Day 1: The Departure
After half a day of something resembling work, I headed out the door
of the hospital and into the realm of unemployed bum. I headed out
of the parking lot with the odometer at 261,860 and hit the open highway.
With a clear blue sky and a tank full of gas, I headed to Matheson
and then across Hwy 101 towards Quebec. I didn't get a lot of sleep
the night before so I needed to pull off for the first of many roadside
naps.
I headed across the border and down to Rouyn-Noranda and across to
Val-d'Or before heading into the forest of Northern Quebec. The drive
through La Verendrye was quite nice and as the sun was setting I approached
St Saveur and stopped for gas. The drive to Montreal went quickly and
I was soon scanning signs to ensure I made my way through uneventfully.
After finding my way through the tunnel under the St Lawrence River,
I headed out towards the Maritimes. I was feeling a bit tired so I
scanned a few motels but decided to take a nap and make it closer to New
Brunswick before stopping for the night. I stopped at a roadside rest
stop and nodded off. My nap lasted a little longer than I had planned
so I grabbed my pillow dropped my seatback a bit more and slept through.
Day 2: Travel
Well, needless to say I was a bit stiff getting up the next morning
but after a quick stretch I was on my way. After catching a few gorgeous
views of the St. Lawrence valley, Quebec was soon behind me and with New
Brunswick's 110 km/hr speed limits, I was through it quite quickly, too.
I did stop to see the longest covered bridge in Hartland and had a
sub before I left, though.
Once I hit Nova Scotia, I drove straight to Halifax with nary a stop
(darn toll!). I had downloaded a few maps of downtown Halifax so I followed
the signs until I got there and then tried to find the Bed and Breakfast for
my next 4 nights. I soon found Gottingen St and then the Fresh Start
B&B. They had just had a film crew in to film scenes for Wise Girls
(Mira Sorvino) so the place hadn't been redecorated yet. I settled
in and made my first attempt to connect to Sympatico using the local number.
I tried a few attempts before calling technical support. I didn't
get very far so I figured I'd try again later. I walked down the block
to a pizza place and watched the Stanley Cup final game. The pizza
wasn't as good as Papa Ceo's at university but it filled me up. I made
a few calls and then headed to bed.
Day 3: Conference 1
Even though I set two of my 3 alarms incorrectly (the B&B
one and my Jornada due to time change) I still woke up at 6:30am to give
me enough time to get ready and walk down to the CPhA Conference in time
for the First Timers Breakfast. The walk was pretty good although my
shoes aren't really good for the walk and I did overshoot the convention
centre. The breakfast was tasty and I met a pharmacist from Bermuda.
Next up was a session by a journalist on the future of health care
in general. Before lunch we heard a collection of talks on Walkerton
from a pharmacist's perspective, some issues surrounding antibiotic resistance
and the next influenza pandemic which could hit anytime. After lunch
I attended a session on the Cochrane Collaboration which is trying to evaluate
the studies done on each topic in healthcare and standardize the results.
Very valuable documents although there is quite a bit more to do.
Back at the B&B, I finally got through to the MTT internet helpdesk
and got a few suggestions to try. I drove back down to the conference
for the awards ceremony and only stayed briefly at the reception since I
was getting a bit hungry. Just around the corner I found a Keg (OK,
I knew it was there) and had a nice prime rib dinner before heading back
to the B&B. I didn't have much luck connecting to the internet
so I made a call back to NTL to get them involved.
Day 4: Conference 2
I had every intention of getting up for the 7am breakfast but I instead
woke at 6:47 and decided to sleep in. I drove downtown and arrived
at the conference at 8:30 in time to hear another view on the future of
healthcare from a physician. Next up was the Annual General Meeting
- need I say more. I wandered back to the car to look at a few campsites
for the rest of the week (see, I told you I haven't planned anything) and
then headed back for lunch. Many drug companies and organizations had displays
up so I browsed a bit. I picked up some info on Pharmacist's Without
Borders who are doing a variety of work throughout the world - just one more
possibility! The afternoon clinical sessions were quite interesting
with the highlight being a physician who normally talks to physicians give
us his lecture on Drug Interactions - very well presented.
After a quick nap at the B&B I headed out for the highlight of
the conference - dinner with a concert by Natalie MacMaster. The evening's
activities took place at Pier 21 and Pier 22 with the former being the historical
gateway for immigrants to Canada (like Ellis Island). The dinner at
Pier 22 was primarily lobster but since my immune system has a problem with
shellfish, I had a tasty BBQ'd chicken. Nat's concert was great
with her even giving us an encore after her hour concert was finished - what
an entertainer. Following her, we cleared the tables for a dance floor
with Barnacle providing the entertainment. I headed home around midnight
although some of the younger participants stayed out till 4am.
Day 5: Conference 3
I woke up on time and headed in for the hospital breakfast with a
discussion on Hospital Formularies and how they can be best utilized (hey,
I enjoyed it!). I decided to see how the other half learned and decided to
opt for the management sessions since I had most of the notes for the clinical
ones. Although less useful for my day-to-day practice, they did give
me some insight into some of the issues affecting community pharmacy.
After a quick lunch, I headed out to enjoy some of the sunshine that
had replaced the light rain I had walked in that morning. I again hit
the management sessions and picked up a few tidbits that should help with
those additional hours I put in at Shoppers and elsewhere.
Back at the B&B, I again attempted to connect to the internet
with no success. I now have some people at MTT and NTL hopefully working
on the problem. I headed back down, this time to the Sheraton, for
the final event of the conference: the President's Banquet. I happened
to be seated with some fellow UofT grads that I knew along with Della Croteau
and Deanna Laws from OCP (the Ontario College of Pharmacists, that is).
Dinner was good although the crowd wasn't really into the choir that
provided the first bit of entertainment so I couldn't hear them very well.
Following dessert, we had the pleasure of hearing a young girl sing
some Maritime songs. I missed her introduction but she has sung for
PM Chretien at some point. Following the banquet, my fellow UofT alumni
decided to hit the casino. After dropping $15 quite quickly, I was
done gambling but it was interesting to watch the Craps and Blackjack tables
for a bit. From there we hit the Split Raven (or something) pub for
a drink and to see Jersey take Game 2. After saying my goodbyes, I
headed back to the B&B for my last night in comfort for a while. The
proprietor, Sheila, informed me that I could use the one phone for long distance
so I connected up to Sympatico in Timmins to check email and add a bit to
the website before heading to bed.
Day 6: On the Road
Wow, I actually found out what the second B is for in B&B!
After enjoying my first breakfast in the house, I packed up and headed
out of Halifax. I decided to head to the north shore and see what part
of the Apple Blossom festival I could enjoy. The drive was nice although
I decided to take a more scenic route once I came closer to the shore. I
stopped for hot chocolate at Tim's before getting to my destination near
Canning: The Lookoff. I registered for two nights at site T10 which
is tucked away in the woods off the main clearing. I checked out the
view that The Lookoff (not lookout, lookoff) is famous for and set up my
tent. I hadn't finished filling my cooler so I headed to Canning to
stock up on perishables and ice. I also hit the local deli for some
lunch and looked over my NS travel guide until it started to rain.
I headed back to the campsite
and attempted to connect to the internet through the pay phone. MTT
has a neat setup where they put a jack above the pay phone and simply expect
you to know how to use it. After a few quarters, I was able to get
through but my password problems still aren't solved. I then put
up my tent before the approaching dark clouds and rumbling thunder hit. I
just barely finished before the rain hit. It only lasted about 20 min
so I could continue to reorganize things in the car for the camping portion
of the trip (yes, I packed the car in about 3 hours with little planning).
The bugs back in the campsite are a bit annoying so I set up out in
the clearing until the next storm hit. This one was a bit more fierce
with some close thunder claps and some pea-sized hail thrown in for good
measure.
I did some more planning and repackaging before the next shower
hit and I decided it was time for a nap so I fell asleep to the patter of
rain and hail on the car hood and roof. When I woke up I didn't feel
like cooking so I shook up an Ensure and enjoyed some of the clouds illuminated
by the sunset before heading for bed and reading a few chapters of Gaal the
Conquerer before nodding off.
Day 7: Hiking I
Since
I really didn't have anything to do today, I thought I'd sleep in and since
my body was in agreement, I didn't even think of getting up until 11am. I
had some cereal for breakfast and then hit the road. There is a town
at the end of the peninsula I'm staying on called Scott Bay which leads to
Cape Split, the tip of the peninsula. I made my way out there and took
a look around. I took a few pictures of low tide and then noticed that
they recommend 5 hours for the hike to the actual tip so I decided to wait
and come back to do that one.
I instead headed off for Blomidon Provincial Park (PP) to see what
trails were available. There are quite a few to choose from so I grabbed
a few granola bars and some apple juice and headed off. The first section
of the trail is a steady climb for 1km so was a bit winded since this
was my first real hike of the season. 
Things
levelled off and I got a few good views of the Minas Basin below (connected
to the Bay of Fundy). The trail winds along the edge of a cliff so,
for safety's sake they have put up a chain link fence. Needless to say, walking
along a fence is not the ideal nature hike. There were a few good views,
though so it wasn't horrible or anything. Things inproved shortly as
the trail veered into the forest again and then ended up at a nice lookoff
(not lookout, lookoff). The rain clouds were moving in and I was a good 1:40
into the hike so I resigned myself to getting a bit wet. The route
back was entirely in the forest and a bit more level so it went by a lot
quicker and I was back at the car about 3 hours after leaving, having travelled
a distance of 11km. I made myself a sandwich while the rain fell and
then headed off.
I took the long way back to the campground and stopped in at the pier at Kingsport for a few minutes before passing through Canning for a brief stop at Cochranes Pharmacy (Pharmasave). After a quick nap, high tide was approaching, so I headed back to Cape Split for another picture for comparison. Back at the campground, I made up my exotic dinner of rice and steak (with Keg steak sauce, of course) and then went through some of the day's pictures. As the clouds cleared, the moon came out and I headed to bed.
Day 8: Apple Blossom Festival
Yeah, yeah, I know 7 days in a week. Well its my site so tough.
Anyway, I got up around 10am and set my self up for 2 more nights here.
I had to move sites, though, so I set things up at my new home at site
T12 - not much to look at but it has a picnic table...
Next stop, Subaru dealership. I stopped for lunch in New Minas
at Pizza Hut before heading over for my appointment at Valley Subaru. I
was a bit early so I did some more planning before taking my place in the
waiting area. I asked to use the phone and tried to get some things
sorted out with the internet. My first call to the local guys was less than
successful so I called NTL back, said Hi to Wendel and made sure that all
was well on their end. I decided to try the locals again and had some
success by actually getting someone to realize that their system isn't
recognizing the ntl.sympatico.ca usernames. With that goal accomplished,
I was left to wait for them to fix it which should be by Mon noon (or else
I can call back ;) Shortly after that my car was ready. Seems
that the accident and subsequent bodywork had left some problems with the
power locks. With things un-seized and somewhat lubricated I was ready
to hit the road with little fear of being locked out of (or in) the car,
at least in the near future.
Back at camp, I took a quick nap (I'm allowed, its my vacation) and
then headed down to Canning for some sausages at the local deli. With
all the apple blossom stuff happening, I headed to Acadia University in Wolfville
to see some naked ladies - it's OK though, they were the Bare Naked Ladies.
A group called Flashing Lights opened for them and, all in all, it
was a good show. The Ladies have a great stage presence and lots of
extra bits to keep the crowd on their toes. Getting out of the parking
lot was the hardest part of the evening and I headed to bed once I returned
to camp.
Day 9: Hiking II
For a nice change, I awoke to sunshine and a warm tent. I could
easily get used to that. I got up around 10 and had some tea before
packing for the day's activities.
I arrived at Cape Split and headed
off on the trail around 11:30am. I arrived at the tip of the peninsula
at 12:50pm having travelled around 6km (no distances were given just times).
I had my lunch while admiring the view of the mixing of the Minas Channel
and the Minas Basin. The tide was going out so I could see the turbulence
as the waters headed out. Things were a bit windy and chilly so I packed
up and wandered around to get a few more pictures. The main path runs
along the north side of the peninsula and I learned that there is a less
travelled path heading back along the south side. I worked my way along
it for a bit taking pictures of the tip as the opportunities presented themselves
and then came upon a beach. I guess it is a beach but it didn't have
any sand only stones a little smaller than that of an egg.
Of course there were bigger
stones and the normal amount of driftwood to complete the picture. The
tide was already out quite a ways, so you could see quite a bit of the area.
I ventured out on the larger boulders on one side of the beach and
finished my lunch. Instead of taking my chances by heading back on
the seashore, I climbed back up the peninsula and headed back to the car.
The south side trail was quite primitive and was constantly being
interrupted by fallen trees so I decided to cut across to the north side.
I found a trail that looked promising but it didn't lead very far and
I ended up bushwhacking it across, trying not to scare the people on the
north trail when I found it. With all this extra exercise, I was alread
a bit tired but I still had quite a ways to go so I forced on foot in front
of the other and finally made my way to the car arriving around 4pm.
On the way back to the camp, I stopped in for a milkshake at Dee Dee's
(highly recommend it). Well, you guessed it - time for a nap!
Afterwards I wan't too hungry so I decided to head back to New Minas
to see the movie Shrek. Neat animation and chock full of side jokes.
Back at camp, I cooked some supper and then headed to the Lookoff
to catch a glimpse of the weekend's fireworks display. They were at
least 15km away so even the binoculars didn't make them that big and the
sound reached us as a low rumble about 30 seconds afterwards. After
doing some pictures and computer work I headed to bed.
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