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Published: September 24th 2010
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7:15 am Melbourne to Sydney, 9:30 am Sydney to Vancouver, 9:00 am Vancouver to Toronto, and 9:35pm delayed til 10:35pm Toronto to Moncton. All flights departing on September 13th due to crossing so many time zones. It was 1 am Tuesday morning when I stepped off the little plane and onto New Brunswick ground. I was met by my parents and my sister at the baggage carrousel of the little airport. We still had a bit of a drive to get me to my final destination for the day. Arrived to my parents house at around 3 am, jet lagged, hungry and in a sort of daze, not comprehending the time of day or much else. Still lost somewhere in shades of grey that lie between unconsciousness and consciousness that I find while on long haul flights. But I was home. Over the next few days, I battled jet lag, watched rain clouds above and played catch up with friends and family.
It was a nice feeling to have my family and friends in person and not have them be distant voices on a telephone or words on a laptop screen. Some visits from good friends, the arrival of my
12 string acoustic guitar that has been taken care of by my friend Chris for the 17 months. I got to meet my little godson Noah, who is five months old now, and see his jolly little face. It was strange to re-see this slow country way of life that I had left behind many times now but always seem to return to. The people on the streets are friendly, things move at a comfortable pace. After only a few days of being home I was looking for more excitement.
I was invited to a cousin's wedding on Friday night. I realized I couldn't remember the last time I attended a family event and also that I could see many relatives in one place (which is very effecient). On Friday my friend Jason and I set off to a nice church in Nelson, to see my cousin Adam tie the knot with a beautiful lady named Theresa. The rain clouds broke that afternoon (my first 4 days were rain filled) leaving the Miramichi in shades of bright greens and blue skies. A short wedding at the church, then a buffet reception followed by a dance. It was a fun
night of catching up with the family and witnessing the happiest bride and groom I have ever seen in my life and also a very serious dance off between the McEvoy siblings and the Sturgeon siblings (well done guys).
Saturday was planned to be a family party at my parents place. The forecast was for sun and 20 C and the forecast was correct. I waxed my car in the morning sun (it hasn't been waxed in 17 months or more and plus it is to be up for sale soon). The afternoon brought a few friends and family, some cold beers, and friendly, competitive games of washer toss. Now washer toss is a Miramichi famous game, played in the summer months with beer in hand. It consists of two boxes that are a foot by a foot in size with a piece of pipe in the center. They are placed 20 feet apart, and large washers (the ones used with bolts not washing machines) are thrown between the two boxes. Scoring is 2 points for in the box and 3 points for landing inside the pipe in the center, games go to 21 points. Score is kept on
a homemade score board that sticks in the ground with two sets of numbers to 21 on it's facade and 2 clothepins to be placed on the number of the score. We played washer toss, chatted, laughed, enjoyed bbq and just enjoyed both the atmosphere and the weather. When the evening was beginning we started a backyard bonfire and sat around telling stories and jokes til late.
It has a nice week of reunions. I'm enjoying the amount of free food I've gotten (I'm still a backpacker) the time with my loved ones that I have missed for the last 17 months and of course I missed driving my little Volkswagen named “Golfton”. I have some unpolished plans for the upcoming weeks that will see me reunite with some of my best friends that live in different cities on the east coast. 6 weeks is not a long time and I hope I can see all the people special to me that are accessable here, along with making future plans, selling my car and having as much Canadian fun as I can. It's good to be back. I have a fridge with food inside, a comfortable bed, a wide
selection of clothes (instead of the same clothes in the same backpack) and most importantly I am surrounded by people that love and care about me. It's home.
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Nik
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Welcome Home!
Just in time for HOCKEY!!!! Great blog by the way. And I want to play washer toss, I love these sports with a beer in hand. Finally, you don't know how it is to be away if you don't come back home once in a while. Enjoy!