newfoundland!

Once upon a time, overnight flights were life as I knew it.  24 hours of being awake was a completely normal part of my existence, and I shrugged off being tired and just accepted it as a trade-off for my awesome career.  Fast forward a few years, and whether it's a case of me getting older or just being acclimatized to more routine hours of consciousness... It's certainly not as easy as it used to be.
I found this out as I was halfway across the country, with hours of flying left in my duty day. I was en route to St. John's, Newfoundland, via every single city on the way. Okay fine, not quite... via the oil sands, Winnipeg, and Deer Lake. It was a long evening/early morning that was spent drinking mass amounts of caffeinated beverages, reading almost an entire novel, and walking aimlessly up and down the aircraft aisles between the sleepy, snoring passengers. We left Edmonton at 8 pm, and arrived 10 hours later.  It was a sunny morning in St John's, and I felt terrible wasting any time sleeping, but my body refused to go on any longer.  Before my nap, I made a quick stop to visit my friend Nicole, who was among the crew taking the plane we'd just brought over back to Alberta. We hugged and chatted before she returned to work and I crawled into my long awaited bed.  Ahhh, sleep. I could have spent the entire day lying there, but I'd made plans with friends and was forced to awake from my slumber.  My friends and former coworkers Apryl and Dave moved back to Newfoundland a few years ago, and have since started a family and a very successful photography business called Ray of Light Photography.  Dave picked me up at my hotel, with a Starbucks latte waiting in the vehicle. Step number one in becoming best friends with a flight attendant:  Offer coffee.
  I met the kids and we drove to their house where Apryl was busy working away.  Her project that day was a stop motion video with a friend and cervical cancer survivor.  It was a lot of work, but the finished result is going to be amazing.  I was happy to tag along and help out wherever I could.  The photos were taken in several different locations, which was a bonus for a tourist like myself.
We went into the city, and up to Signal Hill, which was a gorgeous spot overlooking the city and the water. I let the pro do her thing and went off to do my tourist thing and take a few of mine own quick shots... a few on my camera, and a couple of the mandatory Instagram snaps. 

They decided to wrap up for the day, but before returning home Apryl took me to a gorgeous little spot called Quidi Vidi. It was once a fishing village, and now home to a brewery, beautiful landscapes, and a couple of dream houses. Old boats lay scattered on the shore, and the ocean stretched as far as we could see! Being the photographer that she is, Apryl snapped some photos of me in all of my happy traveler glory.  As someone who generally explores new places solo, it's uncommon for me to ever have photos that I'm in. It was great to have something to say "Hey look, I was here!". I truly appreciate it, especially from a busy and talented photographer! Despite the fact that I'd slept only 2 hours, she managed to make me look good!  (If only Blogger wasn't so stubborn with photos...) 

We returned to the house where we caught up on the past 5 years and cheered on baby Kenzie as she took her very first steps! I felt so special to have 

been there on such an exciting day.  We spent a couple of hours chatting before we were treated to a wonderful dinner courtesy of Dave. My goodness, he can sure cook. I felt spoiled as I sat there sipping wine with old friends. Let's be honest... my job is awesome.  

I felt as though I might actually fall asleep at the table, and the next morning I'd have to fly home, so I taxied back to the hotel and retreated to my bed.  I was exhausted, but I'd had a good day in St. John's and I couldn't wait to return. 

The next day was a long one... 13 hours to be precise.  To make matters worse, I was forced to drink hotel coffee. Since my wonderful husband purchased a coffee bean grinder to go along with our espresso machine, I've been spoiled and I'll admit that I'm a coffee snob. Drinking hotel coffee was no easy task, but I needed it for the long day ahead.  Eventually we landed in Edmonton and I drove home and called it a night. I had the bed to myself for the first time since we moved in nearly a year ago, and I took full advantage of this by lying diagonally across it. As much as I love traveling to new places, I'm very excited about the fact that I now have 4 whole days off! Hello, relaxation!