Glasgow 2007 part 2

So, this is the second part of my update that I promised. I apologize for the delay but getting back into the swing of things over here has been a little tough. I love jet lag!

On the 19th of December I drove to Montreal to pick up Katie. She was flying into Montreal and we had planned to spend a few days in Montreal because I had actually never seen any of the town (I had always been in and out as quick as possible). She had booked two nights at a nice hotel a block from the Bell Centre and got a good deal on the room. We spent the first evening doing some Christmas shopping on Montreal’s famed St. Catherine street and let me assure you that it lived up to the hype. It was BUSY! On the 20th we spent the day walking around town and say most of old Montreal, the McCord Museum, walked through the McGill campus, and all the way to the top of Mont Royal. It was a busy day and left both of us tired, but it was a good day. Check out the McCord museum…I couldn’t take pictures from inside, but the outside was nice too! The museum deals with the history of Montreal and different things that influenced the city. It was pretty interesting.

On the 21st we drove back to Ottawa and spent a few more days with my family. Katie worked a few shifts at Parliament Hill as a tour guide that she had picked up thanks to her time as a guide last spring, mean while I took care of a few other details…like getting my hair cut…check out the picture from our Secret Santa taken just before I came home! I was huge! It needed to get cut.

On the 24th we celebrated Christmas with my parents and it was a nice day. Mom cooked a really nice Salmon and we had the Quinn’s (family friends) over to share it with us. It was really nice and a little different than turkey, ham, or roast beef. Maurice came along and we spent the evening playing Cranium, Taboo, and other board games. I had forgotten how much fun it was to play these board games! It was a really fun way to spend Christmas.

On the 25th Katie and I drove to London to spend a few days with her family. We stopped in Perth to pick up her grand-parents and then continued on to London. We actually made good time and enjoyed the clear roads because it was Christmas. We arrived in London around 5pm and enjoyed a second Christmas. Of course, on the 26th the extended family was all invited in for Christmas and we had a 3rd Christmas. Oh man!! So much food, but it was really good. After dinner we had to play Risk with Katie’s younger brother Max who received the game for Christmas. Let me simply say that my luck at these board games has not changed and I was still easy pickings. Argh! Check out a few of the pictures from Christmas in London.

Our time in London was a blur. I had the chance to meet many of Katie’s friends that she had grown up with and it was very neat. I can place faces to the names that she has been using. However, all too quickly we had to come back to Ottawa. We left London on the 30th, made a stop in Toronto to visit with Granny Gray, and then continued on. We arrived in Ottawa at 9pm or so and were bushed…little did I know that my day wasn’t over.

Our News Year’s plan had been sort of tentative before we had gone to London, but Katie and believed that we would be in Ottawa for New Year’s. Well, I returned home and was instructed to call Dave and Scott about New Year’s. Well…the plan suddenly got changed. Dave’s parents had built a new home near Ganonoque and had invited us all down to celebrate down by the St. Lawrence sea way. So, after a few frantic calls and speaking to Katie we decided to go. On the 31st we drove the 150 km’s to Gan and enjoyed a quiet New Year’s and the Humphrys’ gorgeous new home. It was really nice.

On the 1st Katie and I then went from Gan to just outside Perth to visit her other set of Grandparents for a 4th Christmas. However, we had a slight detour and were required to pick up Katie’s cousin Jessica…in Athens. So, combined with the 40 minute wait for the ferry and the detour, what should have taken a little over an hour to travel suddenly became a solid 2 ¼ hour trip. I was afraid we were going to be late! However, we arrived just in time and enjoyed a really nice dinner. It was a nice evening. Katie’s family seemed very interested to hear all about my exploits in Scotland, which was kind of neat. However, by 9:30 we decided we needed to leave and return to Ottawa. With a pit stop in Perth with Katie’s other grand parents to say hello, we finally made it back to Ottawa. It had been a good trip, but I was tired and well aware that my flight back to the UK was pending and was happy to see my bed.

On the 2nd I had the bittersweet task of saying all my goodbyes to my loved ones again. It seemed that I had just arrived back in Canada, and here I was having to go back…but at least this time I was going back to a place I knew and felt pretty comfortable in. While I think I’ll always be sad to say goodbyes, I know that I have made lots of good friends over in Scotland to help. So, with a tearful goodbye at the security gate in Ottawa I set off once again for the land of the Tartan army. Stay posted…because while this is the end of my holiday tales…let me assure you that the stories don’t end here.

Take care and enjoy all that 2007 has to offer. Don’t be shy to drop me a line…I’m always keen to hear what is up with people back home in Canada.

That’s all from Scotland for now. Take care! Cheers!

Bruce