We love Family!!

We have had a wonderful visit from Randy and Janet. It was so nice to have them spend some time with us. Since the recent death of their sweet son Jeff, we have wished we could hug them and spoil them and just spend time with them. We also thought it would be good for them to get away and have some down time from their many responsibilities. I think our time together was enjoyed by all.

They arrived on Thursday evening September 8th. We had a quiet dinner and visit and hit the sack early.

Friday we woke up to beautiful sunshine. We spent a leisurely morning and then piled into the car to head for Peggy's Cove.

Hello again from Peggy's Cove

Peggy's Cove is always beautiful but this particular day it was spectacular. The sky was blue, the air was fresh and the waves were huge.

Pounding surf

We were mesmerized and spent much time just watching the huge waves roll in.

Waves and more waves

Four guys at the beach

Someone very patient had been quite creative and had built hundreds of pagoda-like creations out of the rocks on the shore.

Pagodas

I don't think I could ever get tired of the beautiful scenes all around the Cove

It was funny because President Simpson's sister and her husband were visiting them and we ran into them at Peggy's Cove. In fact we kept running into them at Peggy's Cove. The president told us of a good place to get some lunch nearby and sure enough we ran into them there too.

Fish and chips is the fare of the day

The president and family

From Peggy's Cove we drove to Mahone Bay stopping by the memorial of the Swiss Air flight 811 that went down near this area. It was a very humbling experience, like being on sacred ground.

Peggy's Cove from the Swiss Air memorial site

Unlike our first visit to Mahone Bay this time I got in the right place to get a picture of all three churches. They were beautiful.

The three churches of Mahone Bay

Then off to Lunenberg. This is another place that is just so beautiful and so much fun.


Picturesque home in Lunenberg


Lots of hanging flowers

Again we ran into the Simpsons in Lunenberg and the President told us of a place we could go to see ship building. We put our hard hats on and off we went.

The Jones' ready for serious ship building


One big ship under construction

It was really pretty cool! After ice cream and a walk through many of the fun shops in Lunenberg we drove to the golf course on the other side of the bay to get this classic view of the village.

Lunenberg across the bay

Saturday was another perfect day and we decided to spend it on the harbour in Halifax. We again took our time and made the 11:00 ferry to cross from Dartmouth to Halifax.

Halifax skyline from the ferry

We had a great time strolling along the waterfront and people watching (and bird watching).

Elder & Sister Foley on the waterfront

Bird perched on a buoy

The grandkids would have liked this crazy bird who stayed for a very long time just hanging out on this buoy. They also would have liked Theodore Tugboat.

Colorful tug boat

Theodore goes to sea

After grabbing lunch from a stand we went to the Maritime Museum and especially enjoyed the exhibits on the crash of the Titanic and on the great explosion in the Halifax Bay in 1918. The exhibits were so well done and we learned quite a bit of history. After we left the museum we walked through a ship that was docked nearby. It was really interesting.

Our fearless captain

Then it was to the ferry for the trip back across the bay.

Happy campers head home

We next headed to Point Pleasant Park for a nice stroll then back to the apartment for a quiet evening of visiting and catching up.

Sunday we had a quiet morning then off to church at 1:00 pm. Although the Temple was closed for cleaning while the Jones' were here, they at least got to see the outside and the grounds.

No session this time

After dinner and a short rest we took a walk to Lake Banook, our neighborhood lake. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed the sights.

Randy and Janet lakeside


Let's pull, pull, pull

As we were coming back across a small bridge we saw 3 young boys climbing on the bridge to jump into the lake. The water was very cold and it looked pretty dangerous to us but they assured us they had done it before and their "mother's knew".

Look Mom, no hands!!



They seemed to be okay as we walked away.

As we walked home we ran into guess who? Yes the Simpsons heading to the lake for an evening stroll.

The presidential party

On Monday, our last day together, we decided we had to go to Wharf Wraps for fish and chips. It didn't disappoint. We then took a walk around the shore. Eastern Passage where Wharf Wraps is located is a fishing village with a long and colorful history. We read of some of the history and we also stopped and watched a man dig for clams.

Eastern Passage shops


Randy getting a lay of the land


Lots of sad fishing tales here


Digging for clams

We were then off for a drive along the Eastern Shore and a stop at Clam Bay Harbour.

Two red heads on the beach


Whoops! I forgot to bring a towel


Happy beach combers

The beach was beautiful and we had it to ourselves. The sand was so soft and fun to walk on. Janet found some sea shells for her collection. It was a great way to finish a wonderful time with loved ones. Thanks for coming Randy and Janet!!

A Busy Weekend on the Bay of Funday

Someone once said that you can’t see the Bay of Fundy too many times. Maybe that was Elder and Sister Foley. This time there was more work involved and less partying. We did get a few glimpses of the Bay but this trip was mostly work.

Bay of Fundy from St. John

As part of our assignment to oversee missionary apartments, we had to make a two-day trip toSt. Stephen, New Brunswick to finalize a rental apartment for a new senior couple being assigned to work there. St. Stephen is on the Bay of Fundy opposite Calais (pronounced ‘Callus’), Maine. The drive down the bay was very pleasant.

Kitchen of the new couples' apartment

On Friday Bishop Doskos and his wife, from the St. Stephen Ward, were a huge help to us. They not only found an apartment for us to look at, but they dropped their kids off at her parents' house and spent several hours with us. After getting the apartment taken care of, they took us across the border to Calais to help find furniture. As we crossed the St. Croix River from New Brunswick into Maine, we were excited about setting foot again on US soil. The river is especially scenic. We crossed back in the evening when the sun was setting and saw some great views of this peaceful river.

Border crossing into Maine

St. Croix River

Another view of the St. Croix river

We then took the furniture to Sister Doskos’ parents' home to store until we can get it moved to the new apartment. We next visited Elders Jensen and Tagg, the two elders working in St. Stephen, and were pleased with how nice they had their apartment. On Saturday after we finished buying furniture for the apartment, we drove to Houlton, ME to buy cell phones for our missionaries working in Houlton and Caribou, ME (we are also in charge of phones in the mission). The 90 mile trip to Houlton was especially scenic as we passed through the Grand Lake area. We were able to meet Elders Hill and Tongish in Houlton and see their nice apartment.

Elder Tongish and Elder Hill

Elder Foley at the Grand Lake lookout

After we finished our work, we met with the Lindquists, the senior couple living in St. John, New Brunswick. They have been so kind in helping us inspect and set up apartments. We went with them to St. Andrews, New Brunswick for dinner. It is sometimes called "St. Andrews-by-the-sea." It is very quaint and peaceful. We had a lovely dinner overlooking the bay.

Restaurant on the Bay

Store in St. Andrews

Downtown St. Andrews

Beautiful Old Aldonquin Hotel in St. Andrews

We finished dinner about 7:00 pm and decided to drive back to Dartmouth which is a five-hour drive. We were bone-tired by the time that we climbed into bed at 1:30 am. We were pleased with what we accomplished and the wonderful people that we met in spite of the effort that it took.