Well, we’re back!
We had a great time on the East Coast, but after two weeks we were definitely eager to get home, to our new lives as husband and wife, but mostly to Thor, who we both missed dearly.
I won’t bore you with a complete rundown of every little thing we did, but here are some of the highlights.
First of all, in typical Air Canada fashion, they oversold our flight, and there was some question about whether or not we were going to be able to fly out at all. In the end, we were the last couple called ("Rogers, party of two!"), and it turned out they had bumped us up to First Class! A pretty sweet way to start off the honeymoon, we thought!

From the dock near our chalet, just outside of Truro.
After flying into Halifax Airport, which is actually about thirty minutes north of the city, we drove to Truro where we had a chalet rented for a few days. From there we did little road trips. We went to Oxford to see my uncles (that was on October 17th, my birthday, and I have to say it was very cool to spend my 30th in the town where my father was born and raised). We also went to Cape d’Or to see the lighthouse (natch), and on the way back we happened to see a sign for a town called Spencer’s Island which plugged it as the "home of the Mary Celeste." I thought, They can’t be talking about the Mary Celeste, the ship whose crew vanished without a trace in 1872? But it was, and being in the place where that fabled ship was built was very surreal. An added bonus to the trip I wasn’t expecting.

The lighthouse at Cape d’Or. The first one we saw, but certainly not the last.

Here’s a shot of me at Spencer’s Island, home of the Mary Celeste. An unexpected highlight of the trip for me, a huge mystery buff.

Kathryn cheats on me with the giant blueberry in Oxford. (Thanks, babe.)

I think I mentioned that my great-great grandfather was Sir Charles Tupper, sixth Prime Minster of Canada and one of the fathers of Confederation. This cane and set of binoculars belonged to his brother. They’re about 150 years old. My uncle Lorne took them out to show me and Kathryn when we visited the home place.
After spending about three days in the area, we packed up the rental car and headed east. We passed through New Glasgow and eventually stopped in Antigonish. Consequently, there happened to be a serious Norwalk outbreak at the university in town, St. Francis Xavier (St. FX, to those in the know), so we never left the bed-and-breakfast where we were staying, ordering takeout and watching the new episode of Lost.
The following day we crossed the Canso Causeway and headed up the west coast of Cape Breton Island. Plenty of good waveage, although the weather was still quite good, plenty more lighthouses, and we ended the night as one of only two or three couples staying in the small town of Pleasant Bay. That day we took a hike and saw eight – count ‘em, eight – moose! One was a big bull and we promptly snapped his pic and kept right on walking.

Pleasant Bay in the Cape Breton Highlands.

Kathryn after a huge wave almost crashed on top of her.
The next day we drove across the top of the Cape Breton Highlands, went on a few more hikes, and spent the night in Ingonish, consequently on the same day that a notorious serial rapist was being released from prison. We knew this because it was all over the news and the guy had already made it clear he was returning to his hometown once he was released. Greeeat. So, again, we stayed in, having rented a nice chalet right on the ocean, and we spent the night watching the waves crash on the rocks. I got a soaker while Kat was taking my picture, which seems to be my destiny whenever I get close to the Atlantic (remember Newfoundland, Carrie and Glenn?).
In the morning we once again packed up and headed out. We spent the next few days in Sydney Mines and Little Pond, the latter is the town where my mother and her eleven siblings grew up. The last time I had been there was exactly twenty years ago this past August, so once again it was a very surreal experience. Matching up fragmented and faded memories with this place that, fortunately, hasn’t changed all that much in the interim.
Some of the highlights of this part of the trip:
- I got to spend a lot of time with my uncle Brian, who toured us all around the Sydney area, taking Kat to a lighthouse that she declared was one of the best she’s ever seen.
- I got to see my aunts Marlie and Marie, whom I haven’t seen since my last visit (i.e., twenty years ago).
- Kat and I found the location where one of my favorite cult horror movies was filmed, My Bloody Valentine. People in the area still remembered when it was being shot, and directed us to the shooting locations around town. The film deals with a serial killer stalking people in an East Coast mining town. It was one of my sister’s favorites, as well, so I grabbed us both a piece of coal from the now closed and paved-over Princess mine as mementos.

You know you’re on a honeymoon with a horror writer when he takes you to romantic spots like… the place where they filmed My Bloody Valentine
- We also got to see New Waterford, a quaint little town where they filmed another good movie, New Waterford Girl. Who would have thought there had been so many movies made in Cape Breton?
After leaving the Sydney area, we stopped in Glace Bay to take a tour of an actual coal mine. It was very cool and very creepy. The tour guide, who was a retired miner himself, told some great stories and I got some equally great pics.

Kat and I suited up and just about to descend into the Ocean Deeps Colliery Mine

Kat very excited to see her favorite lighthouse of all…

…the Louisbourg Lighthouse (the oldest one in Canada).

Kathryn actually hugging the lighthouse (weirdo).
After spending the night in the very quiet town of Louisbourg, we left the island and drove several hours back across the province to Lunenburg. This is where we spent out last three or so days, walking around town and generally relaxing from our road trip. Kat found us a great place to stay, Lunenburg Oceanview Chalets. Very quiet and very restful. I ate lobster, which I haven’t had in years, and we saw the Bluenose and some very cool (and somewhat creepy) sea caves, and had one of the best dinners of our lives at the Kilted Frenchman (you must go there if you’re ever in the area).

Kathryn shows off her new touque on the trail to the sea caves.

The sea caves.
So, we ended up seeing a total of 13 lighthouses on the trip, and Kathryn was very happy with every one. I bought the new Stephen King book, and spent our last few days reading it while Kat read her own book or wrote in the journal which we kept over the course of our trip. We had a fantastic time. A perfect honeymoon!

Kat and I on one of our final nights, chillaxing with some wine.
The trip back was fast and painless. We were eager to get home and get back to our lives. If you swing by the Stories section, you’ll see I had a whopping eight rejections waiting for me. But it wasn’t too bad. Three of the letters were quite positive, in one of which the editor said he was sure the story would sell elsewhere, and in another, from the editor of Lunch Hour Stories, the editor told me "I think we’re getting closer to finding something that will work for our publication. I do like the way you write." Not too bad at all. (Frankly, I was more upset by the fact that a Tragically Hip concert in Peterborough was announced a week ago, and it sold out before we got back.)
I also had a bunch of books I had ordered waiting for me. Some Tim Lebbon short story collections, the complete Conan stories by Robert E. Howard, and some China Mieville books. It’s all good.
In other writing news, the editor of Revelation wrote me and said Issue 4:1, featuring my story "Winter Hammock," has been postponed until November due to some trouble with the artwork (which I guess means that Way Out West will be delayed, too).
And finally, I wanted to thank Melanie and Todd for letting me know that now that I’m 30 years old, the Sandman from Logan’s Run are probably looking for me. Thanks, guys!
Update: We just got the wedding pics today. I’ll try to post a few tomorrow.
- Currently reading: Lisey's Story, by Stephen King