events of june 21

my aunt and uncle dropped by my parents house for a visit. problem one: i was working on the night they arrived (plus it was raining), problem two: they were leaving the next day at noon. of course, this led to other problems, such as will i wake up in time to ride up and visit before they leave, will the weather be cooperative and give me a window to get up there.

there was no way i was taking the cage. for one, Joey needed it for work; and two...i wanted to show off Selene to my relatives! can't have family drop by and not see my new baby. that would just be wrong. pictures just don't do her justice...hehe.

so, i end up going to bed way too late and waking up an hour later then what i should have. i now had two hours to get ready, run an errand and make it to my parents place...a one hour drive.

the errand took longer then it should have. combine that with not getting ready fast enough and i figured out that i had to take the highway. don't get me wrong, i'm not afraid of the highway or anything, i just rather the backroads. it's a much calmer ride that is more enjoyable.

i finally hit the road and gunned it for the highway. it's overcast and not looking the nicest in St. John so i'm hoping for the usual "get out of St. John and you'll find the nice weather" thing. for the most part, it works out. once i'm five minutes outside of the city, i see reasonably clear skies with huge black clouds high up. the weather is calling for thunderstorms and i thouroughly believe them.

so i'm on the highway and i'm loving it. the wind is next to nothing, it's very warm and traffic is minimal. i'm seeing beautifully threatening skies that would make for some fantastic pictures, but i can't stop. i actually remember to bring my camera and i can't stop. i would have lost way too much time. i sigh and blip the speed up to 120 Kph.

about halfway into my journey, i see three bikes pull onto the highway. i add on a bit more speed to catch up and slowly pull into formation behind them. two H-Ds and a beemer, the beemer looks brand new. they are averaging a good speed, so i stick with them.

it's a great ride all the way into town and i throw them a wave as they pull into a gas station. i continue my cruise into town. normally, if i'm in a rush, i'll bypass Sussex completely and take the highway straight to mom and dads. but today i felt like treating myself and taking the last part of my trip slow. i'm glad i did. there is a slow turn in town that passes by an old train station turned ice-cream shop. as i glance up, i see that the sit down area is filled with kids. they all start yelling and waving. i give them a wave as i pass by and the whole group of them errupts in hoots and yells. gotta tell ya...that made my day.

i make my way to my parents house and meet up with my uncle, aunt and mom as i enter the park. they are all out for a walk and are just heading back to the house. i pass by them and perform a flawless u-turn on the small backroad. i applauded myself (in my head of course) and continued on to the house to wait.

dad was there, relaxing on the patio. as i dismounted, i noted that it had to be 10 or 12 degrees hotter here then it was in St. John. the clouds were still big and ugly, but no rain.

the walkers arrive and we all sit around chatting for a while and admiring Selene. i found out that they had waited for me. i can't thank them enough for that. it's been over a year since i last saw them, so i'll take any time i can get.

about 45 minutes later, they are on thier merry way. apparently they are taking a nice little vacation with camping trips along the way. they still have other people to visit, so the visit to mom and dads was short

i pester mom into making me pancakes for breakfast, with maple syrup, before she heads off to work. YUM!! the rest of the afternoon is spent jabbering and helping dad install the air conditioner.

the day is holding out well, so i decide to take a trip to St. Martin's on my way back to St. John.

i say bye to dad, get Selene a drink and hit the backroads for a wonderful drive.

and wonderful it was.

on the way down, i snapped this pick by a lovely little lake. it was just off the main road and provided a secluded spot to relax and stretch my legs. next is a picture of the lake itself. very quaint.



St. Martin's itself is a small town that is spread along the coast and is very touristy (new word... ;p) lots of little restaurants and shops. it's a cozy little spot where you can experience the drastic Fundy tides.

this shot is on the beach showing a huge cave across the way. come to think of it...the depth on this shot is way off. Selene looks gigantic! attack of the 50 foot cycle?

one last shot of the area. in this one i managed to get Selene, the New Brunswick Flag, the Canadian Flag and an old covered bridge. these bridges are famous around here. i just like riding through them. the acoustics are great!

it was finally getting late, so i shoved off and made my final ride home. all in all it was a great day. the weather held up the whole way, seeing my relatives was great, visiting mom and dad is always good (so are the pancakes...hehe), and spending the whole day riding was great!

on a side note, when i got home Joey was hungry and so was i. so i hopped on Selene and went to Wendy's! i got the take out (minus the drinks) and made it home without a hitch!

one last picture. this is Selene nestled in her cubby underneath our veranda. ain't she cute?