On to PEI - The Next Leg of the Journey!

 Staying with my friends in New Brunswick, Michelle and Gary, was a welcome respite from a long day of driving (16 hours).  It would have only taken me 15 hours if Michelle hadn't texted me every few minutes to find out where I was lol!!

I arrived around 10pm or so, hot, weary and very sweaty shiny! I got to stay in a lovely guest bedroom and slept like the dead! Michelle and Gary treat their guests really well - they want us to come back!!   (I will!)

 Look at that Thai salad-it was absolutely scrumptious!! Gary is quite a cook and knows that I sure love me a great salad!

 I got to visit and play with my other good friends - Jango...

.....and Colby who is blind.  Jango takes good care of Colby - he's such a sweet and loveable dog :) They both are!

 We had a nice long stroll along the boardwalk and man was it a HOT day!!

 It was also Canada Day and lots of people were enjoying the beaches!

 I miss you my friends, and you too Colby and Jango! I love coming to see you all and Michelle I am making good use out of the clothes you gave me :)

It's a beautiful property, well looked after and lots and lots of trees ;)

This one is my favorite!
It was a quick visit but I'll see you again before summer is over! I need to get to Crofters Lane and see how the place has held up over that extremely long and extremely ferocious winter! So back on the road I go!

 Approaching Confederation Bridge!

 Heading towards the highest section of Confederation Bridge - I don't find it scary anymore crossing the 13km long bridge.

There's the island! I have about another hour of driving to go, but first I'm going into Summerside to buy lots of groceries at the Atlantic Superstore.  All year long I use my President's Choice mastercard for any and all purchases which earns me at least $300 worth of free groceries!!  I love FREE!

 The sun is starting to set by the time I get to Crofters Lane but it's light enough still to see that the grass has gotten out of hand!! YIKES!! I find a note in my door from my lawn guy saying I need to get about 20 cows! Due to the delay in getting the gate unlocked at the bottom of my laneway by the de-winterizing plumber dude Ian couldn't get in to cut the lawn. Needless to say I'll be making extra keys to the gate so Ian can have one of his own.

See the metal pole sticking out of the ground in the middle of the picture? That is where the firepit is but the grass is up past my knees - the darn daisies are starting to grow! 20 cows would just about do it!

 You can see Ian attempted to cut a bit of the "field" in front of the house so I'd have somewhere to put the truck.  Good thing I have all-terrain tires on ol' Dougie! I still had to wade through long grass to unload the truck and I got everything in to the living room through the front door. By then it was beginning to get really dark and I needed to get the groceries put away and my bed made. I was up pretty late the first night trying to get my belongings in some sort of order.

But first I took a picture of the view, fields and all, from my front porch. At least IT'S still the same :)

Prince Edward Island Day ONE!

Hey there! I'm here in PEI aye-uh!  See, already I'm talking like an easterner.  My driving is done, my unpacking is done but my first bottle of wine isn't quite done....yet! (slurpppp) I had a truly wonderful odyssey  and never got lost once. That's mainly because there aren't that many roads out here - it's either this one here or t'other.

I did have one moment where I thought a red truck was following me rather closely and it kept changing lanes to stay right on my back bumper and even when I took an exit at the last second it veered across two lanes to stay behind me. But when I pulled over in the midst of heavy traffic after a sharp curve it had no choice but to keep driving and I took a U-turn and got back on the highway. Evasive Driving 101 - I knew watching all of those cop shows would pay off some day!!

I last left you in Edmunston, NB.  From there I took Hwy. 108, renowned for its wildlife and semis carrying lumber - I loved that road - I had one deer bound across in front of my car and one bunny rabbit. No trucks it being Canada Day the truckers probably had the day off.

You can see why they call NB the "picture province!"

I ended up in Bouctouche NB near to the lovely home of one of my fellow blogging friends Michelle (Blind Dog Chronicles). It was a splendid visit with lots of good food, (thanks Gary!) cold beer, and many a hearty laugh :) not to mention some treats!  I finally got my sour cherry jam Johanna!!  And Michelle and Gary I hope we can meet up again this summer - but until then - whenever I eat Smarties Michelle I'll think of YOU!

And whenever I use my "fairy lamps" I'll also think of you! I love them! They stay lit in the steady PEI breeze!

Then I was off on the final leg of my journey. Only an hour and a half later I was crossing Confederation Bridge onto PEI and one more hour saw me safely home to Crofters Lane. Since then I've been such a busy busy bee settling in. The good little house fairy, otherwise known as Gerald, had turned on my water and cracked open my windows etc - there was no mustiness or yucky surprises (no dead critters!) other than the usual dead flies.

Last night and today have been a whirlwind of cleaning, getting in supplies and unpacking. I've managed to snap a few photos here and there and did put my feet up late last night whilst drinking wine on my front porch magically lit with fairy dust. The moon was almost full and I watched entranced as cloud ships sailed across the face of the moon. I was home.

 Driving home - the view from Casumpec Bridge

Could any picture scream PEI more than this one?  Red dirt, blue heron, potato field all beside an oyster bed!

 My view last night.

Sunset over my forest last night.

I am loving the convenience of blogging from home with my Nokia internet modem flash drive thingamajig. Just pop it in my USB drive and away I go!

See you again soon!

What I Miss about PEI

The sights, the sounds and the treasures found on Northport beach.

The great fish and chips at the harbour in Alberton

The wonderful music and cuisine of Victoria Row, Charlottetown

The beautiful architecture of the 19th century

oh yes, and the seafood!

The colourful homes, the cedar shingles

The genius and majesty of the Confederation Bridge

But what I miss the most is how infinite the sky is in PEI

especially from my acreage near Alberton.

Welcome to P.E.I. - Crossing the "Fixed Link"

Wow, it took so long to upload this photo I can't remember what I was going to write about. That's one downfall of blogging at the trailer - the wireless connection is tenuous at the best of times, non-existant at the worst.


Here's Michael and I heading toward Confederation Bridge (or the Fixed Link as the Islanders not so fondly refer to it) - that amazing feat of engineering that connects PEI to New Brunswick. "There's no turning back now" I can actually hear myself saying that thanks to Michael's need to record absolutely everything:) Thanks dear!


I can also hear myself saying how glad I was that I couldn't see over the concrete barriers on each side of the bridge, built no doubt to inspire confidence in those of us who are deathly afraid of bridges.

If you can't see the sheer drop down into the Northumberland Straits then you can't be afraid of it...no?? I do remember wondering to myself if struck by a speeding car would those concrete barriers be strong enough to keep the car ON the bridge?? I'm pretty sure I didn't say anything out loud though. Well maybe OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!


We did make it safely across however, and the thrill of the crossing outweighed my anxiety. You see, I've crossed the Mackinac Bridge three times and each time I thought I was going to die. Seriously. You have to tune into a radio station to find out the conditions on the bridge and the news is NEVER good. The first time it was foggy and raining and a car and trailer were smashed up against the side at a 45 degree angle causing a bit of a backup. The second and third time it was icy and we crept across so slowly I thought my heart was going to explode from my chest.


Then there was the time I crossed a bridge over Chaleur Bay into Campbellton, New Brunswick; it was being repaired as we crossed over. It took at least half an hour to cross due to frequent stoppages as the workers put boards in place to cover the gaping holes through which I could see water far below. No fingernails left after that crossing! Took the LOOOOOOOONNNNNG way back.


So, even though Confederation Bridge is 13km long and takes about 10 minutes to cross it was almost an enjoyable experience and I wasn't too afraid to cross it again on our way home - though I wished I were driving, not Michael, because he likes to put his head out of the window and look around while he's driving - kinda nerve wracking to say the least. So I had to stare straight ahead in case I needed to grab the steering wheel while he stretched his arm up high out of the window to try to get shots of the water over the top of the barrier.


Man - I feel the need to take a valium and go lie down for awhile....until tomorrow!