Tobermory

We're back from our 4 day trip to Tobermory. We set out Monday morning for the 3 hour drive. The traffic was fantastic as Monday was the last day of the long weekend, so everybody was on their way back to the city leaving us with an open road. I had booked our hotel room in advance after exploring it on the Internet. It was one of the largest room they had, with a kitchenette that included a stove, fridge, microwave, toaster and a coffee maker. We had 2 double beds and a pull out couch. I think the room was originally designed to suit 6 people. The reason why I picked this hotel was because it had a balcony with a gorgeous view of the harbour.
Peter and I spent our evenings sitting out there watching the sunset and the boats coming in for the night. The next day we booked a cruise to visit 2 local attractions. The first one was to visit the remains of a sunken ship that was visible from the surface. Our boat had a glass bottom for better viewing. The ship was located in a bay that was surrounded by enormous sized cottages and equally large private boats.
We also got to see the lighthouse and many more small islands. The second attraction was the famous Flowerpot Island. It was named that because of the 2 huge flowerpot shaped formations that stood on its shore. We were dropped off at the island so we could explore it on foot. We set out on a 5 km hiking trail that took us deep into the forest. There we discovered several observation decks, a cave, a carpet of rare flowers, squirrels, chipmunks and a small snake. We visited the lighthouse and the lighthouse keeper's residence.
Behind the house we found the coolest washroom in the world. Its window had an unobstructed view of Lake Huron and its many islands as far as the eye could see. They called it "A loo with a view". From there we walked down to inspect one of the flowerpots and see how it was formed hundreds of years ago, when it was still under water. What made this place even more special was knowing that there were only 6 of us on the entire island. It was just us in the huge forest, enjoying the peacefulness of undisturbed nature, green trees, wild animals and the chrystal-clear water surrounding us. After getting to the end of the long trail we were picked up by a small, but really fast boat called The Zodiac that took us back to the harbour. That evening we had dinner at a pub close by, then watched the sunset from our balcony. The next day we decided to go for another little walk, a second 5 km trail on the main land.
On this trail, we had the opportunity to observe the lake from a few different "outlook points". It was beautiful from all angles. This adventure also included a visit to a museum and a short movie about how the scenery became as magnificent as it is today. Later that day I went out to a different part of the harbour to wait for the arrival of the M. S. Che-Cheemaun.
A short wait after it'd arrived on time and I was able to capture the offloading process of its cargo. It is a ferry that travels between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island, a 30 mile route, which takes less than 2 hours. It's capable of carrying 143 vehicles in its belly and 638 passengers. It has a restaurant on board, a large open air viewing deck, and an elegant air conditioned lounge as well. The bow part slowly opened up as it approached the harbour to allow vehicles to disembark. That evening we had dinner at a small restaurant, where we had the opportunity to try the famous local delicacy, whitefish from Georgian Bay. For best flavour, they had the fishermen bring in the new catch every morning. It was very delicious. We spent our last evening watching the sunset from our balcony again, reviewing pictures taken, and talking about our adventures and experiences on this trip.

20 Weeks

I'm at the halfway mark. I'm finally starting to show a bit, my belly's visibly larger even through clothes. I seem to have an unusual amount of energy. I'm constantly doing something. Today is my day off, but I already made up a "to do list" last night. Peter said I should take it easy and relax, but I can't see that happen. Not today! I have too much energy today. It's only about 4:30 in the morning and I've already been up for an hour and a half. I trained a summer student at work yesterday, and the poor girl had no way of keeping up. Even walking down the hall seemed like a task for her. She was always 10 feet behind me trying to catch up. There was no way I was slowing down though. I had stuff to do, places to go, people to annoy...
Peter took Tyson for a walk to the store yesterday evening about 10 minutes away. He allowed him to walk off the leash all the way home. When he got too far ahead Peter just had to say the word and he would come right back. Being such a hyper and curious dog, this was a fantastic achievement for our boy. I'm really proud of him.
Mom and I went to a farm after work yesterday to get fresh cow's milk. We got there a little early so we had to sit around for a few minutes. They had a good sized lake on their property with trees around it. Along the side of the lake we found 2 swans and a little duck. The swans had a perfectly built nest which one of them sat on, so we couldn't get too close, but I was able to snap a picture. They looked incredibly peaceful and content.

Here comes the sun

It looks like spring has finally arrived. We have done a lot of yard work for the past couple of weeks. My crocuses have come and gone, the irises and lilies are coming up nicely and my tulips are in full bloom.
I picked up a tray of impatiens yesterday for my flower garden, but I'm going to get more next week. We still have to power wash the deck and set up the patio set so we can invite people over and have BBQ parties. Peter's been working on the lawn, fertilizing, reseeding, mowing it, when it all comes together it'll look great.
Tuesday, we went over to Rodney's house after work. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Before we headed up to Crabby Joe's for chicken wings, we sat in the backyard for a bit, had a few drinks, and complimented on his lovely garden. He showed us a Robin's nest hidden in an evergreen tree, that had 3 little blue eggs in it, which I found amazing.
I'm in my 19Th week of pregnancy. Everybody's anxiously waiting to hear about the baby's first movements but I haven't felt anything yet. My appetite has changed. I constantly feel the need to eat, mostly fruits and vegetables. Some of my favourite foods before pregnancy, turn me off now. Like steak and pork chops. At first, Peter was disappointed that I wouldn't eat his famous steak anymore, but then he realized, we had them frozen by two's, so now he could have steak two days in a row. He's not so disappointed anymore! By my 16TH week's checkup I had gained 6 pounds which put me to a healthy 145 pounds (65 kilos) in total.
Technically, I could have had an ultrasound last week, but because we want to know the gender of the baby, we have to wait until the 21st week. We were told that's the earliest they can detect it. However, Peter's flying to Quebec that week for training for work, therefore we had to postpone the ultrasound by another week so he could be there. It's scheduled for June 4Th, which is the day after our first wedding anniversary.