Monday 23 July 2007

vacation

Last weekend, we drove (and drove, and drove) to Cape Breton, an area of Nova Scotia reminiscent of the Scottish Highlands, and went to B's family reunion.

(Passing small towns with names like Monastery. ‘Magine that. ‘I come from Monastery.’ Bet they’re fun as prom dates.)



70 people (give or take) all related to his mother, and five of whom I had met before. And I was that Mom, the one with the bad kids, the bored kids who wouldn't stop wandering around. In their defense, though, dinners that start at eight and run until eleven? Not so good for youngsters.

We had a cottage, a one bedroom with a pull-out sofa, and shared a wall (and a deck) with another family. We had a great view of the (mostly grey and foggy) shore and the pool.

Note to self: Never get snortingly giggly with your husband about the methane emissions that are rocking the other side of the cabin. Your neighbors (they of the explosive asses) will get tight-lipped whenever they see you. Whoops.

(But I'm pretty sure they belong to a distant branch of the family.)

We took a break from all that family togetherness and went to the Alexander Graham Bell museum, where C was thrilled by the hydroplanes and R was thrilled by the room!to!run! After forty-five minutes of saying NO!, I just...let her go. She cruised the pathways and gardens (even in the persistent drizzle) and afterwards was calmer and much less likely to become a whinging pincushion.

They both slept much of the way home. Poor things. It's hard to recuperate from a vacation.


And B's twitch should be going away soon.

10 comments:

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Ooooo, you married into a Cape Breton family? I've never been there but I always imagine it to be a bit of a magical place and being related to the folks there is like having a backstage pass to a unique group of people. Why, if there is such a thing as pixies, surely this would be where they be found! :)

Anonymous said...

I have a friend who is originally from Cape Breton and she's been back home for the past couple of weeks. She loves it - I'd love to go too one day. :)

beagle said...

I've never been to Canada's East Coast.

That many relatives, wow, that would overwhelm me! (Not to mention the methane!)

Anonymous said...

My goodness if one is going to explosively fart one should at least have a good sense of humor about it!!

kimmyk said...

sounds like a pretty good time.
not sure i would like to hang out with that many people at once though. i take my family in small doses.
any other way and i'm blowing spit bubbles and sucking my thumb in the corner.

My float said...

Ah, what a little darling. Who could imagine this beautiful child running amok?!!

PS. I'm not sure a family reunion counts as a "vacation"! I'm surprised you're all not twitching!

molly said...

Loved the afterthought about B's twitch! My husband's relatives make me twitchy, and they would all fit comfortably into my kitchen. Should their numbers suddenly swell to 70 I would be on the next plane out of the country....

Angewl said...

That sure is a huge amount of relatives to have to endure all at once, and in-laws to boot? I would be twitching, too!

Cute pic. lol

jAMiE said...

It sounds like you had a good time...and the pic is so cute, how old is she?

meggie said...

Ah yes, meetings & extended time to spend with extended family... especially when they not YOUR family. Congrats on surviving.

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