I found out late May, early June that I would be headed to Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada to help with the start up of Apollo's first greenfield attempt since the University of Phoenix. What an experience!! I had the luxury of training for my first 1/2 Ironman in the luscious green environment that is Canada's Maritime Provinces. I enjoyed long highway rides inside and around quaint ocean side towns. The town of Fredericton was a thankful departure from the 120 degree temps and traffic jams which are Phoenix. A sleepy little college town about 3 hours from Bangor, Maine, I found Fredericton nestled into some of the deepest, thickest greenery I have ever seen. It was a picture of tranquility from the moment mom and I drove in. A river divides the town and a small baby deer came to welcome us in the backyard of my summer home.
Mom and I made the five day road trip with Izzy and boy was that an unforgettable ride. To all who may read this, please remember to review any hotel on tripadvisor.com before booking. I made the unfortunate mistake of focusing on getting Izzy into our hotels and not looking more into what the hotel's quality was. Mom and I settled in for the night in a small town outside of Chicago at what we now fondly refer to as "The Ho Motel." The motel was located in an industrial district right off the highway. After settling into the room we headed out to walk Izzy together as being in a pair was the only safe route in such a neighborhood. As we attempted to enter the elevator Izzy and I were stopped in our tracks by an apparent hooker wearing cut off jean shorts (aka jorts) who was not only smoking a cigarette on board but mumbled to us in an intoxicated state. I stepped slowly backwards and noticed the rather interesting tattoos that were only partially displayed on both of her upper thighs as the jorts covered the rest, thank goodness!! I guess working gals of that status need a niche to get guys interested in what may be under their jorts. Although the motel room was clean I don't think any of us 3 slept well that night. We rolled into mom's friend Lynn's house with huge smiles early the next day.
We enjoyed a night of wining and dining at Lynn's with some of her closest friends in Michigan. It was such a blessing to be in such company after our previous night's experience. I passed out early in front of the television with Lynn's niece Sandra. Sandra was named after Lynn's late mother whom I discussed in my very first blog. I ran my first marathon with Team Diabetes to raise money for research and support of ADA activities because we lost Sandra to the disease. Little Sandra was a sweet little angel who kept us all laughing with her creative version of trivial pursuit for the adults. Sometimes I wonder why we forget as adults to remember to have fun and be creative without worrying about the judgement of others. Thank you for the reminder Sandra!
After departing from Lynn's, mom and I hit Niagara Falls and I must admit that the Canadian side was much nicer. As we headed toward the falls we ran into another Boston Terrier just like Izzy and I so wish I had taken a picture of the two, they were so cute together. We ended that days journey in Rochester, NY which was pretty uneventful until a parking garage incident that caused me to laugh harder than I have in years. I laughed until I was crying from the parking garage all the way to our hotel room and for a bit thereafter. I was walking away from our rental car when I began to slip and slide down the slanted slope of the garage floor. I looked down to inspect what was causing my inability to walk only to find little round balls the size of beebees all over the ground. Right as I lifted my head to warn my mother she stepped into the mess of balls as well and did the same slip-slide dance I had engaged in about 20 seconds prior. I don't know why but watching her fall into the same trap and then thinking about what the whole scene from beginning to end must have looked like with both of us doing it, made me laugh and laugh and laugh. We were very fortunate to come out of the experience unscathed.
The last day on the road we traveled through Massachusetts and ended in Saco, Maine. Saco was another small town with a great bay view and wonderful clam chowder. We also enjoyed sweet potato fries, clam strips and a local favorite fish, haddock. What we did not enjoy were the little kids who were playing hide'n'seek in our stairwell almost until midnight which, I promptly ended with a nice loud lecture in the stairwell. We hit the road early again the next morning and found ourselves in Fredericton in the late afternoon. My landlord greeted us at the house with a loud "Welcome to Canada!" She was a wonderful woman who not only welcomed Izzy and I into her home but often popped in to walk Izzy or invite us to "corn boil" with her out at a cottage on the lake nearby.
Photos of Freddie!
Izzy's little buddy in Canada
Entry to our favorite bridge that crosses the St. John River in the middle of Freddie
Little Izzy on our favorite bridge
View of Freddie from the bridge
Great view of the church
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