Kouchibouguac at dusk.
It feels pretty quiet today. The heat/humidity wave has eased off and the August issue was sent to the printers this morning. That left us with little to do today, which seems to be the mood in general. Things are quiet. A couple of people dropped by the office and I got caught up on some banking and billing. By two o'clock however, I sent Wendy home and now I'm just enjoying the quiet while I leisurely surf the web. I'm thinking of trying out one of the dealers in uncleaned Roman coins that sell lots on EBay. The individual lots aren't all that expensive, and the actual value of the coins to collectors may not add up to what you actually pay, but I'm interested in just having a bit of history to hold in my hand. My birthday was last weekend so I figure I can treat myself to a passing fancy.
We've been on the road a bit lately. The above photo was taken on an evening trip to Kouchibouguac Park which is about 30-45 minutes drive from here on the way to Moncton.
Shubenacadie Wildlife Park.
Last weekend, we also hit Halifax for a couple of days. We had a pretty good time. Friday we caught "The Wedding Crashers" while Saturday we went to the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park then the Halifax Shopping Centre to pick up a few things. We had supper (free for me, the birthday boy) at Mother Tucker's, and had drinks at Reflections and Ginger's. I also got to run into an old college buddy of mine for the first time in about a decade, so all went rather enjoyably.
Sunday was a bit of deja vu however. We just couldn't seem to get to a sushi restaurant no matter how hard we tried. The last time, we had attempted to go to Sushi Shige on Spring Garden but it was closed. It was raining so I was unable to convince Yeji to press onward to Doraku and instead we hopped back in the car and ended up at Maki Maki which, despite it being one of my old haunts, wasn't as well received as it once was and the prices had gone up just enough to leave me a bit disappointed (it always used to have the best deals going).
This time, I headed straight for Doraku, only to find it closed for good! Apparently this had just happened within the last month. Sushi Shige was closed again and Maki Maki wasn't an option. Neither was the place we'd seen Saturday night: "I Love Sushi" whose name wasn't inspiring of fine dining, I guess. (I think it's a good name but I was in the minority). Pete's Frootique sells sushi on Spring Garden Road too now, but it wasn't the kind of sit down spot we had hoped for either.
Lunch at Anatolia.
... so we did a mental globe hop and opted for Turkish food at Anatolia. It was the first time any of us (Kim, Yeji, and I) had ever been there although the same owners run a smaller version that we'd gone to last time we visited Halifax (housed in the spot that used to be Juicy Lucy's). The service at the small place had been really great-- they treated us like we were at a sit down restaurant even though the atmosphere was more of a counter-style quickservice joint. Anatolia's on the other hand was the best of everything we could have hoped for. The prices were more than reasonable, just like at the smaller restaurant, the decor was very cool with Turkish design and art on the walls and woven tableclthes. Best of all was the charcoal fire stove in the centre which gave the whole restaurant the aroma of woodsmoke. The food was delicious too. I had the lentil kofte and a mixed kebob plate. We were the only ones there too, so the experience was quiet and peaceful. I'm looking forward to going back.
We missed the Korean grocery story (Hyehwa Food Market). It was closed when we got there. The last time it had been open on Sunday so I'm not certain if they changed their hours or if they were just on holidays and closed shop for a spell. At any rate, we'll be having no kimchi for a while to come.
I'll try to post again later this week. With the next magazine done, the cover will be ready to be posted soon. I'll save it for another day though. I doubt it's even off the press yet and I wouldn't want to jinx it.
