Lately when I wake up it takes me a few moments to remember where we are. I usually have to walk through the previous days' activities to arrive at our final resting point.
Right now we are on Prince Edward Island. We left Halifax yesterday afternoon and drove across the Confederation Bridge passing through New Brunswick en route. No matter how many times you visit this historic Isle you can't help being captured by its beauty. The bright red mud, caused by iron in the clay, gleams out from the seashores, farmers fields and walking trails. Deb and I both visited here as children and that magic feelings comes right back as soon as you turn onto the first country road. This is a special place.
The remainder of our visit in Nova Scotia was great. We took our time leaving Lunenburg, spending a warm and sunny morning strolling around the indoor and outdoor exhibits of the Fisheries Museum. We stopped in at Mahone Bay, the destination of many a Sunday drive when we lived in Halifax, and picked up a homemade blueberry cheesecake for dinner (or is it supper?). Many of Deb's cousins came over to her brother's house for a mini family reunion and the girls spent some quality time with their relatives on that side of the family. We capped the night off with a wee dram and a cigar sitting around Mike's outdoor fire. Even the smoke from the fire smells different here.
On saturday morning I met up with Danny, Kevin and Nathan for our annual paddling trip. This year we went up to Tangiers and had two great days of sea kayaking on the ocean. On the first afternoon we stopped in at the first of many eastern shore sandy beaches and had a great snooze to catch up from a late night before. We all laughed ourselves silly reenacting our favorite SNL skits and paired off for an epic Eucher game and several rounds of crib. Sunday evening we headed back to Halifax and watched the football games in a downtown pub. It was great to put another annual trip in the books and make plans for next year. Deb spend the weekend hanging out with her brother and family and spent a great day down on the Halifax Waterfront. It's easy to get nostalgic for this place when there are such great memories around every corner and so many good friends and family to visit.
We have been visiting people non-stop since we left. It has been wonderful and there are so many other old friends we would have loved to see. The offers are still rolling in. Unfortunately, six weeks is not nearly enough time to see this amazing country we live in and all the friends we have made in it over the years. For the most part we have simply added new locations to our list of places we want to return to and spend more time.
Last night we had a lovely dinner with the Clerk of the PEI Legislative Assembly, Charlie Mackay, and his family out in the PEI countryside. Charlie and Jackie's down home hospitality gave us a first hand glimpse of real life on the Island and we stayed far too late telling stories and sharing "one last drink before we go." We'll visit Charlie at Province House tomorrow before we catch the ferry back to the mainland and have a closeup look at the "Birthplace of Confederation." That will be the subject of Dad's morning car lecture (borrrringggg!)
Today, when we finally got the girls going, we headed up to Cavendish and visited Green Gables, the country farmhouse where LM Montgomery set the fictional story of "Anne of Avonlea." Even the most jaded traveller can't help but get caught up in the story of Anne. We had listened to the audiobook in the car on the drive over to PEI and it came alive at Green Gables and the surrounding countryside. After visiting the beaches and dunes of Cavendish, we returned to Charlottetown for a rest, dinner and one of the last live showing of "Anne" - a fabulous musical staged at the Confederation Centre for the Arts. The girls loved it and Deb and I enjoyed watching their eyes glued to the stage in wondrous awe as much as the show itself. Shannon sprang to her feet when the actress playing Anne came out for her bow. I think they are kindred spirits! Between Anne, Pippy Long-stockings and a Broadway production of Annie next month, we are hopefully replacing the Disney Princess with the strong, red haired heroine female model. What great life lessons are stuck into those stories. Hopefully they will survive a quick visit to Universal Studios on our way out into the pacific.
We are all done our visiting now and can make our way back "home" in the next few days. We came over to PEI on the bridge but will leave on the ferry and hopefully make it to Cape Breton Island sometime tomorrow. Depending on how the drive goes, we may do a bit of the Cabot Trail and visit the home of the Rankins and Rita. Otherwise we plan to spend a bit of time in Louisburg and introduce Mira to her namesake river before crossing the Cabot Straight to Newfoundland Friday night (sorry Mom, we're not going to pop in on you tonight so you can go to sleep!)
We are tired of traveling now and are really looking forward to getting into a mini routine again. No matter how beautiful or meaningful the place, it's hard to get excited when you are always seeing something new. We need some good nights sleep, healthy food, exercise and relaxation to recharge the batteries before heading out again. It actually feels a little fallish here today which is just fine with us. Fall is the season I love best and this is the part of the world where I learned to love it. There are pumpkins and apples everywhere and you can sense the change of gears in the farmers' fields and on the fishing grounds. We are amongst the last of this year's tourists and soon, too, we will be gone. We will be back though. Guaranteed.