From PEI to Toronto

Sadly we left PEI in the pouring rain. I had forgotten how it can ran outside of Asia for days on end and be completely gray and dreary. In Asia, it seems to be mostly sunny with huge, torrential downpours that do not last for very long. It got so misty in PEI that we could barely see the Confederation Bridge while we drove over on it to New Brunswick. Luckily I just managed to get a photo though that was clear enough of the bridge before the fog really set in. I will post that a little later.

Our cottage in PEI was so comfortable that no one wanted to leave. The boys loved playing in the park and running around and then jumping in the hot tub when they were cold. They ran in one day and Pit held a shiny 25 cent coin in his hand. He exclaimed with glee, "I kicked the coke machine and othis coin fell out!" I looked at his tiny hiking boots and imagined the fierce little kick he must have given to it and the big smile on his face and felt happy. With two front teeth missing, Pit is particularly adorable right now. The coin went into the pile between their beds and the boys got their swim suits on to warm up.

But all things good or bad must come to an end and we found ourselves on the road to New Brunswick. The fall colours are just starting to appear which we could barely see but there will be more time for that later. We made it to Truro, Nova Scotia on Friday and checked into a Best Western near Grampa's cousins' home. Although it had a pool, the boys were not interested in swimming with the crowds of kids and ran around the hotel instead checking it out. At 6pm Debbie and Howie Prior met us in the parking lot and we drove over to Murphy's Fish and Chips. This restaurant was number 1 for fish and chips last year, or one year...cannot remember. It was fun to spend some time with some real Canadians and the restaurant was decorated in a wharf style with lobster traps and other fun stuff to look at on the walls. Really quaint.

On Saturday we met Debbie and Howie to see the Tidal Bore. Unfortunately there was some miscommunication as we thought we would be doing a boat trip but instead watched the bore at a viewing point. It was very, very cold and windy so maybe a boat trip would have been freezing. Maybe we can try this river rafting adventure another time in the warmer months! Afterwards we went on a gorgeous hike at Victoria Park, had lunch at their home, and took off for Fredericton, New Brunswick where I am now writing with the two boys sleeping beside me.

In the car, we played a Canadian trivia game for the first hour and Frunty won 3/5 games. I was completely astonished and asked him how he knew so much about Canada. He replied, "don't you remember you told me to study this game in between my homework?!" I do remember getting him to do that but honestly, I thought he spent more time horsing around and playing with his Lego in between homework. He actually studied this game as did Pit who knew a few answers too! I like to play this game in the car as part of homeschooling as I cannot get them to read or write due to car sickness. We take turns reading the cards and then no one feels sick. Afterwards we watch a movie. Their first choice is always SpaceBalls but we put in a BBC documentary on Life and they loved that too.

We made it to Fredericton and are staying near the city center in a Howard Johnson. The pool area is covered in that fake green grass...it look so run down that I would not let the boys swim. Instead they ran up and down the stairs for exercise until we got in trouble by some worker (til I explained we were training and that we were almost finsihed!) and then we ran over to Swiss Chalet for dinner which is just across the street. Frunty and Pit are used to beautiful Balinese pools surrounded by real plants with the sounds of Gamelin music and the scent of tropical flowers. They are used to eating at restaurants surrounded by rice fields while on vacation. So this vacation is very different in some waysbut with the focus of training for our hike next summer in BC, we are spending as much time in green spaces as possible. And yesterday's hike was very beautiful with the changing, fall leaves.

Today we will hike a little by the river and then head towards the longest covered bridge in the world in Hartland. Then Grand Falls and finally Riviere de Loup to sleep. Maybe two nights in Quebec City and then skip Ottawa so we can all avoid the car for a bit. It is so nice to show Frunty and Pit some parts of Canada and especially as the leaves change as the scenery is magnificent. Time to check out hotels in Riviere de Loup. I found one called Motel Loupi which has a play area for kids. Sounds great!