An IPA in PEI!

Getting up on Sunday morning was easy.  Going to say goodbye to Listuguj and my family, not so much.  Granted, we would see them again soon enough, but still...

It was early once again.  I slept through some partying indians trouncing past Betty's cabin, but I heard nothing.  Tom heard them and, I guess, my deep slumber too.  (so he says)

The rain had stopped and it was time to repack the car from the day before.  Tom had pulled the blankets out of the car the night before and hung them by the fire to dry.  Over the course of the night they dried nicely.  Everything was warm to the touch and it was a shame that we couldn't nuzzle the material before we layered them back into the back seat.

Once the back of the car was back in it's original traveling mode, we headed back down the dirt road and out of The Woods.  Past the river and the lake we drove.  The sky matching my mood as I was sad to be leaving the res.

We stopped at Betty's house and hid her keys and a small gift as a thank you in the grill on her porch.  It was still too early to wake up the house.  I would text her later and let her know.

We then headed to my family's hotel.  The cabin had no plumbing, so we took full advantage of the hotel's amenities, including the breakfast buffet and free newspaper.  For me, there's nothing better than a Sunday crossword.  The family was all up and doing their packing.  Emma was still not doing any better with her wrist.

My mother slipped me $100 for a pair of moccasins.  It has become a ritual, whether I go to Pow Wow or not, to receive a new pair every year.  I tend to wear them often while on vacation or even just walking down the streets of Los Osos.  They wear out within one year and she has been sending me a pair in the mail for the past five years.

We all said our goodbyes, knowing that we would be seeing each other within the week.  And then, we were off, heading further East towards Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island via New Brunswick.  We hugged the coast of Chaleu Bay for a while and talked about our next few weeks of travel ahead of us.  We had been this way before, passing Dalhousie and Bathurst, but neither of us had been to PEI.

Our first destination for the was to be the Olivier Soapery by Bouctouche, NB.  We had been there a number of years ago and maybe bought a bar of soap or two.  This time, it was soap for everyone as gifts.  Tom in foreign country likes to spend money on things.

The soapery was smaller than I remembered but they were still doing there presentations to anyone coming into the store.  The hows and whys of soap making.  They even showed how to wash yourself. A great option, especially if you utilized their open air showers in the back of the store.

A happy presenter at Olivier

We didn't stay to long.  The sun had been poking out all morning and by the time we got to Olivier it was pretty warm and bright.  We had to park under the lone tree with a parking space to keep the dogs from being affected by the heat.

It was getting near lunch and I was on the prowl for some road side poutine.  We were fortunate to find a small stand located by the water that sold poutine and lobster rolls.  Eating these lobster rolls started a craving that I had not had in years.  I wanted more.  Northeastern lobsters are the tastiest.  Just a little mayo, butter on a hot dog bun.  YUMmy!  I took a few shots of the surrounding area before we left, seen below.

Having happy bellies and a destination in mind, we continued down the road towards Cape Tormentine and the eight mile Confederation Bridge that would take us over the bay to PEI.  What a score when, after I thought I had to pay a toll, there was none.  What a non-score when we landed onto PEI and found one large tourist area waiting for us.

It was one of those make believe towns meant to remind you of years gone by except that the buildings were cookie cutter stores with no sense of design or style.  The parking lots were packed and people were coming and going.  Luckily, it was very warm outside, and with no trees in sight, we had to make this quick.  I wanted a map.  Tom had to pee.  He took care of his business while I waited...waited...waited to take care of mine.  After no line movement at the tourism center, we were off, taking our chances.  It was just an island, right?

BuddyJack TravelingDog

Luther TravelingDog

PEI is divided into three distinct areas.  Our first intention was to travel the perimeter of the entire province, but through a few wrong turns we found ourselves circling the center section.  It was too bad, for the most native area was the western area.

I don't know if it would have been much different than what we were seeing.  "Oh look.  A potato farm!"  Then again...and again...and again.  We learned that PEI supplies 25% of Canada with their potatoes.  Now we know how.  Farm after farm after farm.  Occasionally, even though we were on an island, we saw water.  Waaay over there!

It was a beautiful day.  The sun was out and after getting past some of the major areas, we were traveling at a leisurely pace.  We passed many family friendly destinations such as water parks and miniature golf.  They even have the Anne of Green Gables home on one of their Provincial Parks.

To make the full circle, we found a campground 15 minutes outside of Charlottetown, the capital of PEI.  I chose it mostly for the Be Cool words on the sign.  I figured, we're cool.  Why not.

We're Cool!

There was nice young hippy chick at the desk.  Bon Jour.  Looking for a place to camp.  Bingo!  Spot right on the lake, covered by trees.  It was perfect.  We set up our tent, still a bit damp from the rains the nights before.  The dogs just watched as we lugged out the chairs and boxes of food and kitchen.  They barely glanced up as Tom filled the mattress and put it in the tent.  A dog's life?  I want one.

I wanted to head into Charlottetown to check out the capitol.  We drove down and looked for an ale house which I had read about in one of the guides I didn't have to wait for back upon our arrival.  We found it and then found a place to park (under a tree for the dogs, again).

We entered through the rear door into The Gahan House and found a 45 minute wait.  We headed over to the bar and had some of their fine crafted ale.  Actually it was an IPA in PEI.

I went outside to have a cigarette and found a bustling area including a duo performing some music, lots of people eating at outdoor cafes and, hopefully as an end cap, a non silver clad church.

I went back inside and we were sat at our table.  We didn't have any potatoes with our meal, but we had something better.  When in PEI, let's have some PEI mussels.  They were delish!

We walked through town, realizing quickly that we very close to the Legislative building.  It was the first time that we had seen one at night as we always traveled by day.  The streets were still very active and as we walked block by block more of the city had expressed herself to us.  She was very beautiful and cosmopolitan but with a quaint accent.

Legislative Building of PEI

We found a small pub on the second floor of an obscure building.  It was recommended by one of my guides.  We went up the stairs and were asked to pay a cover charge.   For what?  They were going to have some bands playing.  We scoffed at the cover charge and got a discounted rate as we were not planning on staying long.

We walked in and found a very small pub with maybe seating for 24.  We bellied up and had one of their brews.  It was not too busy and then was really not busy when the band started.  Not that they were bad but because they made up the remaining patrons in the room.

Tom found the music more on the college level.  I liked it, but it was time to get back to the dogs and then to our campsite for bed.  When we got back, we found some of our food was scavenged by an animal of some sort.  An empty package over here and then over there.  Oops.

We put the food back into the car and headed to bed.  First we had to get rid of the bed hogs.  Fairly easy task.  We knew they would be back, but until then...

ZZZZZZZZ!