We were picked up this morning by our good friend Dawn, how thankful we were for a friend who was actually willing to get us out to the airport for 6:30AM on a Saturday.





Flight was quite ordinary. Calgary to Charlottetown with a transfer in Toronto. Wheels up at 8:00AM MST, rolling on the Charlottetown tarmac at 6:00PM ADT. The latter portion of the flight took us over the western states, providing a beautiful view out the window (when clouds did not obscure) and also a most interesting approach path for the plane. Charlottetown’s main runway runs North/South and, since we had been flying south of the border for the last leg, we simply assumed we would come in from the south and land with our nose to the north. Instead, our plane flew north, passing to the east of Charlottetown and across the entire breadth of the island before completing a sharp turn almost directly over our little north-shore cottage before heading south and landing.


Plane deboarding was delayed by Aerosmith, arriving for a concert this evening where they will play for stadium full of 30,000 fans. I normally wouldn’t bother describing the expected turn-out except for the fact that PEI has a total population of 100,000; An equivalent of 1/3 of the entire island will be at the exhibition grounds this evening. [Got a quick shot of their motorcade as they pulled out of the airport]


Twenty-minute drive from Charlottetown to our rented cottage on the North Shore. Stopped in at Cove Head Bay to pickup dinner. Laura and I both took home a large container of mussels and bowl of hearty seafood chowder. Mom had a scallop burger, and dad had fish ‘n chips. I can’t speak for the rest of the family, but I know that I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. I rank the quality of my mussel eating experience by the amount of sandy sediment at the bottom of the container when I am done (more being better); This meal did not disappoint. As for the seafood chowder, simply know that my spoon could only go about half way down in to the bowl before it was stopped by a hearty helping of scallops, mussels, and fresh PEI potatoes. Delicious.






The sun sets earlier here, it is 8:40PM right now and it is well towards dusk. It was a cloudy day so the sunset is much more gradual through the overcast sky. The mood would be best described as soft, there is nothing harsh about what I am experiencing right now. There are many birds around; There songs seem different, they seem to carry further than they do at home, and with an inherent depth that seems to give an almost dream like quality to the sound.
It’s about 20 degrees outside and, though still humid, it feels wonderful compared to what we left in Calgary. The cool air combined with the faint scent of the sea is intoxicating.
Whether from the plane or out the window of our rental car (Chevy Impala), the view is amazing. Everywhere you look is a farmhouse in the middle of acres of rolling green hills and bright red dirt roads. I enjoy the yellow and green of Alberta’s crop season but it simply does not compare to bright green plans contrasted against the red dirt of the island.
Haven’t been down to the beach yet, but hope to either this evening or tomorrow for the sunset. Be assured that these trips will yield some good photographs.

And just for the sake of interest... check out my awesome firetruck room!