PEI Day 2

My internal clock is in absolute disarray. Forced myself to go to bed at 11:00 last night, but the fact that this was 8:00 in Calgary meant that I lay awake for a while. It was a restless night.

We took a trip in to Charlottetown to get some groceries. I was intrigued to learn that our Sunday shopping trip was something that, until very recently, would have been impossible on the island. There is something very civilized about a mandated slowdown of life for one day a week. I also learned that Sobey’s, a relatively new sight in Alberta, was started in the atlantic provinces more than a century ago?

Prince Edward Island is a rural experience. I think the best example of this so far is the method by which we buy potatoes. Driving back from Charlottetown, we decided that we wanted some “New PEI Potatoes” (tiny potatoes with the most rich flavour and pleasant texture). We pass a sign on the road that advertises just that and begin looking for the farmer and his truck parked by the side of the road... No such luck. Upon closer examination, we realize that what we thought was a sign is actually a large wooden box with a hand-written “Self-Serve” sign on top. The instructions written on it are simple: open the lid, deposit $____ in to the money container, pull out your ____lb bag of potatoes. That absolutely made my day.

I’d like to introduce you to Tamarack Cottage, our home for the next two weeks. It is one of approximately ten cottages on the property of Windermere Cottages. My father’s family has been coming to these cottages with some regularity for more than ____ years. The floors/tables/nightstands/dressers are slanted, the wallpaper is stapled where it has peeled, the doors only occasionally fit in to their frames, the windows open and close with considerable effort, and the furniture seems to be older than me... but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m worried by the For Sale sign that is now sitting at the entrance to the property, I really hope this place doesn’t change too much.





Took an evening walk on ‘our’ beach; I had forgotten how beautiful it is here. The tide was coming in, slowly encroaching on the sand castles of the day. I grabbed some photos of a few of the more creative ones, as well as some of the particularly beautiful views around the area.