On the Island

Sunrise over the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Day 9 of our trip was a day of rest. It was Sunday and Father’s Day and R.J.’s day. We did not drive one inch (or centimeter, even – we are in Canada, after all). We sang some hymns along with Chris Rice (from his Living Room Sessions CD) and checked Facebook to hear about Pastor Steve’s farewell and Pastor Mark’s sermon. I walked down to the ocean several times, just to prove I could do it. I did get up early (like 4:30 am) to go watch the sunrise over the ocean. I thanked God for all the blessings of this trip so far. He felt close enough to touch, out there in the cool air, with the sky just starting to warm up and the birds (even a faraway rooster) greeting the day. I came back up to the cottage just as R.J. was getting his shoes on to come out and look to see if I had been “killt in a bog.” I hadn’t, so he went back to bed. I stayed up, reviewed my pictures on the computer, took a warm shower, ate my breakfast, and then had TWO cups of chai to warm me back up again. We must be on vacation, for me to have a second cup of chai!

Our day went along at a nice, relaxing, slow pace. I determined that if I wanted clean underwear for the following day, laundry must be done. Our establishment has laundry access, so I sorted the clothes into the suitcases and rolled one down to the office building to begin that task. That’s when I found out what a nice gal we have running this place. Thelma was there as I began. I got the clothes ready to go in the washing machine when she asked if I had detergent. Well yes, I did, but I left it back in the car. I would need to go get it. She told me just to use some of hers. Then I needed change for the machines, but all I had in Canadian money was enough to do two washes and one dry (plus a $10 bill). She didn’t have change for a ten, so she gave me enough for the last load to dry. Sure, it was only $1.50, but still – she did not have to do that. I thought it was very generous.

Our one planned activity of the day was to do a Google Hangout with the kids, for Father’s Day. That was highly entertaining, as usual. We didn’t have a great connection, so we ended up doing at least half of the chat with voice only, to get the best communication we could. I couldn’t begin to narrate all the odd little bunny trails that were trod during our time visiting, but let’s just say that R.J. and I have raised a HILARIOUS group of children. I love them. With that accomplished and the laundry done, I fixed our spaghetti for supper. (What the dad wants, the dad gets on Father’s Day.) After the spaghetti was going, I discovered there was no strainer in this kitchen. We just had to use the pot lid to drain off the water when we were done. Improvising skills are required on the road. That’s about it for the day. I conked out at about 9:00 pm after getting up so early.

Our full service attendant - were we supposed to tip him?

Today, Day 10, we decided to have an adventure! One of the things we wanted to do was to drive the North Cape Coastal Drive, all the way around the northern end of the Island. We had no idea how long it would really take, but we set out at about 9:30, ready for a day of exploring. We had an interesting start to the trip, as we stopped at a gas station that was FULL SERVICE! I had not seen that since – well, since a very long time ago! The service attendant filled our tank and washed our windows. Wow! Then we had our one downer of the day – our credit card was declined at the gas station.  We thought about that off and on during the day, but we kept going with our adventure. (It turned out that even though I told them about our trip, they put a hold on the card because of “suspicious activity” and then called our house, where we weren’t. I got it all straightened out when we got back here.)

The Bideford Parsonage Museum

North Cape Lighthouse

The Northern Cape Coastal Drive around Prince Edward Island goes on a lot of twists and turns to make sure you see every nook and cranny possible. We saw a lot of amazing vistas.  After going through many small towns (including one named – I kid you not – South West Lot 16) and taking one road which lead to a dead end (but was on our map as part of the drive), we spontaneously pulled over at the Bideford Parsonage Museum. It was a house where Lucy Maud Montgomery boarded for a year while teaching school. We took a tour of the house, restored to how it was in the late 1800's. It was interesting, but it put us a bit behind schedule for the day.  At about 1:45, we finally came to our first planned stop of the day: the North Cape Lighthouse, Wind Energy Interpretive Centre & Gift Shop, and Black Marsh Nature Trail. R.J. had read about the trail, and according to what he read, it was a boardwalk trail along the ocean. It was not; it was, instead, the place where all the mosquitoes live. Good thing I brought the spray along! About fifty feet into the woods, on a decidedly un-boardwalk path, we stopped to spray ourselves. I wasn’t quick enough getting the spray out, and the mosquitoes descended on us immediately. We walked and brushed them away until I got the spray out, and then quickly doused ourselves. It definitely helped. We only walked for about a half an hour, but it was nice to stretch our legs. Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I was wearing my world’s best T-shirt today. I saw this T-shirt online and then commented on Facebook about how much I loved it. Some wonderful, anonymous friend sent it to me!! I still don’t know who it was. I have been saving the shirt for our trip, and today I pulled it out. It is featured in the pictures from today. :-)

We got back in the car and enjoyed the coastal drive south. The views were just lovely, and we were even treated to a fox crossing the road in front of us. There are many foxes on the island, and hikers often see them. That is one of the things I hope to experience when we go hiking in a couple of days, but at least we got to see one from a distance today. It was a big, silver fox – so pretty! Our final stop of the trip was the West Point Lighthouse and Beach. It was a very pretty lighthouse, and the red sandy beach next to it looked lovely as well. There is one more lighthouse I really want to see, but that one will wait for another day. Arriving “home” at 5:30, I took care of the credit card stuff while R.J. fixed supper. Now we are just sitting here, listening to the birds and looking out at our ocean view from the comfort of our cottage living room, knowing for a fact that we are blessed.

Me and my shirt, at the West Point Lighthouse