I find that entering any place of business looking like a homeless person is an excellent way to catch people's attention. That was the case when I came into Ross' school soaking wet, complete with hobo ensemble. the secretary paged Ross and he led me into his room where the Gr. 3's were working on math. Surprisingly, they managed to stay on task as I wheeled my bike into the class. I got my pictures prepared and when the Gr. 4's came back from French, Ross gave me an intro and I talked a bit about my bike and then showed some pictures. LIke any good presenters, we had thought about pre-checking the electronics before the presentation but hadn't actually checked them. Thus, I was left with smaller than normal pictures but I think they did enjoy what they saw. After about 45 minutes they started getting squirrely so we went into some songs. The kids at this school sounded really good. I was so impressed! They mastered all four songs and I think "Dynamite" was definitely the crowd pleaser. One kid came over later and said that the song was his all time favourite. He was a nice kid but high school might be a bit rough for him-just a prediction. Hope he doesn't read this. :) Once we finished, the kids took turns strumming on the uke and then it was recess-that treasured and sacred time of teachers everywhere. It was a rain day so Ross' continued to work with the kids. What a hero!.
I peddled off in search of the great mall and made it there after some dubious highway riding. The mall itself was a montrousity. No thought whatsoever for pedestrians or people on bikes. Even Edmonton Mall seemed friendly. This thing was a single story boutique spread over hundreds of acres I'm sure. I did manage to find a hockey bag in Crappy Tire and I choose the Leafs logo because even though they are a miserable team, I still love them. I managed to find some bike trails back and debated how I was going to fit my groceries onto the limited space of my bike. I had left most stuff at Ross' to avoid getting soaked.
I pulled into the Superstore and noticed 3 guys walk past me to their car. One looked A LOT like Julian from Trailor Park Boys. I looked again and couldn't quite convince myself. It was only when he spoke that I was positive and just as he was getting in his car, I asked for a quick photo. he didn't say anything but he was nice enough to give me a Julian grimace. I asked if I could use the picture in my blog and said, "Sure Buddy!" I was know BUDDIES with Julian!!!! I quickly emailed my wife who was convinced it was a cut out and also pasted the picture to facebook. I came home, ate some chicken and had my last bowl(s?) of ice cream and had a great nap. I awoke and rushed out the door to grab the ferry and drop my bike off to be biked up. The good folks at Cyclesmith took my bike and sent it away to Prince George. It was strange not having my bike and being a normal pedestrian. I had a last Keith's as I waited for the ferry and then went home. Carmen and I took Samson for a little walk, I can't remember much of what we talked about but there was a lot of talking on Carmen's end. As we came back on the walking trial bordering the harbour, we ran into Hannah. We talked about my trip and her work and the masters she is doing. When we got home, some effort was being made at dinner. I kept bugging Carmen to tell me how many lobsters her dad had bought. Trouble is, Hannah doesn't like lobsters so that wasn't going to be happening. It was fun to bug Carmen every 5 minutes by whispering, "How many?" The dinner was enjoyable but I can't remember what it was! I should also note that much was made about the dent I put in the mint ice cream I bought but no notice was given to the purchase of an additional 2 litres of Vanilla which I had no hope of finishing before I left! :) Tonight's event was dying the hair for wacky hair day. The kool-aid hair dye was not successful so that made for not-so-happy kids. The picture of the family was taken under some stress but I thank all involved for humouring a dirty cyclist. Ross and I took the dog for a walk during the hair dye event and I got caught up and found that indeed, Dartmouth had something to offer. It was fairly cheap compared to Halifax and the rowing programs were world-class. People had been doing organized rowing on the lake for a 100 years and the Mic Maq used the series of lakes to head down to the harbour in the summers. I found Ross is a busy guy. Between teaching and the kids, he finds the dog walking to be just another thing to do. Me, I appreciate that the dogs get me outside on those dark, winter mornings. I'm hoping to take advantage of the sunshine here and there as it gets darker and colder in PG. We arrived back just as the calamity of the failed hair dye experiment was being realized. Could this day get any worse? It was sad to think that my last full day in Halifax had passed. I made a half-hearted attempt to clean up before the morning.
I peddled off in search of the great mall and made it there after some dubious highway riding. The mall itself was a montrousity. No thought whatsoever for pedestrians or people on bikes. Even Edmonton Mall seemed friendly. This thing was a single story boutique spread over hundreds of acres I'm sure. I did manage to find a hockey bag in Crappy Tire and I choose the Leafs logo because even though they are a miserable team, I still love them. I managed to find some bike trails back and debated how I was going to fit my groceries onto the limited space of my bike. I had left most stuff at Ross' to avoid getting soaked.
I pulled into the Superstore and noticed 3 guys walk past me to their car. One looked A LOT like Julian from Trailor Park Boys. I looked again and couldn't quite convince myself. It was only when he spoke that I was positive and just as he was getting in his car, I asked for a quick photo. he didn't say anything but he was nice enough to give me a Julian grimace. I asked if I could use the picture in my blog and said, "Sure Buddy!" I was know BUDDIES with Julian!!!! I quickly emailed my wife who was convinced it was a cut out and also pasted the picture to facebook. I came home, ate some chicken and had my last bowl(s?) of ice cream and had a great nap. I awoke and rushed out the door to grab the ferry and drop my bike off to be biked up. The good folks at Cyclesmith took my bike and sent it away to Prince George. It was strange not having my bike and being a normal pedestrian. I had a last Keith's as I waited for the ferry and then went home. Carmen and I took Samson for a little walk, I can't remember much of what we talked about but there was a lot of talking on Carmen's end. As we came back on the walking trial bordering the harbour, we ran into Hannah. We talked about my trip and her work and the masters she is doing. When we got home, some effort was being made at dinner. I kept bugging Carmen to tell me how many lobsters her dad had bought. Trouble is, Hannah doesn't like lobsters so that wasn't going to be happening. It was fun to bug Carmen every 5 minutes by whispering, "How many?" The dinner was enjoyable but I can't remember what it was! I should also note that much was made about the dent I put in the mint ice cream I bought but no notice was given to the purchase of an additional 2 litres of Vanilla which I had no hope of finishing before I left! :) Tonight's event was dying the hair for wacky hair day. The kool-aid hair dye was not successful so that made for not-so-happy kids. The picture of the family was taken under some stress but I thank all involved for humouring a dirty cyclist. Ross and I took the dog for a walk during the hair dye event and I got caught up and found that indeed, Dartmouth had something to offer. It was fairly cheap compared to Halifax and the rowing programs were world-class. People had been doing organized rowing on the lake for a 100 years and the Mic Maq used the series of lakes to head down to the harbour in the summers. I found Ross is a busy guy. Between teaching and the kids, he finds the dog walking to be just another thing to do. Me, I appreciate that the dogs get me outside on those dark, winter mornings. I'm hoping to take advantage of the sunshine here and there as it gets darker and colder in PG. We arrived back just as the calamity of the failed hair dye experiment was being realized. Could this day get any worse? It was sad to think that my last full day in Halifax had passed. I made a half-hearted attempt to clean up before the morning.