Hurricane Watch 2010!

Hey Friends.

In case nobody told you, after a solid month of beautiful weather, mother nature decided to throw a curve ball right at the heart of our party with Hurricane Earl.

The latest weather reports say there's a pretty good chance Earl will hit Nova Scotia sometime between Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

Despite this, our ten year anniversary party is still a go!
In case of rain, we'll be moving the party to the Twin Village Social Club hall in Amirault's Hill (where the dance party was scheduled to take place later in the evening). We will proceed as normal with the foods and the drinks and the entertainment, and party till the cows come home (not really, there are no cows in Sluice Point).

In terms of accommodations, if you were planning on camping this may - quite literally - put a damper on your situation. There is select room for some people at my parent's house and at Nicole's parent's house, but if you're interested in finding a room with a bed, I would suggest checking out our blog post on Yarmouth accommodation info.

Also a reminder if you're traveling, especially if you're traveling on Saturday morning, plan to leave a bit early. If it's raining hard we want everyone to be safe, so don't rush it.

If you need anything, or have any questions, get in touch with Nicole via facebook, txt or email (addy available on the blog).

Regardless of the weather, we're all going to be together and we're all going to have a good time, and that's the whole point now isn't it?

To make a little light of the situation, here's a link to an mp3 of me having a conversation with CKDU's Cat Chapman about my hate-on for Earl. Enjoy!

http://halifaxisburning.ckdu.ca/earl.mp3

See you Saturday.

Even More Yarmouth Accommodation Info

If you're not the camping type, or the sleeping on the floor type, you may be the type to look into other kinds of accommodations if you're traveling to Yarmouth for our party.

We've put together a list of places to stay in the Yarmouth area along with relevant info including websites, phone numbers, and the cheapest room rates available.

Comfort Inn
Location: 96 Starrs Road, Yarmouth
Distance: 21km
Cheapest Rate: $110.99
Phone: 902.742.1119
Website

Best Western Mermaid Motel
Location: 545 Main Street, Yarmouth
Distance: 23km
Cheapest Rate: $139.99
Phone: 902.742.7821
Website

Lakelawn Motel
Location: 641 Main Street, Yarmouth
Distance: 23km
Cheapest Rate: $59.00
Phone: 902.742.3588
Website

Rodd Grand Hotel
Location: 417 Main Street, Yarmouth
Distance: 24km
Cheapest Rate: $90.00
Phone: 902.742.2446
Website

Mid-Town Motel
Location: 13 Parade Street, Yarmouth
Distance: 24km
Cheapest Rate: $65.00
Phone: 902.742.5333

MacKinnon-Cann Inn
Location: 27 Willow Street, Yarmouth
Distance: 24.5km
Cheapest Rate: $138.00
Phone: 902.742.9900
Website

Rodd Colony Harbour Inn
Location: 6 Forest Street, Yarmouth
Distance: 25km
Cheapest Rate: $84.00
Phone: 902.742.9194
Website

Murray Manor Bed & Breakfast
Location: 225 Main Street, Yarmouth
Distance: 25km
Cheapest Rate: $98.00
Phone: 902.742.9625
Website

Voyageur Motel
Location: 518 Lakeside Drive, Dayton
Distance: 26km
Cheapest Rate: $89.00
Phone: 902.742.7157
Website

El Rancho Motel
Location:214 Lakeside Drive, Dayton
Distance: 27km
Cheapest Rate: $69.00
Phone: 902.742.2408

Red Cap Motel
Location: West Pubnico
Distance: 38km
Cheapest Rate: $85.00
Phone: 902.762.2112
Website

Yesteryears Bed and Breakfast
Location: West Pubnico, NS
Distance: 38km
Cheapest Rate: $85.00
Phone: 902.762.2969
Website

Announcing The Entertainment!!

A good party has to have music. A great party has to have live music. The most amazing party you've ever been to has to have both, and we've got it covered.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the musical entertainment for our Yarmouth festivities!

AFTERNOON - BBQ - AT TREVOR'S MOM'S HOUSE

All the way from Toronto, Ontario, the best choir in the nation, The Hamilton Trading Company.

Not only are these some of the nicest people we've ever met, they are also some of the most amazing performers in the country. One guitar, a plethora of voices, and a thunder of hand claps and foot stomps, The Hamilton Trading Company is sure to be a crowd pleaser.



Also performing, all the way from Petite Riviere, Nova Scotia, the one and only Jon McKiel.

With his haunting voice and intimate demeanor, Jon captivates audiences hearts, minds, bodies and souls.




EVENING - DANCE PARTY - AT THE TWIN VILLAGE SOCIAL CLUB IN AMIRAULT'S HILL

Straight from Stratford, PEI DJ Phat Staxxx (Jeff Pineau) will be spinning some of your favorite bangin' dance tracks, probably with a little help from some friends.


Are you excited yet?

Should I Bring Anything?

Many people have been asking about some of the logistics of our party, so throughout the course of this blog we're going to attempt to answer some of them.

One of the most frequently asked questions has been: "Should I Bring Anything?"

Well, it depends on what you mean by "anything."

FOOD:
We'll be providing some essential eats, like hamburgers (fresh from Emin's meat market in Yarmouth, yum!) and hot dogs and chips etc. If you'd like to contribute some salads or deserts, that would be great - the more food the better, but no pressure.

ACCOMMODATIONS:
There will be a few choice bed/couch/floor spaces available at my parents' house, but we are highly recommending some camping equipment if you want to spend the night. We've got lots of room for tents in the back yard. If camping isn't your thing, we have a few friends from Yarmouth who may be willing to lend out some couch space, and there's also some room available at Nicole's house in Pubnico. Later this week I'll post a list of possible places to stay in/around town if you're interested in that option.

GIFTS:
For the love of God (or whatever else you choose to believe in), we are not asking for nor are we expecting gifts. The best gift we could get is having you all come down to celebrate this occasion with us. No gifts are necessary. We will, however, have some musical entertainment throughout the afternoon (details to come later this week!) so if you want to chip in for some donations, I'm sure they would appreciate it - and so would we.

Easy To Use Directions

Don't know where on earth Sluice Point is?
No problem. We're providing some easy to use directions.


FROM HALIFAX
- Take Highway 103 (South Shore)
- Drive straight for about 3 hours
- Take Exit 33 Tusket/Quinan
- Turn left towards Tusket
- Drive straight (about 2 minutes) until you come to a fork in the road at an antique store called "The Hanging Oak." Stay right, and drive down the hill.
- Drive straight for about 9km
- Turn right at Bourque's Crescent
- The party's at the second house on the right. White house, #80.

Google Maps.

FROM YARMOUTH
- Take Highway 103
- Drive straight for 7 money saving minutes
- Take Exit 33 Tusket/Quinan
- Turn right towards Tusket
- Drive straight (about 2 minutes) until you come to a fork in the road at an antique store called "The Hanging Oak." Stay right, and drive down the hill.
- Drive straight for about 9km
- Turn right at Bourque's Crescent
- The party's at the second house on the right. White house, #80.

Google Maps

-----------

Want to print these directions off and take them with you? No problem. Download here.

New Blog!!!

Tonight we're launching our new blog that will serve as a go-to resource for our 10th anniversary celebration.

All the info will come soon, including directions, info on the day's entertainment, accommodation details, food options, etc. For now, let's stick to the pertinent details:

WHO: Trev & Nicole
WHAT: 10 Year Anniversary Party
WHEN: Saturday, September 4th 2010 from 2pm until whenever
WHERE: Sluice Point/Amirault's Hill, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia
WHY: Because you love us as much as we love each other

More to come. Stay tuned!

(PS, the posts below are from our travel blog compiled last summer. The information isn't relevant to this new blog format, but they sure fun to read/watch)

Criss-Crossing through Southern Ontario

When we last left you, we were heading for Collingwood to visit my cousin's Andrew and Barb. After a few brief mishaps with directions, we rolled up to their house for a wonderful barbecue and lots of catching up. That night, we went downtown to a bar an caught a set by two guys with acoustic guitars and had some pints. The guys were good singers, but what impressed me the most was the Traveling Wilburys song they played. Until two years ago, I hadn't seen Andrew or Barb since I was maybe 4 years old, so it was nice to spend some time with them.

I got to see alot of extended family on this trip and got to introduce them to nicole; that has probably been one of the best parts of this adventure.

The next day we drove to Burlington where I rented a guitar, and then went to Hamilton to visit my great Aunt Doll. She's a great lady, and is super spry and lively for an 84-year-old woman. We had a good chat, she made us supper and insisted we spend the night in the guest room downstairs.

That evening, Nicole and I went out to Stone Creek (not even 5 minutes outside Hamilton) to a bar called The Old Powerhouse where I was playing a show with my friends Pneumatic Transit. My set was OK, its always hard to be a dude with a guitar playing to a bunch of people in a bar, but I had fun. I played a Chore song ("General Warning") and Adrian caught a Chore reference in one of my new songs. Good to be in Hamilton...

Pneumatic Transit's set was great. I really like their dueling Telecaster, pop-rocking, riff driven tunes. They're going to be in Halifax just as we are getting home, so I'm psyched about that.

After breakfast and coffee with Aunt Doll, we hit the road for Bayfield, Ontario.

Bayfield is a beautiful town just outside of Stratford, and is absolutely gorgeous in the summer. We spent the day reading in a park and throwing rocks in the water at the beach. Good day.

Around supper time, we went to the Black Dog - a great bar in "downtown" Bayfield - where I was to be playing a couple sets that night. Let me preempt anything to come by saying that we always have an amazing time in Bayfield for one reason: Peter Meades. Peter is a king among men, and always treats the people who stop in to play like fellow royalty. We're talking food, a place to stay, booze. There are not enough people - let alone promoters - like Peter in the world.

Needless to say, it was great to see him again, and we proceeded to have an amazing night. Nicole and I had a nice dinner outside. It was probably the best date we've been on since we've been gone (although we've just spent 2 months together, but I don't consider riding in a car for hours on time a date per say).

As entertainment for the night, I was competing against Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Finals. Yikes. I ended up playing intermission sets, and then a set after the Penguins won the Cup (ol' Crosby bringin' it home). However, after the hockey game, a lot of people left the bar so I ended up just playing a set of mostly covers for my own amusement. I broke out the usual covers: Hungry Eyes by Eric Carmen, Amen by pre-me Sleepless Nights, and - as per the night before - General Warning by Chore. But I tried a couple newish and oldish things too. I played Co. by Brian Borcherdt, California by Alan Benjamin, Blood Bank by Bon Iver and I even whipped up a version of Breathe Deep Tornado by Sleepless Nights. It was a fun little set.

Once the set was over (and the bar was closed), however, the debauchery began. Drinks were flying, the iPod was cranked, the girls - Nicole and the two bartenders - were dancing. Me and the cook were talking about pickle and cheese sandwiches again.

Like I said, Bayfield is always a good time.

Sometimes, too good.

I tend not to get sick (read drunk sick or hangover sick) very often. We're talking once, maybe twice a year. Well after the night in Bayfield, it looks like I'm not scheduled to get sick till 2010. It was rough.

The next day, we left for Toronto and both of us were feeling the hurt, though Nicole less noticeably than I.

When we go to the T-Dot, we went to my cousin Malizza's house and literally watched TV and laid on her couch all day. It's about all we could. Malizza and her husband had went to a Major League Soccer game that night, so we stayed in and watched the Yes Man and Sweeney Todd. Sleep and rest were the key ingredients for our stay in Toronto. Yes indeed, and quite necessary.

Sunday morning, we went out for brunch with the cousins before we scooted down to St. Catherine's.

This was a day I'd been looking forward to since we re-vamped our travel schedule and decided not to go to Newfoundland. Today, I would get to see my boyfriends (read: my band) for the first time in almost two months.

It just so happened that a tour was scheduled for Sleepless Nights smack in the middle of our trip, so the boys had to find a fill-in bass player during my absence. St. Catherine's was their first show of the tour, so we went to see them.

We were camping about five minutes outside of St. Cat's - and the boys came over for some BBQ. It was great to see them all again, and it made me a little sad to not be going on tour.

We went down to the bar later in evening to catch their set, which was pretty surreal in and of itself. Not many people can say they get the chance to sit back and watch their own band play a set. So that was pretty cool.

I got up and sang "Got Caught" with them, and Phil ended up playing an entire verse while perched on my shoulders. Who says you can't have fun on a Sunday night?

Sleepless Nights are touring with a band from Regina, SK called Rah Rah and they played a pretty great set. The boys told me it was kind of subdued, and they played a lot of new songs - but I really liked it. I was a big fan of their gang vocals.

After some late-night pizza, and a round of hugs and high-fives, we said goodbye to the guys and made our way back to our tent.

Monday, we drove up to Ottawa and stayed with our good buddy Kandace again. Nicole was excited because she finally got to meet Kandace's fiance, Matt. Great guy. It was a pretty relaxed evening, just some supper (thanks Kandace!) and some TV and then bed.

Yesterday, we drove to to Montreal and came over to Karley and Aaron's (and Beta's) place. We took a drive out to Mt. Tremblant in the afternoon and saw what a ski-resort village looks like in the summer. Tourist season wasn't in full effect yet, so there wasn't a lot of people there, and that was great. We got to walk around pretty leisurely and take in the sights, etc.

After that excursion, we came back to Karley's and made a sweet pasta supper - just like we used to in the old days (minus the box of red wine that used to accompany our suppers on Vernon Street). We also watched Supermarket Sweet - best. gameshow. ever. Somebody's gotta help me finance its come-back.

In the evening, we took the Metro (subway) down to Old Montreal where we saw the Notre Dame Cathedral, city hall, etc. We had some micro-brew beers on a patio, and came back to Karley's to call it a night.

We literally only have two and a half more days left on this trip.

Today we are driving to Quebec City to spend the day there and camp. Then tomorrow we are driving to Fredericton. Friday - after stopping in Sackville, NB for lunch with my cousin Suzy - we'll be on our way back to Halifax.

Hard to believe this is almost over.