Love: A Weekend of Wonders

   What started out as a calm weekend quickly turned into a three day adventure my dear readers. It consisted of three cities, two major events and many miles to get us from point A to point B (and when I say "we", I mean my friend Gen and I). She took the train from Kingston on Friday so that we could officially start our epic weekend early enough on the Saturday. We went to dinner, came up with a game plan for the next day, and called it a night.

   Saturday began with waffles and ice cream at the local coffee shop down the street, and soon after, we headed to the exhibition centre near the Ottawa airport for the Ottawa Outdoor show. I had gotten us tickets ahead of time, and we hoped to get some ideas (or at the very least some discounts) for anything and everything related to our travels. I had also met the organizer of the event previously (as he also happens to be the editor of that magazine) and I had high expectations. We got there in good time, explored the booths, got some tickets, pet a few animals and even participated in minnow racing. We did lose, but we didn't mind since we lost to a 5 year old little boy; he was quite pleased. We took our bags of free "swag" and headed out.

   Our next destination was Merrickville. Yes, we went to one of my favorite places since I thought it was imperative that Gen could relish in the love I have for this adorable town. We had lunch, did some shopping, bought some books and listened to the locals over some coffee. She loved the feel of it and we made a deal to come back over the summer so she could see it when it was busier and more beautiful. She didn't hesitate to agree. Then we headed back to Kingston late in the afternoon to arrive there in time for dinner. We ate at one of her favorite pubs (Red House), and once we were pleasantly content, we went back to her apartment, got in our pj's and spent our glorious Saturday night formatting and creating our new travel blog; (yes dear readers, you will get to read even more of my crazy adventures, but this time, they'll be a little more specific).

   After breakfast at a wonderful coffee shop on Sunday, I left early in the morning to make my way back to Ottawa to go to the Juno's Songwriters' Circle with Riles. As always, he managed to get amazing tickets (which happened to be front row, dead centre this time) for this intimate concert. There were 7 artists who performed songs after explaining the backstories to them. I LOVED it so much since I related with them on a personal level. What they were saying, were things I told myself often. The event was hosted by Bruce Cockburn, a legend in himself, and accompanied by performers Chantal Kreviazuk, Colin Linden, Daniel Caesar, Donovan Woods, Lisa Leblanc and Paul Murphy. Some of them I knew, and others, I grew to love in a matter of two songs. After a couple hours, the show ended and, Riles and I went to lunch. It was nice to do something a little different other than our regular movies (not that I don't enjoy them) but I always have so much fun when we try new things too.

   So as you can see my dearest readers, things don't always go as plan, but sometimes that's even better. We learn, we discover and we grow. It isn't just in travelling that we find this, but whenever we take a small step out of our comfort zone and try something different. With a busy month ahead, and a big trip coming up, I feel nothing but excitement as I await all the adventures ahead of me!

K.P.H.