Summerside Boardwalk



Jasper hoping the ice cream will drop!



Today we decided to take a day off from house hunting and go for a walk on the Summerside Boardwalk.  It was a beautiful day.  The temperature was around 26c with a light breeze.  It was perfect … not too hot and not too cold.  It was just right. (Where have I heard that before?)

We harnessed up the dogs and walked all along the waters edge.  The Boardwalk is made up of very colorful buildings that are shops for the tourists.  They also have the Arts & Cultural Centre there.  One of these days, when we don’t have the dogs, we will be able to go into the Cultural Centre to see what it is all about.  I know they put on shows there because one of the restaurants closed early. They said the whole staff was going to the show!  They must take their theatre very seriously here!

As we walked around the Boardwalk there is a candy/ice cream shop that Ron likes to stop in at.  Today was no different.  I held onto both dogs while he went in to get his ice cream cone of the day.  Jasper spotted the ice cream first and got very excited.  He thought … oh goody … daddy’s got ice cream so that means I get some too!!  As we walked along, Jasper pranced, yes … really … he pranced, right along side of him and wouldn’t take his eyes off of Ron or should I say … the ice cream cone.  Several people in the area laughed commented on how cute that was.  Ron pretended not to notice.

We walked down to the seafood store a couple of blocks down and chatted with the owner of the store for a while.  He told us about the lobster season and when it would start up again.  We talked about PEI and BC and what the difference in weather was. We bought some scallops for dinner and headed for home.

I decided to bread the scallops for a nice light coating to crisp them up for a change.  They were perfect!  Gordon Ramsay would have been proud of me!  I served them with home made potato salad (made with real PEI potatoes) and corn.  It was delicious!  Now that we have eaten and the dishes are done, it is time to go outside and wait for another perfect sunset.  Life is good!



Ron and the Rescue Boat (with Jasper still waiting for the ice cream to drop!)




Summerside Arts & Cultural Centre




A Delicious Scallop Dinner



House Hunting is Hard Work!

The last few days we have been looking for a house to buy.  We have been all over the island looking for properties that fit our criteria … water views for me … and a big garage/workshop for Ron.

We have looked at a new rancher, only 1 year old, that sits on the water front and has beautiful views.  It has 3 large bedrooms, an upstairs loft/sitting room, kitchen is really nice with all new stainless steel appliances and it has a garage/workshop that Ron can work with.  The only things we don’t like are: the back deck is a little small, but we could enlarge that later and they put the washer and dryer in the downstairs bathroom.  I guess with the house being only 1700 sq. ft. they had to put it somewhere.  The owner wants (in my opinion) a little too much for it, but it is in the running … so to speak.

We also looked at another house just up from the rancher.  It was a larger house with a HUGE and I mean HUGE garage/workshop for Ron.  Guess which house he wants now?!  The rest of the house was just ok for me, but Ron really liked the character of the house.  It was nestled in amongst birch trees, and the outside of the house looked like a log cabin … just not my style.

We also looked at an older house … well it was 100 years plus.  There were 3 rooms in the house that were nice and I could live with, but the rest of it was pretty scary!  The floors were so warped that it felt that you were drunk just walking from the hallway into the next room.  The stairs were very narrow and also warped.  I didn’t feel safe walking up and down the stairs at all.  The basement … well … the basement was a Mike Holmes nightmare!!  We scratched that one off our list!!

So you see we are keeping our options open.  We look at new homes to older homes in search of finding that elusive “perfect home”.

After looking at the log cabin home this morning, we decided to take a break from house hunting, (well sort of … our eyes are always open for “For Sale” signs) and took the dogs to the beach.  Jasper and Bailey loved it.  We started to take them right onto the beach but then quickly thought that it might be better if we walked them along the shore … but on the grass.  The sand here in PEI is red and walking WHITE dogs on a RED beach didn’t seem like it was the smart thing to do.  They would have come out looking like “pink maltese”!  They were just as happy to walk along the grassy shore.

It was another beautiful day in PEI.  Temperature is 29c with a light breeze.  Ron is sitting in his lounge chair, drink in hand, over looking the water.  Since that is how I envisioned my retirement … I think I’ll join him!

Let the House Hunting Begin!

Too bad ... this house is not for sale.

Well, it is time.  We have been on the island for over a week now.  We have seen a parade, visited with Ron’s army buddy, we have gazed over the water and watched some fantastic sunsets, but now it is time to get busy and look for a house before the winter sets in!

Our real estate agent, Kay Rogers, came to our campground yesterday with a six pack of Corona as a welcome to the island gift.  She saw a photo of me drinking it and thought I might like that.  I think we picked a GOOD real estate agent!!

We went over what Ron and I are looking for in our search for the perfect house.  After looking at the internet for the past couple of days and with the price point we want, I think it is going to be a challenge to find that “perfect house”.  Kay had brought a couple of listings with her for us to go over.  I gave her a couple of listings that I had printed out off the internet and asked her opinion of what these properties were like.  She said that a couple of them were garbage and she would look into a couple of the other ones I had.

When she left, we decided to go out and drive around the island to look at some of the listings.  They did not look promising.  They were either on busy roads (which is not good for the dogs), out in the middle of nowhere, or the “water view” was blocked by over grown trees.  Something that just wouldn’t do!

Now I know that properties come on the market every day, but at the moment it is a little discouraging to have seen everything on line and there is nothing that says, “This is the perfect house!”  I also know that you will never find “the perfect house” … but I would like to come close to it!  If nothing else … we are getting to know the island a bit by driving all over it searching for the elusive perfect house!

Lobster Night!

Tonight was the last night our friends Kevin and Penny are here at the campground.  We decided to go out for dinner for … what else … lobster!  We found a restaurant in downtown Summerside advertising lobster dinners and went for it.  They gave us our lobster bibs and all the necessary tools you need to eat a lobster.  Then they brought the lobsters!  Yum!!  Once I figured out how to break open the lobster I was able to enjoy it to the fullest.  I was enjoying it so much … I forgot to take a photo of it to show you.  I guess I will just have to have another lobster dinner!

After we got back to the campground, we decided to build a fire.  It looked like a storm was brewing! The wind had picked up and was starting to get quite strong.  We could see across the water that it was raining, and there were several lightening strikes.  It was really cool to watch.  We stood by the fire and felt toasty warm.  

As I am writing this blog inside my moho, I can hear the wind howling and shaking the motor home.  I think we are in for a wild night!

A Perfect Day

Today was another perfect day on PEI.  We decided to stay close to the motor home and do some things that we needed to get done.  Jasper and Bailey both got a bath and hot groomed.  They didn’t like it much … but then they never do.  I didn’t have to blow dry them as it was so hot today that we just put them in the pen outside to dry.  They were dry in no time at all.  I then brushed them on our picnic table as people stopped by to say what beautiful dogs they were.  I was a proud mama.

This afternoon we noticed that out on the water there was a bunch of herons gathering.  They were walking very slowly through the water and then all of a sudden their heads would dip down.  When they came up they had a fish that took them a few tries to get down their throats.  At one point we counted 9 herons.  It was really neat to watch. 

We spent this evening having dinner with our neighbors, Kevin and his wife Penny.  Kevin is an old army buddy of Ron’s.  They are really nice people and lots of fun to talk with.  After dinner we watched the video I made for Ron’s 60^th birthday surprise party.    They thought it was really good.  The evening was a lot of fun.

As I am writing this blog, it is 10:20 p.m. and I can hear the sound of rain drops coming down … rather heavy.  That will help the dry spell that is here on the island … and since it is in the evening … it won’t bother us at all.  Listening to the rain drops as you fall off to sleep is quite soothing to me.  I’m sure we will wake up to sunshine again in the morning. 



Exhausting Day!



Dinner With Friends

Last night was a great night.  The weather couldn’t decide whether it should give a light drizzle or remain clear and dry.  For the most part it remained clear and dry but muggy.

Long time friends of Ron arrived at our campground and parked next door to us.  They are here camping for the week.  Ron had been in the army with them many years ago.  We had a BBQ of burgers with everything (cheese, mushrooms, onions etc.) and a couple of wobbley pops.  The evening was spent reminiscing the good ole days.  The stories were very interesting and brought back many memories for Ron.  It was a great evening.

Today is another beautiful day overlooking the water.  We can’t make up our minds as to whether to go on tour of the island or hang out around the campground.  Doesn’t really matter … it’s a beautiful day!

PEI Welcome’s Us!

We arrived in PEI late last night so we spent the night at the Sun n Shade Campground.  Lucky for us we got one of the last sites available.  It is located just a few minutes from the Confederation Bridge so it is perfect when you have driven several hundred miles and just want to stop and rest.

This morning, after we left the Sun n Shade, we went to get some propane before going to our favorite campground at Crystal Beach.  Well, they must have heard that we were back on the island because … they threw us a Parade!!  Well actually they called it the Lobster Festival Parade … but we knew it was really for us! 

It was a great parade with musicians, mini cars, and lots of floats from the community.  It was really great to see this on our first day.  Ron and I haven’t been to a parade in years.  The dogs were good among all the people who lined the streets.  Jasper laid on the ground watching the parade go by, while Bailey stood quiet but a little unsure of things. 

The only mishap we had was when some really tiny horses came by.  Bailey started barking and then he bolted towards the horses!  He was on a leash and I was standing on it so he wouldn’t wander too far.  When the horses came close, Bailey bolted and the leash broke!!  He charged at the tiny horses and then stopped just short of them while still barking at them.  Ron went after Bailey and was able to bring him back.  I was so embarrassed.  I couldn’t believe that the leash broke!  As the riders past us, they smiled at us and said “don’t worry about it, they‘re used to that”.   Island people are so nice.

After the parade we moved to our favorite campground at Crystal Beach.  We are located in the front row overlooking the water.  We stayed here last year and fell in love with it.  The sunsets are amazing over the water.  We got set up, did a load of laundry and settled in.  It felt good knowing that we weren’t going to be packing it up tomorrow and driving again. It feels like we are home.





Quebec … Not a Good Idea!!

We decided to try a different route to PEI this time and chose to go through Quebec.  This turned out to be a bad idea. 

The drivers in Quebec are very aggressive, nobody does the speed limit ( you might as well not even put up speed zone signs) and the construction … oh the construction!!  There had to be thousands and thousands of cones that lined the streets and highways in Quebec.  They were the tall, heavy cones with black rings around them.  They were not always lined up correctly making the streets very narrow with just barely enough room to drive the RV through.

The drivers of Quebec are not very courteous drivers either, at least the ones we met on the road.  I swear if it wasn’t for this grandmother (yes grandmother) truck driver, we would still be sitting on the bridge in Montreal waiting to change lanes!  I’m sure she was from Ontario. 

Traffic in Montreal was horrendous!! Stop and go traffic all the way through Montreal.  Why did we take this route!!  Six years ago we went through Montreal and the roads were under construction back then.  We thought for sure it would done by now!  But we were wrong … it was worse than ever!!  The drivers have no respect for speed zones or construction zones.  People were driving 100 kms plus through construction zones!  They were nuts!! ... and not one cop around either! 

Like I said before … there were thousands of construction cones making the roads very narrow at times.  While driving through one of those tight construction zones, all of a sudden there was a BIG BANG!  It scared the crap out of us, then there was another bang and we saw the arm of our awning flying in the wind!!  Ron had caught the tip of the awning arm on one of those damm cones!  (Not his fault ... the cone was not properly placed on the side of the road.)  The cone flew into the motor home and banged the door, making some of the rubber trim come away and then flew into rear wheel rim.  Thank goodness Ron is an excellent driver and quickly maneuvered the moho between 2 cones into a lane that was closed to traffic, and managed to stop the moho just 2 cones before we ran out of road!  Needless to say, the language became quite colorful with ... Quebec being named often!!  With all the cars whizzing by, not one car stopped to see if we were all right or if we needed any help.  Nice eh?

Ron got out and assessed the damage.  He then got his tools out to secure the arm of the awning (thank goodness he brings them with us). He is so cleaver when it comes to things like this.  The piece that secures the arm had broken off but Ron had some metal strapping and he managed to wrap it around the arm and secure it so it wouldn’t move.  He had it secured in no time.  We kept asking ourselves … why did we come this way?  Never again!!! 

We couldn’t wait to get out of Quebec!!  None of the street signs were in English and there was so much congestion, we kept thinking … in PEI there isn’t going to be hardly any traffic compared to this!  It reminded ourselves why we were going there … and we finally had something to smile about.

Now for those of you who are from Quebec ( including my mother) you may think that I am a little harsh in my comments regarding our visit through your Province.  All I can say is … you have your opinions and I have mine … I was there and MINE are RIGHT!!!

We have finally settled in Palmyra Maine tonight … just outside of Newport Maine. It’s a Walmart we have stayed at a few times.  We like it here because there is a motel across from us that has generously given us internet for free.

It was a very long and stressful drive today so I think instead of trying to make it to PEI by tomorrow (we know we can do it … we’ve done it before from here) I think the smartest thing to do is to go back into Canada through St. John New Brunswick, go to Costco to stock up on groceries, then go to a Walmart in Moncton New Brunswick and spend the night.  Then the next day carry on to PEI.  It will be a much shorter drive for both days leaving us better relaxed for when we arrive.  Now it’s time for bed!!

Interesting People

Don Patterson biking across Canada

Today we got a late start.  We didn’t wake up until almost 8:30 a.m.  This retirement thing is exhausting!  By the time we got mobile the temperature had already started to climb.  It was going to be another hot day.

At around 2:30 p.m., we pulled off the highway about 100 kms west of Pembroke Ontario and into a rest station to give the dogs a break and to have a bite of lunch.  I have learned that if I make lunches before we head off for the day, our lunch breaks are much faster and we can get back on the road sooner.

We seem to meet a lot of interesting people during our travels and today was no exception.  While at the rest stop, we came across a man who was biking across Canada by himself.  Ron struck up a conversation with him and found out that his name is Don Patterson and he is 58 years old.  He is biking from Vancouver BC to St. John’s Newfoundland for a total of 7200 kms.  He is cycling for the YMCA Strong Kids program.  He feels strongly that every kid deserves a chance to participate in the YMCA programs.  He would like to increase the public awareness on the importance of helping kids to become physically active. Bicycling across Canada is his way of getting the message out across Canada.  He has a blog that he updates throughout his trip.  If you would like to see it go to  http://www.ykids.blog.com/   We wish him well through his journey.

Tonight we are in a Walmart in Pembroke Ontario.  My goal is to go across Canada and the United States without staying in a campground.  So far we have managed to do just that.  We can go 3 or 4 days before we have to find a dump station and with my new  iPhone … you guessed it … they have an app for that! 



We have mapped out our route for tomorrow … but it could change.  We tend to change our minds a lot these days as to what our plans are going to be.  But I guess that’s the beauty of being retired! 

Back in Canada

We drove back into Canada today at Sault Ste Marie.  One of the first thing we did was get a Ice Cap from Tim Horton’s.  We missed our Timmies!!  Then we were in shock to find that the gas prices were sitting at 131.9 – 133.9.  We had gotten used to paying .88 – .94 cents a liter for gas.  Good thing we gassed up before crossing the border.

Tonight we are in Sudbury Ontario, at of course … a Wal-mart.  We discovered this NEW Wal-mart last year during our trip home from PEI.  The only thing at this site was a new Wal-mart, a dollar store and an A&W.  Today the site is filled with many other stores.  We almost didn’t recognize the place.  We arrived early enough to get an excellent curb side parking spot.

Jasper is so relaxed he can sleep anywhere/anyhow!

After making spaghetti for dinner, we sat back and got caught up with our iPhones, made a few phone calls and watched a little TV.  I wonder what tomorrow will bring … since we don’t have a clue as to which direction to take.  Do we slip back down into the states or do we stay in Canada for a bit longer and see a different route from the past trips?  Decisions … decisions!  Tune in to find out which choice we made!  (…Really … I have no idea which one we will take!)

Marquette Michigan

We decided to take a day of rest after last night’s adventure of driving in the dark avoiding deer left, right and center.  Literally!! 

We had a very brief storm roll through that lasted about 5 minutes, then the skies cleared up and turned blue again.  We took some towels and the dogs and headed to the beach.  They have a great sandy beach not far from the Walmart we stay at.  There is hardly a sole on the beach so it’s pretty private.  Ron went into the water and tried to convince Jasper and Bailey to join him but THAT wasn’t going to happen!  Bailey tried to run in the opposite direction with fear in his eyes, and Jasper thought about it for a split second and then bolted.  We sat on our towels and I actually got a bit of a sun burn. 

Lake Superior is very warm!

On our way home, because it was so hot, we decided to stop at Big Boy Burgers and pick up dinner. I usually cook dinner when traveling but it was so warm that Ron thought it best if we picked it up.  I was not going to argue with him.  Ron had never had a Big Boy burger and I hadn’t had one for about 20 years.  They were really good … messy … but good.   It was another great day.

Night Driving ... Not Recommended!

We left Fargo North Dakota and headed east to our next destination, Walmart in Ashland Wisconsin.  We arrived at the Walmart with 2 other motor homes right behind us.  We found a good spot and slid out our slides and settled in for the night. While making dinner, Ron went to check out the car and came across the other travelers, who parked right behind us.  They quickly pointed out to Ron that we are not allowed to stay over night at this Walmart, as there were signs posted about the parking lot.  They said that they were going to stay anyways, but Ron was not comfortable with that.  So after dinner we packed up, slid in, and headed out, to what would have been our next days destination, Marquette, Michigan.

Now I would not recommend making this trip at this time of night but Ron did not want to take the chance that someone would come knocking on our door in the middle of the night to tell us to we would have to move on.   

It was still daylight but we had a good 4 or 5 hour drive ahead of us.  After the first hour or two it started to get dusk.  Ron told me to stay awake in case there was any wild life on the road.  I sat up and paid close attention to the road from that point on.  Sure enough we started to see the odd deer by the side of the road.  Then we noticed that there must have been a family reunion, because there were dozens and dozens of deer on both sides of the road for miles and miles.  I was constantly saying “Deer on left” Deer on Right” … and then there was “Deer on Road, Deer on Road!!”  It was getting quite tense.  But we did alright.  We didn’t hit any deer … and we only ran over one dead animal on the road.  I was worried it was a skunk (we’ve done that in the past … not nice!!) but I think it was a porcupine … because it didn’t stink afterwards.  It did, however, make a mess of my car we were towing, with all the splatter it created.

We rolled into Marquette around midnight, glad that the trip was over.  We have stayed at this Walmart many times.  They must have known we were coming because our favorite place to park was still available.  I guess we have a permanent reserve sign on it. Lol

We are taking a day of rest today.  After last nights drive, I think we all need it … including the dogs.  Today we plan to go to the beach.  There is a nice sandy beach on the lake about 10 minutes down the road from where we are parked.  It’s another beautiful day with the temperature at 22C in the shade.  Perfect weather!

Walmart in Fargo North Dakota

Usually we try and stay at a Walmart to cut costs while traveling.  Last night was no exception.  We found a Walmart in Fargo North Dakota and settled in for the night.  We were quite happy that we were able to get internet from the adjoining business and I was able to start a blog.  That's where the happiness ended.

While watching the people in the parking lot at Walmart, we found that they were a little different.  We saw things happening here that, I guess you MIGHT find happen at home, but in general ...no.  People were driving crazy through the parking lot, then there was a guy who stopped right in the middle of a through lane with people lined up behind them to put oil in his car (why not pull into one of the many empty spaces to add oil to your car).  He then picked up the empty oil can off the grass where he threw it and brought it back to the car and placed it on the ground beside the rear tire then drove away!  I couldn't believe my eyes!  And the craziness kept coming!

But the kicker was ... at around 2 a.m. there was some zamboni type vehicle driving around vaccuuming and cleaning the parking lot.  Really?  Yes ... Really!!  It had a high pitched noise and kept coming, and coming and coming around until 4 a.m.  Worst sleep of the trip so far.  So ... if you are planning on staying at the Walmart in Fargo North Dakota, you better bring blinders and ear plugs.

Well it's another sunny hot day and we are getting ready to hit the road again.  It is 8:15 a.m. and it is already 29C.  It's going to be a hot one today!

Leaving Canada

We drove down through Lethbridge to leave Canada and entered the states into Montana to start our journey to PEI.  When they talk about Montana being a wide open space, they weren’t kidding!  All we saw was rolling hills, brown grass and cattle.  That’s it!!  I must say, driving through Montana, although pretty, was kind of boring.  I need SOMETHING to look at besides brown grass, rolling hills and the odd cow!  I couldn’t help but fall asleep a lot of the time.  Good thing I wasn’t driving!

Once we got into North Dakota things got a lot greener.  The hills were still rolling but we saw a lot more civilization.  We have been through here a few times and we are getting quite familiar with where to stay.  It’s always a bit of fun to remember things when you travel through a state you’ve been through before.

The Journey Begins

We sold our house a little sooner than what we had planned so we moved into our moho and stayed at our good friends in their driveway for the last 2 months while I finished off the school year.  It worked out well for both of us as we had a place to stay and they had someone to look after their house while they were away on holidays.

My last day of work was June 29, 2012.  I worked late to try and finish things up.  I was the last person at school, which was good as I was beginning to get very emotional about leaving.  As I left the school for the very last time, what did I find?  My husband standing in front of the school, camera in hand, wanting to take a picture of me!  I was in no mood for photos as tears were running down my face.  I motioned for him to put it away and finally he got the hint.

The next day we headed out to our friends place in Osoyoos.  They have an annual Canada Day party at their place and we try and attend every year.  It's always so much fun.  This year was special as it was going to be our last, for a while anyways.  We had a great time and the fireworks display was awesome!

July 2 we headed to Calgary.  We stayed at my sister’s place and visited with the family for a couple of days.  We had a great time catching up on things and a little side trip to the Casino, which is always fun.  We also had dinner with Ron’s daughter Elaine and her husband David.  We had a great Sushi dinner and spent the evening together telling stories and saying good bye … for now.

Our Retirement Adventure

Ron and I have decided to pull the plug early and retire while we are both healthy enough to enjoy it.  Ron had no problem leaving his job, in fact he has been waiting for me to finally retire.  Leaving a school that I love and that I’ve been with for the past 27 years was difficult and there were many an emotional episode, but I kept focusing on what the end result was going to be … relaxing and overlooking the water at sunset, and that helped me get through things. 

Ron and I have done a lot of traveling over the past 6 years and one of our favorite places to go is Prince Edward Island.  We have had our best times there.  It is beautiful, peaceful and housing is very affordable if you are going to retire.  So if you like, you can follow our adventure as we head to PEI in search of the perfect house overlooking the water.  If we do not find that perfect house, well then we will continue our adventure in other parts of the country.  So stay tuned!