A Roadtrip to New Brunswick and the Women's World Cup

When I found out that this year's women's World Cup tournament was being held in Canada I got so excited! We purchased tickets as soon as they went on sale and planned a weekend getaway with our friends Jake and Rosie, who are also big soccer fans, and got tickets to watch a couple of matches that were being played in Moncton, New Brunswick. The idea of visiting eastern Canada was so exciting! We drove part of the way up on a thursday evening, stopping in Augusta Maine for the night, and the next morning we woke up bright and early so we could make it to the Bay of Fundy in time to see the Hopewell Rocks during low tide. 

Pulled over at the Mount Katahdin Scenic Overlook before crossing from Maine into New Brunswick

We made it to The Rocks Provincial Park just in time to see park rangers putting up a giant CLOSED sign. We were totally disappointed at first, thinking we would not get to see the national park area or the famous Hopewell Rocks. But we were surprised to find out from a smiling Canadian park ranger that we were allowed to guide ourselves through the park “at our own risk”, and as bonus we didn’t have to pay an entrance fee! 

Jake and Rose walking through the national park

We meandered through some beautiful wooded paths and made our way down to a place called the Flower Pots – rock formations that over time have been formed into cool shapes because of tidal erosion. The Hopewell rocks have the highest rising tides on the planet, rising up to 50 feet twice a day. It was really cool, because we arrived in time to see it at low tide and were able to walk on the ocean floor and get the best view of the rock formations. There were a few other tourist groups mulling around when got to the ground level, but it wasn’t crowded at all and we got some nice pictures.

That evening we ate a vegetarian restaurant called Calactus which turned out to be incredibly delicious, and we had a very friendly waitress with a thick Canadian accent who actually said things like, “aboot”. I thought that was an exaggerated stereotype, but apparently it’s real! She was excited to find out that we had come from Boston to support the world cup and was happy to share her knowledge of Moncton with us. The Women’s US National team was playing Sweden that evening, in a different city so we found a bar near the airbnb we were staying in and asked them to put the match on for us. We were treated to some Canadian hospitality once again as the bar tender let us in without charging us a cover fee (which was expected since a band was playing that night). We bought a couple of sodas and enjoyed the intense though scoreless match on a big screen, at a random bar in eastern Canada, while a couple of old gals danced to the band’s music in the background.

The next day we went into Downtown Moncton to explore a bit and came across a Saturday market where I was excited to see Canadian art (mostly hockey scenes, which totally reminded me of the book, The Hockey Sweater) and treats like maple cones - an ice cream cone filled with maple icing. We also stopped at a Tim Hortons which is the Canadian version of Dunkin Donuts where we got a box of Timbits, which are arguably better than the Dunkin’ munchkins. 

There was a big skate park near the city center, just off a beautiful river greenway, and Jeff, ever prepared for an impromptu skate, got his board out of the car and did a few loops around the park. It was actually a really cool park, and the scenery was great. 

After grabbing some lunch we made our way to the Universite de Moncton where the soccer matches were being played. We had tickets to a doubleheader: France vs. Columbia and England vs. Mexico. We witnessed Columbia’s first ever Women’s World Cup victory, a big upset for France, and met some England fans who had flow across the Atlantic to follow their team through the World Cup. It was really fun to be in that atmosphere and to experience a new part of the world. 

Of course we are really rooting for the US to win the whole thing : )

Sporting our France and England jerseys

Our only regret from this trip is that we didn't make it to Prince Edward Island. We were so close, but just ran out of time. But that gives us something to dream about and plan for at a later date. It was a short trip, but so worth it. The drive was beautiful and we already have plans to visit again! Au revoir Canada!

Mother's Day 2015

My mom flew in from Idaho for the weekend and we had the opportunity to spend Mother's Day with her! I haven't been home to celebrate Mother's Day with my family in several years, so this was a real treat. I was fortunate enough to be able to take Friday off from work and to spend the day exploring Boston with my mom. We started at Newbury Street, where it is always requisite to stop by Georgetown Cupcake. They were already out of their "secret flavor of the day" (by 10:45am!) but we sampled a few of their other options and determined that the Lavender Earl Grey Teacake and the Coconut were our favorites.

               

mmmm, springtime in boston

Original Cheers restaurant, where everybody knows your name.

After our sugar fest we visited a few more shops along Newbury Street and made our way back through the Public Garden toward the financial district to meet Jeff for lunch. He took us to Flour Bakery & Cafe in the Seaport District where we ordered some delicious sandwiches! I recommend the applewood smoked bacon, arugula, and tomato!

   

Jeff headed back to his office for a few more hours and mom and I stopped in at the Boston Tea Party Museum. 

If you do the tour they'll let you throw "tea" off the ship! Huzzah!

It was a bit windy outside so we ducked into Abigail's Tea Room for some warm Chowder.

We also walked around Chinatown before heading back home. Boston is such a neat city, so much culture and energy; a great place to see by foot.

The Chinatown Gate

On Mother's Day we woke up early hopped in the car and headed to the Cape. We took the Ferry from Woods Hole, a village on Cape Cod, to Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard! I have long wanted to visited this part of Massachusetts and what a delight it was!

After about 40 minutes on the ship the captain called for all passengers with bikes to go below deck to wait with their bikes. One of the shipmen asked me if I wanted to help open the big door of the ferry. Naturally I said yes! Turns out all you have to do to open the deck of a ferry is push a button : )

The "big door"!

It was the loveliest place to celebrate Mother's Day. Our first stop was the Black Dog, a delightful little restaurant and great place to enjoy brunch by the sea.

After enjoying our fill of chocolate chip strawberry pancakes, lobster roll, and fishcakes we made our way to the nearest bike shop (which conveniently turned out to be just across the street) to get my mom a bike. We were to cycle around the island and take in the sites!

While researching what to do in Martha's Vineyard we discovered that there is an Alpaca farm on the island that you can visit. Jeff was really excited about this so we put it on our list. It was a few miles ride from the bike shop to the farm with a great bike path the whole way there!

Enjoying every minute of the Alpaca farm visit : )

This furry-faced guy was our favorite : )

Alpacas are so soft and funny! They can contort their bodies in all kinds of ways and they make this nice humming sound "ehhhh". Very curious creatures to watch haha. The female herd was a bit nervy when we were there because, as the owners told us, some land had been cleared nearby for a herd of horses. This was making the alpacas a bit concerned; they wouldn't stop staring.

The leader of the Pack 

 After bidding farewell to our furry friends we biked on to West Chop (the northwestern tip of the island) to see the lighthouse. I didn't get a photo, which is not too much of a loss because the lighthouse was pretty small and basically just an old house with a tower. But the ride there sure was pretty!

It was a great way to spend mother's day! Thanks for coming out here mom, we sure love you!