WEEK FIVE – NS AND PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
JULY 15 – We move from one campsite in Five Islands Provincial Park to another site in the same park as advance reservations are difficult to secure in the peak summer months. Favorably impressed with the Nova Scotia parks online reservation system showing various parks, availability and ease of registering. S. also referring to iOverlander and Campendium for possible non-commercial camping spots. She is the best navigator ever with maps and GPS.
JULY 16 – Depart Five Islands Provincial Park, drive along Fundy Bay and head for Confederation Bridge which has the distinction of the longest bridge in the world over ice – 8 miles from NB to P.E.I. where we stop at the Information building (?) just over the bridge. We gather up maps and brochures. With no plan and no reservations until the P.E.I. NMational Park, Cavendish, on the 18th, we have two days to meander. We opt for the North Cape and put down at water’s edge at the Jacque Cartier Provincial park just north of Alberton. P.E.I. the 7th Canadian province, is not a huge island and is known for its agricultural products, seafood and of course, tourism. Here is a shot of blue potatoes and a wiki link for detailed information on P.E.I.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Edward_Island
JULY 17 – We drive back into Alberton where we saw a little bakery/café and treat ourselves to brunch. It’s obviously a favorite place of locals as there’s a line to order and few empty seats. People seem outgoing and friendly, so much so that as we’re turning around in a parking lot a couple stops us to say they live in town and have a parking place for us and our RV if we’re interested. They ask us to follow them home to see it and since they are also RVers, we say sure let’s have a look. They live at the edge of town in a beautiful house on 3 acres of gardens of every kind – strawberries, potatoes, other vegetables, sunflowers, you name it. It’s a labor of love and a full time job for both of them. They have all the toys (tractors, motor scooters, etc.), we have a good visit and tell them we’ll think about their offer as we drive on up to North Cape. We decide later to go another route, down the east coast of the North Cape and end up at Cedar Dunes Provincial Park, lucky to find a spot as the place is packed with families on vacation.
JULY 18 –21 We are a short distance to the P.E.I. National Park in Cavendish and make two stops en route for some groceries, one stop in Summerside and the other in North Rustico at a small but well-stocked community market. Evidence of tourism everywhere with cottages, inns, restaurants, and we’re also near the famous Ann of Green Gables author’s birthplace. She was the creator of Avonlea which, in fact, is Cavendish. Our campsite is a short walk, some 50 yards, to the beach on the north coast of P.E.I.
On Tuesday morning,7/19, we wake up to rain which is predicted to last most of the day, clearing around 3 PM. We use the Weather Channel app which seems to be accurate and it includes radar in real time. Wednesday 7/20 (anniversary of moon landing) and it is sunny, windy and we’re having dinner with neighbors in adjacent camp site. Two women from Ontario live full-time in their trailer, Kelly a former Ontario Provincial Police person and Reena, a former teacher. Both, plus their wonderful dog Taser all good. 7/21 – We have plans for a day away from camp, visit Anne of Green Gables site, drop off laundry in Summerside to be picked up later, pick up a new pressure regulator for water supply, and while parked in a large lot discover that our generator isn’t working. Uh oh! Now what? We stop at Pine Acres, an RV place, but they can’t fix it and recommend Palmer’s, a big truck and auto shop about 5 miles away. They take us in right away, spend almost an hour on it, can’t resolve issue which seems to be lack of fuel (propane) which leads me to believe we have a regulator problem. Both places very friendly and neither charged anything. People here welcoming and helpful, seem to put customer ahead of profit. In the states many service centers would have said we have nothing available until at least next week.
We cancel our evening plans for the Celidih and instead treat ourselves to an early dinner at Eatery at Dockside, adjacent to Blue Mussel in North Rustico. Blue Mussel is so popular there was a 2.5 hour wait! Same mussels at Dockside, good service and sat by the water with a nice breeze. Terrific fresh oysters and steamed mussels, Yum~! Tomorrow we will figure out plans for next week prior to leaving for Newfoundland.