Lost On A Layover

"Tell a tale of traveling, a city or country you've been to or a favourite vacation."

I am going to share a silly little story of a layover adventure I had following our trip to Vegas, since I already blogged about our trip to Vegas this year, and our trip to Newfoundland last summer. 

I was flying home from Vegas a few days earlier than Jay, and had a 4.5 hour layover in Vancouver, British Columbia. I had been to Vancouver a few years ago but really didn't remember much about getting around the city. 

For a couple of days prior to my flight I toyed with the idea of leaving the airport during the layover to go exploring. It seemed complicated though so I more or less gave it up. 

Then as I sat on the tarmac at the Vancouver airport, minutes after my flight had landed I had an idea. I would go to the city and find the Olympic Rings from the 2010 Winter Games. So, I texted Jay since my blackberry can't handle google and from his hotel in Vegas he helped me plot my trip. 

It was a civic holiday in BC so my travel on the train-like-subway was free, which was good as I didn't quite master Jay's directions on my first attempt. 

At Olympic Village, during my detour.

From the airport there is a train-subway thing that takes you directly to downtown and stops at a place called Olympic Village. Doesn't that sound like where you'd find the rings? So I of course half listened to Jay's directions and then got off there, got lost wandering side streets and eventually realized that the Village was now just condos, in what used to be athlete housing during the games. On the bright side I got to see a giant bird statue and the BC Lions CFL team stadium. 

By this point it was really hot and I was carrying a heavy backpack filled with all my treasures and had wasted close to 2 hours of my 4.5 hour layover. I also hadn't eaten since 6am, and it was now about 11am. So I called Jay, ready to admit defeat. 

As I talked to him I decided, screw this I came for the rings and I will find them. It was a bit foolhardy probably but I wanted to see them badly. So, Jay again found me some directions, I raced back to the train-subway station and hoped back on (thankfully it was free) to downtown Vancouver. 

As soon as I got off the train I felt like I was in a better place, these streets were filled with people and the ocean was just steps away. I even found a lovely visitor information booth and they directed me to the Olympic Cauldron, 10 minutes away. Sadly, the rings are located outside of the downtown area, not to be found on a 4.5 hour layover. 

But, I did find a stranger kind enough to take a photograph of the sweaty girl, speaking too fast, and looking a bit crazy. 

Then, I raced back to the train-subway station, made it onto the train and back to the airport with 1.5 hours to spare, just enough time for security, lunch and to collect some snacks for the long flight back. 

Best of all, since I had so much fun on Jay's layover a week later he made the same trek (though he skipped my tour of Olympic Village)! So it's almost like we went together, almost. 

Keep Smiling :) 

Summer Lovin'

We're just back from over a week of vacation fun in Halifax, it was probably our very best vacation back home yet. We managed to see just about everyone and at the same time have lots of time to relax. I'm still adjusting to non-vacation life, so today is going to be a bit of a photo dump from the past few weeks. Don't judge, coming back to real life is hard. 

You should probably play the let me take a Selfie song as you look at this post, because basically this is just a bunch of shots of our faces mashed together. #sorrynotsorry

Over the Canada Day long weekend we ventured out on a few mini-road trips, including one to Fort Wellington, which was used during the War of 1812. We were basically the only people there not employed by the Fort, so lots of attention- we even got to make hats! 

 In front of another 1812 landmark, formerly a Windmill this now Lighthouse was the site of a lot of fighting. We didn't go inside because it cost $2/each and we're cheap, but we did have a nice picnic. 

Enjoying the Canada Day celebrations in downtown Ottawa. Lots of people, hot weather and some delicious BBQ corn on the cob made for a great day. Less great was finding out our favourite firework watching spot was unavailable and then having a torrential rain storm start up just as the fireworks lit up the sky. 

Gotta love those grainy iPhone photos.

Once in Hali, Jay stood in a friends wedding so we had a chance to get all fancied up and got to enjoy a night of dancing and I was able to catch up with a few high school friends that I hadn't seen, well basically since then. Sidenote: We were perfectly matching by complete accident- I just love that dress.

Hanging out on top of the Farmer's Market with my sister and creeping on Jay. He loved it, of course. 

Speaking of my sister, the photobooth where we usually take photos was out of order (yes, we're photobooth regulars), so we climbed in anyway and took pictures with her cell phone. This photo IS us, completely. We managed to convince Jay to participate for a couple but he wasn't quite as easily amused, we would have stayed all day. 

We spent a few days in the country at the cottage, turned home of my parents. Jay had lots of fun helping my dad out, they spent most of their time under the camp using power tools! My mom and I tried out a few new recipes and enjoyed our time together- plus, that view! Love it. 

While we were home we also had a couple of brunch dates, enjoyed a fabulous BBQ with friends not seen often enough and spent plenty of time with our dear sisters. It was so nice to have time, without the craziness of our own wedding to distract us from actually connecting with everyone we love. 

July has been very good to us so far, I'm excited for what adventures lie ahead this summer! I'd love to hear about your summer adventures! 

Linking up with Meg for Mingle Monday, Leann for Monday Morning Gossip and Molly for the newly re-vamped Let It Shine link up. Let me know if you've stopped by from the Link Ups. 

I didn't share any food pictures for this week's #Letitshine theme, but I definitely could write about food. We ate and ate and ate while I was home. The best? Fish & Chips because they just taste better by the ocean! Jay & I had a few too many conversations, that went like this:

Jay: "You can't eat french fries everyday for lunch"

Kim: "Yes I can, don't tell me what to do" *rolls eyes*

Jay: "Ok, whatever you want"

two hours later

Kim: "Why did I eat so many french fries?? Why did you let me?" *whines dramatically*

Jay: ...well really what could he say here? 

Keep Smiling :) 

10 on Tuesday: Happy Birthday Canada!

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A special edition of 10 on Tuesday to celebrate the big Canadian July holiday, Canada Day! I'll be honest this post is scheduled, I am out dancing in the streets with 350,000 of my closest friends. 


[1] Today Canada is celebrating it's 147th Birthday! In my humble opinion we should all get free cake! 

[2] Canada is home to the most delicious flavour of Lays Potato Chips, the Ketchup Chip. Really tastes nothing like ketchup but are addictive all the same. Also we've cornered the market on Smarties & Coffee Crisp. I know, in the US you have so many exciting treat options that aren't available to us, but these few Canada-only specialities are rare!

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[3] Canada is the second largest country (size-wise) in the world, first is Russia. 

[4] Ottawa, this lovely city we call home is the capital of Canada, home to the Parliament Buildings, National Museums and proudly holds the title of "Second Coldest Capital City In The World." 

It gets cold here. Cold. But then there are Winter Festivals and snowshoeing, so it's fun too! 

[5] The border between Canada & the United States is the largest in the world. Including Alaska, it's over 8,000km or 5,000mi long. 

[6] Canada can lay claim to this gorgeous & talented human. 

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[7] Canadians don't actually say 'eh' all the time, though I am guilty of saying it more often than I probably should. 

[8] Online shopping has been steadily improving, but there are still lots of online shops that won't take my money, to be fair some is actually called loonies and toonies ($1 & $2).  Still, I just want to buy fancy clothes off the internet- WHY IS THAT SO HARD?!?!? 

We love our toonies so much we have a giant version of them! 

[9] Apparently, 15 million cows live in Canada. Jay can tell you, I've probably 'moo'ed through the car window at about 1 million, 14 to go! 

[10] There are 10 provinces, and 3 territories in this giant country. I've stepped foot in 8 of the 10 provinces (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta & British Columbia), sadly I've not made it to any of the territories- but I will!

*If I didn't already know the facts I found them here and here. 

Linking up with the lovely Alyssa for 10 on Tuesday and by a beautiful coincidence that we're blogging about the same things today linking up with Allieology for Day 1 of Blog Every Day in July. 

Keep Smiling (and HAPPY CANADA DAY) :) 

Newfoundland, A Love Story: The Final Chapter

Ok, here's the last batch of our Newfoundland vacation pictures. Hope you've enjoyed them! 

Signal Hill: May be hard to tell but that's a baby eagle.
Apparently only the second time it had left the nest. 

Signal Hill: The mama eagle.

Jay & his Momma at Signal Hill.

Jay & I at Signal Hill.

Jelly Bean Houses. 

Maddox Cove/Petty Harbour

Another selfie while at Maddox Cove.

Maddox Cove/Petty Harbour.

Ocean view at Maddox Cove. 

One of Jay's parents adorable dogs. 

Jay's parents second adorable dog.  

Signal Hill: We climbed down all those stairs no problem, going back up was HORRIBLE!

At Signal Hill (again)! We loved it there.

Another view from Signal Hill. 

That's the end of our Newfoundland adventures, and wraps up our summer travelling. This summer has been lovely, but way too fast!

Keep Smiling :) 

Newfoundland, A Love Story Part II

Ok, here are the second batch of pictures from our Newfoundland adventures. I have decided to share one more batch tomorrow (they are all so pretty I just can't choose)!

Pretty ocean views at Green's Harbour, near Jay's parents trailer. 

Searching for beach glass.  

We took a lot of selfies. Every time I said selfie like it's a real word.
Classy, right? 

Middle Cove Beach 

Jay's tower of rocks. 

Me, climbing rocks at Middle Cove, and Jay's
 Momma in the background!

Another view at Middle Cove

Cliffs at Middle Cove.

Jay's Momma & I at Signal Hill

Jay & I at Signal Hill 

View at Signal Hill. 

Hope your Monday treated you well! Stay tuned for the final round of photos tomorrow. 

Keep Smiling :) 

Newfoundland, A Love Story

I mentioned earlier this week that Jay & I spent 4 days in St. John's Newfoundland visiting his parents. Neither of us had ever been before and after 4 days I didn't want to leave. 

I was in constant awe of the beauty of the scenery, a great departure from the ocean views I grew up with in Halifax. Apart from the first day, we had gorgeous sunny weather which allowed us to explore many of the trails around the city. 

If the opportunity presents for you to visit this beautiful city I highly recommend you do. If Jay's parents can be your tour guides, even better! 

We took over 200 (ok, 202) photos, so I'll share some today and some more tomorrow. We were just using a point-and-shoot camera and pictures don't quite capture the true nature of the city. It was absolutely breathtaking.

Quidi Vidi Fishing Village.

View from Signal Hill

View from Signal Hill

Jay at Signal Hill

Signal Hill. It was very windy and very cold!

Me at Signal Hill. Nice hair right? 

Jay & I at the top of Cabot Tower. 

Jay at Cape Spear, the most eastern point in North America.

Waves at Cape Spear.  

Being in love. Clearly it was windy at Cape Spear too!  

Cape Spear Lighthouse.

Jay's parents at Cape Spear being adorable. 

Keep Smiling :)