Our Journey South

Paul and I left Beresford on Monday 28 December to start our journey south to Surfside Beach, South Carolina.

It was a mild sunny morning when we set out. As we drove north into Campbellton the trees were covered with fresh snow that had fallen overnight. It was like driving through a scene on a pretty Christmas card.


As we crossed over the New Brunswick border into Quebec there was more snow on the road sides but the highways were clear.

We make a short stop at a rest park along the highway. Usually in summer or fall when we stop here we enjoy our picnic lunch outside on the tables provided. But this trip everything was snow covered so we ate our sandwiches in the warmth of our car and enjoyed the pretty scenery outside.

After 6 1/2 hours on the road we drove into Levis, Quebec where we stayed the night at the Econo Lodge Motel. We enjoyed a nice dinner and a quiet evening.

This morning we were back on the road at 10 a.m. to continue our drive to Brockville, Ontario. The drive today was quite windy with light snow drifting across the highway. After a little rest and a light snack at the Tim Hortons in Valleyfield, Quebec, we continued our drive and arrived in Brockville around 4 p.m.

We will spend a couple of days here visiting with family.

Christmas Walks on the Beach....

Paul and I were very fortunate this Christmas to enjoy some time on Beresford Beach.

Christmas Eve had a mild, sunny afternoon so before attending dinner at his sister Jeannine's for her delicious homemade meat pies, we took a few minutes to stop by the beach, take a couple of photos and make a short walk. There was a little ice along the shore and in the bay, but we were able to walk on the upper sandy portion. We found it fascinating to watch the ripple of the waves. It appeared an optical illusion.

It is always interesting to see what each day at the beach will bring. This time of year there is more sand and slate-type rocks, and a little ice of course.

On Christmas Day, once we had our turkey stuffed and roasting in the oven and the salt meat and pease pudding (a Nfld. tradition) boiling on the stove, we treated ourselves to some fresh ocean air. We even did a little treasuring hunting and found several pieces of green seaglass, which seemed an appropriate color to find at Christmas. I kept hoping to find a red one to go with them but no such luck.

Paul's family, and I guess my family now also, arrived late afternoon and we enjoyed a traditional Christmas dinner of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and lots of vegetables. Jeannine brought the dessert which was two homemade pies, lemon for Jamie and blueberry for me. We shared them with the others!

Well on Boxing Day we took down our Christmas decorations as we are travelling south in the next couple of days once the weather is good. There is still a little snow and freezing rain in the forecast for a day or so.

Paul and I decided to take a little break from our chores and, yes, we went back to the beach. Last year our last walk on the beach was 5 December so we are really enjoying the extra time this year. The sound of the waves lapping against the small mounds of ice was very soothing.

Paul found a nice piece of white seaglass and I found a small piece of rare purple/amethyst glass. At first I wasn't sure of the colour, so when I returned home I quickly took out my "Pure Seaglass - Discovering Nature's Vanishing Gems" book by Richard Lamotte and made a comparison. As you can see in the photo below, the piece may be small (left in photo) but it is purple/amethyst. What a great Christmas present for a seaglass collector!

Well, we hope to be travelling over the next few days so we will wish you an early Happy New Year for 2010 and we hope you will return to read about our adventures next year....

Merry Christmas....

Amid the twinkling light, the ringing of bells and the fragrance of the trees, lies the real reason for Christmas.

The magic of Christmas is reaching out to friends and loved ones near and far, lending a hand to the less fortunate among us, and thinking how to make our world a better place.

Peace in the world,
Peace in our country, and
Peace in our hearts.

Paul and I wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and nice memories in the New Year 2010.

Our thoughts are with our friends who are dealing with

personal struggles this year.

Hockey Again

My blog header photo is one that I took last winter and a favourite of ours.

This dad and his son would show most days at the frozen marsh behind our house, just after 3 p.m. when school was out. The dad would clean the snow off the ice, set up the goalie net and they would play hockey.

Well, this week we noticed that they are back again. It is nice to watch them spending time together outside, enjoying our great Canadian sport - hockey.

Enjoying a Sunny Winter Day

Paul was going outside to fill our bird feeders so I decided to join him in the yard to get a little fresh air since it was such a beautiful sunny day, with no wind. The temperature was -6C.


After enjoying this view of the ocean from across our back yard, we decided to walk down to the beach to take a closer look. We thought the tide would be too high for a walk.

We were surprised to find that the tide was lower than we expected so we strolled. The beach was very different today with the waves lapping over mounds of rocks and frozen waves near the shoreline. There were many nuggets of ice that looked like white seaglass. It was such a treat to be able to walk the beach still, being 13 December. We didn't find any seaglass today but we did get to enjoy time by the ocean, treasure enough.


As we were walking back the street near our house, we saw Santa and a couple of his helpers. Santa was participating in a local food drive with the Town of Beresford, collecting donations for the less fortunate.

Please remember to give to those who are less fortunate....

Our Annual Newsletter & a little of our Christmas.....

Our first snow fall on 1 December

December 2009

Paul and I have now been retired for more than one year and we are enjoying our new lifestyle very much, while amazed at how busy we are and often wonder how we ever worked and got everything done.

We spent some time this past January visiting with my sister, brother-in-law and my Mom in Brockville Ontario before we started our drive to South Carolina, USA, where we spent February and March. We rented a condo on the beach in Surfside Beach. It was a very relaxing time and we enjoyed not having to drive in snow or wear winter clothing, like in Canada. We returned to our house in Beresford in April.

The spring months were very busy with a lot of outside work and gardening. We did manage to take some beach walks occasionally and a few day trips to visit places in the area (see our other blog entries).

In July we drove to Ottawa for 10 days for the Ottawa Annual Blues Festival which we enjoyed very much. Paul and I also took time to visit with friends and family in the area before returning to New Brunswick. In August we had several friends come to visit us and in September my sister and brother-in-law spent some time with us. We did a lot of beach walking and treasure hunting during their visit.

Paul spent some time on the golf course with his brother-in-law and friends over the summer. In September he started to attend hockey games to watch our local team, the Acadie-Bathurst Titans. I have attended a couple of games with him also.

In October I had cataract eye surgeries which went very well and I can now see distance without glasses for the first time since I was 7 years old, but I do need glasses still for reading.

Our weather in November was wonderful with warmer than normal days so Paul and I were able to take beach walks and even sit outside on our deck to have a coffee and watch the birds at our feeders. I have also been doing a little volunteer work with the Bathurst Hospital Auxiliary, which I am enjoying. I donated these Christmas stockings for sale in our Gift Shop at the hospital.

Paul and I were extremely happy to have his son, Tom, safely back home in Canada after his second tour of duty in Afghanistan ended in November. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our soldiers still in active duty and their families at home.

December will be busy for Paul and I with hosting a Christmas Drinks Party for a few of our new friends, as well as hosting a family dinner for Paul's siblings.

On 27 December, weather permitting, we will drive to Brockville to spend a few days and New Year's Eve with my sister, visit my Mom (who will be turning 90 in January) and then start our drive to South Carolina where we will spend January, February and March).

Paul and I would like to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season and lots of good memories in the New Year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Olympic Torch Relay, Bathurst - 27 Nov 2009

We attended the Olympic Torch Relay in Bathurst last night and celebrated the lighting of the flame.

Our brother-in-law, Gordie Pitre is a torch runner in Campbellton this morning. We are all very proud of him.

Jeannine, Gordie and Paul waiting for the Olympic Flame to arrive at the Bathurst arena

The lighting of the Olympic flame on stage at the K C Irving Centre in Bathurst.

Some of the promotional items that were given out during the evening by the sponsors .

Via Webcam, here is Gordie carrying the Olympic Flame in Campbellton.

Best of luck to our Canadian athletes in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay

The 2010 Olympic Torch Relay continues on its journey across Canada and will be in our area on Friday 27 November 2009, with celebrations in Bathurst.


We will travel to Campbellton on Saturday 28 November to watch our brother-in-law, Gordie Pitre, carry the torch. He will be at the Big Salmon along the river in downtown Campbellton at 10:28 a.m.


Paul and I will be wearing our new red mittens (vancouver2010.com/redmittens), being proud Canadians. Net proceeds from every pair sold go toward supporting Canadian athletes.

Our Bird Friends

The Blue Jays have been quite busy at our feeders over the past couple of weeks. They are such a beautiful colour, especially when the suns shines on them.

Too Much Beach, Too Little Time....

This morning Paul and I decided to take a drive to Clifton to a Church Tea. It was my second church tea this fall as I attended one in October with some lady friends in Bathurst, but a new experience for Paul. Some guys think it's not really a "guy thing" to do. Well, when Paul saw all the sweets on the lunch table and realised what he had been missing in the past, he was hooked. The blueberry cobbler took quite a hit - three servings at last count! I was quite happy with the blueberry loaf - but only two servings. We did buy some cookies and a bottles of pickles.

After several cups of tea/coffee and more than enough sweets, we were on our way, and making plans to return next year.

It was such a beautiful sunny morning, with temperatures near 13C which is unusual for this time of year, that we decided to enjoy every moment of our time and stopped at Janeville Beach for a walk. A perfect day...

Here are the treasures that we found while strolling. No rare colours today but we found some very nice white sea glass.

Last year we were able to walk the beach until 2 December. I wonder when we will take our last walk for this year?

Carpe Diem