Canaduh! Ocean Kayaking! Jelly Fish!!!!

 Without further ado...

We went to CANADA!!!! ~~~~~ 

Packed and Ready to GOOOOO

I spent five days driving from Maine to New Brunswick, to Prince Edward Island, to Nova Scotia, and back with Liv and Katie. We spent our first night in the Bay of Fundy, camped out next to the ocean. Literally fifty feet from it. We made pasta and a fire and sat watching the tide go out. At some point in the middle of the night, they took their pillows and sleeping bags out of the tent and went to lie on the beach to wait for the sunrise. I was out cold. So when I woke up, I had no idea where they'd gone. I walked the camp twice before I found them. They looked like two sleeping seals rolled up in their sleeping bags!

Left to Right: Katie, Liv, Me

From there, we drove to Prince Edward Island and spent the day sunbathing on the beach and taking freezing cold dips in the ocean. We brought lunch, some drinks, and a book each. We saw a jelly fish with a brown top and tendrils that looked like veins, full of bright red blood. We set up camp at a KOA and strung up three hammocks while we enjoyed tacos and a local band playing in the main dining hall. We packed up our tent bright and early the next morning to head to our final destination: Cape Breton Highlands National Park in Nova Scotia. We paid the $50 Canadian dollar toll to leave the island and drove the almost seven hours north.

PEI Swims with Katie

This time, we were staying in a cabin at a KOA under a cliff by the ocean. It was Saturday night, so we got dolled up and headed to North Sydney to have a "fancy dinner" at a boat house on the bay. We took pictures (from above, Liv demanded), drank wine, and had some amazing food. We ended the night with a fire and went to bed early. Sunday, we spent the day driving the loop around Cape Breton Highlands NP and stopping for pictures and small hikes. There was an amazing waterfall that we had to climb to. Liv and Katie held onto me when I needed the stability, it was very nice of them. I had to stay on a rock high above them because I couldn't make the climb back up if I'd gone down. So I took pictures of them playing in the falls and laughing and having a good time. We went topside of the falls after to make sure I got to play in the falls from a safe place, as well, so I could enjoy it too. 

Liv and Katie in the falls

The drive up and around was so full of dense fog and mist, it was so beautiful! We ended the night back at the cabin with a final meal of fettuccini and broccoli over potatoes and sausage, all over a nice and big fire. We went to bed early again to start the drive back to Maine at 6am. 

Liv just VIBING on the scenic drive through Cape Breton

This trip was so amazing and the girls were so helpful and didn't judge me for my inability to do some things. They held my hands when I needed to be steadied and lifted me from the ocean when I couldn't find my footing. They were so helpful and nonjudgmental, it was nice. We have plans to return to Canada in a month or so to do more of Cape Breton and make it down to the south of Nova Scotia, hopefully ending in Newfoundland. In the meantime, we have Lumineers in August and Noah Kahan in September to look forward to. I like these kids. 

When we returned, we went kayaking on the ocean in the bay of Maine near Ellsworth. It was terrifying out there, it was so foggy and I mean FOGGY. Dense fog so we couldn't see either shores when we got out near the boats. But we saw seals and more jelly fish, a few bald eagles and an osprey! I have been kayaking and canoeing before, but never on the ocean and never in such foggy weather. It was dope! 

Kayak with Liv

And Katie!

Then yesterday, we had spent the day going to new spots: an interesting little farmhouse that doubled as a café in the mornings and restaurant in the evenings. Then Serendib downtown, which had Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine. My first time enjoying curry without being nauseated! I was so proud. When we got back from Serendib, we were all sitting on the couches at the Youngbloods house and Liv says, Let's go swimming! The sun was going to set in a little over an hour, but who was I to turn down swimming?! We headed out to what I've learned is called "Newbury Neck" and took a freezing cold dip in the ocean and saw another jellyfish. We sat on the beach drinking and talking about our minds and our time so far at camp. We talked about our dislikes and talked about how much we appreciated having each other up here. We promised we'd take more dips in the ocean, talk less about work, but hang out more whenever we could. We were going to make the best of the summer in Maine, and I believed us. 

My Serendib mascara bled (me, Katie, Liv) at our late night dip

On our drive home, we decided to make one last stop at Margaritas and got pleasantly tipsy to get up the hill back home. We laughed, I cried (it's becoming a habit - who knew I was a crier), and we enjoyed our Friday night back in our Maine home. 

My takeaway from the last week or so has been to just Live. Be healthy, but have fun. Be daring, be careful, be spontaneous, be adventurous. Be whatever will make you love your days you can create on your own. Just Live. That's all we can really do. We just like to throw in adventurous trips and dips along the way. 

I was in awe.

Stay tuned... it's not always this dope, but we're trying to make the most of our time here!  

My takeaway from the last week or so has been to just Live. Be healthy, but have fun. Be daring, be careful, be spontaneous, be adventurous. Be whatever will make you love your days you can create on your own. Just Live. That's all we can really do. We just like to throw in adventurous trips and dips along the way