Red Clay Halo

Day 20

My research on PEI last night was surreal. Though I obviously knew all about PEI mussels, I had no idea that this Province was named by Zagat as the second best foodie's destination in the world, and that this little spit of land in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is home to the Culinary Institute of Canada, and a major local food revolution. We have died and gone to heaven.

Since we're in the “big city” of Summerside, we spend the morning running some errands. When you're on a long trip like this, there is something novel, or comforting, about running errands. The whole ritual of writing out a list of what you need, pushing the buggy around and collecting everything feels good. Laundry is like that for me too; grounding and comforting.

It turns out that PEI, like our beloved home state of N.C., is made of red dirt. I think the consistency is maybe sandier than our red clay, but it's just as red. It was the first thing I saw when we came off the Confederation Bridge yesterday, red dirt. Apparently it's good for growing potatoes. After our errands, we ride north along the country roads toward Rustico where we plan to camp. There are endless fields of potatoes, scattered artists studios, fields blooming bright, happy-face yellow with some cover crop, and long misty coastlines. We pass the LM Montgomery birthplace, and other Anne-of-Green-Gables destinations. We agree that, so far, PEI looks and feels like equal parts N.C., Ohio, California, and Wyoming if you can picture that.

Our campground is in South Rustico in Cymbria (koom-bria), a little community marked by a sweet little country store. It's in the center of PEI on the northern coast, officially called the Green Gables Shore. We decided to stay here at the Cymbria campground since it's fairly central, and they have a good weekly rate. We figure that since we got to have a week in Quebec, we should have a week in PEI. It's a bonus that PEI is only 170 miles long.

That, and we've also come to a hard, but predicted, decision. We are not going to make it to Newfoundland. The ferries are expensive, and though we still have well over a month left of our adventure, we don't have time. We're sort of disappointed, but also sort of excited that here, in the heart of our allotted time, we can slow down and enjoy ourselves a bit. We'd like to soak up some culture, maybe meet some people, instead of blasting through places. We'd like a vacation in the midst of our adventure. How's that for indulgence?

Once this decision was made, we spent the day settling in. Our campsite is beautiful and private. It feels like a deluxe outdoor hotel room. There is a pool that no one seems to use, so we lazed around that for awhile. We posted blogs. We unloaded the Girl completely, since we will be day tripping the rest of the week. We looked at our budget, both money and time.

Once we were finally starving, we drove a mile to the end of the road where there is a tiny country store. There, you can buy all manner of local produce, ADL (Amalgamated Dairy Limited, PEI) dairy products including hard scooped ice cream, fresh baked bread and meats produced on PEI and butchered in this shop and, of course, mussels. The shop has been here since 1927. The latest owner, Keith, came out to have a chat with us. His son is a 17 year old professional snare drummer with Celtic bands, Keith is a motorcycle enthusiast. Keith says that he's been all over, and that PEI is God's country, truly. I think I might agree.

While at the country store we have a little dinner on their bench. We watch neighbors come and go, all greeting us warmly. A bald eagle flies by in a hurry, it's getting dogged by a murder of crows. On the way home, we drive past our campground to see what's beyond it. We discover a fine furniture gallery, beautiful views of the bay, folks walking their dogs, and some other campgrounds. We watch an osprey fly overhead, clutching a fish. It's growing dark, so we head back since we have no headlight.

We stow our newly purchased and oh-so-local groceries in the campground fridge, and wave at all the folks sitting outside of their campers on the way to our site. It's been a wonderful day here on PEI, and we're looking forward to having at least six more.