Saturday, August 22, 2015

Extraordinary Kindness

Our newest friends, Cindy and Kevin.

Home exchanges.  The gift that keeps on giving.

During the summer of 2013, we did our first house exchange in England with Alan and Jo.  We have since become friends; keeping in touch via e-mail/facebook and getting together when they come to Squamish to visit their daughters.

A couple of months ago, Jo wrote to tell me about their Nova Scotian friends (whom they first met in Portugal after a tornado tossed Alan's boat into the middle of the road!). Cindy and Kevin were travelling to England at the end of August.  Would I be willing to give them some travel advice?  Of course I would!

The e-mails between Cindy and I began in earnest.

A few weeks later Cindy popped the question.  Would we like to stay with them while we were in Halifax?

It's not  every day a complete stranger invites you for a sleepover.  So of course I said YES!

We spent a fantastic day and a half with these beautiful souls.

They welcomed us into their gorgeous home with open arms and huge smiles.  They wined us and dined us and drove us all over the Halifax area in their sporty little convertible.  It felt as if we had known them forever.

Opening the first bottle of Nova Scotian wine. 

We made quick work of this pot o' mussels.

Mmmmm....mussels.

We were fast friends after an hour.

My dinner.

Cindy gave me a tutorial on the proper way to eat a lobster.

Kevin provided a musical interlude to the evening's festivities.

Relaxing on Canada's largest hammock.

Peggy's Cove.

Peggy's Cove

Peggy's Cove

"It's been a wonderful summer, hasn't it Joe?"  "Yes, Nanc, it has."

Just cruising the back roads of Nova Scotia with my newest friend Cindy.

Saying good-bye to these fine folks was hard after knowing them for only 39 hours!

Thank you, Cindy and Kevin, for the extraordinary kindness you showed two travellers.  You are consummate hosts and I will never forget our time together.  I hope we can re-pay your warm hospitality in the near future.  You will LOVE our little corner of the world.   Have a wonderful time in England with Alan and Jo.  I can't wait to hear the stories. 



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