Prince Edward Island: Day 1

Hokai! So long weekend... well... sort of long weekend. Well, a little conversation with the boss and a misplaced Canada Day becomes a four day weekend. Great! Well... sorta great... four day weekend around Saint John, ok, but four day weekend somewhere exciting... Great!!!

Prince Edward Island here we come.

We were off to Canadian Tire in a jiffy to buy whatever camping gear was on sale. Unfortunately, even on sale camping gear adds up in a hurry. Whatever, we bought what we could and crammed it into our faithful steed, Jerusalem.

Saddle bags laden heavy we awoke medium-early on Thursday and were on our way northish. This was to be a pretty easy drive, as the only thing we had planned was to get from Saint John to the campsite. We passed Rothesay, Quispamsis, Sussex, and then came to a sign saying Sackville ahead. To those of you who have read the Lord of the Rings, or for you youngins who have seen the movies, you will know that Sackville happens to be a village that rests within the Shire in Middle-Earth. That being said there needs no explanation as to why it was a must see on our trip.

When the signs came we followed them off of the highway and into the town of Sackville. Alright, so there were no Hobbits, though the town had some hobbit-like qualities, but it was still worth the stop. It kind of reminded me of a not busy Invermere, if ever there was such a thing. So, driving through Sackville (heh... I get a kick every time I write that) we came across something else that was interesting. It turns out that there is a University in Sackville, and it is not some obscure University like say... the University of Sackville... but instead it is a University that I have actually heard of, and that being said, it is even a University that someone I know wants to go to... I think... Anyways. We stumbled across Mount Allison University.

Mount Allison

Seeing the University I had Jerusalem pull to a screeching halt (screeching from the exertion, and not the tires - though my new hot tires are working very well thank you very much). We got out of the car and proceeded to walk around campus. I am not sure if we were allowed or not, but the trick about that kind of thing is that if you don't ask you can always claim ignorance.

Centennial Hall

Don't get me wrong, the University of Calgary and the University of New Brunswick have treated me very well, but there is some kind of appeal in a school like Mount Allison University. Old buildings. Stone. Well designed school. Well designed structures. Small. Quaint. Homely. Secluded... all in all... it looks... well... nice... Maybe when I do my PhD...

Confederation Bridge

Soon enough it was time to get our acts in gear and continue on our way. We left Sackville and continued on our way. It was not long before we came to what was expected to perhaps be the highlight of the trip for me... Confederation Bridge. Alright, so given my aptitude and enjoyment from playing with Lego (even now), and my Civil Engineering Degrees, it is not too shocking that this should be a big thing for me... and... it was.

Confederation Bridge

Over the bridge we were officially on Prince Edward Island. We also officially did not really know what we were going to do there and only vaguely knew where we were going. Conveniently, PEI is a tourist region which means that there are information centres scattered in all of the locations where tourists find themselves most, including, right after Confederation Bridge. We pulled in. They told us to go on some scenic tour thing which sounded good to me, and I managed to sneak a photo with a giant cow which seemed to be famous as it was outside every Cows Ice Cream place.

Me and The Cow

Thus began our first set of adventures on PEI.

I never did get a photo of it, but the people on PEI seem to be very trusting. At the end of the driveways connected to the farmhouses there are quite often things for sale, such as firewood, or honey. There is then also a sign with a price, and an unattended box for you to leave your coin. We wanted to stop but never managed to. Either way I thought that it was an interesting phenomenon.

We continued on our way and managed to pull into some little dirt road in search of the coast. After all, how hard could it be? PEI is an island. Turns out that it was harder than we thought and that our road seemed to disappear... That was unfortunate but we did manage to find something interesting. You know how Elephants go to a graveyard to die and the skeletons of their forefathers can be found there? We found the ship graveyard. The boats rested, beached and after scuttle, to never be taken adrift again.

Where Ships go to Die

After a moment of silence and one too many feelings of centipedes crawling up our spines we continued on our scenic drive. This was great as it was mostly well marked, but in one of those "mostly" moments we missed one scenic part and then found ourselves lost in PEI's capital of Charlottetown.

Eventually we found our way and were on route to the campground. It was then when another "mostly" moment hit. Jerusalem, the car that "mostly" works had decided to "mostly" work a little bit less. Suffering from an old wound of an abusive family (before me of course!) the bumper wiggled and jiggled until all of the screws holding it in place wiggled and jiggled out. This resulted and a flapping noise from the rear that was the left side of the bumper waging hard to break loose like a dog's tail when he doesn't know whether to be scared or excited. Scared was the appropriate response.

We pulled over and assessed the situation. Crap was the situation. C'est la vie! I have seen enough Red Green to make anything work. I rolled on my back, shimmied underneath Jerusalem's belly and tied the bumper back on.

Of the Cleverness of Me

Bumper secured, we were on our way... again...

We did eventually find the campsite. We got checked in and managed to set up the tent, after which it promptly began to pour... and pour... and pour... Oh Canadian Tire, don't let me down... Turns out that in a deal for $89.99 you can be a tent, two chairs, two sleeping bags, and a cooler that all work quite well, and, happen to be waterproof.

Alexander 1

Mother Nature 0

McLobster

Its McLobsta' Season

What happens when you combine a world-class fast food franchise with a flair for regional specialties with a health excess of a shellfish type delicacy called lobster?

I present for you, found only in Atlantic Canada (and maybe a few States)...

The McLobster!!!

McLobster

Um... ok... so for those of you who know my tastes... ew! But, for the novelty's sake... yummm... (But seriously, it would be better served warm... oh well... still exciting!!!)

A Periwinkle Day

So. There is a little back story. The back story is that Jerusalem is really not in the best of shape. I mean, what can you expect for a car that was only worth $1000. Anyways, I took him/her into the Car Doctor and they had a look. They replaced some stuff, cleaned some stuff, and gave me an unfortunate ultimatum. Jerusalem needs new back tire.... "Needs."

Yesterday we got up early...ish... and began a day of adventure. We first had a fantastic breakfast of homemade breakfast sandwiches and then hopped into the "mostly working" Jerusalem. We drove out of Saint John and remarkably did not get lost as we headed to a town called Kingston. We were lucky as we managed to come at the perfect time to get onto the ferry and across the K-Word. A beautiful jaunt along the peninsula and we were at our destination: the Kingston Farmers Market.

Kingston Farmers Market

It was pretty much a regular farmers market. There were doodads and knitted sweaters and bread and jam and beef... well not that much beef... but salmon, there was salmon. We had already eaten so we didn't need to buy much, but I could not refuse some salmon.

That was great an all, but buying salmon meant that now we had to go home before going to our next stop. Oh well. We decided to take a different route home that would take us through the towns of Quispamsis and Rothesay. I never really knew the difference but we have now figured it out. If you are working on the ground floor you live in Saint John. If you are a middle manager you live in Quispamsis. When you start getting to the top of the corporate ladder you live in Rothesay. The difference between Quispam and Rothesay is... millions. The houses in Rothesay are just incredible. They are enormous and they are encased in trees and green. You can just see in on some of them from the road. Incredible!

Eventually we made it back home. There was a slight detour as the road was blocked off and it took us a while to figure it out. Salmon in the freezer and we were off to our next event. "Sundaes on Saturday" an event as part of "The Give" which is a fundraiser to help to update the emergency room at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

The Most Best Sundae Ever!

The big catch on this one to get the people to come was all you can eat sundaes with all you can eat toppings. As those of you who know me might guess, this was a popular choice for me. It was unfortunate. There have been changes in the fundraising campaigns so there were less people than anticipated, but I guess that means more ice cream for me. Despite the low turn out at this event I did run into someone I know, and they were able to tell the world that they have surpassed the halfway point for the fundraising campaign.

Fair... Kinda Deserted Like...

In trying to do everything that the Maritimes has to offer in a very short time we moved on from the ice cream to a fair that was in Saint John. We did not know anything about it, but we saw it on the way to a movie and decided to check it out. It was not a very large fair (no Stampede sorry) but it was still good to check out. There was one thing that was very interesting. I had been told about this in advance. There are people there who have a drill that you put a potato on and it shaves the entire thing. This ends up making a very long and very thing potato thing. She then put the potatoes in the deep fryer, and voila!, chips!!!

Drill Potato Chip Maker Thingie

Potato Chips (Made with a Drill!!! (See above))

We made it home and began the next leg of our journey. We were at a beach a while back and we saw people having campfires. We also found out that there are snails in the ocean that we can pull out and eat... uh... after cooking. This naturally seemed like a good idea to me so I got the cohorts in action and we piled into the forest to try and find some wood. This was interesting since there was a great variance in the forestyness of each of us. So in our quest for wood, some of us stood by the side of the forest... That was ok... We got the wood.

The time came to head to the beach. It was my intention to swim in the ocean, however it was cloudy and foggy on the water and really not that hot. Actually, it was a bit cool. We were on our way, and over the Reversing Falls Bridge, and then... Wait!!!

I had heard of these guys, they sit in this empty lot with a pickup truck full of used tires. Sure it sounds a little sketchy. I have heard that these guys buy the tires from garbage and sell them. I have heard that these guys steal the tires off of cars and sell them. I have heard that the tires are a front and that they are actually selling something else... I have also heard that they are totally legitimate businessmen, um... well maybe not, but still... I had been looking for them everyday since I had heard of them (since I drive by that spot to and from work) but now, on the way to the beach, there the guy was.

We pulled in, I explained the situation, and I said I was looking to buy. It just so happened that he had some tires that would work. Slight difference in dimensions, but that's ok, Jerusalem can be pimped out a little with a raised rear. Price? $40. Hmm... with new tires going at $100 a piece $40 for a pair seemed like a great deal. And so, Jerusalem has new tires. The Car Doctor can put them on for me on Tuesday.

There was a thick fog rolling in from the ocean, and it made the beach look a little... Haunted. How exciting! The tide was out, and where the tides are the highest in the World, out means waaaayyyyy out!

The House on Haunted Hill

We went out on the mudflats and I made the executive decision not to go swimming. This did not stop me however from wading into the water to look at all of the exciting things living in the ocean. There were not a lot of rocks, but there were enough to find what we were looking for... periwinkles...

Periwinkles!

We pulled 'em off the rocks and put them into a bag. We filled the bag with seawater and sealed it up while we went back to the shore. We grabbed our hard stolen wood and began to build a fire. I don't think that my partners in crime had much faith in my fire building ability, but it went very well, and so did the hot dogs, and so did the periwinkles.

Periwinkles really are a poor man's escargot. They taste about the same, though they look way grosser and are way smaller. They were actually surprisingly good. I would show you how good they are except that my camera ran out of batteries about the time that I was trying to eat them... trying... succeeding. Again... surprisingly good.

Periwinkles on Fire

The experience was good, I mean, the whole cooking periwinkles in a can on the beach and eating them right there (oh yeah, my co-worker was right, better not to look at them when you eat them). Anyways, everything was washed down with some s'mores, and then we were headed back home.

Overall a good day. I don't think it will be the last time I enjoy periwinkles, and well, the ocean is still waiting for me.

Atlantic... I'm coming for you!

The Elusive Grumps Remains Elusive...

One Week

Grumps... It is an elusive and seemingly mythical creature known to Ben Tyler from stories of his childhood. Ben Tyler is diagnosed with cancer and goes from living a normal life to having one week to live. His story is the movie "One Week" and I recommend it to all. It is one of the best Canadian films I have ever seen and it truly highlights this country's beauty.

Grumps, elusive as ever, remains elusive...

This weekend we went to St. Andrews. It is right on the American border and is a tourist town for Canadians and Americans alike. Highlights include Minister's Island where you have to cross a sand bar to get there. At low tide it is just a sketchy road, but at high tide there is no road at all.

Bar Road - Low Tide

Minister's Island

Jerusalem's Off Roading Adventure

Bar Road - High Tide

Minister's Island was named Minister's Island, well, because a minister used to live there. He was the minister for St. Andrews and the surrounding areas. Later it became the home of railroad tycoon Sir William Van Horne. For those of you who don't know (I didn't) he was the man who built the railway across Canada, specifically through the Rockies. He didn't sleep a whole lot which seemed to help him in this quest, and he worked his staff hard - figuratively and literally "to death."

Sir William Van Horne's Summer House

The house has 50 rooms and is definitely unique. Unfortunately it is run down and much of the original furniture has been sold off. Repairs are slow (as money is limited) but the artefacts are gradually finding their way home. The island is beautiful and has some amazing gardens and the like.

Periwinkle Tower

Brilliance

After going to Minister's Island we headed to town and stopped for a bite to eat. The food was good but not good... if you know what I mean. I enjoyed it at least. After that we boarded a boat in search of the elusive Grumps. We had been told that it was only the beginning of the season for whale watching so we should not expect too much. Well, I really think that if Grumps and other such mythical beings were that easy to find it would take the adventure out of it. That in mind I was pleasantly surprised when we did not find anything. Theoretically half of the boat got to see a Minky, or Binky, or the Brain, or something whale, but we missed out. It doesn't matter, it just adds to the mystery as Grumps remains, well... mythical.

We did see many bald eagles though, and a whole bunch of seals. It was kind of fun to see the seal hunting inside the nets were there were lots of fishes. Unfortunately we were told that seals in those circumstances occasionally suffered from acute lead poisoning.

I did enjoy seeing them. Looking at just their heads it almost looked as if Tru the Chocolate Lab was swimming in the ocean and not some flipper-footed-water-dogs.

I was not too disappointed about not finding Grumps. I know he is out there and I have a long time to find him.

After that we were supposed to go to some gardens but we were too late. Oh well... we can go there when we try to find Grumps again.

Instead we headed to Deer Island where we saw North America's largest Tidal Whirlpool. It definitely does not look the same as in the movies or in Heroes of Might and Magic but it is a nice thing to have under my belt for awkward cocktail parties.

Whirlpool

"Oh yeah, so there was this time I was at the largest whirlpool in North America, and there were pirates getting sucked in, and they had booty, and there ware harpies on some rocks, and I swear I saw a ship sailing out of the whirlpool with Erathian flags blowing in the breeze, and oh yeah, Grumps was there too... say, these bacon wrapped scallops are delightful."

Cameras filled with photos, and Jerusalem more broken than when we started we headed home.

Another day Grumps... another day...

Perks

It would appear that there are perks to working at a place where they have locomotive repair bays. The perk in that is that Jerusalem is in fact smaller than a locomotive. There is also a perk that if there are locomotive repair bays that means there are locomotive repairmen, and also, regular vehicle repairmen... mechanics, mechanics, mechanics.

All of this stuff is great because yesterday afternoon when I started up Jerusalem to go home there was some kind of nasty rattle behind me. Initially I thought it was the car behind me, but when I got home and tested there were no other cars around. I thought that the exhaust pipe was going to fall off.

So, on my way to work I drove super carefully and then tried to think of how I could do a makeshift repair to get us to St. Andrews tomorrow. This is where the perks come in. The guys got wind of my woes, and got it all sorted out. I drove Jerusalem into the locomotive repair bay and in minutes the exhaust pipe was clamped back on and good to go.

Thank you.

Perks, perks, perks.

Counting Ties...

Along Rail

I'm a working stiff now. Ain't that the truth. Sure, there are some complaints from one of the office ladies that I wear my hat indoors, but pffft, hat it is. I mean, all the people who work outside wear their hats, and I think it is clear that I work outside.

In our upgrade program at work we are replacing railroad ties. We had a discrepancy in the count between miles 11 and 13 so one of my co-workers and I set off to fix the discrepancy.

Walking Ties

Most people think that things that drive on railroad tracks are noisy... so so not so... I totally did not notice the Little Giant sneak up on me... I heard a little squeak and was like, oh crap, and then off into the ditch. He would not have hit me, but still, it was a bit... shocking.

Little Giant

You know, a mile is a long way, especially when you miss the mile 12 marker and end up walking more than a mile. That's ok, my ride was waiting and as I continued on my way I met up with my counting co-worker coming from mile 13.

This railroad is really...

A Man at Work

Back in the Bin...

Oh why don't people recycle? They must be doing it for me, since I love rooting around in the garbage sooooo much!

No doubt.