1 month in Cape Breton

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Mom and I departed Phuket at the end of April. She took the east way (Tokyo and Toronto) and I took the west (Zurich and Toronto) and we met in Halifax. From there we had the 3.5 hour drive to her home in Cape Breton.
A few days to adjust our clocks and first event was my neice, Kathryn's, graduation from Saint Francis Xavier University with her Bachelor of Arts.
Her parents, Carmen and Sharon, and her sister, Jessie, had all flown in for the event. Nice but chilly day with an absolutely wonderful graduation dinner (lobster and roast beef) following convocation that was interesting and pretty much run to schedule.
A few days later my brother Ivan joined us and we prepped for an early celebration of Mom's 80th birthday for the Nova Scotia 'gang' - well a selection anyway that we could fit in the local Jolly Club. Mom wanted to help but she was kept away from all the work. Rum, rye, beer and wine with juice and soda pop preceded dinner of lobster and a big birthday cake.

Ivan stayed for a few days and was able to put is speedboat, Papa Max, in for some work. Then he was back to Alberta. Jessie went on to visit friends in Toronto while her parents and sister remained in a Nova Scotia for a few weeks so Carmen and Sharon could show Kathryn around other parts of the province that university studies kept her away from exploring over the last 4 years.

I stayed pretty much at Mom's home taking shoreside walks and just chilling.
Last activity in Cape Breton was Mom's actual 80th birthday held on May 29 with an open house invitation to the neighbourhood. It was great to see many people coming in for a drink, sweets and loads of conversation (made difficult for Mom has she has contracted laryngitis). The we had dinner with several of Mom's side of the family dropping by.
So all that's left for me is to pack and head out to New Brunswick tomorrow (May 31).

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