Danny and I were awake by 8am yesterday morning (Atlantic Canadian time, anyway) and decided to hit the Prince Edward Island National Park which is maybe a ten minute drive from my house. We had swung by the day before but noted there were toll booth-esque structures and turned around. I researched the park and learned that a day fee for one adult is $7.80. Well upon our return yesterday morning, there was no one in the booths! So after making sure there was no one to pay, we went on through and into the park.
Our first stop was the beach. A solid wooden staircase brought us up and over the enormous sand dunes and then down the other side where a typical beach scene was laid out. Granted, being so early, there was only one family and an older couple but we saw a couple more people coming down as we left. We strolled along the beach (mostly sand, but some small and beautiful stones mixed in) for a little ways. The water was freezing - not sure how the kids playing in the waves didn't have hypothermia! - but nice. We doubled back and hopped back in the car to drive a little bit further to a hiking trailhead. The trail started there and then branched into to separate trails: Bubbling Springs and Farmlands. We opted for Bubbling Springs, not much more than a mile long, and set off. Being in the woods, instead of in the open farmland and beachy shores, made me feel more at home and I was really happy just to walk in the quiet. It doesn't really get hot here, but the morning was literally the perfect temperature for walking through the woods, which were nice and shady in some parts and more open and sunny in others. In fact, many animals seemed to appreciate the weather because we saw one fox (prey in mouth!), a small garter snake, a small frog, a larger frog, a couple of finches and one or two female Downy (or Hairy, we weren't close enough to tell) woodpeckers! So an exciting morning activity.
We also had the chance to visit the Charlottetown Farmer's Market and the Meat Market store a bit further past the university. Since seeing the prices on food in the stores I've been trying to find alternative sources. The farmer's market was nice but I would have liked to see a bigger variety of meat (seemed like only lamb and sausage) and some fruit! The vegetables were good, with good prices on them, and I bought some really excellent green beans. The Meat Market store was better, with a huge selection of meats to choose from, as well as varieties of seasonings/marinades. I think I'll most likely go back there to buy my meat.
My parents arrived on the island yesterday evening and we invited them here for dinner. The ribeyes and green beans went to make that dinner which turned out really nicely. It was good to see my parents and catch up with them even though they were tired from travelling. We swapped our vehicles so I have my truck back, yay! Today they came by and picked us up and we went into the countryside to hunt down a tourist attraction my mom had found in her AAA book. Unfortunately, being nine years old, the AAA book was not at all recent and we went to find the site (supposedly gardens and miniature castle recreations..?) abandoned and overgrown. But that didn't stop us from trekking in and exploring! There was a life-sized castle (for sale for $119,000 if anyone's interested) and behind it a complex of some sort, built in mimic of the real-life London buildings like the White Tower, etc. Being completely deserted and overgrown, silent as a tomb, it was slighly creepy. It really was like going back in time and wandering through. My mom got creeped out too much and we left. Lunch on the way home was a superb seafood chowder. Overall an adventure of an afternoon!
Orientation is tomorrow; I'm sure I'll have plenty to write about that, too!
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