The Beginning of Our Grandest Adventure

Well, to say the least, it been a while...

SO much
has happened since my last post...

Nathan and I
closed the United States chapter of our lives
(at least for now)

Making the long (>3600km) drive
from Shreveport, Louisianna to Nova Scotia, Canada
(all with a stow-away in toe)

Angela & Nathan April 2013- Brooklyn, New York

Since moving back to Nova Scotia
we have been crazy busy.
We have both been doing clinical rotations.
(Thankfully, that is also wrapping up (at least for a short while) 


They say:
"When one door closes, another door opens"
  -Alexander Graham Bell

In our case the first door hasn't quite closed...

However, as most everyone already knows,
the next door is due to open mid August 
with the much anticipated arrival of
Baby St.Onge.

20 weeks vs 37 weeks!
 It's amazing what 17weeks will do!

Although we still have
many unknowns ahead of us for the next year
school, residency, jobs, moves...

Baddeck, Cape Breton, 2013

One thing we know for sure is
this baby is coming into a world of love.

Waiting for baby

The countdown is on and
we are very excited to meet
Baby St.Onge 
and begin this new and grand adventure
of raising a family together.



And
that's all that really matters.

xoxo

New Orleans

Currently we are living in Shreveport Louisiana

This is in the North-West part of Louisiana. 

This is also the last leg of our time in the U.S.

To be honest,

our time here got off to a bit of a rough start...

Originally, 

we moved into a place well below our standard of living...

For two days (until we found a new place) 

I basically adopted our car as my home...

This was only last week but, the trauma has already subsided,

and it's just another funny story in the adventures of A&N!

Anyways the highlight of coming to Louisiana 

was, and always will be, going to New Orleans.

Not wasting anytime, 

we drove (5+hours) down to New Orleans last weekend!

This worked out well as it was also St. Paddy's Day, 

so we got to see the city at it's finest!

New Orleans did not dissapoint!

It is full of life and culture 24/7

Bourbon Street

Angela & Nathan on Borbon Street!

One week-end was not enough time to explore this dynamic city!

We spent our whole time in the French Quarter.

Some of our favourite things were: 

The streets lined with brick buildings and iron balconies 

Mardis Gras beads everywhere!

Not to mention people wearing and tossing beads off balconies, etc...

We weren't in the city 10 min before people were putting them over our heads!

Notice the Mardis Gras beads on this lamppost!

 Little alleys and doors that open up into courtyards!

Street Performers every corner, every block!

Festive, happy people everywhere!

Bourbon Street Daytime! Does anyone notice anything else?

 The history!

After years, and years, of learning about the deportation of the acadians, 

from Nova Scotia (and other parts of the Maritimes) to New Orleans,

 it was interesting to hear 'the american version'

Beautiful St. Louis Church in the French Quarter

The food tasting!

New Orleans is known for it's love of food!

So naturally we went on a food tour 

and tasted all kinds of New Orleans and Louisiana foods:

gumbo, jambalya, muffalata, poy boy sandwiches, char-broiled oysters, beignets...

Yum fresh beignets! Gotta love the french :)

A little slice of heaven day or night: coffee, fresh beignets, and live jazz!

and alligator! 

Yes, that's right, Nathan ate Gator

(I tried a nibble but it was SO not my thing very greasy, plus its an alligator!?)

Seems pretty happy with his gator on a stick, doesn't he!?

We had so much fun in New Orleans!

Of course there is much more to see and do...

I guess we'll just have to return for Mardis Gras!

All for now!

Hilton Head, South Carolina

We are currently living on Hilton Head, SC

It's an island just off the mainland South Carolina

It is basically a resort community,

and, at times, feels like 

everyone but us is well into retirement!

We rented a condo here for a month 

to enjoy a little study 'stay-cation' 

by the sea!

Sunrise from our balcony

We are throughly enjoying our 'stay-cation'

The beach here is so long and beautiful and 

the compact sand is perfect for riding a bike!

{which was a first for each of us}

The island itself is way bigger and more 'americanized' than I anticipated...

{for example, not that i'm a fan, but there is a walmart on the island?!)

However, they have done a great job keeping the place looking pretty... 

It's hard to recognize even the most obvious chain restaurants 

and department stores.

Lighthouse, Harbor Town, Hilton Head

Pretty Tree's, Hilton Head

Harbor Town

We have also learned,

not to feed Alligators!

{though, what one would feed an alligator remains a mystery}  

Good thing we read this sign!

As we have already seen our first gator!

Alligator!

Last but not least,

during our first week here

we enjoyed a casual Valentines day dinner 

at a cute little seaside restaurant

{The Salty Dog}

This came highly recommended from our friends 

and did not disappoint!

All for now!

Way down South in Atlanta, Georgia

We are enjoying our time in Atlanta, Georgia

Although... it has been quite wet, raining almost everyday...

I am sure to get lots of sympathy from my Canadian friends & family ;)

Our apartment is a small studio, but it is cute & 

has everything we need!

Our new apartment

The sitting area

Plus we are very pleased with our neighbourhood, 

lots of parks & shopping within walking distance.

As far as exploring Atlanta, 

we've been taking advantage of our time here and 

doing all the 'touristy' things Atlanta has to offer.

Including the Georgia Aquarium:

They claim this is the largest aquarium in the world. 

It was really cool to see all the fish... 

reminded us of our time diving in the caribbean 

Whale sharks

As usual 

with any captivated animals

I felt an immense ethical dilemma about attending the aquarium

But that is a debate for another time & place...

Dragonfish

We also visited the World of Coca-cola

because, well,  Coca-cola was invented in Atlanta.

Sharing a Coke with the inventor Mr. Pemberton 

The best part of the tour was definitely the tasting room, 

where you had the opportunity to sample 

all the different Coke products from around the world.

  

Nathan tasting what Coke Latin America has to offer!

We also toured CNN World Headquarters.

The building was quite impressive & 

provided an interesting look into professions which differs

 so very much from our interests.

In addition we also visited museums.

Thanks to my brother Chris & his better half Avery 

who gave us the tickets & inspiration

 to see Atlanta's tourist highlights.

We are looking forward to exploring more of what Atlanta has to offer!

 

New Year's in Nashville

On our way from Kansas city to Atlanta, Georgia

we stopped in Nashville, Tennessee 

Where we welcomed 2013!

Although our time their was short, 

Nashville seems like a pretty cool little city...

And Broadway is the place to be... 

if you are looking for live country music

Country bars, Country bars, & more Country bars

This is where Nathan really wanted to go!

We enjoyed the free outdoor concert, 

which was really fun, even despite the cold & the rain!

In true Nashville style, 

they dropped a music note at the stroke of midnight!

Cheers to 2013!