Back to the big Potato

Tags

Beach, Cape Road, life, New London, PEI, vacation, Yankee Gale

If New York is the Big Apple, Charlottetown is the big potato. The ride home was nice and quiet on deserted country roads about 50 min all together. We arrived on the Pride Weekend and the parade, well more like a walk really, went by our house and ended in the park across the street, every politician was there. The Pride festival and the walk/parade is unlike other such events, here it is more of a human rights, affordable housing, BLM, Trans, Native rights, anti-racism, Feminist rights, #Me too, etc sort of thing, not really what Pride was or is suppose to be. No party boys here and no floats or the sort of thing you see in other cities.

The tourists are back in town, a lot of plates from elsewhere in Canada. Some Americans but not many given that the requirement is to show full vaccination certificate at the border. Probably a lot more will come after 9 August, the official date for the re-opening of the US-Canada border.

The weather at the cottage was cool at night around 15C and one night around 12C which is cold and we put on the heat to warm up the place. Nonetheless it is a very nice place and we already booked for next year but later in August. I was happy just to sit in the sunshine or read a book, go for a walk on the beach or go for lunch and enjoy the seafood off the fishing boats as they come in, you cannot get fresher than that. People are also more calm and pleasant than here in Ch’town. Compared to the extreme weather elsewhere in Canada, Maritime weather is fine and enjoyable.

Posting below some of the pictures I took of our vacation.

The Beach House Inn is now called Cottages on the Cape since February new owners
bought it from the retiring previous owner who had operated the B&B for 40 years.
Cape road ends about 600 feet from their front door at the beach. The house itself dates from 1830 but has been renovated completely. The new owners are quite nice.

We did read more about the area and it is an interesting story. PEI started up by being a place of refuge for Acadians fleeing the British Army in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Many Acadians walked to Quebec City and other points controlled by the French army others crossed the strait to Ile Saint Jean, now PEI. The British eventually came to the Island and around 1750 deported all the inhabitants. In turn the British then populated the Island with the people they did not want back home, mostly Irish and Scots. So the area of what is Cape road today also known as Lot 21 was at first a settlement of Scottish Protestants who had been told it was the promised land by speculators in Scotland. The people who came to the area where from Northern Scotland, a town called Durness, on a map you see a small town on the northern tip near the Kyle of Durness. Of the settlement they built around 1773 nothing is left except for a cemetery with old tombstones dating to 1800. The Cape road had originally another name and was the main street of their little settlement, nothing is left today, many died of disease or hardships, others moved to other settlements like Park Corner just over the hill. Interesting to note that Captain Holland who was a surveyor with the British Army made the first accurate map of PEI and divided it in Lots which were awarded to the friends of King George III. People living on the Lots where serfs but this abusive system quickly led to revolt given that all land owners were absent living in London.

The area today is fields and marsh with the New London lighthouse and beach and another cemetery called Yankee Hill. American sailors came to fish Mackerel yearly, many perished in the famous Yankee Gale storm of 1851, destroying hundreds of fishing boats and killing 250 fisherman. Many of the graves are anonymous and can be found all along the North coast of the Island. A group of volunteers and researchers studied the tombstones and gathered info from other families who are also buried there like the Couzens or Cousins. A French Huguenot family who migrated from Normandy to New England and at the revolution moved to Canada. Descendants are still living in the area of Park Corner or Cousins Cove. All the chapels or meeting halls are either Presbyterian or Methodist in this part of the Island.

All the land around the Cape is owned by the Island Trust, meaning that the land cannot be built on, it is however rented to farmers to grow hay and other cereals.

The Red Sandstone of PEI.

Sunset

The New London Lighthouse seen from the beach

The ruin wharf on the sand dunes remnant of an other age.

Sono in Spiaggia

Tags

Beach, home, ice cream, life, PEI, Summer, vacation

For the last 2 weeks we have been at the Beach, so this is why there has been no blogging. What I cherish most here is the perfect quiet, the only noise is nature itself, the many variety of birds and the surf. We are surrounded by forest, marsh and the sand dunes of the beach. It is so pleasant that living in the city you forget how it can be.

The nearest small town is 10 minutes down the road where there is a liquor store and a small grocery store with all the conveniences. Many nice cafés and little restaurants here and there in and around Kensington. The big town is Summerside 20 minutes away, pop 15K, we go there for the Ice Cream at Holman’s which is located inside the former mansion of the Holman Family with its beautiful garden of old trees and plentiful flowers. By far the ice cream at Holman’s is made daily and in small batches, once sold that’s it. The taste and texture is wonderful and the owners follow high standards to produce it, it is well worth the drive down the road to Holman’s.

In PEI usually you hear a lot about COWS ice cream which is owned by a big Corp. ADL and is a major producers of dairy products. The quality is industrial and it is flogged at the tourist crowd.

Going to Kensington on country roads where you share the road with farming machinery, surrounded by farms, you should know to slow down once you see the sign up ahead for the town, the speed limit drops from 80Km to 50Km and the police cruiser is hidden in the field, they watch for speeders. In fact the small police force of Kensington (5) has a FaceBook page and they are well known for their humour.

The weather of our first week was quite nice with walks on the deserted beach. Now since yesterday a big storm has come in and it is windy and rainy with big waves. It appears that it will be like this for the next day or so. We return home on Saturday, I wonder how I will find the city with its noise. Both Nicky and Nora will be happy to see us and probably will stick to us like glue, creatures of habit that they are.

Last night 21 July was our 14th Wedding Anniversary, we married between assignments, I completed my Beijing posting came home to Ottawa, the house had sold and in those few days we prepared for our next post Rome. Got married with our long haired dachshund Reesie present, he would be coming with us to Italy. A friend had offered her beautiful garden for the event. It was small and simple and with a few friends present. Then a few days later we flew to Rome and wonderful years in Italy. Now all this seems so far away.

For our anniversary we have this habit now in PEI to go to The Mill in New Glasgow, the award winning chef is Emily Wells, her food is beautiful and the dishes always very well prepared. She is a chef who knows how to bring out the flavour of each ingredients and balances it all carefully. The restaurant was once an old mill built in 1874 on the banks of the Clyde River, simple but beautiful dining room on a quiet river surrounded by parkland. The meal was great and so happy to see Chef Emily again.

So at the beach I brought one book to read, but while we went to Summerside we discovered a bookstore Seaside Books owned by a lady called Nancy, it is a second hand bookstore on Water street, the selection was eclectic and very interesting. I found books by John LeCarré and by Lord Jeffrey Archer. However the style of LeCarré I like because it reminds me of my former life. Archer writes about detective stories and it has the feel of a TV script which I find annoying. I also bought a book on Jung and his mystic approach to psychiatry. Though Jung himself often said he was not a mystic and did not believe in it.

The greatest find came from Nancy who showed us a book of paintings on Venice over a period of four centuries, with accompanying text. It’s a big coffee table book, cloth binding weighs about 20 pounds, in mint condition. A spectacular book which Will loved at first sight.

Tonight we are going to the theatre in Rustico which is a fishing village further East from us. The Watermark theatre produces great summer stock plays, we are going to see the Gin Game by D.L. Coburn.

Such a nice staycation just 50 minutes from home but feels like we are thousands of Km away.

P.S. photos to come

Rain, rain

Tags

Beach, Canada, French River, life, PEI

Gee the weather is cold at 14C and it is raining non stop, it is suppose to rain all week.

A terrible start to July, meanwhile out West it is too hot for words. We are going from a Pandemic to a climate disaster.

Will is now fully vaccinated and I will be on Wednesday and so happy for it. Some 17 months have gone by and frankly I am happy that we can see the end of this tunnel.

Here are some pictures of me at the BBQ at the Club.

With my Sweeney Todd apron. I cooked for 40 members.

Mayor Philip Brown of Charlottetown, Club Patron cutting our Canada Day Cake.

We had fun and I enjoyed organizing the event. More events to come including the Golf Tournament. But in the coming days we are going fishing as they say, not in the literal sense but in the figurative sense. Looking forward to leaving town for a couple of weeks. Here is a photo of the area where we are going. Our neigbours at the cottage tonight told us that the surf was quite dangerous, high winds and driving rain and cold. But this is all changing by the time we get there. One strange thing we had to put the heat on in the house here in town today because it was a little raw. I have never done that in July. This is the New London Rear Light House on Yankee Hill Beach, it is our view and the sea is on the right.

Fashion changes

Tags

Beach, life, PEI, relax

We have been here 5+ year and the way we dress has changed a lot. Recently we gave away a ton of clothes to charity, things we simply no longer wear and do not see ourselves wearing ever again. There is still a lot to give away and a second round is coming in the Fall.

Living here you simply do not wear tie and jacket unless it is a very important occasion. Our Province PEI is an agricultural and touristic spot, we have high tech firms, but overall life is easy and more relaxed and this is reflected in the way people dress everyday, Jeans, sport shirts and athletic wear. Given that the beaches are minutes away, beach wear is very much what you see in the Summer. Many people have cottages in isolated areas, dirt roads are also common as are jeeps and big trucks, so all this affects the way you will dress.

The only time people will dress more formally, are funerals, weddings and special anniversary. So we adjusted our wardrobe to life here. My most recent clothes purchase has been Chino pants and comfortable walking shoes. So we are going into the sporty comfortable look.

Activities

Tags

Beach, Food, life, PEI

Today I replaced Will at the Farmer’s Market for the last day of the PEI Symphony Annual Orange sale. Because this is a popular sale and it was the last day we sold out very quickly. The Market is great fun, situated across the street from the University Campus and surrounded by the Government Experimental Farm. Lots of nice things to buy and great vendors, all genuine well known farmers. I got some nice tulips and some good cheese that you cannot find in a grocery store. I also had a conversation with the owner of Gallant’s seafood about Bar Clams which are very popular here and sold in a glass jar by Annands in Tyne Valley. I had no idea what you did with them, you can eat them right out of the jar with a beer or a glass of wine, they are also good on pasta dish or used if you make chowder, so now I know.

Today was a beautiful day, warm and sunny and tomorrow we will reach 18C which is truly Spring Weather.

Some months ago I started doing the weekly newsletter for the Club. I changed the format and introduced new topics, changing it each week with new info and graphics. It has done well and I spend at least 2 days a week putting it all together. So this one way of keeping me busy during this pandemic. As you probably know from the from Canada some of our Provinces are not doing well at all and in Ontario the Health Services and hospitals are colapsing with the daily numbers of people sick with Covid. Ontario went through years of closing hospital beds and not recruiting enough staff to replace those leaving so now with this catastrophy which could have been prevented had the Government of Premier Doug Ford listened to the Health experts and others who warned repeatedly of what was going to happen, to quote Doug Ford, businesses come first before people. Pretty incredible thing to say as people drop dead all around you but hey, his late brother the former Mayor of Toronto was a disaster and Doug is hugely incompetent in this case. Same in Alberta, the Texas of Canada, where Premier Jason Kenney is facing an open revolt in his own caucus, he too refuses to act and now daily cases are extremely high.

Here in the Atlantic, only PEI and Newfoundland are doing ok and all is pretty quiet. However we are isolated and the bridge is closed again to the mainland. Nova Scotia has increasing numbers which is very worrisome, the City of Halifax is closed down completely, another case of re-opening too soon. In New Brunswick same story and there too Premier Higgs has imposed lockdowns to try to stop the disease. So this means a very quiet Summer here with no visitors period.

We have made our plans to go to the Cottage by the sea at French River in the New London area. Such an incredibly beautiful area, for two weeks this year.

The New London rear LightHouse at French River. This is our view from the cottage and the beach is just a few feet behind it. Looking to the left we would see vast expanse of water. The sand bars in that area are impressive. The current is also swift since 2 rivers come into the sea in the area. To think that until about 30 years ago this lighthouse was lived in by a widow and her 3 kids and she kept it going 365 days of the year. I cannot imagine how she did it, it is isolated and very rural, dirt roads picturesque. The sky at night is impressive with an incredible blanket of stars and our galaxy the Milky Way.

I wonder if the family of Foxes will be there again this year.

From the New London LightHouse we can hike about 3 km to the Cape Tryon Lighthouse. It was possible to drive over but the road is not kept and it is dirt, unless you have a tractor you cannot get to it by car. So you can walk it, very nice and scenic, cliffs all the way and once you get there, you can admire the water and the Sunsets are spectacular. It is so quiet on that walk, all you hear is the sea, birds and crickets.

Cape Tryon Lighthouse

Today Will made 2 dishes, one is a pan cake vanilla and cherries, a recipe our friend in Greece, Yannis shared with us. The other is a Lancashire Lamb stew, it is Ramadan so now is time for lamb. PEI Lamb is very good and comes from the farms just minutes away from the Farmer’s Market.

Lancashire Lamb Stew

Return from Staycation

Tags

Beach, Fox, French River, Peace, PEI, quiet, sand, sex, surf, Travel

Well we returned yesterday from our week at the Beach House Inn at French River near New London PEI where we rented a cottage. It was delightful and sooooo peaceful compared to the noisy Capital. Surrounded by woods, fields, red sandstone cliffs and the beach. Only the birds and a family of Foxes for company, we were the only guests on the property. The birds are interesting, from eagles to hawks, cormorants to blue jays, swallows, robins, warblers, quite the variety.

The Fox family was a mother and her 4 kits, very tame and unafraid of people though they always keep a respectful distance.  The property was beautiful and very well maintained, the main house had 7 mature Linden trees on the West side, a big marsh full of water reeds on the East side of the property and on the hill the famous Cousin Family pioneer cemetery known as Yankee Hill. The Cousin family were French Huguenots who fled France ended up in the American colonies and at the revolution came to PEI fleeing again the chaos. The were probably wealthy if one looks at their elaborate white marble tombstones. In September 2019 the hurricane Dorian came to PEI and devastated the area around Cavendish where 70% of the trees were damaged. This old burial ground is in a forest and many of the poplars toppled. Luckily none of the 200 year old tombstones were damaged, a miracle of sorts. Across the road to the beach stands another old cemetery called Simms, this one is dedicated to the 200 sailors who died in the historic storm known as the Yankee Gale in October 1851. Our view was the sand dunes and the beach and it’s small lighthouse, the New London Rear Lighthouse nowadays surrounded by a large marsh. It is automated like all light houses. The waterway is treacherous, large ever moving sandbanks at the entrance to the South West and French River, both leading to small fishing harbours. The surrounding countryside is picturesque, lots of farms cultivating wheat, potatoes, mustard and corn. The area was settled after the Acadians where deported and their land confiscated by the British around 1755. The new settlers were stern Protestants, Presbyterians and Anglicans. Some of the Acadians did come back after 1763 and settled further West on the Island.

This year of the Pandemic there are virtually no tourists, the only people who can actually come to PEI are from the other Maritime provinces and they do not need to isolate. Anyone else would be automatically forced into 14 day isolation upon arrival and people are watchful.

Some good seafood restaurants and art galleries in the area. The beaches are very clean and quiet. We could actually walk from our home to Cape Tryon and its Lighthouse an 8 Km treck along the cliffs, very beautiful scenery. It was a good staycation just to get out of the noise of Charlottetown.

The Linden Trees at the Beach House Inn. We could say we were unter den Linden.

Sunset on the cliffs at Cap Tryon, with the lighthouse. In terms of direction looking out into the Gulf of St-Lawrence, towards Anticosti Island and Newfoundland.

Truly peaceful away from it all. You come to appreciate the silence.

What to take on vacation

Tags

Beach, Friends, PEI, sand, Summer, surf, vacation

Every time Summer rolls around, reading lists appears, all manner of books are proposed. Thing is, many of those books are for general appeal and some make the best seller list. But I am never interested in them and if I am going to buy a book I want to make sure I will read it. So the topic has to appeal to me in some fashion.

We are going to the cottage at the beach and I am looking for books to read. I got one by Cicero written of course some 2070 yrs ago on how to rule a country, I may get tips on how to do it best, if ever I intend to rule Canada, one of the most difficult country to rule give our 6 time zones and enormous geographic space bordering on 3 oceans, we could be called an Empire based on size alone, but we settled for Dominion (Kingdom).  I also found two other books on Kindle but I just realized they will be available after 28 July, so I will have to wait. One is by Lady C. the Duchess of Argyll, her newly released best seller on Meghan and Harry. The other is a book recommended by Nicholas Hoare who use to own a famous bookstore in Ottawa on Sussex Drive. It was such a beautiful bookstore and guaranteed you would find something to your liking. Hoare recommended a book based on letters written by Sir Alan Frederick ”Tommy” Lascelles who was the private secretary of King George VI and later his daughter Queen Elizabeth II. This book was made possible by special permission from H.M. the Queen, usually such letters never see the light of day. The letters cover the War years and shine a light on historical passages that might otherwise remain obscure. Lascelles being an Oxford graduate writes beautifully, the man had vocabulary, something that is lost nowadays. He was also part of the Courtier network around the Royal Family.

So I am now looking at my home library and what can I find on the shelves, there is a wide choice. But then I wonder how much reading I will do all together.

So off we go on Hwy 2 towards the West and French River, the area has many little settlements, then turning unto Hwy 20 and on the road we will pass, near our destination, the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery, a simple little house in a field. She is of course the famous author, who in PEI is revered.  The last few kilometres is a red dirt road amongst fields and marshes which ends at the Sand dunes, the New London Range Lighthouse and the sea. This is where we will be. I am looking forward to seeing the night sky which in such a remote location reveals itself to be ablaze with unimaginable number of stars and galaxies including our own Milky Way. Also the silence of the place, disturbed only by the surf and songs of birds and maybe one or two coyotes howling.

Sunday

Tags

Beach, cuisine, home, Me, nature, PEI, sand, sun, surf

Well today was a gorgeous day, Sunny and warm and no cold wind. It was so nice that we decided to hop in the car and go down St-Peter’s Road to the beach, we usually go North to Brackley Point Beach but today we decided to look into another area.

This is following Hwy 2 North-East about a 30 minute leisurely drive. Funny enough from our house to the cut-off to St-Peter’s Road which is just next to the airport runway, now quiet because no flights are coming here. There was some traffic and then suddenly a lot more traffic. Note a lot of traffic on PEI is 15 cars.

The reason was the Agency Liquor Store at the Irving Gas Station on St-Peter’s Road. It’s open longer hours than the Government Liquor Stores and has more hard liquor, you know the hard stuff, the brown stuff, like Bourbon. The clientele goes with the Liquor. After that it was clear sailing,  the road to St-Peter’s Harbour suddenly becomes unpaved and is basically the red dirt road typical of the Island. It was dry and not muddy, red mud is sticky and clings to everything. Driving on it is difficult, I still have my big winter tires on the car because of the Pandemic I did not want to go to the garage to have them change etc, I now have an appointment for the end of May. Winter tires gives better traction anyway.

We had never been to that area of the Island and discovered that it is a Nature Preserve with very high sand dunes that look like the grand canyon but not quite. With high Marram grass growing on top, the grass is planted by volunteers to protect the dunes. The area behind the Marram Grass covered sand dunes is a mix of wetland, plants, grasses and maritime shrubs and shallow ponds of water which rise or ebb with the tides, perfect for ducks and other aquatic fauna. The dunes are so high that you do not hear the Sea until you follow the marked sandy path across. The dunes are protected and to avoid damaging them people are asked to stick to walking on the beach.

The sand was warm today to the touch and despite nice waves the wind was very light. I have always been fascinated by the immensity of the Sea, it looks infinite. However if you look at the map you will see that we are clearly in the Gulf of St-Lawrence.

The quiet of the beach and the fresh air is exhilirating. The only noise is the surf and bird songs. The Piping Plover nest on the beach and you have to be careful when walking around, it’s a little bird and it camouflage itself with the natural colours around. It is also an endangered species only 6000 in the World.

Near the beach and at the end of the road you can see some beach houses, some are expensive looking but they really only function from May to September. You would not want to live in the area in Winter with the terrible fierce storms, unreliable electricity and rural mud roads. In Winter such roads are not plowed so become impassible. I would love to live at the beach like that in the Summer.

The nice thing about beaches in PEI is that they are very clean, quiet and not overrun with people.

Today was a nice break from the City, we came home, had a nice Osso Buco for dinner and our neighbour surprised us with a Coconut cream pie she had made, it was delicious.

As we come to the end of August

Tags

Beach, Charlottetown, Europe, Food, Parade, PEI, Restaurants

In PEI after Old Home Week 15 August, the last week of August feels like the end of the tourist Season, families disappear over night replaced by older couples with no kids. Motel and camp grounds empty and you know that as of 1 September tourist spots and restaurants catering to them will start to close. We will still have Cruise ship traffic until November but there will be less to do for the tourists.

The PEI Tourism Board has tried to lenghten the Season into a shoulder Season at least until mid-December but that is very difficult, the merchants are not interested for the most part. They made their money and now they move to Florida for the next six months. In the Spring we would benefit from early opening of tourist restaurants and bars around 15 April because the first Cruise ships do arrive on 1 May. But no, that again is difficult to do, many businesses open around 1 June, this makes for a very short Season.

Despite promising myself I would go to the beach this Summer we never went, until 15 July the weather was cold and miserable and then it became hot and unpleasant. We are both busy with volunteer work and one thing after another and we stayed in town.

We did go to Rustico to the Watermark theatre and discovered a new restaurant with very good food owned by a Portuguese couple. We also attended our friend S.D. Summer party in New Glasgow which is always fun. We went to Victoria by the Sea to see our friend J.D. at his antique shop. The Landmark Café has a new owner and it is great food and service as always. There were some other social engagements but other than that not much really.

On Monday we travel to catch a flight to Amsterdam which will make for a complete change of venue. Our friend B.P. is coming from Ottawa to babysit the puppies.

In the meantime here are some photos of our Old Home Week parade which is such a tradition here in Charlottetown in August.

The Royal Canadian Navy from HMCS Charlottetown

Lots of ACADIAN flags since the World Congress was taking place in August.  Looks like the flag of France but it has a Yellow Star on it.

The Lieutenant Governor of PEI with her Aide de Camp in the carriage.

The Belfast PEI, Bag pipes, they practice in the park across the street from our home. Nice group.

The Canadian Army PEI Regiment with their regimental flag (Black and yellow)

The float of the Mayor and City Councillors in a canoe no less.

The Royal Canadian Air Force Band

The Mi’kmaq of Abegweit (AKA PEI)

And the best band of the parade bar none, a group of music teachers and professional musicians including the Green Party Leader, who is also leader of the Official Opposition in the PEI Legislature plays the trumpet, talk of versatile politician. This group is known for its zany costumes, always a big hit with the crowd.

 

Finally Summer

Tags

Beach, heat, life, Me

Well Summer arrived on the 4th July, yesterday and last night was still cold around 16C and cloudy, wet. We had a cold, very wet April, May and June.

In 24 hours, so Canadian, we are now into hot and muggy, we have, in Island speak, the muggies, 25C hot and humid with a small breeze. We have a hear warning for the coming days, with the humidity factor temperatures could soar to 31C. I am not complaining, I will take it.

I am not complaining, it is now warm enough to go to the Beach and just enjoy the sunshine, a nice lobster and some fresh oysters.

Here are some shots of today, it is also Lupin time, they are everywhere you look, on the road in rural area and in gardens, they grow wild here.

Lavender in the garden of the Confederation Centre.

Wild Lupins in my neighbours yard.

Price Flag on the marquis of the Holman Grand Hotel, downtown Charlottetown. Despite the 100 year old facade this is a modern hotel with a very good restaurant.

Road kill by Gerald Beaulieu, on the terrace of the Art gallery of the Confederation Centre. Was created 2 years ago make entirely of recycled tires.

Lupins in the wild at French River in PEI with potato field of course in the background.