Halifax, Nova Scotia!

It’s official! The opportunity of a lifetime has begun, as I left my hometown of Albany, NY yesterday morning with my parents. We were planning to leave around 7 am, but made it out around 7:45… not bad considering our track record. It was quite a long drive…. It took a little over 15 hours to reach our hotel. However, the weather was nice and I was able to watch some movies and get some reading down for our global class. I watched Mamma Mia and Legally Blonde the musical… two of my fav’s! We went up through Maine (which is like all woods) and crossed the border around 5 pm. The officer was not very friendly, and drilled us with questions. He just didn’t understand whyyy I had to come to Canada to board a ship associated with a US university. But, he finally let us in! Yay! And since we left the states, I can no longer use my cell phone. It is difficult! I want so badly to call or text my friends, or even use it to meet up with fellow SAS’s in Halifax. But, I have to depend on my free Internet in the hotels for now. And at least there is free e-mail on the ship… which I board in about 17 hours from now! 17 HOURS!!!!! SOOOO EXCITED!

At around 11 pm last night, or midnight Halifax time since we didn’t realize there was a time difference, we arrived at our hotel. We had gotten lost for about 45 min. in Halifax before we eventually made it to our hotel… where we stayed at the Future Inn. It was a very nice place situated right next to my favorite place, Starbucks! I of course had to get one last caramel frapaccino this morning before I leave the states. I will definitely miss them!

As I am writing this, I am sitting in our second hotel room, at the Atlantica. I am very impressed with it, as are my parents. It is almost 5 pm, and the day was mostly cloudy, and a little colder than I would have liked. I guess it could be worse…. It’s funny how I always considered Albany, NY to be pretty far North, and cold. However, coming here, Albany is most definitely south (by 15 hrs!) and I appreciate our warmer weather! I do not know how they do it… having only two fairly decent months of the year.

Today, we decided to explore a little bit of downtown Halifax. For lunch we went to Alexander Keith’s famous brewery. I got a beer and BBQ chicken, which was really good. And even though my birthday isn’t until June 26th, I basically considered yesterday my 21st right when I crossed the border! I am now legally able to drink wherever I go! Yay! But don’t worry, I still plan on celebrating hardcore on the 26th… IN SPAIN!! I cannot wait, their nightlife is supposed to be AMAZING, and I’ll be able to turn of age with my best friend, whom is supposed to arrive in Halifax tomorrow night.

After lunch, we ventured over to the Nova Scotia Casino. It was nice, but somewhat small. I actually think Turning Stone by Syracuse is larger. I had a good time though, as I played the roulette table for about 15 minutes with only $5.00! At one time, I was up $17.00. I of course lost it all again though. My mother lost her five on the nickel slot machines much faster though…

After the casino, we went to a small ice cream shop on the harbor walk titled Cows. Supposedly, it is ranked the World’s Best Ice Cream. So, one cannot visit Halifax and not try any! Hence, I ordered their Oreo flavor on their homemade waffle cones. YUM. I definitely fear that I will spend most of my travel money for this trip on food…

After ice cream, we walked around all the little shops by the water. Overall, I thought it was incredibly quiet! I couldn’t believe that there was like no one around! Oh well… I guess June isn’t their busiest time. Nonetheless, I am glad I was able to come to Halifax a little earlier and share it with my two favorite people, my loving parents. I wish they could come with me on SAS! I was actually just trying to convince them to be lifelong learners on the ship… but no luck. We’ll all enjoy a cruise one day together though, I hope. But I guess that’s enough until my current travels begin……on TUESDAY!!