(My father and grandmother)

Last Friday my aunt e-mailed me in the night and told me that my dad was not well and was still in the hospital. My dad has COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) with an extra touch of Bronchiectasis. Around Christmas, he and my grandmother caught the Flu and both of them developed lung infections. My grandmother died as a result and my dad ended up in the hospital, was released and came down with another flu as he left the hospital only to be readmitted the next day. He then spent 3 days in the ICU and then was in isolation and by friday when I got the news he was over the flu but had gained nearly 10 kilo with retained water in his body including his lungs. With the extra water in his body his medications to help get rid of water were upped but the balance was off and his kidneys were failing because they couldn’t keep up with then made his heart work harder. So lungs, kidneys and heart are all making his life quite hard at the moment and with my grandmother’s death and the very likely probability that he would not be strong enough to go to my grandmother’s funeral, his moral was down and it was not looking good.

So, on Friday, I decided to ask Simon to come home and take over here while I headed to the Thoracic Institute in Montreal to see my dad. I got there just as he was being brought out of isolation and being transferred to another room so I was able to help the staff bring his things over and help him place his things where he wanted them. I spent the afternoon with him and tried to bring his morale back up a bit and was taken aback at how weak he actually is at the moment.

I left the hospital but was not ready to head home just yet so I called a friend last-minute and asked her if she wanted to grab supper at a great all-you-can-eat Sushi restaurant. Luckily she jumped at the offer and we had a great evening.

On Saturday, it was my grandmother’s funeral. It was probably the first time in about 20 years that all of my cousins and I were in the same place at the same time. Sad that it is a funeral that brings us together. The service was nice and the priest was quite good and though there was a definite religious tone, he made a point to make it relevant for us non-believers. Tons of memories poured out of my brain while he talked about her. One of my favourites is when I had just met her again when I was about 10 and I would spend a week with her and my dad at her cabin. On rainy days she would cut up old clothes and she would make tiny clothes for my toys all by hand with no pattern. Maybe that is where my passion for sewing comes from.

Because my dad was not there, I took a picture of my grandmother before they closed the casket so that I could show him when I went and brought his some things… she was actually very beautiful and looked so much younger but she wasn’t the grandmother I remember, she was too perfect.

After the service I headed to the restaurant with the family. I sat next to my brother and talked with my cousins and it was strange as we have never done such a thing as adults. It was nice that my family was actually together, though sad because it was grandmothers wish that we would do it, however, we only did it after she was no longer there.

After the restaurant, I brought my aunt home and picked up some things for my father to bring to him at the hospital. Because of the funeral, his day had been packed with guests so he was feeling better of the moral front, but still sick and weak. I didn’t have long to stay, and I knew he was tired so I wondered what I could do for him before I left. I know that he hates being in a room of four and to make matters worse they had placed him in a corner away from the window. The bed by the window had been occupied the day before when he was transferred but it was now free. So I found the head nurse and explained politely and with a big smile and with almost no hesitation she asked for transfer and I helped move all of his belongings and them him to a bed next to the window. He will even be able to see the fireworks that there often are in the old port. Afterwards, I gave out some “guardian angel” pins that the funeral home had given me to bring to my father. It was a small gesture to say thank you but it was well received.

I left the hospital after he was settled in and headed out for supper with another friend. This time I went to ChuChai… one of my Montreal favourites and then went out for coffee to finish the evening.

On Sunday, I was tired. My days were not too busy, but they were emotionally draining.

My dad is not soon to be done his hospital stay. He as least another two weeks depending on how he recovers. I’ll go back on Saturday after my workshops and see him again and hopefully he will be feeling better…

I am looking forward to my next 2 day weekend that I can use just for us.

We need it.

We headed onto the longest bridge in the world and arrived in PEI mid-afternoon…

After 4 nights in the rain and days that didn’t let things dry we we tired, damp and weary of the next nights to come. We headed in to the campground as the clouds darkened above and kept on eyeing motels on the way, checking out the prices advertised on the signs… we were ready to pay a bit more for a dry roof if ever the rain did not let up and the campground was not to our liking. I had chosen the campground weeks before based on reviews I had seen on the internet and we called to make reservations then. I choose a location looking at the website while I talked on the phone and took a space that looked like it was close to the beach and in the trees.

As we approached the campground the sea of white motor homes and trailers almost made us turn away. From the road it was depressing. My gut told me to keep going though and as we headed to our camping spot, I became excited..

The spot we got was not only near the beach but it was in an alcove of trees, with no other site near and the dunes and ocean right in front of us. It was beautiful…. and then the sun came out… and it was even better.

We took the tent out and laid it down in the sun to dry off before putting it back up and headed to the beach to to put our feet in the ocean…

 What an amazing view… the sand, the beach,the dunes, the ocean…

We headed back to the tent to eat and then headed off to bed with Wilhelmina. As the boys came back to the tent after brushing their teeth the rain started again but it just didn’t feel as dreary as it had in Fundy…  I fell asleep only to wake up suddenly as Wilhelmina stirred, made a strange sound and then threw up right next to me…

I got up bright and early with an amazing view of the lobster boats coming back full… (we heard the going out way before the sun was out) and headed to the Laundromat with an overflowing bag…

I came back to check on things at the camp and brought Simon a coffee from the coffee shop above the Laundromat… Willa was feverish and had thrown up again and the boys were gone to the beach…

When I got back from the laundromat again, Willa was sleeping on Simon and when she woke up we gave her a bath in the dish container and she seemed much better…

We brought her to the beach to join her brothers… it didn’t take too long for her to be walking around in the sand and looking better… making sure however to not let the water touch her feet..

The kids played on the beach as we watched and joined in… A family that was there pointed out that the Jellyfish were in early this year and then we started to notice them… the boys stayed close to the beach after that and I sought them out as the water was relatively calm and I found them fascinating… As I took pictures I captured one capturing something if its own…

(Lion’s Mane Jellyfish)

In the afternoon we headed to the nearest town for a late lunch and to look around a bit. I LOVE how seafood is on the menu at any fast food place and not only is there, but it is good 🙂

We looked in the travel guide for some things to do and a place called “The Toy Factory” caught our eye… Khéna had been looking for a certain toy so we thought we could check it out and it would also give us a chance to look at a bit more scenery… we didn’t find the toy he was looking for but The Toy Factory is not your ordinary toy store. They have a lot of educational toys and puzzles and the well known wooden toys but they also have a wood shop in the back where they make their own and where the kids can go watch the process. Not only that, but kids can also make their own toys. They can choose a wand or a car/truck and  then assemble it and can either keep (buy) it for a reasonable price, or it will go on the shelves for someone else to buy. They also burn what ever you want into it…

Colin made a wand for himself and for Wilhelmina… while Khéna made a truck…

PEI is so beautiful..

Lupins grow wild everywhere…

Neat rows of Potatoes growing in red earth in Cavendish…

and crumbling dunes on endless beaches…

The kids played in the Campground Park, had a Hay ride and then we headed to the beach for a few more minutes while Simon built the fire for supper and we had a beautiful sunset before heading to bed…

The next day we headed back to Kensington, this time for a much awaited trip to the Haunted Mansion we had seen while travelling the first day we arrived. The Haunted Mansion is tudor style house that has been transfored into an amazing walkthrough haunted house… the first floor is more on the scary side and though the boys went through quickly, they wanted to return… the second floor has a weird and whimsical horror feel to it which was fun and the basement is like being taken back in time and walking in a dark london alley.

When the walkthrough is done, you head into the water gardens… a serene garden with fountains and ponds and streams, with a walkway in the trees, and slides that go underground…

Then there were rides with unlimited access… and ducks for Wilhelmina to look at… A lot of fun and really something for everyone…

The next day we headed back to Kensington for an early lunch before heading out for the day… The food at the Island Stone Pub is worth the mention… Seriously, it was some of the best food I have eaten in a restaurant… ever!

I had a Salmon Tartare entrée with the Fish and Chips and Simon had Potato Cigars and the Nachos which were made with thickly cut Kettle chips, homemade salsa and cheese and the boys had pasta in a butter sauce with garlic toast… all of it was delicious!

Our next stop was Charlottetown , the province’s capital… One thing about PEI is that it is small… you would think that crossing nearly a third of the province would take a bit of time but it is only 48km (30 miles) from Kensington to Charlottetown and only takes about 35min.

In Charlottetown we visited another cool toy store called Owl’s Hollow and the went to Cow’s  Creamery for some yummy ice cream and then we headed to Cavendish to visit the Ripely Odditorium…

(Pieces of the Berlin Wall)

More Oddities

Being our last day there I stopped to get some lobster on the way back to the campground (yep… takeout lobster) and then when we got back we started to pack and get ready to leave in the morning…

We had the gift of one last beautiful sunset before we headed to bed…

In the morning we got up bright and early, packed up the tent and headed out wanting to grab some breakfast on the road. It was Canada day… and well, as you may know, but we had seem to have forgotten is that everything is pretty much closed for Canada day… but we found a Timmies in Summerside and headed back to the Confederation Bridge..

From PEI, we headed to Fredericton, which is about a 4 hour drive and headed to the Hotel where we were going to stay for the night. The boys got to swim in the Hotel pool and I got a bit of hot tub time before we headed out to downtown Fredericton to see the Canada day Celebrations.

One thing I remember from living out west when I was a child was that Canada Day was a big celebration and was tons of fun. In Nelson there would be a big party at Lakeside park and a bonfire on the beach with a cake large enough to feed everyone there. Living here in Quebec, Canada Day is pretty tame. It is a day off for most and not much of a celebration at all… It was really fun to have little glimpses into what it still is for the rest of canada and Fredericton was no exception. Live Music, tons of people, local food stands and then the the big wait for the Fireworks. My kids had never seen Fireworks before and we had a front row seat on the edge of the water to watch them and they were pretty good.

In the morning we left Fredericton at around 11am and started on our long journey home. Wilhemina got sick again on the way which made the the trek a bit harder but we made good time and arrived at home before dark and then melted into our bed early…

It is a trip that I will remember always and I will be wanting to head back to PEI again one day and stay for longer… it is so beautiful and the people are so friendly and I could definitely even see ourselves living there one day…

Places we stayed: Twin Shores Campground, Darnley, PEI

Places we visited: Town of Kensington, The Toy Factory in New Glasgow, The Haunted Mansion, Cow’s Creamery in Charlottetown, Rustico Bay Wool sweater Company (got a beautiful wool sweater from there), Fredericton NB

We are back from our first Family Camping trip!

We left bright and early on the morning of the 23rd of June… actually… scratch that… it was dark and early when we got up at 4am…

(Do you have a minivan? if you do, you can understand that packing a tent, sleeping bags, food and clothes for 6 people is not an easy task with all the seats in place!)

We started driving and made great time even though we stopped on the way quite a few times. We arrived at the campground in Fundy National park 12 hours after we left home with a few hours to spare as we pitched our tent and settled in. Fundy National park is on the New Brunswick side of the Bay of Fundy and boasts the highest tides in the world and we looked forward to discovering it all… our friends arrived soon after us and settled into the neighbouring camping space and the kids played in the small ravine and creek than ran between us… The black flies were horrendous, the mosquitos and noseeums were biting but it didn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves… ok, ok… we did complain a lot…

Our first night and day were beautiful and we headed to the iconic Hopewell rocks at low tide and walked on the ocean floor. The flower pot ricks were gorgeous and the thick red mud was irresistible to the kids..

(click on any pic to see it larger)

The rest of the time in Fundy made camping a bit rough, the tents were not pitched correctly because of the rocky terrain, the temperature was quite cold, the nights were rainy, the mornings foggy, but once we got down the mountain we had cloudy but reasonable weather and we were able to discover the beaches and tidal pools, enjoy the scenery and discover a beautiful waterfall…

 (foggy morning)

Village of Alma at low tide…

Dickson falls is one of the favourite trails in Fundy National park and though it is not a long trail, it is full of stairs and slippery boardwalks that go next to and over waterfalls and amazing clear and crisp waters… The humidity in the area is o high that my camera lens was fogging up each time I took it out of my bag and the colours of green from the moss and vegetation was intense, truly a different type of ecosystem that we are used to here in Quebec.

 The boys enjoyed their first sprint of camping though they too had enough of the bugs and the cold after a few days.

Colin learning to use the axe…

Telling ghost stories around the fire while roasting marshmallows with friends…

After four nights of camping the the rain, freezing nights and foggy, cold humid days that made everything damp we were happy to leave and head to our next leg of the journey.

We headed to Magnetic Hill in Moncton before parting with out friends and heading to Prince Edward Island.  Magnetic Hill is tourist attraction and a strange one at that…you park your car at the bottom of the hill, put it in Neutral and the let it do its work… slowly you start moving backwards and then as you gain momentum you car heads uphill backwards without power. Of course, it has nothing to do with magnets but it is a very cool illusion 🙂

We parted with our friends and then headed to PEI… Prince Edward Island is an Island just off of the coast of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and is the smallest Canadian province. It used to be accesible only by boat but in 1997 the longest bridge in the world was completed and was opened to the public. It is a pretty majestic structure that spans over the ocean for 12.9 KM (8 miles) and takes about 10 minutes to cross… the boys were excited!

I will be covering the PEI part of our trip in the next post…

Places we stayed: Chignecto Camp ground in Fundy National Park

Places we went: Fundy National Park, Diskson Falls, Village of Alma, Hopewell Rocks, Magnetic Hill, Cape Jourimain Nature Centre, Confederation Bridge