We love visiting Moncton and try to get there a few times a year.  The vibes, entertainment, food and city as a whole are great.  I turned 50 in May of this year and decided no big parties (cause you know who ends up cleaning up after them).  What I really wanted to do was have a true Casino experience.  Vegas isn’t an option for us right now, so we decide to head to Moncton.  Yes, there is a casino in Halifax, but we prefer Moncton.

This would be the start to three nights celebrating and it was fantastic.  They upgraded us to a Marquis Suite and left a few treats in the room.

By the time all was said and done, it cost us nothing to go and we still had a few extra dollars in our pockets.  Great way to start the celebrations!

As a 50th birthday present to myself, I decided to do a DNA test through MyHeritage.  I have always known my paternal ancestry for the most part, we are Acadian, but my mother is adopted so I have never known nothing of that side.  I feel like part of my history and what I am is missing.  I certainly don’t need to meet or engage with anyone.  The grandparents, aunt and uncle I have are some of the best people I know.  I don’t need any more than what I already have.  It’s the history and the where, not the who that I am interested in.  I want to know where I come from.  Who I am.

I always said that I would love to the visit the places of my ancestry, a pilgrimage if you will.  But honestly I wasn’t prepared for the results.  Scandinavian?  Like what? Although, my son said if I was a Viking that would explain a lot. Not sure that was a compliment.

So now I find myself on a journey and when I get into it I can’t stop.  I had to force myself to take a break from it over the summer.  So many names in my DNA matches that aren’t familiar to me and some very surprising ones that are.  I have had a few really incredible email contacts as well.

As well as I know my father’s side, I didn’t know much about his mother and her side.  I have also made some pretty interesting discoveries there to.

I plan to retire in 2019, and for my first order of business I plan to start mapping out what I find.  I want to build a tree for my children so they know where they come from.

That should be an interesting journey!

For now though it’s time to move on to less serious stuff!