The Shoe Shop

Nova Scotia. It’s a lot bigger than I ever could have imagined, and the name alone covers so much territory. Once my family and I drove off the Catamarin (sp?), we plunged through customs and into the abyss of forest that would lead us to Halifax, Canada to pick Michelle up from the airport. It was a good 3.5 hour stretch…and here I thought Nova Scotia and Halifax were the same thing. Canada never fails to surprise me. The incredibly long drive to the airport consisted of trees and a few glimpses of the Atlantic, but mostly straight stretches of trees. Let’s just say I pretended to sleep most of the way there because I couldn’t bare to stare out into green blurs any longer.

We arrived to the airport and found Michelle without luggage. That was the first horror. The second horror was the realization that she didn’t have any clothes, any tolietries, anything to take onto the ship except her passport and laptop. I wanted to cry for her. Then we finally figured everything out and customs will mail her luggage to her sometime in the morning, thank goodness. I was ready to share my clothes and anything else she may have needed. I’ve only lost my luggage once and that was from Heathrow in London going to JFK in New York City. It was nightmarish.

Once we arrived to our destination in Halifax, my family took the tour of the boat while Michelle and I chatted up a few students going on the trip with us. Grace and Eric. I had the keys to the beast and we hadn’t eaten anything, so the four of us went to dinner at some bar called The Shoe Shop. It was slightly awkward, but once we all warmed up to each other, conversation slid easily across the table.
Tomorrow morning, June 16th, at 8:20am, Michelle and I will officially board the MV Explorer. I am giddy and nervous and excited. We will have to go through tight security and customs and fill out a mountain of paperwork, but once we are on that ship, it’s all over.

We are both pretty stoked, and freedom has never felt so close. Let the waters roar and the motors thunder. Let the fun begin!