With arms outstretched...

Compartment 14B

Newest Older Contact Me Profile Photos Etsy

Update (pre-Diaryland) The Promised Honeymoon Update

2003-09-16 - 3:53 p.m.

Like Napoleon�s army, we traveled on our stomachs during our tour of New England. I know a honeymoon is the time to indulge if ever there was one, so I am cheerfully unrepentant � even though we gained at least five pounds each (think about it, that�s � a pound a day!), it was totally worth it. Nevertheless, I�ll try not to go into excruciating detail. I may have been thrilled at the quality of pie on the east coast but you all don�t need to hear which one had graham crust and which one had pastry crust, and if you do, you can always email me to ask.

So here�s the grand outline:

We last left our heroes at the post-wedding brunch�

The plan was to leave straightaway but our departure was delayed by the fact that we were seriously wiped out the day after the wedding. We stopped by home about 6pm to pick some stuff up and one of us suggested a short nap. This was way too tempting to be resisted� 14 hours later we woke up and thought that maybe lunch in Montreal sounded good, so that was our first official stop of the trip. After that we drove on down to Montpelier in Vermont. For those that don�t know, as I didn�t until then, it�s the smallest State capital. Oh and you totally anglicize the pronunciation. We stayed at a well-known chain there and it was, by far, the worst place we stayed in of the whole trip. My impression of its seediness was confirmed when water started to trickle out of the smoke detector at about midnight. We called to complain and the fellow who investigated reported that he was mystified because he�d called the room above us and nooooo, they hadn�t spilled anything, honest. We wouldn�t have minded so much but it splashed onto the dresser where we�d carefully placed our NEWLY SIGNED MARRIAGE LICENSE! Fortunately it wasn�t damaged � the envelope took the brunt of the water. On top of that, they didn�t apologize or offer to compensate us for our mad dance of saving-our-things-from-the-water in the middle of the night. I pointedly asked for a feedback sheet to fill in and send to head office when I was checking out.

After breakfast we went to the Ben and Jerry�s factory to take the tour, which was the only activity we�d pre-planned for the trip. Mmmm� free ice cream samples. From there we went to North Conway, New Hampshire. I�d spent some time hiking in that area over the years and wanted to show it to J. We spent 2 nights there, the first at an average motel, the second at a WAY nicer place thanks to a waitress at a local breakfast eatery who was friends with the owner and negotiated a room for � off for us. It was relaxing � we biked around the town, played mini-golf, swam in the Lodge pool, soaked in the hot tub, that sort of thing. When we left we made a stop at Mt. Washington where I used to hike with my family. There�s a toll road going to the summit which we took so for a change I didn�t have to schlep up the mountain. We were going to hike around the top a bit but with winds blowing 75 mph it just wasn�t that feasible. And that�s not even the windiest it�s been when I�ve been there.

From there we headed for Portland on the coast of Maine. Again we lucked out, with a local we encountered by chance finding us a fabulous deal at a B&B. The owner gave us a suite with our own sitting room, a huge private bathroom with a whirlpool and a bottle of champagne, all for less than the normal price for her smallest room. Portland is very nice city with great shops, friendly people and good places to eat. I will mention Betsy�s diner by name in case you are in the area since it was a favourite of ours. You don�t see that many authentic diners in my hometown so it was a real treat.

We made our way along the coast from there, stopping for a night in Rockland (where J discovered Thai food for the first time), backtracking to go to a beach of some repute (Popham Beach � scenes from a Kevin Costner movie were filmed there), antiquing in Wiscassett where we stayed for a night (mmmm� pie for breakfast) and then making a run up the coast and inland enroute to Quebec City.

We�d originally planned to take the ferry to Nova Scotia but it turned out to be just too much driving and expensive on top of that, so we elected to divide those extra two days between the beach and Quebec City (sorry we didn�t make it Colleen). We stayed two nights in Quebec City, in the same hotel we�d stayed at on the first getaway we ever took together. We tried to get the same room but alas, it was already booked. We toured the Citadel and wandered the streets and re-visited spots and restaurants that had become favourites last time we were there.

The last night we spent in Montreal and visited with my grandmother the next morning. It was a good visit � we chatted and went for a tour of her haunts in the neighbourhood and as a true follower of the Grandmother Code, she sent us away with baking. We�d cunningly showed up as she was baking bread so we made off with a loaf and a few blueberry muffins besides. Mwa ha ha!

The day after we got back was the day the house closed and you�ve all heard about that so I guess this means you�re caught up.

As for now, I�ve finally got time to go back to the gym seriously again and I�ll work away at once again fitting comfortably into my fancy-shmancy work clothes, which I need to wear again now that I�m in more formal work climes. I haven�t needed them in the last 15 months and it seems that settling down adds its own few pounds. I think it�s called nesting� J is back at the gym too, hitting the weights and bridging the gap between summer hockey and winter hockey which doesn�t start until October.

Love,

Shawna

Before - After


All content � Shawna 2003-2010
That means no swiping my stuff - text, images, etc. - without asking.

P.S. If you're emailing me, replace the [at] with @ in the "to" line. Oh, and if you put the word "journal" in the subject line it'll have a better chance of making it past my junk mail filters.

recommend me
HTML and design help by Jo
hosted by Diaryland