Swinging Clubs into the Wild

Hi all,

It's time again to tell you all about mine Canadian life. For those who haven't noticed it yet, under each blog page you can find a link to the pictures. Doing it like this saves me quite some time sorting them, time I rather use to live life to the max ;)
At work things are going quite well as I'm getting a good idea about what the research focuses on, where the challenges are and what the difficulties are. In that sense I think I'll be able to make a contribution to the research, which is quite satisfying. It wasn't working all week though last week, as on Wednesday a golf tournament was organized for socializing purposes. John and Mark invited me in their team and provided me with clubs, balls and good advice how to use them. Especially in the beginning I was a bit anxious of tearing the greens apart, but it went rather well for a first time golf experience. We played a best ball tournament, meaning that all team members tee off and afterwards play ball closest to the hole and so on. Surprisingly I managed to hit three drives, on the other hand I lost numerous balls as well. In the end our team finished second with 71 points :) and I got a lot of respect for those professional golf players. On the television it really looks so easy to swing that ball to the other side of the par, but thrust me, it isn't. Thereby it's rather a good exercise as well, especially when you're walking all those 18 holes.
During the weekend Kathryn and I went camping in Kejimkujik National Park, which is absolutely gorgeous, as the pictures will confirm. We left early on the Saturday morning in the car of Kathryn's mother, which she was so kind to lend us. After a good three hour drive, we arrived at Jeremy's Bay campsite. The campsite is right on Kejimkujik Lake and is covered with pine trees, providing shelter for tents and RV's. All places have their own picknick table and fire stove, especially the latter one came in really handy, as temperature dropped to around 6 degrees in the night. After putting up a nice and cosy little tent, which we had borrowed from a colleague of Kathryn's mum, and a proper lunch, we headed out for a hike around the south shore of the lake. On the way towards the trail we already had spotted a little dear and on the trail itself a porcupine came to greet us and showed off with his tree climbing abilities. Though it was overcastted for the better part of the hike and we had some small showers, it was really worth while. On our way back to the tent we enjoyed the sunset from a watch tower, looking over Kejimkujik Lake and its isles. Further down the road we spotted a fox and another dear. Back at the campground it was first things first...making a fire to keep us warm and to cook on :) The fire stove can best be compared with a shoe box with one open side, where the lit is represented by a rack and a metal plate. Of course the pasta diner was accompanied with a nice bottle of wine, life can be so fantastic! After warming up further near the fire, under the brightest star heaven I've ever seen, it was time to head in, where we kept each other warm.
The next morning after a good sleep inn and a big breakfast, we packed up the gear, so we had the better part of the morning and afternoon left for kayaking. We rented to single kayaks at Jakes Landing and headed up Mersey River towards the waterfall. In the side arm of the river we spotted a blue heron, hunting and catching fish, just a couple of meters away. As the sun was out, the start of the turning of the colours was really clear, making the landscape even more beautiful then it already is. Further up the river, the current got stronger and stronger, creating small rapids around submerged stones. We paddled on as far as we could, till the water depth became to low to fight the current. After a few unsuccessful but enjoyable attempts to past the rapid, we headed back, which was really easy...why paddling while you can drift as well. So like two rubber duckies we let ourselves drift back to Jakes Landing, only paddling to steer a bit, wunderbar!
On the drive back to Cole Harbour, as there we officially live, we almost got ourselves locked into the liquor store. For Kathryn's brother James, who had his 19th birthday that day, we wanted to get some beers (you're only allowed to drink here from the day you turn 19). As it was almost closing time when we went in and we had to spend some time selecting proper beers, the closing time already past. Only when the employees turned of the lights in the store, without checking whether there was still someone inside, we were alerted to get out. Unfortunately, the checkout system was already shut down as well, so we had to leave the store empty handed.
Well, that's all for now, pictures of the golf tournament and Kejimkujik will follow quickly. Thanks for all your reactions, I hope you enjoy reading the blog as much as I do writing it!

Bye bye,
Erik

Pictures @:
http://picasaweb.google.com/E.A.J.Vroegrijk/UploadWeek0607?authkey=Gv1sRgCJe09aXuht241gE#