Until the next visit…

When I moved away from the east coast more than four years ago, there was comfort in knowing that family back east were just a day and an overpriced airline ticket away. Now in pandemic times and with the borders to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia remaining effectively closed, I haven’t been back to visit family since late fall last year. I’m sitting on a host of Air Canada flight credits for trips that were cancelled with no prognosis on when I’ll be able to use them. Even worse, the small airport in my parents’ home town of Bathurst was taken off of Air Canada’s roster of places they fly, meaning this view I had on landing there last November is something I may never see again.

Bathurst from the air

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Snowbanks for miles

People in Saskatchewan, at least around Saskatoon, have no idea what a lot of snow looks like. Snowbank size is relative, but when I visited my mom and dad in northern New Brunswick in March after an epic winter, there was no question who should have had a licence to say something negative about their winter.

Landing in Bathurst, I was immediately taken by the amount of snow on the ground. Driving on the highway from the airport into town was like driving down tunnels of snow. Even after about a week of melting, here’s what the snowbanks in my parents’ driveway looked like.

Mom and Dad's house in Bathurst

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