One measuring stick for today’s parent for the success or failure of almost any venture is the amount of times the kids ask for, think about, glance at, or try to sneak in tablet time.
Amount of times this happened in the last week on PEI? Zero. That feels like money well spent right there.
Prince Edward Island exceeded our expectations in just about every way. And given Michelle’s almost religious fanaticism in the last year about the place I think that’s saying something.
It’s hard to pin down exactly what it was about PEI that made such an impression. They make odd bedfellows, but it reminded us how we’ve felt visiting Hawaii. The confluence of beautiful scenery, swaths of undeveloped landscape, and unhurried pace make it almost impossible not to step out of the flow, unplug and truly relax.
The weather cooperated magnificently. The girls got along. The hand pies were outstanding. The beaches sang. The sea glass sparkled. Green Gables did not disappoint. Many pounds of mussels were consumed. It was a great week.
It all came to end on Saturday and, fittingly, with it came the rain, a drenching downpour that chased us off the island, but first we had to pack. And get more hand pies for the road…
We started the day saying good-bye to the beach one last time and making sure no flip-flops or sand toys were lost in the meadow.
Breakfast was whatever was leftover in the house at this point. This suited Allison and her snacking mindset just fine.
There was this nautical-style light in the living room that was just too tempting not to be used as a spotlight for skits, shows and musical dance revues each day. I will not be surprised if this light ends up on one of their Christmas lists.
The girls squeezed in one more before we left, of course.
Here is everyone looking appropriately forlorn leaving the house.
Latent tetris skills fully utilized in packing the car, we hit the road.
Thankfully for our waistlines, the hand pie company was clear across the island. This did however make it an excellent stop on our way home. You gotta eat, right?
Just like it’s hard to say no to one more hand pie, it’s also hard to say no to one last (honky tonk) souvenir shop.
We finally found a bridge with a higher toll than the George Washington. I’m sure the convenience of the bridge is much, much better than the old ferry, but $37 bucks, even Canadian, seems a bit steep, eh?
Much of the next six hours was spent in the car coaxing out the last drips of battery from the DVD player. Apparently the PEI magic doesn’t extend to car trips.
A lot of crazy-eyed Ally pics. I suppose that’s what marinating in a car will do to a child.
Near the border, we needed gas and, in one of the fortuitous road trip moments, the same exit included a sign for the world’s largest axe. When opportunity knocks…
Turns out Googling ‘World’s Largest Axe’ leads you down one of those delightful internet dirt roads where everyone gets enthusiastically silly about a very random thing like a giant axe.
There was also a playground that was like catnip for children after being stuck in the car.
We eventually marshaled them back in the car (with the promise of a cookie) for another couple hours until we made it to Bangor.
The hotel helpfully pointed us toward a local restaurant that was kid-friendly.
On the way, we passed a small waterfront park. There was a wood-fired pizza truck and an ice cream truck parked side-by-side. If ever there was a sign. We didn’t make it to the restaurant.
The one downside to the PEI adventure was having to leave behind Dash. After a week Ally is having dog withdrawal and was all over this puppy in the park.
After filling up, it was back to the hotel to float around in the pool until they burned off enough energy that we thought it was safe to be in the same small room with them.
So we ended the day back in the USA, not at home, yet, but in Maine. The hotel room doesn’t quite have the same view we’ve grown quite fond of in the last week, but maybe I can hold on to this state of mind for one more day. Email and better wi-fi can wait until Monday.
