Back from Holidays

We arrived in around 4:30pm yesterday from our two week holiday to Prince Edward Island. I have a terrible head cold which began as allergies to a motel I found to have an unusual smell to it. Because of the smell I had to open the room windows only to smell someone smoking pot out the back way. I couldn't win and by morning I had a lump in my throat that has since moved throughout my head and throat. It will be one of those 10 day things, in the meanwhile I feel like crap.

Our holidays thought was wonderful.

We left Friday September 7th around 8:30am. It was around 1pm when we hit the USA boarder at Cornwall Ontario. We had made two major stops on route. Not for kids either but hubby with a weak bladder. At the second stop we had lunch right on the St. Lawrence River.

In the States we were in Upper New York where the driving is terribly slow as it is a native reserve and you cannot drive quickly for about the first 100km. Other then the slow driving seeing Amish vegetable stands outside the casino's on the roadway  gave me a great chuckle. I should have taken a picture because the comparison was too hard to comprehend.

We drove through Vermont until the daylight left us and we went looking for a motel/inn or cabin for the night. Things look so different in the dark when you don't know where you are. But the teenager saw this sign for cabins and we went up to see. It was a little pricey for the area and time of year. We asked if we could see first and the Dutch lady allowed that. It was a nice comfy place with room for us and all the things a cottage would provide including canoe/life jackets etc. So we stayed. In the morning this was our view.

Joe's Pond

The name of the place was called Injunjoe which I could help chuckle to think how my Dutch mother would say that "Inyanyo". I never asked the owner to say it, I am afraid I would have cracked up.

We were on the road again by 8am. Went through New Hampshire which I loved the area. The woods, and the homes. Hiking trails everywhere. Just a lovely state, into Maine. Trees and more trees. The drive became totally boring as trees were the only highlight until the mountains came in view. yet still more trees, I had a map that stated the elevation of the mountains and it became a guessing game as to which one was higher. It appeared to me that more then half of Maine is up for sale. For sale signs were everywhere. From Maine we went into New Brunswick ( back into Canada), where we lost an hour of our life with the time difference. We weren't counting on this! Ops!!

We took the TransCanada highway after taking more scenic routes it seemed too fast until we got to St. John. Dearest was getting tired and it was getting dark but we couldn't find a place to stay. Stupid me said there must be something on the ocean so we headed that way down worn old roads until we hit a small fishing community which had B&B. Dearest hates B&B's. Then again teenager spotted campers & cottages. We went in and got a cottage for $35.

camping cabin in New Brunswick

Hurricane Louise was to come in through the night so just having a dry spot was nice. However this very small outhouse with its beds with plastic covering had no sheets or blankets and we had no sleeping gear with us. So out came everything we had to wear and cover us. I think we were so tired nothing mattered. It rained in the night but nothing really bad. I was up (too early) and took a shower at the camp station. It felt good. It was now Sunday morning and we were not in PEI yet so we had a family worship together and then walked the beach. We left around 10am. New Brunswick is really a big Providence when you have been driving for days. I thought we would never get out of it. The last 90km in New Brunswick it began to rain and then pour.

To get to PEI you have to take the Confederation Bridge which is 13.2 km long. It was raining a sheet of water as the hurricane came through and we didn't see any bridge. We got on it and followed the cars in front of us seeing nothing. A little disappointing. We were now on the island and headed to the north east shore. It was still raining heavy and an unpleasant drive. We had no destination but a butch of cottages I took off the Internet. Dearest was getting weary from driving and wanted to set up camp somewhere. When he said so it was near the one cottage that a person had replied to my via computer a few weeks back. We saw the cottages ( one was opened) and dearest liked it. So I called the owner, but housekeeping had not gone through and none were available for two nights. Bummer. It was getting dark( early because of the rain) so Dearest decided to head to a city. I spied a motel, and inquired but they were full but they gave me an address of an inn further down the road and reserved me a room. She was a real sweetie and told us we would really like this place. Did we ever. It was something right out of a magazine...think Home Sense!! beautiful with antiques and lovely decorated. It was an old house made into a five unit inn, sort of like a B&B but don't tell Dearest!

lion claw tub and antique wash stand

porcelain sink

master bedroom

The owner with a heavy Nova Scotia accent made us muffins and brought up milk in the morning. So sweet of her. Wonderful hospitality.

10am on the road. Still raining but not so hard. Object for today is to find a cottage for the night and see a beach. First we stop at a grocery store and I buy about four days worth of groceries ( because we in a city) and we drive to the east coast. In and out every small road that leads to a beach and we see cottages but none are very private so we move on. It is off season now and you have to understand the tourist trade here ( a learning experience for me) their whole business ends Labour Day weekend! Cottage we find we can't have. It is still raining by afternoon, but has let up some, but the winds are hurling. We get to the very east point at a lighthouse and there is a restroom there, but just trying to get the car doors opened for the wind was a challenge, and cold. The tail of the hurricane we are told. The tail end has the bite. It is late afternoon and we find some nice cottages at Greenwich I call the number and the lady says she only rents by the week. Then hesitates and said she will be right there. She sees us. Everyone dressed  in dresses and bonnets and she says if we pay cash, not taxes and strip the beds in the morning. Done deal. The cottage is bigger then my daughters house! All wood, but cold. Thank goodness for heaters! The winds and rain have made it cold. Teenager can hook-up to WiFi and does schooling. Baths and a warm dry bed.

In the morning we head to our cottage for the next week. It is on the north-east shore at what is called Cable Head. Rent is $60. a night and has washer/dryer, showers, everything in the kitchen you would need to cook and BBQ and satellite tv ( what's that?). It was real homey.

our cabin

master bedroom

kids room

kitchen

living room

dining room

garbage bin

Recycling is taking very serious in PEI. Your garbage bin is in three sections. Recycling to the left, garbage to the right and composting in the front. You can compost all tissues, toilet paper rolls, cardboard. It was fantastic! however you pay a tax for water bottles, juice containers, anything plastic or tetrapak. I think it is $1.00/per carton which left all frugality behind. I wasn't about to drink the tap water here.

This was our beach. It ran about 10km of waterside walking. Monday morning the sun came out. It went up to 24C(78F) perfect summer weather.

to be continued.......................