Scenes from Saturday + So Long, Canada

A whirlwind two weeks, three countries, and thousands of miles of vacation came to an end yesterday with a long drive back from Canada.

We had another great week in PEI doing our favorite things and also doing not much at all.

I did get a lot of reading done between all the miles, including some fiction: Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane, A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny, Zero Days by Ruth Ware, and Valdez is Coming by Elmore Leonard. Plus, some non-fiction, as well: How to Write One Song by Jeff Tweedy, The Best of It by Kay Ryan, and Play: How it Shapes Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart Brown.

All worth the time. I’ve reached the point where if the book isn’t working for me, I don’t plow through it, I just put it aside.

Anyone else read any great beach or vacation books this year?

After a mostly rainy Friday, we were rewarded with a great sunset for our final morning on the island.

According to the neighbors, the weather hasn’t been great this summer and our week was a mixed bag, but there were no total wash out days.

We still managed two beach days, fishing, cookouts, horse back riding, and plenty of sea glass hunting beach walks.

Nutella is a special occasion/vacation treat for Ally.

She did her best to empty the jar over the course of the week.

One last piece of edge-to-edge toast for breakfast.

I am slowly seeding vacation rentals, little libraries, hotel drawers, and waiting rooms with quality reading. The ultimate artisanal, slow growth marketing.

One last re-supply stop before crossing the bridge.

Do I need to declare a case of frozen hand pies at the border?

And then much of the next 12 hours looked like this.

Or this.

Oh, we did make a final Timmy’s stop.

Then more driving.

We were not stopped at the border for the handpies.

I will say it doesn’t feel like 12 hours of driving. Up until you hit about Portland, ME, everything is very mellow. You can set the cruise and not touch the pedals for hours.

We did stop at our favorite truck stop. This is where the girls first had poutine and what all other poutine is judged against.