Eric arrived in Halifax a week prior and met Dodie, his couchsurfing host, her friend Jarret, and her other couchsurfer Alisha, from Australia, and together they went to the beach to say hello to the west side of the Atlantic (a different beach than the one Eric now sat saying goodbye to). The rest of the week was a whirlwind of exploration. Over the last few days of August Eric went to Wolfville with his Halifax (host / couchsurfing) family (Dodie, Jarret and Alisha), and saw the low tide of the Bay of Fundy, as well as exploring Halifax on his own.
Having few plans, Eric decided to rent a car and see more of Eastern Canada. Jarret's band was playing in Port Hawkesbury the night of September 1, so Eric decided to attend. He took the day to drive the beautiful coastal road towards the Cape (Cape Breton), and made it to Port Hawkesbury early enough to take a break before enjoying the music of Jarret’s and another band.
After a short sleep and a filling breakfast, courtesy of Jarret and his family, Eric headed off in the late morning sun to the red sand island of PEI. Catching the ferry at Caribou, Nova Scotia (just north of Pictu, NS the landing spot of many a Scotsmen) was Eric's first major driving stop for the day, and he took the time to take in the view and senses of the ocean voyage.
Eric's second major driving stop was Charlottetown, though on the journey to and from the PEI capital he stopped many times to appreciate the view, take photos, and enjoy the trip. His engineering mind marveled at the physical experience of seeing and driving the Confederation bridge (longest in the world crossing ice-covered water) back to the mainland.
As Eric drove through the corner of New Brunswick, while the sun set, he questioned if this short journey, with no stops, should count towards his goal of making it to as many provinces as he could in 12 months (starting with his Fringe tour through Manitoba, Saskatoon and Alberta, and now including Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island).
Eric planned his time in Truro by the moon. The night's rest after PEI was only the precursor to checking out the Bay of Fundy at low tide. In the intervening hours between low and high tide, Eric visited the historic site of Peggy's Cove, a rocky place with a lighthouse and many tourists, though picturesque for sure. After watching the tide come in, back at the same location near Truro, Eric returned to his Halifax home; Dodie's place.
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Eric sighed as he headed away from the beach. A lot of first had happened as he said good bye to his 20's. Alone in the bar he quietly said happy birthday to himself; 30. The bouncer didn't even say happy birthday when is ID was checked, but Eric was fulfilling his desire to be somewhere different (than the year before at least) each birthday. Eric finished his drink and said good bye to the few people he met on this Tuesday as he headed off into his last night in Halifax and the Maritime Provinces.Fall rolled into winter and Eric's next province came as the winter chill started to set in. Since September Eric had seen the work trip to Trail BC, with his acoustical engineering job at HFP Acoustical Consultants, approaching. How could he not when most of the office was going?
Eric tried to keep warm in the chilly November days in Trail, but noise measuring equipment is difficult to use with thick gloves. Eric got some reprieve from the cold when up on the stacks, near the warm exhausts. Despite this one relief, his other senses were tested; between the smell of some of the exhaust, and Eric's vertigo occasionally setting in, the work was tenuous and, well, hard work.
November ended and Eric prepared for Christmas with family, which included putting his sewing skills to work as he made a quilt for the newest member of the family; Sebastian David Georges DeCock-Jones, born December 18, 2007. Eric was happy at becoming an uncle, and even more so when he later heard that his sister, Samara, was recovering well from the rough birth. Eric spent Christmas with family and New Years Eve with friends.
As Eric rung in 2008 he was unaware of the emotional turmoil and decisions awaiting him. The first being a relationship he got into in the start of the year that could have turned into deep trouble for him had his new friends Rick and Bob not informed him about the true nature of his romantic interest. A learning experience that Eric figured could be of use to help in the event of a rewrite of "5 of a Kind."
With the impact of that failed relationship barely out of his mind, Eric began to contemplate his full future. With a life changing decision on his mind, Eric took a late spring trip. He still wanted to make it to most of the remaining provinces within the 12 months of the 2007 Fringe tour, so he packed his bags, cashed in his Airmiles and headed to central Canada; Ontario and Quebec, thereby making it to 9 out of 10 Canadian provinces in the 12 months (missing Newfoundland).
Eric had a great three days visiting family in Ottawa before taking his first city to city train in North America; Ottawa to Montreal. Up to this point Eric was blessed with free accommodation and nearly free transportation (only airline tax on Airmiles flight and local transit as VIA rail tickets were purchased with Airmiles). This blessing continued for most of his stay in Montreal as he Couchsurfed most of the week he was there. His first Couchsurfers were Marie & Eric, living in Montreal on a work permit from France. Eric had a lovely stay with them for three nights. During those days he spent time with his good friend Tom, and occasionally with Tom's boyfriend Jon and greyhound Bull.
Eric's second Couchsurfer, Anuj, had an emergency come up, but found a place for Eric for one night. The following night was the only night Eric paid for accommodations, finding a pleasant B&B in downtown Montreal. Anuj was still able to host Eric for his last two nights in Montreal. These last couple days Eric spent some time with Tom, Jon and Bull, as well as exploring Mt. Royal, shopping along St. Denis, and meeting an old school friend, Cyrus, for tea and stimulating conversations. For Eric's final evening in Montreal, Anuj took him to a Montreal Fringe Free-for-all promotion, as their festival started June 12, ten days after Eric's farewell. Overall Eric had a fun and relaxing time in Montreal.
A first class VIA rail trip took Eric from Montreal to Toronto, where his friend Christine met up with him, and together they had dinner with Joan and Ken, fellow Edmonton Fringe Team Leader volunteers. Christine hosted Eric for five nights. Toronto was more a chance to meet family and friends than to sightsee, but Eric managed to do a little exploring on this first time to Toronto on his own. A success of combining visiting and touring happened in attending a free evening at the Royal Ontario Museum, followed by dinner, with Tiffany and Paul (his cousin). In the evening Eric saw his old friend Zack, and they caught up over drinks. The following day included tea with Christine, then dinner and a walk around Toronto's downtown with Wes.
A little too much sun on the beach on Toronto Island meant Eric was a little light headed when he met up with Helen and Tyler, whom he had hosted in Calgary for the 2006 Fringe, for dinner. The dinner with Helen and Tyler was a great chance to catch up on theatre. The slight sun burn made Eric slow on his last full day in Toronto when he went on a walk in High Park with Jessamyn. This was a pleasant day and a chance to see the work Jessamyn had put into her beautiful house. That evening was a relaxing time with Christine, chatting and watching movies. The following morning Eric said goodbye to Zack over brunch, then packed up and after saying goodbye and thanks to Christine, caught his flight home.
With his cross-Canada trip over, Eric could turn his attention to other things, specifically the life changing decision he had arrived at earlier. With the birth of his nephew, and family living in Edmonton, Eric felt like he wanted to be closer to them... closer than the 300km between Calgary and Edmonton. Eric had also applied to the University of Alberta, Faculty of Education to start an education degree for the fall of 2007, and was accepted, however due to the financial cost of the Fringe tour, Eric declined to take that step into a new life. In April he had applied again, and was accepted. This time he decided to take the plunge back into student life. Though at the same time Eric didn't want to live entirely the life of a student; living with his parents. So, with his parents' assistance, a good credit rating, and a decline in the housing market, Eric bought a house. The remainder of June and July was packing up in Calgary. Possession of the house wasn't until September, so Eric placed all his belongings into storage for six weeks. Time was also spent with friends in Calgary and Edmonton. Les, of HFP Acoustical Engineering, was quite open and understanding of Eric's decision to take an education degree, and informed him that a place would be open for him at HFP should he want to return.
In the last few weeks of this chapter in Eric's life, he enjoyed volunteering for the Edmonton Fringe and attending the wedding of his cousin Katrina to Kris. At the events surrounding the wedding Eric had a chance to catch up with his cousins Steven and Maureen whom he'd not seen for a long while.
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