COMPLETE - "I DON'T LIKE MY FAMILY!!" — A May WDW Solo Mini-Trip Report + A Summer of Art

Hope things are going well with school. Have you started your clinical's yet?
Hope classes are going well, Meghan!!!

Thanks so much, friends!! It's been wild. Very busy. This is midterm season, so it feels like every time I write an exam or pass in an assignment, there's no time to celebrate before I need to work on the next thing. It's rewarding stuff though. This term we get to do the equivalent of 5 practicum days (5 full days, or 10 half days.) I'm assigned to a private practice clinic, so we're seeing lots of cute kids and a few adults, too, all with various speech and language goals. My supervisor is nice, and very thorough, so we're learning a lot. We do the same thing at a different practicum site next term, and then we get to do a full-time week internship for about 3 months in the spring/summer.
 
This term we get to do the equivalent of 5 practicum days (5 full days, or 10 half days.) I'm assigned to a private practice clinic, so we're seeing lots of cute kids and a few adults, too, all with various speech and language goals. My supervisor is nice, and very thorough, so we're learning a lot.
That sounds both very interesting and very rewarding. :)
 
Hello, friends!

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Really, let's be real...I mean, do you guys even still remember me?? So...it's been a while. Sorry.

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Also, a shout out and an apology to the many commenters I haven't been very faithfully responding to this last little while! I'm reading all of your responses, and they have been making me smile. :goodvibes I will try to make time to be more attentive in future!

With the glacial pace this TR has been moving, and with how busy I've managed to stay with my school work, I'm making an executive decision—I can do that! Cuz this is MY show!—that I won't have time to include a full report of my summer stint as a travelling artist's sidekick. I'm sure you're all heartbroken about this. :sad: But seeing as this is the DIS, where we talk about DISney-related things, I figure I should spend my limited time focusing on the absolute best material I have here, which is OBVIOUSLY the Disney stuff! As a compromise, though, before I get back into that, I'm going to include just a few photos/highlights from our summer travels. (JK, it's more than a few...) Then my next update will resume the solo trip adventure. :goodvibes

(Also, just a hint for reading these little vignettes—if you haven't heard of a place before...it's probably because in Canada. :rotfl: We did a bit of US travel, but most of the summer was spent travelling across the eastern third of our beloved home country.)

"You've Got a Woman to Help You"

So before this whole solo trip fun started, N and I had already been getting ourselves accustomed to the travelling life. We started with a short trip to Moncton, New Brunswick. It's only a few hours from home. Then our next trip together was to Ottawa, Ontario, for Ottawa Comic Con.

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Don't worry, it didn't take me long to make him a much better sign than that. :cool:

I was very helpful with set-up and tear down this summer!!

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N does the hard work. I play with the dolly.

While in Ottawa, we saw Parliament (where the Canadian federal government does governmenty things.) And we got to enjoy the beginning of the tulip festival that takes place every spring in Ottawa.

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Then we were back in New Brunswick again, before making the trek to Orlando for the comic convention there, MegaCon. (This is where the solo trip report stuff should be inserted!) Following MegaCon, N returned to Canada for supplies and made his way to his next show, while I stuck around at WDW for some solo trip fun. :goodvibes Then I flew to Toronto, Ontario to meet him at the airport, and together we drove to Niagara Falls. I had never been, and some of you may already know that I was totally excited to go...not to see the Falls...but to go to Marineland!! :rotfl: (If you're unfamiliar, you're not alone. Most people have never heard of it, especially if they didn't grow up in Canada with the catchy commercials on tv. It's kind of like what would happen if Sea World and a dated-looking travelling summer carnival had a baby. It's not particularly thrilling, but the animal shows are neat, and I was obsessed with going as a kid, so I'm glad I finally made little past-Meghan's dream come true. :lovestruc)

We did the Niagara Falls Comic Con—see evidence of the new sign I made!—went to Marineland, stayed a night at a hotel overlooking both the US and Canadian sides of the falls, had crazy awesome burgers at Works Burger, went to African Lion Safari, and had crazy awesome sushi at Sushi Ai.

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Other than going to Disney, this was easily one of the highlights of the summer. We also house-sat for friends of N's family who have a home near Niagara, and after mostly living out of hotels for weeks, it was nice to have a chill place to stay, with a full kitchen, and space to spread out and settle in.

I flew home to Nova Scotia for a couple of weeks then, while N stayed in Ontario for more work. I had a few things to do at home, including some family visiting, and running a local women's 5K with my mom. Then N came back and we went back to New Brunswick again so he could paint at a bike rally and ribfest. (Also, if you've never been to a ribfest...it's not your typical food festival! It's...well....a lot of ribs. N has worked at a lot of ribfests over the last few years, and he's gotten to know quite a few of the "ribbers," as they're called, personally. We...ate well that weekend. Much BBQ. Nom!)

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...continued...
 


...continued...

Now it was almost July, and it was beginning to feel like the "summer," which had really begun for us in May, was already beginning to slip away faster than we could keep up with it! We hit the road again, feeling fortunate that our work travels were taking us to one of our favourite places: Prince Edward Island!

If you've never heard of/been to PEI, it's a small island province (Canada's version of a "state" :P) on the east coast of Canada. Anne of Green Gables, lobster, potatoes, and red coloured dirt are its main exports. It's a beautiful place. Time seems to slow down just a bit from the moment you've finished crossing the 12,900m Confederation Bridge to arrive there. (That's 42,323ft, for my American friends. :eek:) The people on The Island personify the epitome of the friendly and hospitable Canadian. I highly recommend a visit if you can ever swing it! Especially in the summer. There are some fun popular tourist spots, beautiful beaches, excellent musicians, good camping...oh, you get the idea. We like it there.

We stayed in Cavendish, but PEI is very small, so anywhere you want to go is usually reachable within a few hours of driving. N painted at the Charlottetown market on the Saturday that weekend, and then he painted at the Canada Day celebration in North Rustico (which the locals informed me should actually be called "The Crick"??) on the Sunday. Things got a little tense at our table toward the end of the Canada Day event when an agitated drunk woman got upset at us for not allowing her to leave her drink on N's painting table, or to speak to us disrespectfully, etc. But otherwise it was a wonderful weekend! (I was surprised that this was the only issue of this nature we ended up having all summer, with the number of weekend events we attended with heavy drinking. :thumbsup2) We also did the tourist thing and went to the beach, and ate ALL the things: the famous Cow's ice cream (really, it's a thing. Look it up.), a lobster supper, and chocolates from the Anne of Green Gables chocolate company. :cloud9:

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Our next adventure was to Montreal, Quebec, for another comic convention. This went down the same week that a scary heat wave hit the area, and we were hearing reports of people with underlying conditions who had gotten ill or passed away. We don't typically get hot summers beyond about 30ish degrees Celsius (86ish F), and not everyone has air conditioning. In the same way that Orlando residents aren't prepared for a skiff of snow, eastern Canadians aren't prepared to deal with extreme heat. With humidity, the temperature the day we arrived in Montreal felt like 42 C (108 F).

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The heat broke during the weekend, which was a welcome blessing. We spent most of our time at the show, but did have a couple of free hours for exploring.

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Often people ask us how much we spend on paint, or how much paint N goes through in a show. A magician never reveals their secrets, but just to give you an idea...the paint shop that distributes N's chosen brand of paint is located in Montreal, so to avoid shipping fees, we purchased a large order while we were there to last through some of the upcoming shows. The small silver box in this photo holds four spray cans. And the large brown boxes are filled with the silver boxes.

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This was also where the title quote for this section came from. The girls who work at the shop spoke English, but not as fluently as they spoke French, so there were a few moments where they phrased things in an unexpected way. As N was staring at all the heavy boxes and wondering aloud how he'd ever get them all in his truck, one of the girls chuckled and told him, gesturing to me, "Don't worry. You have a woman to help you!" It summed up the theme of the summer nicely.

N did a couple more shows on his own next. In between them, I flew out to Sydney Nova Scotia to meet him for another ribfest. It was a 39-minute flight on a very tiny plane. Do not recommend.

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(Haynnk noted that we were in Sydney, but that Pablo Sherman was nowhere to be found.)

Then N came home and joined me in Nova Scotia, where he painted for almost a week at the Halifax Busker Festival. "Buskers," as it's affectionately called, brings in buskers and vendors from all over the world, and is a really neat highlight of the summer here. Following this, we were at Boston Comic Con. I don't have any fun photos from either of those events (we didn't really do any exploring), so I'll just add a few photos of some cool paintings N sold at those shows.

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Then it was time to travel back to Orlando for our 1st wedding anniversary trip to WDW! I'm also making a pathetic attempt to trip-report that trip, and the link is in my signature, in case any of you haven't found it yet and would like to read along. Finally, after our anniversary trip, it was time for our last event together for the summer before I would return to school: Toronto Comic Con.

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I loved the "job title" N had sent them for my Exhibitor badge there. We always joke that he's the talent, and I'm the organization, and together we make up "Painty and the Brains."

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Also, this is where I made one of only two comic con purchases all summer: his name is Fleevee (because he's an Eevee dressed like a Flareon), and he was stupidly expensive. Honestly, I'm only a casual Pokemon fan at best, but I thought he was adorable.

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At this con, N also painted one of the coolest pieces I think he's done. It was on a 2'x3' canvas for a woman who was disappointed at the lack of Batgirl merchandise at cons.

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And that's it! A full summer of art and travel, crammed into two TR updates!

Next: stay tuned for a return to your regularly scheduled programming in the next update...
 
Love the Song of Ice and Fire! When N does the figures, does he make custom stencils? I've watched some of his insta videos but they are all the short, more generic (though equally beautiful) ones!

Also, this is where I made one of only two comic con purchases all summer: his name is Fleevee (because he's an Eevee dressed like a Flareon), and he was stupidly expensive. Honestly, I'm only a casual Pokemon fan at best, but I thought he was adorable.

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Ok, that's just adorable!

At this con, N also painted one of the coolest pieces I think he's done. It was on a 2'x3' canvas for a woman who was disappointed at the lack of Batgirl merchandise at cons.

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For those, does N get an order and then he does it that day, or is it a while in advance? Sorry - just curious about the whole process!
 
Hilarious! All of your hank photos are great.

We did the Niagara Falls Comic Con—see evidence of the new sign I made!—went to Marineland, stayed a night at a hotel overlooking both the US and Canadian sides of the falls, had crazy awesome burgers at Works Burger, went to African Lion Safari, and had crazy awesome sushi at Sushi Ai.
You make me want to go to Niagara Falls!

It's...well....a lot of ribs. N has worked at a lot of ribfests over the last few years, and he's gotten to know quite a few of the "ribbers," as they're called, personally. We...ate well that weekend. Much BBQ. Nom!)
And a ribfest!

It sounded like a great way to spend the summer together.
 


:confused3:confused3:confused3
With the glacial pace this TR has been moving, and with how busy I've managed to stay with my school work
Glad to hear school is going well but i'm sure it is keeping you crazy busy. Hang in there!

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Don't worry, it didn't take me long to make him a much better sign than that. :cool:
Funny I saw that and thought couldn't an artist do a little bit better than that :P

If you're unfamiliar, you're not alone. Most people have never heard of it, especially if they didn't grow up in Canada with the catchy commercials on tv. It's kind of like what would happen if Sea World and a dated-looking travelling summer carnival had a baby. It's not particularly thrilling, but the animal shows are neat, and I was obsessed with going as a kid, so I'm glad I finally made little past-Meghan's dream come true. :lovestruc
This sounds amazing!!!!! Who doesn't want a carnie version of Sea World.

Meet my Marineland as a kid. For this one Disney and the county fair mated in Amish Country and it was as bad/good as you can imagine.
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Gorgeous picture !

Speaking of gorgeous....:love:

That ain't a Marine animal :confused3

If you've never heard of/been to PEI, it's a small island province (Canada's version of a "state" :P) on the east coast of Canada. Anne of Green Gables, lobster, potatoes, and red coloured dirt are its main exports. It's a beautiful place. Time seems to slow down just a bit
Oh your summer sounds amazing. Especially jealous of PEI. I need time to slow down and lobsters and beaches and Green Gables and did I mention lobster :-)

Wow!!! That is insane for that far north

"Don't worry. You have a woman to help you!" It summed up the theme of the summer nicely.
:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2: Lest any of us worry if a woman is on the job :thumbsup2

These are awesome!!!! Nate is definitely talented. I got to see Hamilton this summer so this one especially speaks to me.

:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:
 
Hello, friends!

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Really, let's be real...I mean, do you guys even still remember me?? So...it's been a while. Sorry.

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Also, a shout out and an apology to the many commenters I haven't been very faithfully responding to this last little while! I'm reading all of your responses, and they have been making me smile. :goodvibes I will try to make time to be more attentive in future!

With the glacial pace this TR has been moving, and with how busy I've managed to stay with my school work, I'm making an executive decision—I can do that! Cuz this is MY show!—that I won't have time to include a full report of my summer stint as a travelling artist's sidekick. I'm sure you're all heartbroken about this. :sad: But seeing as this is the DIS, where we talk about DISney-related things, I figure I should spend my limited time focusing on the absolute best material I have here, which is OBVIOUSLY the Disney stuff! As a compromise, though, before I get back into that, I'm going to include just a few photos/highlights from our summer travels. (JK, it's more than a few...) Then my next update will resume the solo trip adventure. :goodvibes

(Also, just a hint for reading these little vignettes—if you haven't heard of a place before...it's probably because in Canada. :rotfl: We did a bit of US travel, but most of the summer was spent travelling across the eastern third of our beloved home country.)

"You've Got a Woman to Help You"

So before this whole solo trip fun started, N and I had already been getting ourselves accustomed to the travelling life. We started with a short trip to Moncton, New Brunswick. It's only a few hours from home. Then our next trip together was to Ottawa, Ontario, for Ottawa Comic Con.

o7fG9Df.jpg


4dcoSYK.jpg


Don't worry, it didn't take me long to make him a much better sign than that. :cool:

I was very helpful with set-up and tear down this summer!!

pnv6AOo.jpg


N does the hard work. I play with the dolly.

While in Ottawa, we saw Parliament (where the Canadian federal government does governmenty things.) And we got to enjoy the beginning of the tulip festival that takes place every spring in Ottawa.

pdCmcdJ.jpg


SD2cylf.jpg


Then we were back in New Brunswick again, before making the trek to Orlando for the comic convention there, MegaCon. (This is where the solo trip report stuff should be inserted!) Following MegaCon, N returned to Canada for supplies and made his way to his next show, while I stuck around at WDW for some solo trip fun. :goodvibes Then I flew to Toronto, Ontario to meet him at the airport, and together we drove to Niagara Falls. I had never been, and some of you may already know that I was totally excited to go...not to see the Falls...but to go to Marineland!! :rotfl: (If you're unfamiliar, you're not alone. Most people have never heard of it, especially if they didn't grow up in Canada with the catchy commercials on tv. It's kind of like what would happen if Sea World and a dated-looking travelling summer carnival had a baby. It's not particularly thrilling, but the animal shows are neat, and I was obsessed with going as a kid, so I'm glad I finally made little past-Meghan's dream come true. :lovestruc)

We did the Niagara Falls Comic Con—see evidence of the new sign I made!—went to Marineland, stayed a night at a hotel overlooking both the US and Canadian sides of the falls, had crazy awesome burgers at Works Burger, went to African Lion Safari, and had crazy awesome sushi at Sushi Ai.

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Other than going to Disney, this was easily one of the highlights of the summer. We also house-sat for friends of N's family who have a home near Niagara, and after mostly living out of hotels for weeks, it was nice to have a chill place to stay, with a full kitchen, and space to spread out and settle in.

I flew home to Nova Scotia for a couple of weeks then, while N stayed in Ontario for more work. I had a few things to do at home, including some family visiting, and running a local women's 5K with my mom. Then N came back and we went back to New Brunswick again so he could paint at a bike rally and ribfest. (Also, if you've never been to a ribfest...it's not your typical food festival! It's...well....a lot of ribs. N has worked at a lot of ribfests over the last few years, and he's gotten to know quite a few of the "ribbers," as they're called, personally. We...ate well that weekend. Much BBQ. Nom!)

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...continued...
I dont think you can be a Canadian Kid if you have never been to Marineland- I mean "Everyone loves Marineland!"... Glad you had such a great summer!
 
Love the Song of Ice and Fire! When N does the figures, does he make custom stencils? I've watched some of his insta videos but they are all the short, more generic (though equally beautiful) ones!

I love how this one came out! Normally he'll do a painting around either John Snow or Daenerys, but this person wanted something more general, and I think it was an awesome idea. And yes, he makes stencils for almost any of the character silhouettes he uses. He draws his own stencils and cuts them out, or if someone wants a 100% exact image, he'll trace it over onto posterboard and cut it. We also have a Cricut we use to cut some of the more time-consuming stencils he makes. And the most frequently-used ones he has a friend make for him out of a more durable plastic material. He has dozens and dozens of stencils now that he's accumulated over the years, and if he knows in advance that someone is looking for a specific character he'll make sure to have a stencil on hand for them. For multi-day events, often someone will ask for something early in the week, and then we'll go home and make a stencil that night in order to be able to paint it live for them the next day. (One of my most time-consuming jobs over the summer was helping to cut out the stencils that he'd already drawn or traced.) But if someone asks on the fly for something he doesn't have, he'll also sometimes be able to freehand it, or alter a stencil he already has.

I wish I had a better example, but I didn't get a lot of video this summer, mostly just pictures. But this video from his youtube channel is of a painting from an anime he likes that he did for someone, and it kind of shows how he uses a more intricate character stencil that he made in advance.


For those, does N get an order and then he does it that day, or is it a while in advance? Sorry - just curious about the whole process!

This one was done live at the show for the person. If he has the supplies with him, and it's something that won't require a lot of advanced prep, he usually paints everything live. If someone wants something on a canvas size he doesn't have with him, or something highly detailed, or they want him to create a stencil based on their own photo of a specific person/animal/etc., then he'll do that at home and bring it for them or ship it out. For example, he had someone send him a message in advance that they wanted a painting specifically of them and their partner riding their motorcycle, so he created a stencil of them specifically in advance to make the painting. Depending on the show he also sometimes only has one size board with him to paint on (16"x20"), so if someone wants a different size then he has to do it at another time. For big comic conventions, we usually also bring the large canvases like that one in the picture, so they have two options. Or sometimes people will bring their own blank canvas to him (or other surfaces, for that matter. He paints a lot of bike helmets, or sometimes parts of cars, etc.) And then he just quotes them a cost and paints on it live at the event.

Hilarious! All of your hank photos are great.

Thanks! He's quite the character! And he was pretty distraught that we were eating fish in front of him.

You make me want to go to Niagara Falls!

It was excellent!! The area right around the falls is very touristy, which is kind of fun for a day or two. But some of the places nearby are really lovely, which makes it possible to spend a lot more time and make a real trip out of it. I've still never been to the US side, but on the Canadian side within about an hour of the falls there are lots of wineries, shopping, Marineland, African Lion Safari....even Toronto is only about 1.5 hours away, so there's lots of shopping/theatre/museums, etc. around the area.

It sounded like a great way to spend the summer together.

It was really a great way to spend some time together and recharge, while still working hard and being productive. I had some of my most fun and relaxed moments ever during our travels, and some of the hardest most all-consuming customer service work I've ever done while working for him at the comic conventions. It was a great summer!

Glad to hear school is going well but i'm sure it is keeping you crazy busy. Hang in there!

Thanks! It's been wild. Every time I feel like I can celebrate something that's finished or been handed in...I realize I need to get started working on the next thing! Right now I often only have class 3-4 days a week, but I spend almost all day for the other 3-4 days doing assignments or studying for tests. I thought about picking up a part time job, but I don't know when I'd have the time! Fortunately, it's really interesting stuff I'm learning about, so that definitely makes it more bearable. :)

Funny I saw that and thought couldn't an artist do a little bit better than that :P

That's what I said!! His paintings are really incredible, but you give the man a brush or a marker and he's useless. :rotfl: He'd happily paint all day, but he's not so concerned about his image/advertising/social media, etc. I was like, "Dude! That looks awful." :laughing:

This sounds amazing!!!!! Who doesn't want a carnie version of Sea World.

Meet my Marineland as a kid. For this one Disney and the county fair mated in Amish Country and it was as bad/good as you can imagine.

:laughing: I want to go to this place!!

That ain't a Marine animal :confused3

:rotfl: It was at African Lion Safari...where, naturally, I didn't take any photos of the actual lions. :confused3

Oh your summer sounds amazing. Especially jealous of PEI. I need time to slow down and lobsters and beaches and Green Gables and did I mention lobster :-)

It's a magical place. :goodvibes

Wow!!! That is insane for that far north

It was wild! And that was in the evening, so you can imagine what the afternoon might have felt like.

These are awesome!!!! Nate is definitely talented. I got to see Hamilton this summer so this one especially speaks to me.

Ooh, I'd love to see it someday! We've listened to the soundtrack in its entirety a few times on our road trips.

I dont think you can be a Canadian Kid if you have never been to Marineland- I mean "Everyone loves Marineland!"... Glad you had such a great summer!

Right!? The song is forever burned into my brain! Thanks—it really was a wonderful way to spend the summer!
 
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Don't worry, it didn't take me long to make him a much better sign than that. :cool:
The artist at work! Love it, and the fact that you made him a better sign LOL

N does the hard work. I play with the dolly.
I mean, everyone needs to have their purpose!


Prince Edward Island!
I always wanted to visit there!! I was obsessed with reading all of the Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea books!! Do you remember the Anne of Avonlea tv series? I almost thing it was on the Disney Channel, but I could be wrong. In any case, I was equally obsessed with that.

What an awesome summer you guys had together!! I enjoyed all of the pictures of your adventures (and your Septapus friend, too!) I hope some day N travels to Chicago for a show, so I can get a painting :)
 
Really, let's be real...I mean, do you guys even still remember me??

Umm... M, something... Martha? Mary?... ummm…. Marina?
I'll get it eventually...

I'm reading all of your responses, and they have been making me smile. :goodvibes

Good. :)

I won't have time to include a full report of my summer stint as a travelling artist's sidekick. I'm sure you're all heartbroken about this. :sad:

Well... yeah.

As a compromise, though, before I get back into that, I'm going to include just a few photos/highlights from our summer travels.

Yay!

if you haven't heard of a place before...it's probably because in Canada. :rotfl:

What's a Canada?


:duck:

Don't worry, it didn't take me long to make him a much better sign than that. :cool:

I should hope so!
"Hi! I'm a painter, but I can't paint a sign to save my life."


Geez, you sure take cute photos. :)

While in Ottawa, we saw Parliament (where the Canadian federal government does governmenty things.)

Did you go inside? It's quite impressive.

And we got to enjoy the beginning of the tulip festival that takes place every spring in Ottawa.

:sad2:
Lucky. I've been to Ottawa a few times (4?) and never at the right time. I almost saw the tulip festival once...
All that was left were the stalks. So... it was kinda like the dead tulip festival.

Niagara Falls. I had never been

For shame! And you call yourself a Canadian! :snooty:

I was totally excited to go...not to see the Falls...but to go to Marineland!!

Yay! Everyone loves Marineland.

Most people have never heard of it, especially if they didn't grow up in Canada with the catchy commercials on tv.

See previous comment. :goodvibes

It's kind of like what would happen if Sea World and a dated-looking travelling summer carnival had a baby.

OMG. That is so perfect a description.


Muuuuuch better.


Someone looks perfectly pleased. :)


Great shot of you two. :)


Oh!.... drool...


:lmao:

running a local women's 5K with my mom.

How was that? How did you guys do?

Also, if you've never been to a ribfest...it's not your typical food festival! It's...well....a lot of ribs

I would never have guessed that from the title. :laughing:
But no, I've never been to one. I'd like to, though.

We hit the road again, feeling fortunate that our work travels were taking us to one of our favourite places: Prince Edward Island!

Nice! Bucket list destination for me. Who knows.... maybe next year's road trip?

I highly recommend a visit if you can ever swing it! Especially in the summer.

Yes!

North Rustico (which the locals informed me should actually be called "The Crick"??)

Hmmm... gotta be a story there.

Things got a little tense at our table toward the end of the Canada Day event when an agitated drunk woman got upset at us for not allowing her to leave her drink on N's painting table, or to speak to us disrespectfully, etc.

"Only if I can drink it."

No? :rolleyes1

the famous Cow's ice cream (really, it's a thing. Look it up.),

I know! I've been to at least three of them. :)


Cute shirt. Love the lipstick, too.


I don't think I knew you had a tat. (types that very carefully)
Is there a story behind it?

This went down the same week that a scary heat wave hit the area, and we were hearing reports of people with underlying conditions who had gotten ill or passed away.

I remember that.

With humidity, the temperature the day we arrived in Montreal felt like 42 C (108 F).

Yeah... way too hot for that neck of the woods.
Just another day in Florida.

The small silver box in this photo holds four spray cans. And the large brown boxes are filled with the silver boxes.

whoa :eek:

"Don't worry. You have a woman to help you!" It summed up the theme of the summer nicely.

:laughing:

It was a 39-minute flight on a very tiny plane. Do not recommend.

And yet... twin engine turboprop. Not that small.


Someone is not overly happy here.

"Buskers," as it's affectionately called, brings in buskers and vendors from all over the world

Cool!


Hey! There's a CN Tower growing out of your head!
You can get those removed, I hear.

I loved the "job title" N had sent them for my Exhibitor badge there. We always joke that he's the talent, and I'm the organization, and together we make up "Painty and the Brains."

:lmao: Perfect!

Honestly, I'm only a casual Pokemon fan at best, but I thought he was adorable.

Know nothing of Pokémon, but he is cute.

At this con, N also painted one of the coolest pieces I think he's done. It was on a 2'x3' canvas for a woman who was disappointed at the lack of Batgirl merchandise at cons.

Nice!
All his pieces are, but yes... this one is the coolest. :)
 
Wow you guys had a busy summer. Hank got to see so much!! I remember going to Marineland in California years and years ago, I didn't know there was one in Canada. How exciting that you are getting to work in the clinic this term, it must be cool to get out of the classroom and start working with patients!!
 
I always wanted to visit there!! I was obsessed with reading all of the Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea books!! Do you remember the Anne of Avonlea tv series? I almost thing it was on the Disney Channel, but I could be wrong. In any case, I was equally obsessed with that.

It's wonderful! And yes, I totally remember the tv series! There's also a new Canadian tv series now called Anne with an E. I haven't seen it yet, but apparently it's quite good according to my friends who are Anne fans.

What an awesome summer you guys had together!! I enjoyed all of the pictures of your adventures (and your Septapus friend, too!) I hope some day N travels to Chicago for a show, so I can get a painting :)

I'll make sure to let you know if we're ever in your neck of the woods!

I should hope so!
"Hi! I'm a painter, but I can't paint a sign to save my life."

Exactly!! I often find myself shaking my head sadly at this man. :laughing:

Did you go inside? It's quite impressive.

I wanted to, but we didn't have much time. If we get back there any time soon, I'd really like to go in! I had so many things on my wish list for our Ottawa trip (markets, the Diefenbunker, other museums, etc.) and then we ended up only having a couple of free hours the first day we arrived after the show setup. So I'm very interested in going back!

:sad2:
Lucky. I've been to Ottawa a few times (4?) and never at the right time. I almost saw the tulip festival once...
All that was left were the stalks. So... it was kinda like the dead tulip festival.

It was very pretty!

Someone looks perfectly pleased. :)

Of course! Marineland belugas are definitely pleasing. I mean, all you have to do it "reach out, touch, give them a smile," and "you'll make a new friend for a long while!" :music:

How was that? How did you guys do?

It was...a little exhausting. :P I'd been struggling to keep up with training after being busy and on the road. But it was more of a fun run, and untimed, so we just did about half and half, walking and running, and we had fun! We're planning to do it again this coming summer.

Nice! Bucket list destination for me. Who knows.... maybe next year's road trip?

I hope you get there someday soon! It's really lovely. If you're ever in the Maritimes again, give me a shout!

I don't think I knew you had a tat. (types that very carefully)
Is there a story behind it?

Haha I don't. At least not yet. Though possibly someday! I'd like to get an Epcot World Showcase tattoo at some point. But this was just henna, so very temporary. When we were at the Charlottetown market earlier that weekend, there was a young woman originally from the Middle East who was going to the University of PEI and was doing henna tattoos at the market through the summer to save money for school. I thought she was a lovely girl, and she was doing a beautiful job, so I asked her to do one for me. (And she charged MUCH less than the ladies who do this in the Morocco pavilion in Epcot! I had also gotten one done there on my solo trip.)

Yeah... way too hot for that neck of the woods.
Just another day in Florida.

Precisely. And this was in the evening, so you can only imagine how brutal it was in the afternoon. It was good prep for going to Florida later in the summer!

And yet... twin engine turboprop. Not that small.

I guess I can't complain! There were even two seat on EACH side of the aisle! But boy, did that plane ever vibrate! Fortunately, we all had lots of room to spread out, because strangely enough there didn't seem to be many people who opted to fly from Halifax to Sydney...since it's only about a 4 hour drive. :laughing:

Hey! There's a CN Tower growing out of your head!
You can get those removed, I hear.

:rotfl: I really should look into that! It really interferes with my ability to wear a hat.

Wow you guys had a busy summer. Hank got to see so much!! I remember going to Marineland in California years and years ago, I didn't know there was one in Canada. How exciting that you are getting to work in the clinic this term, it must be cool to get out of the classroom and start working with patients!!

It was definitely very busy, but a wonderful summer! And yes, getting into some real clinical work is super exciting! I find myself thinking about the kids we've been working with all the time now, and finding their strengths and weaknesses so interesting!

Those paintings are fantastic!! Love getting to see a bit more into your summer - sounds crazy busy but also so much fun!

Thanks so much! We were a little run off our feet, but we had a wonderful time!
 
Exactly!! I often find myself shaking my head sadly at this man. :laughing:

:laughing:

I wanted to, but we didn't have much time. If we get back there any time soon, I'd really like to go in! I had so many things on my wish list for our Ottawa trip (markets, the Diefenbunker, other museums, etc.) and then we ended up only having a couple of free hours the first day we arrived after the show setup. So I'm very interested in going back!

You need to go back. That town has lots to offer.

Of course! Marineland belugas are definitely pleasing. I mean, all you have to do it "reach out, touch, give them a smile," and "you'll make a new friend for a long while!" :music:

::yes:: Everyone loves Marineland.

It was...a little exhausting. :P I'd been struggling to keep up with training after being busy and on the road. But it was more of a fun run, and untimed, so we just did about half and half, walking and running, and we had fun! We're planning to do it again this coming summer.

:)

I hope you get there someday soon! It's really lovely. If you're ever in the Maritimes again, give me a shout!

I most definitely plan to. I was not pleased at not being able to see you last time.

Haha I don't. At least not yet. Though possibly someday! I'd like to get an Epcot World Showcase tattoo at some point.

Interesting choice.

But this was just henna, so very temporary.

Ahhh… I suspected, but since you didn't say anything, I thought it was a "oh this? had it for years" kinda thing.

When we were at the Charlottetown market earlier that weekend, there was a young woman originally from the Middle East who was going to the University of PEI and was doing henna tattoos at the market through the summer to save money for school. I thought she was a lovely girl, and she was doing a beautiful job, so I asked her to do one for me. (And she charged MUCH less than the ladies who do this in the Morocco pavilion in Epcot! I had also gotten one done there on my solo trip.)

Nice!

I guess I can't complain! There were even two seat on EACH side of the aisle! But boy, did that plane ever vibrate!

uh huh.... remind me to tell you of my small plane experience.
Um... let me put it this way... I don't ever throw up. I will do almost anything to not.

I whoofed my cookies on this one. (similar to that one, I mean. maybe not that exact one... I think.)



Fortunately, we all had lots of room to spread out, because strangely enough there didn't seem to be many people who opted to fly from Halifax to Sydney...since it's only about a 4 hour drive. :laughing:

4 hour drive? That's like 1/3 the distance I normally drive.

;)

:rotfl: I really should look into that! It really interferes with my ability to wear a hat.

:laughing:
 
I most definitely plan to. I was not pleased at not being able to see you last time.

I'm counting on it! We really owe each other a Dismeet at this point. If I ever make it to Winnipeg, I'll make sure to let you know! Under different circumstances, Nathan (and possibly I) would be there this weekend for C4. But sadly Halifax's only major comic con is also taking place this weekend this year, and it's right in our backyard, so that's where we'll be. :sad1:

uh huh.... remind me to tell you of my small plane experience.
Um... let me put it this way... I don't ever throw up. I will do almost anything to not.

I whoofed my cookies on this one. (similar to that one, I mean. maybe not that exact one... I think.)

Oof! That sounds rough! :scared: As a highly vomit-phobic person (only once in the last 14 years, and I was VERY disappointed to break my streak! :laughing:)...I'd take a hard pass on that one!

4 hour drive? That's like 1/3 the distance I normally drive.

;)

Right!? Even I got used to driving (or passenger-ing) 10-15 hour days over the summer. But it was the kind of situation where the flight was inexpensive (not much more than my gas,) and Nate was already there with his truck, so I didn't want us to drive two vehicles back home.

What a great recap of your summer! Sounds like it was a lot of fun- and the pics are awesome!

N is so talented, his artwork is incredible!

It was a wonderful summer! I already sometimes miss it now that I'm back in school. And thanks - I'm really proud of the talent he's worked so hard to hone over the years! :goodvibes He makes it look so easy, but he's tried to teach me, and there's a lot to learn, and a lot of creative imagination involved!
 
I'm counting on it! We really owe each other a Dismeet at this point.

Yes we do!

If I ever make it to Winnipeg, I'll make sure to let you know! Under different circumstances, Nathan (and possibly I) would be there this weekend for C4. But sadly Halifax's only major comic con is also taking place this weekend this year, and it's right in our backyard, so that's where we'll be. :sad1:

Ah. Actually... I totally forgot about Comic Con here. Thanks for the reminder!

Maybe we'll bump into each other in May. That'd be a happy accident. :)

Oof! That sounds rough! :scared: As a highly vomit-phobic person (only once in the last 14 years, and I was VERY disappointed to break my streak! :laughing:)...I'd take a hard pass on that one!

Imagine..... seated on a hard fold down seat at the back of the plane... smelly, smoke filled pile of fire hose at your feet. Turbulence that is making your plane go up and down, left and right, and backwards several feet for every few you move forward......

Right!? Even I got used to driving (or passenger-ing) 10-15 hour days over the summer. But it was the kind of situation where the flight was inexpensive (not much more than my gas,) and Nate was already there with his truck, so I didn't want us to drive two vehicles back home.

Makes sense. :)
 
I will try to make time to be more attentive in future!

Don't worry, Meghan!! We ALL get it. Hard to give the DIS 100% and still do "real" life.


AWWWW!

If you've never heard of/been to PEI, it's a small island province (Canada's version of a "state" :P) on the east coast of Canada. Anne of Green Gables, lobster, potatoes, and red coloured dirt are its main exports. It's a beautiful place.

I've always wanted to go there!! I'd really love to someday and photograph it.

As N was staring at all the heavy boxes and wondering aloud how he'd ever get them all in his truck, one of the girls chuckled and told him, gesturing to me, "Don't worry. You have a woman to help you!" It summed up the theme of the summer nicely.

:rotfl2:

I flew out to Sydney Nova Scotia to meet him for another ribfest. It was a 39-minute flight on a very tiny plane. Do not recommend.

But, little planes are fun!! Especially when you're the pilot!

We always joke that he's the talent, and I'm the organization, and together we make up "Painty and the Brains."

:lmao:
 

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