I took a little vacation away from my house sitting duties and wandered over to Halifax for the weekend. After a delicious supper on Friday night at the VanGaals I left earlyish on Saturday morning.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day for traveling. Brenda, Meghan, Will and Ethan were going over to New Brunswick to ski and we passed on the road. I arrived in Halifax in time to take James out for some lunch. We had a lovely meal at the Old Triangle and spent a long time chatting. When we were finished we headed out to Bedford to check into our airbnb. It was a very comfortable and roomy basement apartment with it's own entrance through the back door. There was some snow in the yard but not so much that it was difficult to get through, although the hosts were very welcoming and kind and suggested that we might prefer to come in through the front door. But we didn't like to disturb them so we usually used the back door.
When I was booking the airbnb there were some activities that you could sign up for, through their site. One was to learn how to make crepes. I've made them before but wanted to get proper instruction as I know the consistency of the batter is crucial. I signed us both up and it was scheduled for 7:00 on Saturday evening.
The weather was predicting a big snowstorm to start around 4:00, We left shortly after 6:00 and there was no sign of any snow as yet. We made our way to Dartmouth and found the location, It was a private home and we were warmly welcomed by our host, Davis. He spent several years in Paris and was very knowledgeable. There was only James and I and we felt like we were just going over to a friends kitchen to cook. We each made our own batch of batter (it's a totally hands on experience).
Once the batter was made it was off to the stove to learn how to spread the batter on the buttered pan, cook one side, then flip the crepe over to finish the other side. The first few flips were not totally successful but after a couple of tries we both were flipping like pros.
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| Mixing the batter |
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| Cooking the crepes |
Once all the crepes were cooked it was back to the table to enjoy them with some nutella, various cut up fresh fruit and whipped cream. We were even given some to take home with us. All in all a really fun way to spend a Saturday night.
When we went out to leave, the car was covered in snow and it was coming down quite heavily. By this time the roads were treacherous and there was no sign of any plows yet. The drive home was very slow and I was very grateful to have James' help in watching the signs. With the heavy snow you needed two sets of eyes for sure. It's especially tricky when you don't really know your way around and you're trying to navigate in the dark, in a snowstorm. But we made it home safely and spent the rest of the evening watching a movie on netflix.
Sunday morning I was scheduled to attend a class on making wax infused fabric food wraps. It was to start at 10:00 but needless to say no one was dug out yet. The hostess of this experience had emailed me and we agreed to reschedule the start time to 2:00. The sun was out and it was a gorgeous day and by lunch time the roads had been cleared, and my car shoveled out. James stayed behind and caught up on some tv.
It was in Chezzetcook, a fair drive out of Halifax. Wendy, the hostess, lives in an absolutely beautiful log house on the water. While everything was frozen and white, you could see just how wonderful the views must be in the summer. Again it was a very hands on experience. I was the only guest and I was able to make two food wraps, one of which I used when I packed up to go home on Tuesday.
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| Fabric pieces are cut to size and shape |
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| Grated bees wax is sprinkled on top |
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| The finished product is used to wrap foods instead of using plastic wrap |
When I got back to Halifax I picked up James and we went into town for something to eat. We chose Piatto Pizza. I've aways enjoyed the food at the one in Charlottetown and I was looking forward to sharing it with James. We had a nice meal and then it was back to our apartment. We both put on our PJ's and sat down to watch some more movies. It was a very relaxing couple of days for us both.
It snowed again on Sunday night and once again the roads were treacherous. We ventured out around 11:00 to find a local place to eat. The roads were quite hilly in the subdivision we were in and a couple of spots you literally just slid down the street. Needless to say we didn't venture out too far. After a lengthy lunch and more chatting, we went back to watch some more Netflix. We had a bit of a movie marathon going on. Patti was scheduled to arrive in Halfax around 6:00 pm. This is where it got really interesting!
We arrived at the airport around 5:30 and Patti had texted us that she was on her way. There were no seats available on the flight but as she had just returned from Paris she was still in uniform. This allows her to take the jump seat in the cockpit if it's not already occupied.
Flights were slow coming in because there was only one runway open. We had been getting text messages from Patti that they were circling along with a few other planes, waiting for an opportunity to land. Several flights were diverted back to Montreal but at the last minute a second runway opened up and Patti texted that the captain was going to try to land.
They were told the runway was wet but in fact it was actually icy. There were a very scary few seconds in that cockpit as the plane came down and started to slide on the ice. The pilots tried to get it under control by cutting engine power etc, but just as they were approaching the red lights that mark the end of the runway, the wind caught it and spun it around and into the snow to the side of the runway, where it came to a stop. Needless to say it was quite the experience for Patti to have a front row seat to all of this. In the photo below you can see the lights on the runway on the right hand side. That's the side of the runway that should be on the left hand side of the airplane!
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| OOOPS! |
There were no injuries as it was a pretty smooth slide and there wasn't any damage to the aircraft. However they had to wait for Transport Canada to give them instructions, as now it's technically an "incident". Complicating matters was the weather and the lack of buses at the airport. Eventually after almost 3 hours, the passengers were picked up by the little park and fly shuttle buses. By the time Patti got into the terminal CTV news was already set up to interview passengers. Golly news travels fast! By the time we were leaving the airport the story was on several networks websites including CBC, CTV, Global and even on the weather network. Must have been a really slow news night. But in reality it was an experience that had a very happy ending.
We made our way back into town and stopped at a McDonalds for a quick bite to eat as it had been a long evening. When we got back, we changed into our PJ's and watched a movie and chatted about the evenings experience. Tuesday was check out day so we were packed up and on the road by 8:45.
We had spotted a local restaurant that was serving pancakes on Tuesday morning (shrove Tuesday) so we headed there for breakfast.
After a leisurely breakfast together I dropped Patti and James back in town. James had a class after lunch and Patti had a couple of things she was wanting to do in town. Her plan was to try to get a flight out on Tuesday evening.
It was another gloriously sunny day after all the nasty weather over the weekend so it was great for traveling. A stop and tour around Ikea and then back to the island. PEI pretty much got the same snow that Halifax did so now it looks like we're back into the winter weather once more. But the sun is shining today and snow clearing is under way. It's a good day!
Patti also shared another picture with me that another flight attendant shared with her. This is what happens to a plane when it comes in contact with a bird in flight. Looks like they were both losers in that battle.
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