Saturday- Happy 4th of July! Only the 2nd time we've been out of the U.S. for the holiday, and the first time was also in Canada, on our way to Alaska in '08.
We broke camp and drove to the center of Couchibougouac Village to the community center where there was a "grand petite dejeunai" and a market of local produce. Good breakfast, and enjoyed chatting with some of the locals. S bought some fresh lettuce and a hand crafted dish towel. I bought a pair of mittens. These were special mittens, with a separate finger cover for the index finger, so I can fire my weapon without taking the mittens off. Every man needs a pair of those.
Only 90 miles to the bridge to Prince Edward Island, so we took the slow and winding coastal route for part of it. On the way we stopped for some grocery and pharmacy items we needed, and I kept a lookout for someplace to refill our propane tanks. Not critical- we had one empty tank but the other had enough for at least 2 more weeks. But I haven't spotted a place with propane in two or three days.
The bridge to Prince Edward Island is about 8 miles long and costs about $60, payable only on the return leg. We plan to return by ferry from the east end of PEI to Nova Scotia. The ferry fare is also payable only on the return from PEI.
We cut north across PEI, heading for the PEI National Park on the north coast at Cavendish. The part of the island we saw is rural, rolling hills, and beautiful: green fields and many wildflowers. For some reason all the roads run NE/SW or NW/SE, so there was a lot of tacking back and forth to go north. No complaints though, it was a scenic and relatively short trip.
Once we checked into the campground we headed for a nearby town to look for a church. At North Rustico, 8 miles away, we found Stella Maris church (a name which brings a smile to Sullivan faces) with their only weekend Mass, 6:00 already 1/2 hour underway. But a helpful woman told me there was a 9 o'clock Sunday at the nearby town of Hope River. I spotted a place with propane so I returned to camp, collected the two propane tanks from the trailer, and went and took care of that chore.
The afternoon and evening temperature was near 80 degrees- balmy for Florida, but hot for here. We briefly turned the air conditioner on, I think for the first time on the trip.
Sunday, July 5
The church was only 5 minutes away, but it took us 30 minutes to find it. Expecting as much, we'd allowed plenty of time. After Mass we had breakfast at a local cafe with a precious wifi connection.
We dressed out and rode the bike 19 miles on a bike path, mostly paved, along the coast. Spectacular red dunes and sandstone cliffs.
Back at camp we showered and changed and drove a few miles to the Green Gables National Historical Place. If you have never been a little girl, you have probably never read Anne of Green Gables, a 1908 novel set in this part of PEI. The book is the province's big claim to celebrity, and they make the best of it. The Green Gables farm which was the inspiration for the book's setting is part of the PEI National Park, and the Cavendish area has many many private tourist attractions catering to people who come to Anne Country. What can I say? It's a farmhouse trimmed in green. Still, it was interesting to see a restored 1880's farm.
I'm ending the day back on the porch of this morning's cafe using their wifi to update this blog, and- oh yes- booking our seats for tomorrow night for Anne of the Green Gables/ the Musical, now in it's 51st season.
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