!  

As you can see above, I'm on a train, sitting comfortably, heading back to Oslo after a super short and quick visit to Bergen.  We are on our last days in Norway, after being here over three (3) weeks in Bodø, Arctic Norway.  

Stay tuned, more to follow... soon... hopefully! ;-)

On the Road again... heading home!

We home!  After many, many hours in the car we made it home. Finally!

We left Cape Breton yesterday.  It looked like the sky could open up at any moment, and it sure did along the way!  Again, we traveled in the rain, and not just a little!  When we left Baddeck, it was cloudy and the more we were heading West the cloudier it got.

Cape Breton and its people were nice.  Would I want to go back?  Not really.  Been there, done that, wouldn't really want to do it again...  It was nice, but I think we've seen nicer on our way back home...  Halifax was nice and there I wouldn't mind going back.  Don't think I will anytime soon, but still, it is a nice little city.

Heading home, we took a different path, and basically went around the other way in New Brunswick, going through different towns, and along the coast.  It wasn't as woodsy as on the way to Nova Scotia.  It might have been nicer if it didn't rain so darn much!

We crossed to Québec, using an inter-provincial bridge (between New Brunswick/Québec) not too far from Matapédia.  To my surprise they had this cute covered bridge, so we had to take a picture.  There were a few of those along the way, and not everyone was this cute and well maintained... some I would not have wanted to cross!

Since they had decided to break their ride home rather than doing it in one day like we did on the way there, they had reserved a little motel in Pointe-au-Père where Stinkypaw had stayed a few years back, when she attended a meet-up there (that is in Rimouski).  The location of that place is right on the water, by the lighthouse.  Yet another!

This morning when we were getting ready to hit the road again, you could barely see the lighthouse from the motel - and it is about a five minutes walk, at most!  There was this think fog, making the waterfront really eerie...

After seeing the place in this thick fog, we all wondered how ships did it on the sea with fog like this... no wonder they hit things!

We also hit some rain, but on and off, and the closer we got to home, the clearer it was getting... the sky that is, not the road!  There was quite a bit of traffic, people heading off for the long weekend most likely.  Many caravans, cars and trucks loaded, trailers, etc.  I guess vacation time started for many.  Here we're crossing the Pierre-Laporte Bridge in Québec...

We did well on time, and despite a few rocks being kicked up from other cards - all in Québec by the way, nothing like that while visiting "Canada"... I guess the road conditions have a lot to do with this.

Also, the closer we got to Montréal, the more expensive the price of gas was. Interesting things you notice when paying attention to not only the scenery!

Anyway, we are now home.  Everything is unpacked and put away and at this very moment, I'm just happy to be out of the car!

Going Further East...

Today we left the Prince George,our home away from home since Friday night.  It was well located, right smack downtown Halifax, comfortable and come on, you have to agree with me, how can anything be wrong with the place when their logo is so darn cute!

Today, we hit the road again and headed East.  We drove four hours heading for Cape Breton Island.  Along the way the road changed color and became this pink color... Stinkypaw, who has been to Prince Edward Island and Hawaii, knows about red dirt but seeing a pinkish road like this was a first even for her. 

They had reserved a room in Baddeck, which is one of the places where the Cabot Trail can be accessed.  Stinkypaw has been wanting to drive that coast line for a while now, so being in Halifax was the occasion to indulge in this scenic drive that is said to be breathtaking and one of the most magnificent drives in North America.  By the time we made it to the lodge the clouds had moved in, so they decided to instead stick around town (if we can call it that!).  Since everything closes very early - like 6 pm (even worst than Halifax!) we made our way to the center of town for a place to eat.  Let's just say the choices were quite limited.  There was only ONE shop opened (a Celtic one), and after talking with the person there, she suggested a little place not too far from her shop.  It was by the Yatch Club. 

The  little street leading to that restaurant, called The Old Freight Shed, is a REALLY small place, a shed really, was right on the water.  The scenery was very nice.  A nice light house, some sail boats and this pirate.  I just had to balance him out and sat on his shoulder.

There was a long waiting line before getting seated (over one hour!), so they left their names and went for a little walk around the pier. Along their walk, they spotted this old cannon aimed at the lighthouse.  That old cannon came from a ship that sank in the 1700's in Louisbourg and was found by a local in the 30's and brought to Baddeck in the 60's.  A real piece of history just sitting there...
 

On their way they stopped to get some water for Stinkypaw, and she spotted these Cheetos - shaped as Maple Leaves, really, only in Canada!

Another Day in Picturesque Canada

What a day this was!  Not only was it our National Day - St-Jean Baptiste - which is just a regular day for the rest of Canada, it was a day of touring Nova Scotia!  Our day started with a bite to eat and good coffee at Starbucks.

We actually had to go back to the hotel room because Stinkypaw couldn't drink properly and had to change her top.  And all those talks I've heard about opposable thumbs and stuff they have, making them more evolved than animals, yeah right!

Anyway.  We met up with her Postcrossing friend and her husband and headed for a little road trip.  Despite Stinkypaw's hubby lack of interest in seeing Peggy's Cove (just a lighthouse, according to him), I'm happy we went.  It was quite the sight!

I guess we were lucky enough that there was wind and the waves were crashing, showing and reminding us of what a force of nature the sea is. Look at this nice picture of us three.

Don't we just look like the puuuurrrfect little family?  Can you believe some people were taking pictures of me, as I sat there posing for Stinkypaw?  Some were even being nosy enough and asking if I'd traveled anywhere else in the world.  I tell you some people, as if they'd never seen a trimmed beaver before!

We walked around some, took some pictures, that place was quite scenic to say the least.  Stinkypaw even got her passport stamped by the lady at the postal counter (just like she did when we went to the Arctic Circle Center a few years ago)...

We continued our drive by heading to Lunenberg, also a picturesque, quaint little town.  They had lunch on a terrace on the waterfront, quite the view and then walked around some.  One thing we've noticed since we've been visiting Canada, it closes early.  By 5 p.m. the little shops were closing.  This morning we've noticed that most restaurants were not opening before 10 am, thus making them go to Starbucks! Those Canadians, I tell you, they almost have union hours!

On our drive back to Halifax, we spotted ring-a-dings as Stinkypaw calls them (they're actually lupins) and she managed to catch a picture of them, love those weeds!

You must admit they're not bad, right? Right! Glad you agree!

We were almost at Mahone Bay - here's the proof that I've been there! |Also quaint and picturesque.

From there it was cruising along the highway, Nova Scotia style.  I must say, despite being all relaxed and stress free, it was a long day.  Stinkypaw had not really realized how far of a drive it was from Halifax.  She was happy to spend that time with her friends exploring that part of Canada.  She believes, as I do, it was worth every moments, and we're all thankful to our local "guides".  I guess it is true what is said about those Canadians folks being nice and all...

Road Trip to Canada

Well hello there!  It's been a while since I traveled anywhere, but this time it's a doozy as we went for a road trip, not a little one, but one that took over thirteen hours of driving!  Stinkypaw wanted to attend yet another meet-up and this one was taking place in Halifax, Nova Scotia - two provinces over heading East.  She managed to convince her better half to accompany us and off we were!

As we drove through New Brunswick, there were many patches of wild daisies, and since it's always been a dream of mine to lay in a field of wild flowers, Stinkypaw pulled over, during the little stretch of road she drove, since Hubby drove most of the way, and indulged my fantasy...

Don't I look like the cutest thing among these flowers?  I sure think so...  Good thing she stopped when she did, because an hour or so after, it started to rain and it poured for the rest of the way, really crappy drive, if you ask me, and I wasn't the one driving!  By the time we arrived in Halifax, the rain calmed down some, so that was nice.  I was happy to get out of the car and welcome the nice bed after that long and exhausting day.

Saturday the weather was trying to clear up some, so they decided to walk around some and explore while slowly making their way towards the café where the meet-up was being held.  Along the way we passed this big city sign and just had to take that tourist shot...

Can you see me among the flowers, bottom right?  I know I`m small, but I'm all there!  Not long after that, we stopped at a local whole in the wall type of place, very bohemian, which turned out to be a café but also a youth hostel.  The had good breakfast burritos and Hubby had his first local beer, which according to Stinkypaw fitted him perfectly since an old friend of his used to call him ''Propeller Head" turned out to be a nice IPA, according to him...

After the pit stop we kept walking, heading towards the meet-up place.  Ten ladies were partaking in this one, four locals, two from Ontario and four from Québec.  It was quite the Hen Party, lol and many postcards were signed.  Don't know the total tally since the organizer had made an official card, and two others also did their own cards, so there were lots of cards!

After the meet, some were heading home, others went out for dinner and we followed one of the locals.  Turned out we made our way to a restaurant where a bunch was supposed to be, but we did not see any of them there, so after waiting for a while, we decided to go some other place along the water front.  We had a great dinner, great company - nice to put a face (and more!) to a Bacefook and Postcrossing profile and actually get to know them.  After dinner Hubby and Stinkypaw kept on walking along the water front, even if all the shops were closed by that time, but they spotted a few places to come back to for Stinkypaw to get some postcards.  Along the way I actually ran into a public figure in Canada, so I had to take a picture with this old Prime Minister of Canada...

He's never been a good looking man, but he always wore his red rose on his lapel, such a sharp dresser!

After a good night sleep, we started our day by walking downtown.  We walked through the Halifax Public Gardens, beautiful place, full of trees and so many flowers, I was so happy...

Look at these purdy flowers...

Today the sun was shining at 23 degrees (not bad!), but man oh man is it windy here!  They had a bite to eat on a roof top terrace, and then made their way back to the waterfront for Stinkypaw to get some postcards.  After some shopping, they stopped for a refreshment (of course!)...

Nice spot they chose, by the water but somewhat protected from the wind.  Hubby had another local beer and I think he was afraid I'd take a sip or something...as if!

I much preferred her root beer floatie... that was quite yummy!

And this concluded the first chapter of our road trip 2019.  Stay tuned!

On the road for Postcrossing... again!

This time, we are heading to Canada, as she said! We took the train and headed towards Toronto.

She had a Postcrossing meet-up in Ingersoll, ON so instead of driving (by herself) she went VIA.

It was a pleasant ride, really.  Got to look at the scenery, enjoyed a good meal and mostly do nothing but be driven!

This was a big meet-up, over 2,500 cards were signed that day!  It was a good one to attend as the two founders of Postcrossing came all the way from Portugal.  We got a chance to meet them.

I will say this, though, it was a mighty long way to go to sign some cards, that's all I have to say!

Escaping Winter and Christmas Time All Together...

This year, Stinkypaw and her husband decided to escape for Christmas AND New Year and took me along for this ride! We ended up across the world in beautiful Hawai'i. Stinkypaw loves it there and she didn't want to go just for one week, so they manage to go for two beautiful weeks.

Here I am at the Honolulu airport waiting for our connecting flight to the Big Island.  They had just enough time for her to enjoy her (first) Mai Tai and him a Long Board.

I also made friends with these two!

As we were about to land in Kona, the flight attendant gave us all a treat, some deeeelicious chocolate covered Mac nuts.

My new friends wanted in on that treat!

Right after I enjoyed my yummy chocolate, I noticed the beautiful view on the Big Island, it is quite dry looking on that side of the island... Look at those waters, so blue!!

Since this was their # visit on the Big Island, these two knew their way around, so they went for groceries for the week, hit a place to eat for dinner and even booked themselves a Christmas Eve dinner! Our first morning came by, full of sun and oh so fragrant! It smells so nice and the birds chirping constantly, unreal! When they got back from their morning walk, Stinkypaw gave me this beautiful plumeria, so pretty, don't you think?

  

We've been gallivanting around the island. She always bring me with them, but depending where they go, sometimes I just stay chill in the car.

We made a pit stop along the way, where you could see many old lava trails left from the 1800 eruption, and how nature is slowly growing back among it all.  It is pretty fascinating when you think of it.

Hubby holding me down

Hubby had to hold me down it was sooo windy there!  I actually flew off when Stinkypaw took that first shot. It was somewhat scary if you ask me!

We ended up at the Black Sand Beach, that was so cool! Well, not really! The sand was VERY hot, but seeing all that black sand was cool!

 Plus we were lucky enough to see some sea turtles just enjoying the warm sand, quite the sight! Check it out!

The Big Island was, as usual (I'm told!), the calm and relaxing place it is.  It's not Kauai, but a close second!  We had a great week, visiting some, beaching most days, and did I mention doing sweet nothing but enjoying it all?

We flew back to Oahu, for our last week, and I actually got leid when we checked in!

Don't I look just like the perfect little tourist!  This is the view from our little lanai, in Waikiki, right by the marina, our new home for a week.  I'm told here it will be a very different vibe, as for one, they have friends they want to catch up with.  It is not quite the same as the Big Island, but as far as I know, it's still hot and I like it!

Today they actually meet up with a friend of theirs, from Australia, who is also in Waikiki, staying at the hotel next door from us! Talk about a coincidence! This is me posing as we're heading out to meet with this dude from Down Under for a bite to eat...  That Marina you see, is where they filmed the opening sequence in Gilligan's Island, remember that old show (way before my time!) from the 70s?

They met up with this crazy Aussie then went for a drink, or two, and I have a feeling that dude thought I was a weird little thing... but Stinkypaw stood by me!

Despite having a great time, and enjoying every little moments we could, it is time to think of heading home...

Yeah, so these two don't really travel light! I have prime sitting in her travel bag, and for that I am thankful!  On our way to the airport we stopped for a bite to eat at a local diner with their good friend.  She Hawaiian (born and raised) and she's like ohana to them.

Stinkypaw might look happy there, but deep down she was crying...hard.  She will miss her friend and that heat...

Here I am poking my head out for a breath during our long flight home.  Man oh man!  It is a beautiful place, but man it's far!

Over twelve hours in a flying banana isn't really my idea of a fun time, but it was a smooth flight.  Usually they try to cut their flight time in half by making they way to the West coast first which is about half way.  This time, because they were flying on points, they couldn't do that.  On the way there we had a short flight and then a long one, but coming back it was the opposite, so here I am trying to stay awake for the last leg of this journey home...

I don't look too back considering being stuffed in a bag for more than 9 hours! This is a little montage she did from the view we had upon our departure and the one we got upon arrival.  Quite a different scenery, wouldn't you say?

Aloha oe! I will see you again, it's a promise...

Not much travels this year...

This year hasn't really been a year of many travels... I did attend a Postcrossing meet up here and there, along with Stinkypaw, but other than that, it's been a quiet year for me this far...

July 8, in Ottawa during a Meet Up, with a fellow Postcrosser...

It's always funny to see how some people react to my presence, and yet, some can't help themselves and want a picture with me!

We were in Canada, on July 8th, 2017!

In August, we (Stinkypaw and I) made our way to Québec City to meet up with another fellow Postcrosser, this time from Calgary, AB visiting Québec city for a week.  Stinkypaw decided to make the drive and use the occasion to spend some time with a cousin of hers.

Co-Pilot, heading for Québec City

A local Postcrosser welcomed us in her home so they did a mini-meet up, all three of them.

August 17, 2017 in QC City

Other than that, I'm relaxing for our next trip, coming up in 61 days exactly!  Now that will be a long and fun trip!  Can't wait!

Sanctuary at Cap Cana in Dominican Republic

Time for me to report on my last trip.  This one wasn't local, but the somewhere warm in order to celebrate Stinkypaw's 50th birthday!

Here I am, sitting and waiting for breakfast at the airport, after the check in and security check, we made our way to a restaurant, since we were at the airport early for a morning flight.

What we didn't know nor expected, was that there would be a problem with one of the engine of the plane we were on.  So after pushing off at the gate, we came right back with the captain informing us that because one engine was broken, we had to change plane.

We had to wait six hours, yes, you read correctly, six long hours sitting at the Dorval airport just waiting for another plane to arrive to take us away.  Naturally, we ended up at a bar, since we were traveling with He.  There is a nice wine bar and tried to remained low profile since I'm not sure I'm legal just yet...

After the long hours of waiting, we did make it on a plane and flew away.  We arrived late, and let's just say I was happy to crash on this big bed!

The first few days after our arrival in Dominican Republic, it rained.  Daily.  It rained, not just a few showers here and there throughout the day, but non stop.  I mainly stayed in our room, while they went to the spa, and walked around the property and enjoyed themselves despite the weather.

The third day the sun peaked out for a while, and Stinkypaw and He went to the beach for a while, in between showers.  That morning Stinkypaw brought me along.  People were looking at me and smiling.  What can I say, I have that effect on people!  Here I am, on our way to the breakfast buffet.  You can see the clouds, and it was quite windy too.

The following day, on Stinkypaw's birthday, the sun was out for most of the day.  I spent the day with them, by the pool and spent some time on the beach.

Behind me, you can see the very busy pool bar.  They made some good drinks, and Stinkypaw particularly liked their Dirty Monkey, which had rum (of course!), chocolate and half a banana.
It was like a smoothie but with some booze.

When we made our way to the beach I had to pose on this sand turtle.  The beach was nice, but set more in an alcove, so not that long nor did we get to take those long walks on the beach...

At one end of the beach there were rocks, separating the property from the next one. A nice place to sit and be hit by the waves...

After that walk, I just had to rest a little and try to even out my tan, so I crash on a lounge chair by the pool...

I felt somewhat restless, since I had heard Stinkypaw's plan of what she wanted to do after lunch, so I couldn't stay down for too long.  I didn't want to miss out anything!

Who said you had to be a kid to play in the sand?  Certainly not Stinkypaw!  Here's the end result of her labor, with the help of a lady they've met earlier during the week.  It took them a little while to build this.  Stinkypaw was pretty proud of it all.

Of course I had to strike a pose!

When we got back to the room, before dinner, Stinkypaw was pleasantly surprised by the concierge, Emilio, who was leaving her a cute rose petals mesage on the bed, that I had to be part of!

On our last full day in Cap Cana, it was a beautiful sunny day.  We walked around a bit, and here I am posing from the Castle towards the beach.

 

We relaxed and enjoyed our last full day under the sun.  We had a nice lunch, right by the beach, what better way to enjoy the view, the breeze and our last moments at the Sanctuary.

Here I am, in the little pagoda that you see in the previous picture.  They used that place for weddings.  The view from there wasn't too shabby...

Here I am, while Stinkypaw enjoyed her last Pina Colada, at the airport where it was sooo darn humid.  We got there a bit too early, and had to wait some... let's just say the airport in the Tropics is not what we are used to in North America... and the no AC thing is just sad, really.

  

And this about closes my travel report of my time at the Sanctuary at Cap Cana in Dominican Republic.  Until next trip!