I've been struggling to write this blog post ever since I arrived back in Newfoundland after being in New Brunswick for my summer vacation.
Here's why.
When I first moved to NL, I HATED it (to be totally honest). The weather wasn't great, it was difficult to get back and forth between Saint John and St. John's, I was spending lots of time alone and, on the evenings and weekends . . . I was kinda bored. Then things slowly started to shift. I started making friends and going out to do things on the weekends, I started taking dance classes at The Dance Centre, my research started going well, the weather was still bad (that's never going to change) but I started to be happy. And then, seemingly all at once, St John's became just as much "HOME" as Saint John.
. . . That's something I never thought I would say a year ago.
This complicates writing a blog post about going "home" to Saint John for vacation but then also going "home" to Newfoundland at the end of vacation. So, for the purpose of this, and future blog posts, I will try to specify which "home" I'm referring to.
Going home to SJ (Saint John is my OG SJ and will therefore remain that way) this summer was a little bitter sweet. I went home with some life decisions to make and a weird feeling that this summer would be much much different then last. (Spoiler Alert: it was.) (Second Spoiler: different is good).
Last summer was full of silliness, drinks, dancing, friends, and crazy adventures. This summer was full of reading, relaxing, spending time with family, brunches and beaches. A much more relaxed and "grown up" (I am still unconvinced that I'm actually a grown up) summer.
Despite being a different kind of summer, my vacation was wonderful. I hosted a party (although I feel like I'm getting too old for that - is this was grad school does to you?!), Mum, Dad and I spent a few beautiful days in PEI, Mum and I went to the Chance Harbour Spa, I spent time on the Belleisle, we went to new river beach, celebrated my Grandparent's (Gillies) 70th Wedding Anniversary, I caught up with old friends, drank coffee from Rogue and ate way too many desserts.
First stop (after Rogue Coffee and my hair appointment): the Belleisle.
Because I was going home to SJ to make decisions and because, as a grad student, I work in the lab all summer, I knew I would also need a bit of a getaway - somewhere to be away, relax and have time to just be me. So Mum, Dad and I opted for a few days in PEI - the land of red roads, cows ice cream, sandy beaches and Anne of Green Gables. The perfect place for some good old R&R.
This part of my vacation was especially nice since I had received some expert advice on places to go and eat (Thanks Jenna!!). We swam at the best beaches and ate the most amazing food. (Give me allllll the scallops please!)
First stop in PEI? The Wallace Family's favourite beach that we've been going to since I was a little girl. You can see the confederation bridge off in the distance and it's easy to spend hours searching for hermit crabs (and regular crabs).
I will never not love the beach. Particularly in the maritimes where the tides are large, the beaches are sandy and my heart feels full. To me, there is nothing quite like ocean air.
Day Two in PEI was spent wondering around Charlottetown and drinking coffee. Lunch at Sugar Skull Cantina was soon followed by another afternoon at the beach . . . I know you're all soooooo surprised that we went to the beach again . . . After spending the afternoon at the beach, we wandered around downtown Charlottetown some more and then had the most wonderful supper. (I think I may have eaten my body weight in scallops while I was on vacation . . . oops?)
Day Three was yet another beach day followed up by, yes, you guessed it, more scallops. After that, we headed back to SJ for my remaining vacation.
Once we got home to Saint John from PEI, it was only a few short few days until I had to pack up again to head back to NL to start back at the lab for my second year of grad school. Before I headed back to the rock, I managed to squeeze in some brunch dates with cousins and old friends, visit my "School Parents," do a photo shoot with Nat (that we had been planning for over a year), relax at the spa with Mum, get a tan at New River Beach, eat all my favourite Saint John foods and spend some much-needed time on the Belleisle (including finally getting to see my BEAUTIFUL dance studio that my Dad built for me at our summer house).
The next two photos of me (in the gold dress) were taken by the very talented Natalie (Natalie P Photography). I loved doing this shoot and working with Nat is always a blast. The pictures are on my facebook page and set as highlights on my instagram if you are interested in seeing more of the photos and Nat's amazing work. Last summer, Nat and I decided a photo shoot together would be an annual event and I am already excited for next summer's project but I am also still so obsessed with this summer's!
Above is my beautiful studio complete with electricity, a gold ballet barre, the old "Graynole" sign, and shelves/trim made from the old barn (my favourite part of the Belleisle when I was a little girl). My father did all the work on this studio and it is my new favourite part of the Belleisle. Dad painted the walls sea glass blue, made me a gold bar and made all the trim and shelves from old barn wood, not to mention making sure the old sign was hanging and a buoy from Grand Manan was in the corner. {{Dad, I love the studio. Thank you a million times over.}}
SJ will always be my "home" in the sense of being my "hometown" and I will, therefore, always have a connection to it. But it's no longer my current home - that's St John's (at least for now).
I've got some life updates coming soon, but right now, my heart is full of love (and possibly some sand) from the maritimes while happily back in St John's.
See you at Christmas, Saint John.
H.
(AKA Madame President of the Medical Graduate Student Society - I told you I had some news . . .)