Hey everyone!

And you thought I was done with this…

Before you say anything, yes I still have some more left of my tale. We are nearly finished with this, and I could have left it where I had stopped before. But I figured why not round it out by finishing up the recounts of (nevermind they were months ago) my travels?

I apologize for not posting in over a week and half. Finals hit me hard. I had projects and exams to cram for. It was terrible and stressful and a huge pain in the derriere. I am so glad I am done for the quarter! Now I can sit back and relax.

It has been extremely cold here in Seattle the past couple weeks. I wore so many layers I couldn’t really zip up my coat. I also had a huge scarf wrapped around my neck, and it was difficult to turn my head without turning my whole body too. But all that cold did result into something nice. We finally got a bit of snow! If you follow me on Instagram (cough cough hint hint), then you will know I’ve been wishing for snow. Ask and you shall receive. Though it was only a little bit of snow. It snowed at around 9pm and continued on throughout the night. However, by morning, the rain had washed away a lot of it. I did get a chance before it melted to walk in the fresh snow, and spin around under the soft glow of the moonlight reflected off the snow. There is just something so magical and beautiful about snow at night. During the daytime, it feels very festive, a winter wonderland. But at night, that’s when the magic really happens. The world is silent, winding down for the night, and there you are standing amidst the dancing white.

I really wish for a white Christmas this year.

Do you like snow? And do you get to enjoy it where you live?

Anyways, let’s take a trip back down memory lane, shall we? Rewind back to a couple months ago. If you missed my last recount of this New England cruise, read my previous post on it!

Our next stop on the cruise was Saint John, New Brunswick. At this point, the cruise was more than half over. It gets quite sad when vacations draw to an end. The thrill of traveling starts to fade after the mid point. Then the focus is just on trying to have as much fun, and make the most of the whatever time is left. Or at least, that’s what it is for me. I can’t help it. Regardless of this, I still really enjoyed seeing the last couple port stops.

When we went to Saint John, it ended up being a sunny warm day. The previous days were gloomier and rainy. It is hard to enjoy a trip when the weather dampens the mood, pun intended. But our stop at Saint John worked out in our favor.

Reversing Falls earlier in the day

There was a tour that went around the town to see landmarks and other points of interest. One place in particular was the Reversing Falls. Apparently, the water flowed upstream at certain times of the day, rather than going downstream like most do because of gravity. To be honest, I couldn’t really see the difference. That could be because I couldn’t tell to begin with which direction it was supposed to go. I did enjoy the view though. The sunlight glittered on the water in such a brilliant way. I had just gotten an iPhone 6s at the time, so I played around with the slow-mo and other picture settings to capture it.

I mentioned this before, but I really appreciate how cruises provide the chance to see glimpses of many places. Like some of you had similarly commented on in my last post about this trip, I agree that cruises don’t allow for a more detailed and authentic experience of a new place, but it does allow us to see more in a short time. I guess, you win some and you lose some. My desire is to travel to more places, to get to see more of the world. I want to be able to say I’ve checked off every place on my list. But, I also really want to experience these places in a real, memorable way. Sometimes, on vacations we tend to only see things in the superficial, touristy perspective. What I would give and do to have the chance to live for a month or several in a new place, then move on to another. That would definitely help to gain a better experience of a place. But it would also require a lot of time. And money.

One day, I hope to have the ability to say that every place I’ve seen in textbooks and online, I’ve experienced in person.

I took these photos on the tour bus, so the window reflection is shown. Oops…

The feel of this city, from the bit I got, was similar to Halifax, in that it reminded me of Victoria, BC. It also could have been because it was by the port. A smaller town, busy and lively in it’s own way, but not super crowded or urban.

Those randoms photobombing…

As I mentioned before, the Reversing Falls, well, reverse at a particular time of day. We ended up returning later in the day to see it happen. I did notice that it went a different direction, but I still couldn’t quite tell for sure. But, now that I look back at the photos, I guess I can see the difference. It’s not super clear, but it is somewhat there. It’s pretty cool how this happens. Sometimes the beauty of nature just amazes me so much.

The Reversing Falls later in the day

If only I can go back to this moment. Back to being on vacation. Although, I am done with finals. Winter break has officially arrived! But the feel is still different. A very short break of only a couple weeks. Definitely not enough!

I’ve gotten done with all my Christmas shopping already! For once I actually went in with a plan and stuck with it. Usually I would have only a vague idea of what to get, and would wander the aisles of many stores before finding what I want. This year, I planned ahead and made a list of what to get everyone. I’m feeling pretty proud of myself. I honestly cannot wait to give my friends and family their gifts now. I personally really find joy in giving people great gifts. Seeing their faces light up with excitement, and knowing that they truly appreciate the thought, time and effort put into it is so rewarding. Do you prefer to make or buy your holiday gifts?

Last couple bits of this trip I went on ages ago will be up soon to finish this tale I’ve been dragging out forever! I’m actually quite amazed I’ve dragged it out for this long. How did that even happen?

Are you traveling anywhere this winter? What do you have planned for the upcoming holidays? Comment down below to lemme know!!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post! Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a fabulous week!

Til next time,
~A