"Whale Oil Beef Hooked!"

An early birthday gift was given to me this week. I've always wanted to see the Maritimes ... and now I will!

Daughter knew of the plans for a little while. "Is Nova Scotia far? Remember how we read Anne of Green Gables together? I still love that book. How allergic are you to shellfish?"

But it wasn't until Baby Boy came over to me after Daughter whispered something in his ear that I got an inkling.

"Would you like to stay in a hotel for your birthday?"

Husband knew the jig was up, so we went out for dinner and a card was presented to me.

He planned everything with guidance from three of my friends. Everything is booked, which was another reason why he wanted to give me the heads-up now. He figured that I would find out about his plans when I'm on the internet. The itinerary was emailed to him and he knows I check the history, because I want to see what the kids are surfing for.

My parents might come with us, too. It's going to be wonderful.

I've been to the West Coast many, many times and even travelled across the country that way via train and car five times. My friend Jules, who lived in the Maritimes for a bunch of years, made an astute observation. "You'll love it because as beautiful as the mountains and the Pacific and all that are, there's precious little history. The East Coast is a gorgeous part of the country AND it has history out of the wazoo."

I can't wait to see Pier 21. I absolutely loved hearing my Auntie Mary and Zi's emigration stories. My dad was only six so he doesn't remember as much as his older sisters did. And the only thing that my grandmother, who used to talk with me often, told me about that time was, in fact, about arriving in Halifax. She said she was treated with the utmost respect when she and her parcel of children came off the boat. A man, who also spoke Maltese, helped guide her to the train station and rode with her until he departed in Montreal. She knew then that she was going to be okay in this new country and that, like that man, was going to be good to her.