Cavendish, Prince Edward Island - July 29 - August 2, 2015

Cavendish, Prince Edward Island - July 29 - August 2, 2015

July 29, 2015

We got up early this morning to start our travels to Prince Edward Island.  It is only 133 miles from Elm River to Cavendish, but we wanted to stop at the Anne Murray Center on the way.  Also, we needed to be settled at the park to go on a bus tour at 2:00 p.m.

We hadn’t realized that Anne Murray, the singer, was from Springhill, Nova Scotia.  We were so glad that we stopped at the center.  We were able to see all about her life.  She is the daughter of a doctor and nurse from the area.  She has four brothers, is married and has two children.  There were pictures of her family and career, including her many Golden & Platinum Records.   They played the music of her many hits throughout the tour.  She is a beautiful woman inside and out.

Anne, still has a cottage in the area and comes here every summer.  We were told that she had been at the Center the previous Saturday to celebrate the anniversary of it’s opening.  Too bad we missed seeing her, but it was wonderful.

We continued our trip toward PEI.  Along the way, we had got to go over the Confederation Bridge, which is the longest bridge over ”Ice Covered Waters” in the world.  Truly amazing.  From there it was only about 35 miles to the Marco Polo Land Inn, Resort & Campground. 

We had about an hour before we got on the bus to for a tour of Charlottetown, PEI.  The driver and guide did a great job of telling us about the area. 

After suggesting several places to have dinner, he then dropped us off in the area.  We went to dinner at the Old Dublin Pub.     Stan had a Lobster BLT and Bev had a Baked Potato stuffed with lobster.  Yum.   From there we had to have dessert, of course.  We walked down the block to The Cow Ice Cream Shop.  It is rated number one Ice Cream in the world.  Very good.

At 7:00 p.m., we met at the Confederation Center to see “Anne of Green Gables”.  The performance started at 7:30 p.m.  We had great seats and the performance was absolutely outstanding.  The cast had great voices and energy.   When the cast was doing there last bows, Bev made the mistake of taking a couple of pictures.  They had announced that there was no recording, but since Bev had seen several others taking pictures, figured that pictures were ok.  Big mistake – a guy came to her seat and told her to delete the pictures and watched as she did it.  How embarrassing. 

We were picked up at the front of the theater by the bus and returned to the RV Park – we got back about 11:00 p.m.

July 30, 2015

Even though we got back at 11:00 p.m., we needed to be ready to catch the bus at 8:15 a.m.  Yikes, we all were tired from the short night sleep.

We were first taken to the Green Gables Home Tour, which was the setting for the “Anne of Green Gables” book.  Although, author, L. M. Montgomery, never lived at the home, relatives owned the farm and she used it as the setting for her book.  It was fun to see that.  Bev had never read the book, so bought it, so that she could put all the pieces together and maybe pass it on to the Granddaughters to read.

We were so amazed by the beautiful green countryside.  There is a lot of farming done on the island.  The ground has a reddish color.  This is caused by the large quantities of iron oxide in the ground.  This makes for very rich ground for crops.  We especially noticed it after being in Newfoundland, where there is so much rock.

We went to the PEI Preserve Company for lunch.  The Preserve Company makes, as you guess, preserves, as well as salsas, BBQ sauces, etc.  There was a window, were we could see them actually making the preserves.  There were samples as well.   At lunch, many of those that ordered the Fishcakes for lunch, including Stan, were disappointed.  However, Bev’s Chicken, Broccoli  Crepe was wonderful.  Of course, there was dessert.

From there, we went thru the PEI National Park, North Rustico, and visited the Dunes Garden and Gift Shop and a Cheese Factory.   We were back to the RV Park at about 3:00 p.m.   Everyone was pleased to get some well-deserved rest.

We were pleased to finally have a day of sunshine – with no wind.  It was probably the most beautiful day that we have had during the entire trip.

We BBQ’s steaks and made an early night of it.

July 31, 2015

Sleeping in, watching TV – we finally have some here – is on the menu for today.  There is no WIfi yet, so we have to wait for that.

Stan got up for a while, but decided to go into take a nap, getting up at noon.  They have had us running so much that he really enjoyed catching up on his sleep.  This gave Bev some time to do some reading.  Then she decided to do more washing and ironing. 

The weather started out rather windy, but it was warm and sunny.  It turned out to be another beautiful day.  Stan has been looking for a barber shop, so we started on the hunt.  We found the closest one in the GPS, was in Kensington, PEI.  It gave us a chance to drive around and see more of the island. 

We decided to stop and try to get some batteries for our key fobs, since they both died, and we found ourselves locked out of the car with the alarm going off.  Not a great way to get attention.

At 5:30 p.m., was time to ride share to the Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Supper.  Jim & Connie Lund asked us to ride with them.  What a fantastic dinner.  They have a 65 foot salad bar.  There were so many wonderful salads, as well as Seafood Chowder and mussels.  We tried many salads but pigged out on the mussels.  Yum  After that we were served a lobster – best tasting one that we have had on the trip.   There was also a huge selection of desserts, but Stan & Bev both resisted having any.  That’s a first.

August 1, 2015

The day was open for us until the 6:00 p.m. Farewell Dinner which was held at the dining room at the Marco Polo RV Park. 

We wanted to run several errands during the day, so started out heading to North Rustico.  We wanted to buy a few souvenirs that we hadn’t purchased earlier.  Also, we wanted to buy some lobster to take to Cathy & Gary’s in Paisley.  We made several stops then went back to the motor home to freeze the lobster.

Jennie, one of the Wagon Masters, had also told us about a North Rustico Country Music Festival that was being held and the North Star Arena, so we headed back to catch that.  Even though it was rather warm in the Arena – since they don’t have to worry about air conditioning when they are having hockey games – we had a great time. 

There were many local artists that performed.  We got to hear a bunch of fiddle players, accordion, key board, and guitars in addition to many great voices.  It was a hit with Stan especially, he really enjoyed it.  After the dozens of gardens and lighthouses, Bev was so glad that he had a good time.

We got back to the coach in time to freshen up before we went to the Farewell dinner.  We got to have lobster one more time.  Also, we once again, pigged out on mussels.  It doesn’t get much better than that.  After we ate, Mike played his guitar and Karen Anderson (from Cle Elum, WA) sang a song that she had for Jon & Jennie to the tune of Old McDonald Had a Farm.  We had time to say some good byes to everyone, since some were leaving early in the morning.

 

 

 

 

August 2, 2015

The Wagon Masters hosted one more meal – a Good-bye Continental Breakfast, with Tim Horton donuts, coffee, fruit, juice, etc.

The allowed for another round of hugs before we all head out from the trip.  We were already scheduling when we were going to get together the next time.

We had problems getting our jacks to go up again.  Finally, after putting silicone on and running them up and down a few times, we got them working at last.

Finally, we got hooked up and were on our way.  We left the RV Park at about 9:30 a.m.  Our plan was to drive as far as Fredericton, NB.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have reservations, since Bev was not able to get through to them when making reservations before leaving home.  This was a Canadian holiday weekend, so no room at the inn.   We decided to keep driving – thinking that staying in a Walmart parking lot wouldn’t be that bad.  

We got to go over the Confederation Bridge to get back off the island.  Luckily, Fantasy paid the toll going over the bridge, since it is $68 to go over.  But it is seven miles long. 

Well, we got to the Walmart and it was packed with cars, and didn’t have ample parking for us to even consider stopping.  We were heading out of the lot, and it was SOOO close, we were thinking that we would have to unhook the car just to get around the last corner before we got out of the lot.  Thank goodness, just as we were ready to unhook, the car owner came back to the car, so we were saved from a real hassle.

Down the road we go.  Keep in mind there is not a lot of opportunities up here in New Brunswick.  We ended pulling off in an Irving Truck Stop.  We hope that we don’t get kicked out of here before morning.

 

This gives a whole new meaning to two-holer.  We found this in a restaurant on the trip.