20 AUG 2010

This morning is a quieter day with a casual start. Finally, a chance to catch up on my notes and my blog.

We started with a visit to my cousin John and his wife Bev. They live outside of Fredericton so this means a nice drive. The weather is cloudy today and threatening to rain, although the threat is likely only that. John and Bev live on a wooded acre lot with a variety of trees such a hemlock, cedar, and maples. John actually built the house they live in and did so before there was electricity on the property. This means he became very good using a chainsaw to cut wood. The beams he used were actually cut from trees on the property so he explained how he squared off the sides – yep you guessed it – using a chain saw.

After a hearty and delicious brunch we went for a walk around the property where we got to see the tire tube toboggan run, the piles of firewood and creek at the bottom of the property. We discussed some of his next projects which include a garage and garden. This was a really nice visit, thank you John and Bev.

We headed back into town with plans to meet several family members for dinner. However, before we could do that we had to get the oil changed in the car – done in BC before we left but we have put on so many kms we felt it was needed before we head south and start the trek homeward. One other task to deal with was setting up our blackberry plan to work in the US since tomorrow we travel there.

Dinner tonight was really fun. We met at the restaurant where Aunt Kathryn, Eloise and John, (Jacob and Luke), Ruth and John (Naomi), Wes and I all had a chance to visit. The kids are really well behaved (although Naomi was shy at first) and it was fun to share the meal with them and their parents.

Unfortunately Peter and Karen from St. John were not able to make it to town so we will not get a chance to visit with them this trip.

Tomorrow we travel into the USA and will leave the eastern family behind. I leave with a sense of departure and look forward to seeing them again soon – usually in 2 years.