When people first meet B-Rod and discover he’s a pilot, the reaction is usually the same . . .
“Wow!! That’s cool!!”
B-Rod’s response is usually the same . . . .
“It’s just a job, and it’s actually not that cool.”
I feel like they’re both right! It’s a job where your “office” is being able to look down below through the big windows at various scenes and get a different perspective of the world. That’s cool!
Yet, it’s also a job that can lead to burn out, involves being away from home a lot, navigating different beds and environments, and is not quite as glamorous as people might perceive it to be.
As I love flying, I sometimes forget about the work/grind aspect of doing it for a living. So, when B told me he had a longer layover this month and wanted to know if I wanted to tag along, I said yes for the adventure aspect, but also for the reminder to see what life on the road is actually like for him since this would only be the second time in 10 years I’d be going with him to work. Not to mention we’d be going to New Brunswick . . . . a province I had never been to before! So, off to Moncton for 48hrs I went!
I first made my way to his base airport where I was sure to visit the short story machine a good friend had told me about a while ago!
B-Rod said hi before he got on the plane to go to work, then I stopped in his office before I found my seat (and made sure to NOT press any buttons . . . . . I DID control myself Putter!! 😆)
And then it was just a regular red-eye flight . . . . except I knew the guy who was making the announcements! 😊
We landed early in the morning and the original plan was to pick up the rental car B had pre-booked, but we were both tired, so we ended up at the hotel for a nap and slept longer than we intended. When we finally made it to the rental car office, the only car they had left for us to take was . . . . .
Not exactly the small zippy car we were expecting/hoping for, but he did the job and made us put another one on our list of vehicles we would NEVER own! 😆 Hank is waaaaaaaaaayyyyy better!!!
New Brunswick was experiencing a heat wave before we got there. The day we landed and our first full day, it rained most of the time. Our second full day it was back to heat wave status, so we got to experience both worlds.
Our plan was to simply drive around and figure things out along the way, with the exception of one must do item!
Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy
This is something we had talked about doing for years and now we finally got the chance. We ended up going twice. Both times at low tide, but once on the rainy day and once with plenty of sun.
Tides in the Fundy area are the highest in the world
It might have been partly because we were seeing it for the first time, or because it was less busy because of the weather, but I was surprised that the rainy day was the one that felt the most ✨magical✨ to me!
So many different faces and personalities in all of the rock structures!
This is such a cool area that I would never tire of visiting!
Another highlight of our short time in New Brunswick was a nighttime multimedia show that had been indirectly recommended to me!
Lumina Night Walk
A friend had recently told me about a night walk in Whistler, BC that she highly recommended and described as an evening light/art/multimedia show/walk. I had filed it to the back of my mind hoping to possibly make it there sometime this summer.
Our Moncton hotel room had a magazine whose cover caught my attention. I read the article to find there was a light/art/multimedia show/walk that was fairly new close to Moncton! When looking into it further, I found that this night walk was done by the same company that did the one in Whistler. They do these shows all over the world. Of course we had to go!!!
It’s a similar idea at all of the various shows, but each of the places has a different story. This one was called Akadi Lumina and illustrated various aspects of the Acadian culture.
Such a cool experience and highly recommended!
Lobster
Of course it was recommended that we have lobster! Someone that B-Rod had flown with previously told us to go to a specific place. The other pilot that B was flying with on this shift had gone the last time he was in Moncton to a different place that was recommended to him, and another couple we know where recommended a completely different spot. The common factor was all of these eateries were in the same small town! So off to Alma we went!
Our meals were good, but we both came to the same conclusion that we already suspected. B-Rod finds shellfish for the most part meh, and I like crab more than lobster. At least we’ve now come to definite conclusions!
Wanderin’
A lot of our travels involve simply wandering with no real firm plans to see what shows up. This time was no different, but instead of walking, we simply drove and stopped when one of us felt called to explore something more closely. Or, I walked around and wandered when B-Rod needed extra time to rest and recover to prepare for his next flight.
Surprise Hang Out
On our last afternoon, we were leaving the Hopewell Rocks about to head back to Moncton to have our last meal in the area when we heard B-Rod’s name called.
Turned out it was a couple of friends of ours from Medicine Hat! On the one hand, it might not seem so weird and random to run into them – Both B-Rod and C fly for the same company. But, I couldn’t help think of all the things that had to come into play for all of us to meet there. B & C both happened to fly into Moncton on the same day within 15min of each other (one from Calgary, one from Edmonton). They both happened to convince their wives to tag along with them to work for that specific pairing. If we would have left 2 seconds sooner, or they would have arrived 2 seconds later, we would have missed each other. Turns out we were staying on the same floor at the hotel, but never ran into each other, etc., etc., etc.
Of course, we met up with them after and enjoyed our last meal in Moncton together! It was also cool for me because the next day I was flying back to Calgary which means B wasn’t flying me back. But, I still got to personally know who was in charge of the plane I was on! 😃
Thanks for taking me to work B. Maybe I’ll get to do it again sometime!
