Saying Goodbye to PEI

Day 14 (Friday, June 21) was our last full day in PEI. We didn’t have any major plans, as we knew the next day we would a long day on the road. We wanted to resupply some groceries for the trip, so we headed to Charlottetown.  It was a lot shorter trip than the last time we went, when we were on the coastal drive. We were there in about 20 minutes and found a grocery store right away. It was bigger than the other grocery stores we have used here on the Island, so it was nice to have a bit more selection. We took a different way back to Rusticoville, not necessarily on purpose, but we knew enough about the roads by this point that we were not lost at all. We ate our lunch in our cottage and then headed out again, this time in search of the rest of the souvenirs we wanted to purchase for the folks back home. It was another short trip, and we were back at the Blue Crest Cottages by 3:00. Some clouds rolled in, and sure enough, we got our first thunderstorm of our time here. I do love the smell of a rainy day! The storm didn’t last long, so I meandered outside after a while to see if I could get some rainy-day lupine pictures. I love how rain adds texture to the world outside. I enjoyed my short tromp around the grounds of the cottages.

 

We were having pizza for supper, so I came back in to get that going. We ate pizza and watched a little television. As we were finishing up, I was keeping an eye outside. It was raining again, and there was a break in the clouds over to the west where the sun was getting low in the sky. When it starts getting a little bright during a rainstorm, I always think RAINBOW – so I was hovering around the sliding glass door, looking for one. I told that to R.J. who just shook his head at me. Really, how likely was it that we would get another rainbow, this one on our last night in PEI? Well, sure enough, just a couple of minutes later, the rainbow started appearing. I grabbed my camera and ran outside – the same thing our “neighbors” in the other cottages were doing. This rainbow did not disappoint. It was a full arc, over the little bay by our cottages, and EVEN BETTER, we could see a faint double rainbow! My perspective on my camera was not wide enough to get the whole thing in one shot, so I used my panorama feature. From where I was standing, the end of the rainbow hit right on our minivan. I tell you, God doesn’t do things halfway. WOW! It was so beautiful, as I ran around in the rain to get as many shots of it as I could. When I finally came back inside, R.J. was laughing and telling me that I needed to wish for something valuable, like a free, full tank of gas, if my wishes were all going to come true! What a perfect last evening on the Island.

My beautiful, double rainbow!

This is my map of PEI. I usedit so much it ripped.

Day 15 was bound to come, even though I really didn’t want it to arrive. This was the day we had to leave paradise. We had been on the Island a full week; we explored, discovered, and reveled in this place. We fully enjoyed each day.  I do not have one regret. Even so, and even though I love my home, I really did not want to leave.  Today began as my blue day. We traveled over the winding roads past the red fields for the last time. I cherished every minute of the drive across the Island, back to the bridge. We crossed the Confederation Bridge and saw the mainland on the other side. There was still a LOT of beautiful scenery, but it was hard to see it because I kept crying. I knew I would enjoy the rest of this trip, but not right that minute.  There is something wonderful about that place called Prince Edward Island. There is something precious about the culmination of ten years of dreaming. There is something sacred about the time we spent on that Island, just the two of us.

I already miss these red fields.

More ups and downs in New Brunswick

Anyway, we picked a route for today that would take us through a bit of Nova Scotia, so we could say we had been to that province as well. We originally thought we might take a ferry over to Nova Scotia during our time on PEI, but we simply ran out of time. There were too many fun things to do! So we saw a little bit of Nova Scotia and then crossed back into New Brunswick. After a lunch in the parking lot of a gas station in New Brunswick, we were back on the road again. My attitude was much improved, and I was ready to embrace the day. We crossed back into the USA at around 2:15 Atlantic time, which instantly became 1:15 as we also crossed into the Eastern Time Zone. Once across the border, our phone was functional again, so we called home. It was fun to talk a little to David, who was the one who happened to pick up the phone.

Today was a "travel" day rather than a "destination" day. We picked up some rain (now that we are no longer in paradise, where it only rains to make a rainbow), which always makes the day a little more challenging. We started out thinking we would end up somewhere in the area of Bangor, Maine, but we made good time so we went a bit further (Farmington, Maine).  Our philosophy was that any miles we drove today are miles we do not have to drive tomorrow. We do have a destination for tomorrow. We will be staying in a quaint cabin in East Dover, Vermont, owned by Darva Kinney. This is an “unplugged” destination, so don’t expect to hear from us for a couple of days. We’ll let you know all about the adventure once we get to our next destination after the cabin in Vermont, which will be Niagara Falls. We have a pretty good life, don’t we? 

Along the Kennebec River in Maine