Rapher's Log: Stardate Aug 3/22
Here we go...2.5 day trip to PEI again! Woot woot! There was some concern, naturally, we had heat warnings issued the morning we left. Not ideal conditions to leave our cats home alone. Thankfully both were fine when we got home (left lots of food/water for them). Now...onto the journal...
This time, it's a Wed-Fri trip to the Island. Why? I got it into my head that we'd done this before, of course. Didn't really cause issues. The only thing that happened was that Sandra & I missed a graveside service for my friend Tina's father. He passed away last December and they had a service on the Thursday we were away. Due to timing issues, we didn't see Tina at all during her visit. We left Wed @ 9:00am, as usual, and hit McD's in DC for breakfast first. Under the category of 'cutting costs', they clearly were trying to squeeze as much out of their orange juice concentrate, frig was it watered down. The bacon/egg McMuffin was good, as were the hashbrowns. Sandra did have a wee bit of a fight with the ordering kiosk though. By 9:30 we were back on the road again. There was a little traffic around Truro/Bible Hill, which slowed us down a teeny bit, but we still got to the Tourist Bureau in Amherst around noon. The place was busy, as it tends to be. They are operating on a reduced schedule though, closing at 5:00pm. They used to stay open later than that. The vending machines were gone and there were signs that made it seem like they wanted people who were just there to use the bathroom, to go through the doors at the end of the building (near the porta potties that they have, presumably for people who arrive after close).
Seein' as how we had another 45-60 minutes before getting to Gateway Village, where we planned to have lunch, we snacked on some Pringles before heading off. The drive was typically uneventful, got to Gateway Village around 1:00...and drove past it. I wanted to visit the Marine Railway Park, which was nearby. Not a huge place, but a good spot to get pics of the Confederation Bridge. Then to Gateway Village and lunch! And...lunch! *sigh* And...ice cream! Yeah, the food places were either closed for the day (Classic Burger), closed forever (a place Sandra mentioned) or had poor seating available or not terribly good sounding food. So we both got ice cream (not at Cows) and headed off to shop. And...shop! Yeah, also didn't work out as planned. Picked up some coolers at the PEI liquor store and that was it. Hardly any stores to shop at now, Celtic Mist is gone (there's a vintage store in its place). Most of the other stores that aren't the ones you see everywhere (Coastal Culture, How Bazaar...) have also closed. Cruised through the Shop & Play gift shop, then back to the car, where we finished our yummy lunch off with protein bars. How delish! *G*
Since Celtic Mist wasn't in Gateway, we opted to go to Summerside to visit their location there. Picked up some items there, popped into the same Vintage store we'd seen at Gateway (they were having 80% off most items, it was tempting...), then we sat by the stage area for a while, partially to kill time. The fountain does look to be permanently gone now, it was shut off when we were there in 2019. Eventually headed out via Hwy 2 (past several cemeteries!) and got checked into the Holiday Inn Express around 4:30. (check in was 4:00) Relaxed for a bit before heading into Charlottetown for supper & shopping. Supper was at Swiss Chalet, because we do love to go to these exotic eating establishments. Had the garlic cheese loaf which was great and the chicken quesadillas, something different & tasty.
Rather than fight getting back onto University Ave, I chose to try the back streets to get to the shopping area. It worked, eventually. ;-) Went to Michaels, Hallmark & Home Sense, mostly in search of Halloween stuff. Pretty much nothing at Michaels or Home Sense. Got some Xmas ornaments at Hallmark. The gal in the Hallmark store was very friendly, excitedly showing us some items. We were back to the room for the night, a little after 8:00.
Next up: Memories prove faulty, history comes alive and we participate in, really, the main reason we go to PEI. *G*
This time, it's a Wed-Fri trip to the Island. Why? I got it into my head that we'd done this before, of course. Didn't really cause issues. The only thing that happened was that Sandra & I missed a graveside service for my friend Tina's father. He passed away last December and they had a service on the Thursday we were away. Due to timing issues, we didn't see Tina at all during her visit. We left Wed @ 9:00am, as usual, and hit McD's in DC for breakfast first. Under the category of 'cutting costs', they clearly were trying to squeeze as much out of their orange juice concentrate, frig was it watered down. The bacon/egg McMuffin was good, as were the hashbrowns. Sandra did have a wee bit of a fight with the ordering kiosk though. By 9:30 we were back on the road again. There was a little traffic around Truro/Bible Hill, which slowed us down a teeny bit, but we still got to the Tourist Bureau in Amherst around noon. The place was busy, as it tends to be. They are operating on a reduced schedule though, closing at 5:00pm. They used to stay open later than that. The vending machines were gone and there were signs that made it seem like they wanted people who were just there to use the bathroom, to go through the doors at the end of the building (near the porta potties that they have, presumably for people who arrive after close).
Seein' as how we had another 45-60 minutes before getting to Gateway Village, where we planned to have lunch, we snacked on some Pringles before heading off. The drive was typically uneventful, got to Gateway Village around 1:00...and drove past it. I wanted to visit the Marine Railway Park, which was nearby. Not a huge place, but a good spot to get pics of the Confederation Bridge. Then to Gateway Village and lunch! And...lunch! *sigh* And...ice cream! Yeah, the food places were either closed for the day (Classic Burger), closed forever (a place Sandra mentioned) or had poor seating available or not terribly good sounding food. So we both got ice cream (not at Cows) and headed off to shop. And...shop! Yeah, also didn't work out as planned. Picked up some coolers at the PEI liquor store and that was it. Hardly any stores to shop at now, Celtic Mist is gone (there's a vintage store in its place). Most of the other stores that aren't the ones you see everywhere (Coastal Culture, How Bazaar...) have also closed. Cruised through the Shop & Play gift shop, then back to the car, where we finished our yummy lunch off with protein bars. How delish! *G*
Since Celtic Mist wasn't in Gateway, we opted to go to Summerside to visit their location there. Picked up some items there, popped into the same Vintage store we'd seen at Gateway (they were having 80% off most items, it was tempting...), then we sat by the stage area for a while, partially to kill time. The fountain does look to be permanently gone now, it was shut off when we were there in 2019. Eventually headed out via Hwy 2 (past several cemeteries!) and got checked into the Holiday Inn Express around 4:30. (check in was 4:00) Relaxed for a bit before heading into Charlottetown for supper & shopping. Supper was at Swiss Chalet, because we do love to go to these exotic eating establishments. Had the garlic cheese loaf which was great and the chicken quesadillas, something different & tasty.
Rather than fight getting back onto University Ave, I chose to try the back streets to get to the shopping area. It worked, eventually. ;-) Went to Michaels, Hallmark & Home Sense, mostly in search of Halloween stuff. Pretty much nothing at Michaels or Home Sense. Got some Xmas ornaments at Hallmark. The gal in the Hallmark store was very friendly, excitedly showing us some items. We were back to the room for the night, a little after 8:00.
Next up: Memories prove faulty, history comes alive and we participate in, really, the main reason we go to PEI. *G*