Prince Edward Island
First things first – we’re now HOME (Vancouver) as of the Thanksgiving weekend! The return part of the journey was much quicker than the outbound journey.Total distance travelled was 23,500 km! We’ll continue with the blog, slowly, working to fill in the trip pretty much in chronological sequence.
We arrived with Chardonnay in hand to begin a memorable evening. After a bit of a chin wag, we went for a stroll down to the local fish store, where they bought six lobsters for the meal.
Amidst appetizers of freshly shucked oysters, potato chips, Chardonnay, and local beers, we finally got the lobster pot boiling after a few hurdles along the way with the propane tank and the barbecue. As the lobsters got cooked up, Gerry re-taught Shamir the basics of shelling them … something Shamir had last done in 1981 on his previous visit to the Maritimes.
First things first – we’re now HOME (Vancouver) as of the Thanksgiving weekend! The return part of the journey was much quicker than the outbound journey.Total distance travelled was 23,500 km! We’ll continue with the blog, slowly, working to fill in the trip pretty much in chronological sequence.
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We had a deadline to reach PEI -- August 1 -- to meet one of Shamir’s law school buddies, Sasha, and her husband Gerry, before they returned to Vancouver. Gerry is originally from PEI, so they purchased a wonderful summer home in North Rustico, across the street uphill of a working fishing wharf.
Within walking distance are a fresh seafood store, a really good bakery, a liquor store, and tons of wildlife viewing all around … it doesn't get any better than this!
Within walking distance are a fresh seafood store, a really good bakery, a liquor store, and tons of wildlife viewing all around … it doesn't get any better than this!
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| View from the deck: Adult eagle on the right, with juvenile on the left, in giant nest |
We arrived with Chardonnay in hand to begin a memorable evening. After a bit of a chin wag, we went for a stroll down to the local fish store, where they bought six lobsters for the meal.
Amidst appetizers of freshly shucked oysters, potato chips, Chardonnay, and local beers, we finally got the lobster pot boiling after a few hurdles along the way with the propane tank and the barbecue. As the lobsters got cooked up, Gerry re-taught Shamir the basics of shelling them … something Shamir had last done in 1981 on his previous visit to the Maritimes.
It soon became clear that we had wa-a-a-ay too much food.Now, Gerry is really just a kind-hearted hippie at heart, as we soon found out. Why not release one of the lobsters, he thought, back into the ocean to fend its way to a different future?! So he picked a good sized, relatively lively lobster and headed down to the water.
After a quick test or two holding the lobster in the ocean water, he let go. The lobster dashed off -- what a tale it would have to regale its lobster buddies about an astonishing journey from ocean to fishing boat, to holding tank in a fish store, to paper bag and then refrigerator, to human hand, and back into the ocean! And to us humans, an evening indelibly imprinted on us as the Night of Lobster Karma.
After a quick test or two holding the lobster in the ocean water, he let go. The lobster dashed off -- what a tale it would have to regale its lobster buddies about an astonishing journey from ocean to fishing boat, to holding tank in a fish store, to paper bag and then refrigerator, to human hand, and back into the ocean! And to us humans, an evening indelibly imprinted on us as the Night of Lobster Karma.
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| The Night of Lobster Karma!! |
After overnighting in the van, we joined Sasha and Gerry for coffee the next morning and headed out to explore the rest of the island. Rustico is now in our blood, though -- we returned to park the van for a couple of days with their permission, after they had left, enjoying the wonderful deck and amazing location after we had seen more of PEI. Pieces of our hearts remain in this lovely part of PEI. We want to thank Sasha and Gerry for a wonderful introduction to their little corner of heaven!
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| The lovely Rustico home |
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| Look closely - the Rustico home is at the left ... |
These re-connections with friends and family throughout the country were a wonderful part of the trip. To the consternation of most of our hosts, we generally found it easier to overnight in “AshRam” (which is a Dodge Ram van) than to come inside. Our bed was comfortable, we knew where everything was, and we didn’t have to worry about what to bring in each time, and what we might have forgotten as we were leaving. The van again proved its flexibility and comfort.
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