Leaving for Halifax!

Today, to say the least, was quite an adventure. I am here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, writing this blog from the comfort of my bed at the Halifax Nova Scotian. Folks, if you have never stayed at a Westin, holy cow, I am a believer! It is so fabulous…..the bed, the bathroom, the flat screen LG TV mounted to the wall….wow! I board the MS Explorer tomorrow at 2 PM and the hotel is only two blocks from the cruise ship terminal. I could not tell if the ship docked this evening or if it will be arriving tomorrow morning, but I am hoping to get out tomorrow (if I can get out of this bed) and do a little exploring, because honestly, I’m not sure when I will be in Nova Scotia in the near future.

So let’s recap the travel day. It started out with a delicious breakfast of angel food cake straight from the bakery at Kroger. And it was pretty great. The good folks at Student Affairs IT paid me a visit this morning to do some last-minute work on my laptop and then it was time to say goodbye to OSU for the summer. I stopped by to say goodbye to Scott Boden, my former supervisor, who very kindly passed along 5 euro so I can buy some Diet Coke in Europe (or Coke Light as they call it in Europe). Thanks Scott, I’m sure that will get me a couple of cans J

Next, Brian and I stopped over at Morrill Tower to say good bye to Semester at Sea alumni/future bridesman for the Biebuyck/Tomlinson wedding, Doug Eck. I ‘ll admit, at this point in the day, I am getting pretty nervous….but that’s how I usually work; I get excited, then I get really nervous, then I am over it (at this point, I am 99% over it, 1% nervous). Said goodbye to Doug and then headed on over for the Last Lunch at Cap City Diner. Brian and I had a great lunch and then headed over to Port Columbus.

Brian stayed with me until I went through security. I will spare folks the details, but it was a tearful goodbye…I think I owe him a shirt for all of the eyeliner/mascara stains that now occupy the left and right shoulder area of his shirt. But you know what, folks. I seriously have the best guy in the world. Even up until the end, all he kept saying was how excited he was for me and how proud he was that I was doing this. He is pretty much amazing and I miss him already.

So here’s where the good Biebs’ moments pick up for the day. I arrive in Toronto safely and actually had a fabulous seat partner by the name of Judy McFadden. Judy lives in Toronto and was giving me the low down on Istanbul and Naples, since she cruised to those destinations in April. We were pretty tight during the flight and good old Judy gave me a hug as we parted ways at the customs check in at the Toronto-Pearson airport. A big shout out to Judy, my first friend made on my trip!

So as I am sailing through customs, feeling good, ready to board the last leg of the trip to Halifax, I notice that something is amiss. As I passed through customs, the young man grilling me looked at my carry on bag and asked if that was all that I was traveling with. I was a bit confused as to why he was asking this question, but just let it pass. Now as I am heading up the elevator to the floor where I pick up my connection, I notice a sign that reads, “Connecting Flight Baggage Check In.” My curiosity piqued, I asked an Air Canada rep what that meant exactly. Well, apparently in Canada, when you have a connecting flight to another province, you actually pick up your checked in luggage on the baggage carousel and then re-check them in at the terminal in which you flying. So I had to run to the Lost and Found office at Air Canada and get the attention of a representative, who then directed me to fill out some forms. Now I am sweating a little at this point, considering it was 6:15 and the flight to Halifax left at 7:00 PM. An Air Canada rep had to escort me back through customs and I had to explain to Canadian customs officials why I didn’t take my bags. I get down to the baggage claim area and there are my two bags going round and round the carousel all by their lonesome. Grabbing my bags, I skibbled on through, checked in my luggage and went through security again, and got to the gate as the flight was boarding.

The flight to Halifax was great; I got my luggage right away, got on the shuttle, and was whisked away downtown to the Westin, where I am currently writing this tome. Tomorrow morning will be an adventure-esque outing complete with photo ops and I am hoping to get sneak peak of the MS Explorer before boarding at 2 PM.

Love you all! I will be reporting from the Explorer very soon!!