"Ornithology": Charlie Parker
Hello from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. I have been here for over a week and I am really enjoying spending my time here with Maryn and seeing the sights of Nova Scotia. I would just like to let everyone know that I've been able to fix the comment board problem and Moondoggy's Pad is all ready to be commented on. Thanks for putting up with all the little changes that have been going on for the past little while.
I guess I'm supposed to give a description of what I've been doing the whole time I've been here but since I've been in Yarmouth for 10 days, I can't really sum up my whole trip in one entry however I'll give an example of one of my days here:

July 9th 2003

I woke up kind of sleepy this morning but I was able to pull myself out of bed to eat a hearty breakfast. Today Maryn wasn't going to be working until five in the afternoon so we had the whole day to spend with each other. I put on my bathing suit, packed my backpack with the essentials (CD's, extra clothes, etc.) and we were off.
It was nice to go driving alone with Maryn. We had not done that yet so we had fun talking, and enjoying the scenery with our windows down and the wind in our hair. We took Maryn's red tracker and we listened to Tom Waits, Ben Harper, and Jack Johnson. Very chill man...
Our first stop was 1) John's Cove. It was a scenic little beach where there were lots of smooth, worn down stones. We walked to the waterfront and soaked in the salty, ocean air. I love the smell of the ocean. There's something about it that invigorates me. Make me feel so alive and I love going to a place I've never been and exploring it for the first time. Everything seems so new and wonderful. We took some pictures of the beach and continued on our way.
Our next stop was 2) Cape Forchu, the locals also call it the "Yarmouth Light". The lighthouse itself wasn't that spectacular but the rocky cliffs by the ocean really made the scene. It was truly breathtaking. Maryn and I climbed the rocks, the little mountains, and made our way onto some stones that overloooked the ocean. We sat down holding each other and marvelled at nature's beauty. It was so peaceful.
We headed towards the giftshop and Maryn bent down to pick up a piece of "dulse", seaweed and put it in her mouth and ate it. Apparently it's a Nova Scotian delicacy. I refrained from trying it although I did buy a shot glass for my collection as well as some snacks for the beach including some yummy salt water taffy.
Our final destination was 3) Port Maitland beach. The tide was low so the water was far away and man was the beach huge. I wasn't expecting it to stretch out so much and apparently it's not even that big compared to another sand dune beach (which we will be going to during my two week stay).
The weather was perfect. Sunny but not too hot. No wind and not that many people. Maryn and I took our sandals off and walked along the beach hand in hand, happy to be together. We placed our blanket down on a secluded area and we sat down and talked. We ate some of our food and then made our way to the ocean.
Along the way we encountered a cute little boy with black and white goggles on his head. He came up to us with a little toy dump truck and asked us if "we had bwought any wittle kids wif us." We laughed and said no. We offered to help him out and he enthusiastically agreed. We gathered some dry sand with our hands and helped the boy fill his dumptruck. He was building a castle with some other little kids and needed all the help he could get. We were glad to lend a hand er... some hands.
The ocean was freezing. Maryn wasn't kidding when she told me it was going to be cold. My legs were numb after one minute. I couldn't believe water could be this cold and not be in the Arctic. I eased myself in to the water VERY slowly while Maryn easily jumped into the water with a huge smile on her face. Of course she's smiling. She doesn't have any balls to freeze off.
Eventually it started to get hot and we didn't want to get sunburned so we headed back to the car. It was a really fun afternoon by the sea and as we drove home I was already loooking forward to our next excursion to the ocean.

That's it for now. Until next time.