Kayaking at Hopewell Rocks

The day we visited Hopewell Rocks was a bit overcast but the rain held off. We wore raincoats and rubber boots to be prepared, especially since we were going to be going kayaking as well. If the day had been nicer I might have been able to take swimming shoes for the kayaking but I would recommend wearing something sturdy on the ocean floor as it is rocky and can be quite muddy, depending on the day. Remember that the air is cooler near the water and unless it is a hot summer day you may need a light sweater. Also, before you go, check the tide and sailing schedules as well as the weather. This way you can plan your day better.

This isn’t the sort of place where you can take in a cooler and a change of clothes. You have to park before walking to the main entrance and there are no lockers so whatever you want with you, you are going to be carrying for the entire length of your stay. There is a restaurant and the food here is tasty and reasonably priced. This is in the building just past the entrance and there is also an interpretive centre, clean bathroom facilities and a gift shop as well.

The entrance fee is for a two day span and you can add the shuttle to your entrance fee for $2.00 a trip, per person (the shuttle is a golf type cart). The walk to the flowerpots from the entrance is a bit long and may be too much for older people or small children. We added it for one way as we thought we might be wet and tired after kayaking and we were glad we did. There is an automated machine at the shuttle stop where you can get a token if you don’t buy it and change your mind. We wanted to walk down so we could see the trail and any scenery. There is a short, steep path that leads to a look off that you can’t check out if you take the shuttle. The trail is wide, well maintained and there is a set of outhouse type bathrooms along the way.

This was along the pathway.

There are wide metal steps leading down to the flower pots. Much nicer than previous years I have been there, of course those were the days when you got in for free – how things change. There are feet and shoe cleaning stations at the top of the stairs which are quite convenient.

Shoe washing station

We had planned our day so we could walk on the ocean floor, check out the rock formations – eat lunch and then go kayaking, but because the restaurant was so far from the rocks we opted to get a snack at the Low Tide Café so we wouldn’t miss the kayaking check in time. The Low Tide Café offers a few snack type selections and drinks such as water, pop and coffee. It is takeout style and you can eat under cover at one of their many picnic tables. This location also has real washrooms.

From there we headed further down towards the beach area to check into Baymount Outdoor Adventures. They had asked us to be there an hour ahead of time but that really wasn’t necessary as we were sitting around waiting during that time – I think they tell you that so they don’t have 20 people signing waivers at the same time. When I called to make reservations I asked if I needed any experience and the friendly girl on the phone told me that 85% of the people who went had never kayaked before. We were in a fairly large group and when asked about experience almost everyone raised their hand that they had done it before, which made us very nervous!

We were outfitted with PDF’s,  skirts for the kayaks and given a paddle. Then we walked to the beach where they taught us how to paddle with our partner, how to steer and what to do if we flipped over (which they assured us wasn’t going to happen). We chose a kayak at the water’s edge and the guides adjusted our equipment and pushed us off into the water. There was a guide in the front of the group, a couple in the middle and one at the back. The tide was rising quite quickly at this point and we were able to kayak amongst the rocks we had been walking around an hour earlier. The guides told us the names of the rocks and interesting information about the area.

Everyone made it look like it was so easy but my husband was finding it very difficult. He isn’t a huge man but he is solid and he couldn’t move in the kayak and he was cramping up and I was scared that he was going to tip us. On the way back a guide asked how he was doing and let us know that they could let him out at the steps so he could walk back. One of the guides got in the back of the kayak I was using and the trip back up the coast was more enjoyable. I will say that I enjoyed the kayaking adventure and I would like to try it again sometime. The scenery is amazing, not something you can experience anywhere. I thought it was well worth the money. Here is a picture of how much the tide had risen in the time we were out in the kayaks.

It was raining when we finished kayaking and were very grateful that we had tokens to take the shuttle back up the hill. I’m sure walking up that slope in the rain would not have been fun. We had a late lunch at the restaurant there. You order at a counter,  they assign you a table and bring you your food. We had a table overlooking the patio and water which would have been amazing on a nice day.

After our late lunch we checked out the interpretive centre and the gift shop. I enjoyed the gift shop a lot. There were so many very Canadian things there like maple syrup, plaid, everything moose related, inuksuk jewelry, postcards of the area and many other things.

Restaurant

Interpretive Centre

I should mention that there was a path in the opposite direction to a look off that I’m sure I would have been eager to check out if the weather had held but it didn’t seem appealing in the rain and for those with children there is a small playground area. 

We decided to head into Moncton for the rest of the day and there are many things to check out on the way, museums, antique shops and roadside stands selling strawberries, local vegetables and plants. I thoroughly enjoyed this drive and look forward to doing this again soon.

Jason Bourne – You Know His Name

I went to see the latest Jason Bourne movie the other night with my husband. It is exactly what you would expect – action, fighting, more action and violence. I don’t know what is up with all the action movies the past year or so but they like to make the action scenes so fast that you can’t actually see what is happening, same with the fight scenes. I think they do that so they don’t have to actually make sense.

My husband loved this movie as he loves Jason Bourne and all action movies. For me it was just okay. I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t seen it yet but one of my favorite characters dies quite early in the film and I didn’t want that to happen. There is a new female character who is part of the CIA and I haven’t decided yet if she is going to be a good guy or bad guy and by that I mean, someone who helps or hinders Jason Bourne in his fight for life. I guess I will have to wait and see when they come out with the next one… because you know they are going to.

I did see one small child at the theatre for this movie which gave me pause – is that what you want in your child’s head? Violence in, violence out. It’s just like feeding your child a healthy nutritional diet, you have to feed their brain with good things as well. When unsure about a movie always check Plugged in Movie Reviews http://www.pluggedin.ca/movie-reviews . I always did this with my daughter, sometimes you see a preview and you think that is going to be so funny or so cute or whatever the case may be and it turns out to be something else completely. This has happened countless times to me and that is why I love this website so much. It doesn’t judge or say go to this movie or don’t go to this movie – it just tells you what the content is and you can decide for yourself and your own child. Sometimes you watch a movie and you think, that was pretty good and then you watch it again with your child and realize, oh there are a lot of swear words in this. We have heard and seen so much violence and bad language that it kind of goes in one ear and out the other – with this site you don’t have to worry about what you are taking your child to again. I know I have gotten a little off track here but I think it is important to take care of our children. 

As for this movie, if you are a Jason Bourne fan, you are going to like this movie as it stays true to form.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Part I and II

By J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, and John Tiffany

I read the Harry Potter books as they came out and then I read them to my daughter. We went to each movie together, sometimes for the midnight showing so we could see it as soon as possible. I remember late nights with my daughter and a carload of her friends, they would spend the night and I would tiptoe out the door in the morning and try to keep my eyes open through the workday. We loved those books, the characters and the imaginative world J.K. Rowling had created. This spring we even took a trip to Florida specifically to visit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for the Harry Potter World – which is an amazing place for any fan to visit.

Being such big fans we were very excited about the new book and I went to the store first thing on July 31^st to pick up my copy. I wasn’t able to read it right away as we were busy but I read it as soon as I could. I know that when you build something up you have high expectations and often times you enjoy something more if it comes as a pleasant surprise, well my expectations for this book were way too high and I ended up very disappointed.

First of all this is written as a play and therefore you lose all the heart, and depth of the story. It is as bare bones as possible and not a fun format to read. I was also very disappointed with the premise of the story, how going back in time changes the future. This has been done so many times already that it seems lame for an author with such an impressive imagination. I found it quite boring and dull, only getting a little better near the end when Harry’s son starts to become a character and not a hollow name on a page.

I won’t be able to see the play as I live too far away but I am hoping they make this into a movie because I think it would be much more enjoyable that way. I’m the type of person who likes to read the book before seeing the movie so you know the background and what the characters are thinking and feeling but in this case I think the opposite will be true.

I feel I set myself up for disappointment with this book – expecting it to be as well written and thought out as the previous books but I am glad that I read it because now I know for myself. Plus, I need to have the hard cover version to sit on the shelf beside my other Harry Potter books but I am disgusted that they charged so much money for it when it is obviously not nearly the quality of the other books in the series. Sadly disappointed in the poor quality of this book.

Should I Use Photo Key at Busch Gardens/ Sea World/ Aquatica

If you go on a lot of rides, Photo Key might be the way to go for you. You can get packages that include more than one park and it is convenient for getting your whole family in your vacation photos.

For me it wasn’t really worth buying the package.

At Aquatica I didn’t see photo ops on any of the rides and we only missed one or two. We did get our picture taken inside the main entrance. 

It was supposed to be in front of one of the animal sculptures but we weren’t lined up with it and so the background was of a crowd of people we do not know. The second place you can get pictures taken is at Roa’s Rapids. We went on this several times throughout the day as it was our favorite. A photographer showed up late in the afternoon and we tried two photographs. One had an unknown child in the front of it, the other was okay but not anything special. The photographer was standing in an area where the current is swift and there is nothing special in the background. With the foliage and water features you would think there would be a better spot to take a picture than in front of the blue and white tiles which makes it look like you are at any generic pool. I did buy the pictures so we could have them but they weren’t spectacular and it was much cheaper to buy the pictures than to buy the package. We also got three frames to go with them.

We didn’t do many rides at Busch Gardens. It was our first time there and I’m the only one who enjoys roller coasters so we spent all of our time looking at the animals. If you did the rides, the package might be of value to you. We had our picture taken just inside the entrance and I saw they were taking pictures in the bird enclosure. We went on the train and the Skyride, neither had photographs. 

We had bought the package to go feed the giraffes. You are allowed to take your camera in there but it was very crowded and so difficult to get a good picture. I did buy the package when we left – these pictures are not included in the Photo Key package. I was very disappointed with the pictures, we were in a hurry when I purchased them and didn’t realize that there were no pictures of any of us actually feeding the giraffe and the one picture that they organize  was of our family under the giraffe but we were not looking at the photographer. It was very disappointing. 

At Sea World we didn’t go the rides either – so if you do it might be worthwhile to buy the package. We did get our picture taken just inside the park and at one of the waterfalls. We tried to get our picture taken in the shark’s mouth but the system wasn’t working when we were there. That is three pictures total. 

We had signed up to do the Arctic Adventure and you are not allowed to take your cameras or phones in there – no photos allowed. The photographers here were actually very good and they got some awesome shots of our family. These photos are not included in the Photo Key either but they are for sale at the same area as all the other photos which is convenient. We really wanted the other pictures that were taken in the park and the cashier added the price of a second day of Photo Key to our Adventure photos so we could get both, which was really nice. This was the one park where I was impressed by the photographers.

Should I Use Photo Key at Busch Gardens/ Sea World/ Aquatica

If you go on a lot of rides, Photo Key might be the way to go for you. You can get packages that include more than one park and it is convenient for getting your whole family in your vacation photos.

For me it wasn’t really worth buying the package.

At Aquatica I didn’t see photo ops on any of the rides and we only missed one or two. We did get our picture taken inside the main entrance. 

It was supposed to be in front of one of the animal sculptures but we weren’t lined up with it and so the background was of a crowd of people we do not know. The second place you can get pictures taken is at Roa’s Rapids. We went on this several times throughout the day as it was our favorite. A photographer showed up late in the afternoon and we tried two photographs. One had an unknown child in the front of it, the other was okay but not anything special. The photographer was standing in an area where the current is swift and there is nothing special in the background. With the foliage and water features you would think there would be a better spot to take a picture than in front of the blue and white tiles which makes it look like you are at any generic pool. I did buy the pictures so we could have them but they weren’t spectacular and it was much cheaper to buy the pictures than to buy the package. We also got three frames to go with them.

We didn’t do many rides at Busch Gardens. It was our first time there and I’m the only one who enjoys roller coasters so we spent all of our time looking at the animals. If you did the rides, the package might be of value to you. We had our picture taken just inside the entrance and I saw they were taking pictures in the bird enclosure. We went on the train and the Skyride, neither had photographs. 

We had bought the package to go feed the giraffes. You are allowed to take your camera in there but it was very crowded and so difficult to get a good picture. I did buy the package when we left – these pictures are not included in the Photo Key package. I was very disappointed with the pictures, we were in a hurry when I purchased them and didn’t realize that there were no pictures of any of us actually feeding the giraffe and the one picture that they organize  was of our family under the giraffe but we were not looking at the photographer. It was very disappointing. 

At Sea World we didn’t go the rides either – so if you do it might be worthwhile to buy the package. We did get our picture taken just inside the park and at one of the waterfalls. We tried to get our picture taken in the shark’s mouth but the system wasn’t working when we were there. That is three pictures total. 

We had signed up to do the Arctic Adventure and you are not allowed to take your cameras or phones in there – no photos allowed. The photographers here were actually very good and they got some awesome shots of our family. These photos are not included in the Photo Key either but they are for sale at the same area as all the other photos which is convenient. We really wanted the other pictures that were taken in the park and the cashier added the price of a second day of Photo Key to our Adventure photos so we could get both, which was really nice. This was the one park where I was impressed by the photographers.

Ghostbusters

I went and saw the new Ghostbusters last night. About a month ago I watched the older ones in anticipation of this one. I must say the special effects have come a very long way. I enjoyed the movie, it kept my attention and I even felt a little creeped out in the beginning which was a pleasant surprise. I always love Melissa McCarthy but the unexpected surprise for me was Kate McKinnon. She was fabulous! I had to look her up to see if I had seen her in anything else, which I hadn’t, not really, unless you count voices. She was in both Angry Birds and Finding Dory. Nothing against the rest of the cast but she did stand out as one of the best to me. I am looking forward to what she will do in the future.

I liked that the characters in this movie were developed but they didn’t take forever to tell you who they were and there was an actual storyline. Sometimes in these types of movies it is all fight sequences and special effects but this had a little more depth than that. The dialogue was witty and well delivered. I enjoyed this movie and will probably take go again this weekend with my husband. I think teen and preteen children would also enjoy this movie, especially if they are not prone to nightmares or bothered by the supernatural. Younger children I would leave at home as some of the scenes could be frightening to them. 

The Secret Life of Pets

I went to see this with a friend because nothing else was playing. The theatre was packed with people of every age. I love it when the theatre is full and you can get everyone’s reaction. This movie was funny and cute. The entire theatre was laughing. I thought the animation was really well done in this movie and I enjoyed the jokes as much as the children. Take your kids, if you want an extra treat, eat at McDonalds first, they have the pets in their kids meals – and make a night of it!