We've been trying to make this trip for several years now, but family matters kept getting in the way. This time, in order to assure our actually making the trip, Steven signed up for not one, not two, but THREE plein air events. "I've put money down," he told me. "Now we have to go." Have I said lately how much I love my husband?
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| Steven being more daring than I! On Cadillac Mtn. |
The first festival was the Points East Plein Air Festival on Prince Edward Island - and since it would take two full days of car travel to get there, we decided to break it up with a stop in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. I have recently made it my goal to visit all 58 National Parks, so this made sense.
For the record, Acadia is a beautiful park, but if you're just sightseeing and not hiking? Get there early. Cadillac Mountain fills up fast! We stopped at a couple of other spots but by noon, there was no parking in ANY lot. And Bar Harbor is totally skippable - very touristy and kitschy. Good meals, but really crowded.
PEI is red! First impression, coming over the Confederation Bridge - there are some cliffs you can see as you cross, and they're bright, brick red. Red limestone is the rock underneath the island and is everywhere. Even the beaches have red sand. Picked up some nice shells and spent a great deal of time writing in the car while Steven painted. We got into Charlottetown one night to see Jesus Christ Superstar at the professional theatre there - Judas stole the show. Built like a linebacker, I had my doubts, but then he started to sing...holy moly, mackeral, cow! Highly recommended.
Because of his need to have the car, I didn't go anywhere he wasn't. That was fine. Laptops travel. I had brought both my old laptop (the monster) and my smaller tablet. When the monster ran out of battery (about 2 hrs), I switched to the smaller one and hit more keys than I wanted until I got the hang of it. The battery on that one lasts almost 5 hours, and I never ran it out.
At the final show in PEI, Steven sold a painting (watch the video; his paintings start at the 5:28 mark) - Yay! We had wonderful hosts (Rose and Frank) at the Blue Jay's Nest B&B in Montague, PEI - if you go, tell them we say hey! We felt like we were leaving family when we pulled out and took the ferry to Nova Scotia.You're not allowed to stay in your car, so we headed for the top deck and sat in the sun and breeze for the hour, 10 minute trip.
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| The Louisbourg Inn - and the walk-up! |
Since we had a few days before we needed to be to the next festival, we went to Louisbourg and stayed at an inn there. Top floor (which meant 32 steps up every time - but the views were terrific!) in a house that looked exactly like what you expect when you think of a sea captain's home. Big Victorian with lots of nooks and crannies - and did I mention the views? :)
Cape Breton has a drive similar to the Ring of Kerry - a route you can follow and stop off at various coves and small towns. We didn't take it. If you have followed any of our other adventures, you know we prefer the less-traveled path. So we did the historical thing instead - visiting both the Fortress of Louisbourg and the Highland Village Museum. Both had one thing in common: English wasn't the only language spoken by the costumed re-enactors.
In fact, almost everywhere we went in Cape Breton greeted us in two languages. "Bonjour, Good morning!" or "Bienvenue, Welcome!" Depending on your answer, that was the language they continued the conversation in. At the Highland Village, Scots Gaelic is the language of choice, and we were often greeted with words I don't dare try to spell. Too many consonants what where they don't belong!
There's lots more to tell, but I'll save it for tomorrow. Have fun - and buy my books! I have to support this traveling habit. :)
Play safe,
Diana
edited to fix the number of National Parks. There are 58, not 48.
edited to fix the number of National Parks. There are 58, not 48.
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