Back from a weekend with family in PEI

I went over to Prince Edward Island this weekend to visit my Uncle Joe and Aunt Patricia who have a summer place there, and my Grandma who came again this year for another stay with them for a month. Every year she says it is her last trip east because she’s too old (91!), but every year she comes back 🙂

I shuffled my work hours around during the week so I could start my weekend at noon on Friday. It was windy and overcast and even misty at times, so not a great ferry day, but at least it wasn’t too chilly.

I was the first one in the reservation line waiting to board.

I used to just go at any time and wait for the next ferry, but I’ve got reservations for the last couple of trips and it sure it nice!

I was the first one to board the ferry. Because I was driving Jeff’s pick up truck, I didn’t have to go down in the basement of the ferry, I got to pull up right to the front of the main deck with the trucks 🙂

The busy summer season is still a week or so off, so they are just running the larger Confederation ferry. The Holiday Island ferry was parked on the Nova Scotia side. Looks like it might have been getting a paint job, and the open vehicle decks it has were covered and insulated.

I thought I’d be so smart and look around to see who looked to be the most jumpy so I could watch them react when the departure air horn was blown on the ferry. Of course, once it did, I jumped out of my skin, and I knew it was coming!

It was an uneventful crossing. It’s just 70 minutes or so over to PEI. Pretty quick! Despite the weather I spent most of it on the deck rather than inside in the lounges. I saw a couple little porpoises, or some kind of marine life, swimming side by side on the crossing. They jumped quickly out of the water in unison. Too quick for a photo!

Because I was at the front of the vehicle deck, I got to watch us closely pull up to the dock in PEI after they asked us to return to our vehicles to prepare for departure.

On Friday night, we went to the Dunes Art Gallery and showroom for their annual season opener. Every year they have a fashion show with their latest clothes, and have hors d’oeuvres and free wine and beer. This is the third time I’ve been over to PEI to go!

Here is a very unflattering photo of Grandma telling me I better not be taking a picture of her with my phone.

Here is the end of the fashion show when they all came on stage together. 

Saturday was a rainy, windy, miserable day. Grandma gave me a gift – Cindy Day’s Grandma Says book, all about her Grandma’s weather sayings and the science behind it. Pretty good read actually!

Joe and Patricia each had things to do on Saturday, so Grandma and I toured around for a few hours, despite the weather. We went to the Cheese Lady’s Gouda Farm. The nice fellow working let us try all kinds of Gouda before we settled on a few new flavours to take home.

Then we went to the Confederation Court mall in Charlottetown for awhile, and then went to Wendy’s for a chicken burger for lunch. We were back at the cottage in time for the horse racing to start. I put my money ($2) on California Chrome. He didn’t win the Triple Crown, but because he tied with the horse Uncle Joe picked, we each shared the $6 in the hat 🙂

Here’s one of the perks of visiting Uncle Joe: his Manhattans. Mmmmmm.

By Saturday night the rain let up and the sun peaked out just before setting. Here’s the Bay looking over to North Rustico.

On Sunday morning I loaded up the two deck chairs Joe made for us into the truck and had a delicious pancake breakfast before I headed for home. It was a beautiful day!

Although it was calmer, the boat was rockier. Must have been the wind direction. Just enough slow rock to make everyone walk a little funny 🙂

I was angry at two hippy panhandler girls on the boat who were in everyone’s face for their pocket change. So many polite people just emptied their pockets so they’d go away. The other half of the ferry passengers kept relocating to avoid them. Who needs that? I wanted to throw them right over the side. Them and their hoola hoop.

The new chairs look awesome on our deck!

The colours match the silly pastel trim colour that came with our house, that we haven’t had the inspiration to paint over yet.