Huybers Retirement Adventure: Canada Day!

Yesterday was Canada Day. We had never been on PEI for the Canada Day Celebrations before so we thought we would take in some of the local festivities.

First we drove into Kensington, which is only a five minute drive from our place. The local activities were being held at the old train station in the centre of town. They had a small petting area which consisted of rather large rabbits, ferrets and even a turtle. They also had a separate pen that housed a family of Alpacas. The baby Alpaca was so cute. It kept sucking and nibbling the foamy Canada Day tag on the other Alpaca like a soother.

At centre stage they had the Lady Slipper Step Dancers from all ages. It reminded me of my tap dancing days as a child. Later a well known, award winning, local performer played music as well. People really seemed to like him.

As we were watching the festivities, I was approached by a woman promoting the town of Kensington. She asked me if I would like to be in a video stating what I liked best about Kensington. It’s a contest they are having that runs until May of 2014. Who ever receives the most views during that period will win $500.00. I was hesitant at first but then Ron joined me and we decided to do it. We thought it would be good for a laugh. So those of you who we know personally, you can expect an email from us with a link attached so you can have a good giggle as you watch us in our video about Kensington. J

There were lots of activities and goodies that were given away in Kensington as well. There was face painting, balloon animals made, Canada Day Flags and stickers and pins, free hot dogs, free ice cream cones, free PEI mussels as well as free Canada Day cake! We were full by the time we left.

After Kensington, we decided to head to Summerside to see what was happening down there. When we arrived at Spinnaker’s Landing, we found a large crowd along the boardwalk. However, we discovered we had just missed the entertainment. They had bagpipers from the College of Piping among their entertainment which I would have enjoyed. We did manage to get there in time for Ron to have a piece of their cake! It was yummy!

Since it was getting rather hot, and we had worn pants instead of shorts, we decided to head home. We spent the rest of the day sitting on the deck in our swing with a wobbly pop while looking out over the water. We found it hard to believe that it had been a year already since we retired. As we sat there, we reflected back over the past year and felt how lucky we are to have been able to do this. It brought smiles to our faces that we couldn’t wipe off. This is the life we had envisioned!

Later that night, we heard loud bangs. We looked out the window and found that we could see fireworks that were being set off in Cavendish and North Rustico! What a bonus! We could see the fireworks and we didn’t have to get eaten alive by mosquitoes or face the traffic when leaving the fireworks to go home. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day. Hope you had a wonderful Canada Day too!