O Canada

                                      

Our trip to Prince Edward Island was one we won't soon forget.  It took over 10 minutes to cross the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge  that connects New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. The drive alone was one of the highlights of the trip. Once we reached the island we drove to the small west coast fishing village of Miminegash. The drive took us mudding down the long dirt roads that led to our cottage. We laughed about how glad we were that they gave us the "double-free upgrade" on the rental car and the fact that we had waived the insurance. Once we arrived, the vacation truly began.  We saw the sun rise (because Nora woke up at the crack of dawn) in the front of the cottage and set over the ocean in the back.  We could put Nora to bed and take the monitor outside by the fire. It was right after the high season and we were among the locals.  It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves wherever we went. 

Here is just a snapshot of what we did during our week on the island. This is post is heavy on the pictures and light on the ole words. I'm still incredibly sleep deprived from Nora's sleeping issues and I am not firing on all cylinders. 

 Nora took to skipping rocks right away. While they sunk instead of skipped, she still got a huge kick out watching the master.  The red sand beaches were covered in flat blue, green, and red rocks perfect for skipping and collecting.  They made our suitcases that much heavier on the trip home. 

Chris did his manly thing by gathering firewood to get the seaside fires going.  This was Nora's first experience roasting marshmallows.  

 

A few nights later we introduced the S'more. I'm pretty sure in was a life altering moment for her.

Hold on to your hat, cause next up was the Potato Museum.  We were the only ones there, learning all we could about one of the islands largest exports.  For some reason Nora thought this enormous potato was sleeping.  She kept telling us "Shhhh. Quiet. Potato sleeping." This was followed by snoring.  Even weeks later she tells me to be quiet around the potatoes in the grocery store.  Weird.

Inside the museum, Chris and Nora watch an informative video about the history of the potato, proving Nora's deep love for anything television. (One of the many reasons I try to limit it.)

We dropped the kid in the hiking backpack to climb to the top of a lighthouse. I'm not sure if this one time use of the backpack warranted bringing it on the trip but what's one more bag, right? 

Late afternoon beach picnic. Yep, she still kinda looks like her dad.

There's a little bit of me in there somewhere. Science says so. 

On the way home we swung by the docks where the lobstermen were unloading their catch.  We were able to pick up 2 lobsters totaling over 5 lbs. Total cost $16. 

We took the locals' advice and filled the pot with water (and sand) from the ocean.  We let Nora try some of our lobster that night and she loved it.  .

Two nights later the caretaker/lobsterman delivered 3 more lobsters to our door at $4 a pound.  I'm still in shock about the price, if you can't tell. Nora had a 3/4 pounder all to herself and she was up for the task.

She thought the shell tasted amazing, so you know she went to town when we actually cracked it open and poured lemon, butter, and garlic all over it.

Fist-fulls of lobster. That's what I dream about at night.

We found a state park on the North coast and we had it all to ourselves. 

Dandelions in Canada stick like glue. Don't even attempt to make a wish.

We tried to "go clamming". People told us they never had any luck because all the commercial "clammers" know the hot spots and clean them out.  

Nonetheless, I was determined.  I had read on the all-mighty internet what to look for.  Chris was the one who spotted the air bubbles and I was the one who started digging like a madman.   The toy shovel held up and we got our clam.  Then we threw it back, cause I don't really care for clams.

 We took a drive to Charlottetown, the capital of PEI, and the largest city on the island.  It reminded me a lot of historic St. Augustine.

    

A lot of people have asked us why we chose PEI for our vacation. There were a lot of factors.  It was somewhere we had never been, knew nothing about, we could still hang out after Nora went to bed, we LOVE lobster, and we only have 2 more months that Nora flies for free so we wanted to make it count. But really, we just picked a place on the map that seemed cool, and it was.