MIRAMICHI NEW BRUNSWICK TO ROCKY POINT PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND:: WE MADE IT ACROSS THE CONFEDERATION BRIDGE:))

Not as cold as the night before and I stayed toasty warm.  We got to see a nice a Moonrise Monday night and Sunrise Tuesday morning.  Can’t even remember the last time that happened.

MONDAY NIGHT MOON

TUESDAY MORNING SUNRISE

It was 8:30 under clear blue skies we climbed back aboard highway 11 in Miramachi and wandered our way southeast.  Decided this morning it was Prince Edward Island we would head for and take in a little sightseeing before incoming rains were upon us.

OUR INTREPID NAVIGATOR IS IN HER SEAT AND WE ARE OFF

A LOT OF THESE LOW PROFILE BRIDGES ALONG THE WAY

Nice uneventful drive all the way down to a place called Port Elgin New Brunswick.  Sure a lot construction going on north of Shediac and it was a real dog’s breakfast threading our way through all the twists and turns and detours.  It was only by sheer luck that we kept on making the right turns at the right time or we may very well have ended up in a farmer’s corn field somewhere.  On the western outskirts of Port Elgin we pulled into a little Park by a river for a leg stretch. Kelly pulled out some pots and pans, boiled us up some scrambled eggs and fried us a coffee.  It was 10:45 Atlantic time and skies were slowly beginning to cloud over.

STOPPED FOR A LEG STRETCH IN PORT ELGIN NB

AN OUTSIDE BREAKFAST THIS MORNING >>>>>

One hour later we approached the curved, 12.9 kilometre (8 mile) Confederation Bridge which is the longest in the world crossing ice-covered water.  One of Canada's top engineering achievements of the 20th century.  Fifteen minutes later we were atop the bridge and nearly half way across to Prince Edward Island.  Clock said it was 12 o’clock right on the nose.  High Noon.  Before us Prince Edward stretched out far on both sides with low gently rolling hills for as far as the eye could see.

OUR FIRST GLIMPSE OF CONFEDERATION BRIDGE

THIS 8 MILE BRIDGE SPANS THE NORTHUMBERLAND STRAIT

Our first stop on the Island was the Information Center and we could right away see how nicely everything was laid out like a tiny village.  They had pulled out all the stops to make a great first impression on people coming to the Island.  Everything said ‘Welcome’.

GATHERING UP BROCHURES ABOUT THE ISLAND

NICE SPACIOUS INFO CENTER

We decided to do the Island from right to left meaning from the Welcome Center we would head East and follow any roads that ran along the coastline.  Almost before we had left the Info center we found ourselves geographically challenged.  In other words, temporarily misplaced, but hardly lost.  No matter, after a couple U-turns here and there we finally got ourselves sorted out and away we went.  From Borden-Carlton we followed highway 10 through Cape Traverse, Augustine Cove, and Tryon.  From there highway 116 through Victoria, a brief stint on #1 then off onto highway 19 through Argyle Shore, Canoe Cove, Rice Point, Nine Mile Road, then all the way out to Rocky Point.  Most of these roads were good and some a bit choppy for a Motorhome.  We even managed us a stretch of good old P.E.I. red dirt.

WE EVEN MANAGED TO DUST OUR WAY ALONG A BACK ROAD TRYING TO FIND OUT WHERE THE HECK WE WERE

I THINK THAT’S A LATE POTATO CROP ON THE RIGHT

When I was last through these parts back in mid September of 1986 I had noticed there were no tourists anywhere and I was banking on that to happen again this time.  And it did.  It’s almost as if we have the whole place to ourselves.  No hordes of tourists anywhere and very few vehicles on the roads we traveled as we plodded along about 40 mph  through scenic rolling rural farmlands on the left and picturesque ocean bays on the right.  Some potato crops still in the colorful fields and if we saw one little white Church along the way we saw a hundred. 

THIS IS VERY TYPICAL OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND’S GENTLY ROLLING HILLS

It was around 2 o’clock when we saw a sign saying Rocky Point to the right so we swung down that road for a look see and came across a really nice Park.  Skmaqn-Port-la-Joye-Fort Amherst  Discovered this is a very historical place pertaining to Canada’s early French and English beginnings.  Also discovered we were right across a large bay from the Islands Capital City, Charlottown.  What a lucky find this was for us and when Kelly asked inside the Park’s info center if we could stay the night the answer was ‘yes’.  So we did.  There are two paved parking lots here so we drove down to the lower one closer to the water.  Again, we were the only ones here.  Oh how we both love when that happens.

OUR SPOT FOR THE NIGHT AND THE ATLANTIC SEAHORE IS ONLY A COUPLE HUNDRED YARDS TO THE RIGHT WHERE WE CAN SEE THE ROCKY POINT LIGHTHOUSE

A LIGHTHOUSE IS IN THIS PHOTO

IT’S BLOCKHOUSE POINT LIGHTHOUSE

THAT IS CHARLOTTOWN ACROSS THE BAY

NOTICED THIS LARGE CRUISE SHIP DOCKED IN CHARLOTTOWN

THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH BOTH HAD FORTS HERE AND FOUGHT OVER THIS LOCATION

ONLY THESE EARTHWORKS ARE LEFT OF THE ENGLISH FORT AMHERST NOW

IF NOT FOR A ROW OF BIG EVERGREEN TREES THIS WOULD BE OUR VIEW TONIGHT

KELLY TRIES HER LUCK AT A SELFIE

I’M THE ONE WHO LOOKS LIKE AN OLD TROLL WITH A HAT ON

KELLY SNAPS A PHOTO OF PHEEBS BY THE OCEAN

I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TIDES BUT I’M GUESSING THE TIDES BUT I’M GUESSING THE TIDE MAY BE A WEE BIT OUT NOW

PHEEBS AND I CLIMB DOWN TO HAVE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SEA FLOOR

THERE ARE SOME INTERESTING LOOKING CRITTERS ALONG THE SHORE BUT NONE OF THEM VERY MUCH ALIVE

ALTHOUGH NOT AS FAR AS THIS WIDE ANGLE LENS SHOT SUGGESTS CHARLOTTOWN IS OVER THERE

In case I have ruffled any feathers by my comment in Monday’s post saying, “I think it’s going to be awhile yet before we shake off this feeling of being in a foreign country” let me get things into perspective here.  Yes, as an observation that is definitely how we feel but let’s flip that coin over shall we.  Suppose it was a French speaking couple like ourselves traveling through Ontario, the Prairie Provinces, or British Columbia and they couldn’t understand English whether spoken or written.  Imagine them trying to buy a cup of coffee, ask directions, find a restaurant or even washroom.  Same thing would happen with them or us if we were in Germany, Spain, Mexico, or Russia.  Would they feel, like us, that they were in a foreign country??  Quite possibly I’d say.  Now let’s just drop this whole French-English thing shall we.

Must say I am feeling much better tonight than Monday night.  I think all the past week’s driving caught up to me by day’s end Monday and had me down in the dumps.  I would probably do well to just push myself away from my keyboard when I’m feeling like that.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A man is driving down the road and his car breaks down near a monastery. He goes to the monastery, knocks on the door, and says, "My car broke down. Do you think I could stay the night?" The monks graciously accept him, feed him dinner, and even fix his car. As the man tries to fall asleep, he hears a strange sound. A sound unlike anything he's ever heard before. The Sirens that nearly seduced Odysseus into crashing his ship comes to his mind. He doesn't sleep that night. He tosses and turns trying to figure out what could possibly be making such a seductive sound. The next morning, he asks the monks what the sound was, but they say, "We can't tell you. You're not a monk."Distraught, the man is forced to leave. Years later, after never being able to forget that sound, the man goes back to the monastery and pleads for the answer again. The monks reply, "We can't tell you. You're not a monk." The man says, "If the only way I can find out what is making that beautiful sound is to become a monk, then please, make me a monk." The monks reply, "You must travel the earth and tell us how many blades of grass there are and the exact number of grains of sand. When you find these answers, you will have become a monk."The man sets about his task .After years of searching he returns as a gray-haired old man and knocks on the door of the monastery. A monk answers. He is taken before a gathering of all the monks. "In my quest to find what makes that beautiful sound, I travelled the earth and have found what you asked for: By design, the world is in a state of perpetual change. Only God knows what you ask. All a man can know is himself, and only then if he is honest and reflective and willing to strip away self deception."The monks reply, "Congratulations. You have become a monk. We shall now show you the way to the mystery of the sacred sound."The monks lead the man to a wooden door, where the head monk says,"The sound is beyond that door."The monks give him the key, and he opens the door. Behind the wooden door is another door made of stone. The man is given the key to the stone door and he opens it, only to find a door made of ruby. And soit went that he needed keys to doors of emerald, pearl and diamond.Finally, they come to a door made of solid gold. The sound has become very clear and definite. The monks say, "This is the last key to the last door."The man is apprehensive to no end. His life's wish is behind that door!With trembling hands, he unlocks the door, turns the knob, and slowly pushes the door open. Falling to his knees, he is utterly amazed to discover the source of that haunting and seductive sound...But, of course, I can't tell you what it is because you're not a monk.

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Did you hear about the guy who tried to date a nun? He wanted to take her to the county fair, but she declined on account of she had taken a vow abstaining from Carnival pleasures.

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To err is human. To admit it is a blunder.

To err is human. To blame it on someone else is even more human.

To err is human. To blame it on someone else is politics.

To err is human. To forgive is simply not company policy.