"Cousins are the BEST"

We love to see it when our grand kids get together.  They have so much fun and we always tell them "Cousins are the Best".  Janice has such great memories of being with her cousins when she was growing up.  Some of her favorite times were her trips to Southern California to visit her Jones cousins in Bellflower and her Jensen cousins in San Diego.  In June we had one of those "great" cousins visit us in Canada.  Joan Jensen Strang and her hubby John came to visit and we had such a fun time.  An added plus for them is that the Lindquists, who have been serving in our mission and have become our good friends, were their close friends 30 years ago in Arizona.  So their first day here we met up with the Lindquists at Peggy's Cove and they had a great reunion.

 It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the gorgeous scenery.

The Strangs

The Foleys

 The next morning we went to church and after we came home, had a bite to eat and headed to Hopewell Rocks near Moncton, New Brunswick.  It is a place we have wanted to visit since coming to Atlantic Canada but this was our first opportunity.  Hopewell Rocks are formations along the Bay of Fundy that have been carved out from the water rising and falling.  At this point along the Bay the tide goes in and out twice a day.  When it is at low tide you can walk on the ocean floor amid the rock formations.  When the tide comes in it can rise as much as 50 feet.  It was well worth the visit, awesome really.

There were beautiful flowers all along the path to the Rocks

A bench along the path

Awesome sight from above

And awesome sight from below!

Elder and Sister Foley waiting for the tide

Really fun walking among the rocks

From Hopewell Rocks we headed north to Moncton where we had dinner in a fabulous Italian restaurant and spent the night there.  The next morning we headed to the Confederation Bridge onto PEI.  This bridge is about 8 miles long and quite an engineering feat.  Of course, Prince Edward Island is always a joy to visit, even on a somewhat cold and dreary day.  We had some periods of sun but also of rain and wind.  It didn't dampen our spirits though.  John Strang had run a marathon from Barkley Beach into Charlottetown three years ago and was anxious to retrace his route, this time by car.

Confederation Bridge

Beautiful PEI red soil ready to plant

PEI fishing village

Barkley Beach

Cold and windy

John @ Barkley Beach where his marathon began

Lighthouse on the marathon route

We returned from PEI on Tuesday evening, June 5th, our 48th anniversary.  John and Joan took us to dinner at the Wharf Wrap, one of our favorite places, and the best ever for fish and chips (and shrimp).  We had a great time.  Wednesday morning we had to return to work and they took off to explore more of Nova Scotia before flying out early Friday morning to return home.  It was wonderful having them here and so glad we were able to share in some of their memories with them.  

Goodbye for now Strangs!!  Thanks for coming!