Hmmm… Tenting! We really hadn’t done that in a bit. I’m guessing we were a day or so before departure when we started gathering the bits and pieces that we thought we’d need for our PEI reunion excursion. Tents, coolers, utensils, sleeping bags, BBQ, etc, etc… Ended up having two car loads so that’s how we left early Thursday! We got out of the doors at 204 Cloverville Rd by noon, just the two front seats available in each vehicle. The plan was to get to Summerside by early evening for a quick visit… then up and at it early Friday for a quick drive to Cavendish.
On our way we decided a “picnic style” stop was in order. We chose Fort Beausejour National Historic Site as the venue. In all my years at Mt A I’d never visited, so I thought it might be appropriate. At about 2:00 PM we tucked into the roadway adjacent the Aulac Big Stop and made our way to the Fort. Once there you could easily see why it was chosen for fortification, with broad open views of the flat lands that mark the thin isthmus of earth the connects Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. We soon emptied the vehicles and were roaming the visitor centre and nearby earthworks that were once the Fort. It seems the area has a bit of an identity crisis, being passed from French to the British in the late 1700’s. The experience very much reminded me of my time doing both guide and archaeological work at Grassy Island with Parks Canada. Fun to examine the artefacts and prowl around the ruins.
When finished, we hunkered down for some lunch (sandwiches) in one of the outer picnic buildings, gassed up a vehicle, and pointed ourselves toward the last part of the day’s drive across Confederation Bridge to Summerside. Gotta say, we loved the golden fields that were a glow near Central Bedeque. A little research revealed that it was canola… Couldn’t get Sting’s version of “Fields of Gold” out of my head after that!
Good first day on the road, and all occurred without incident. Once settled, we enjoyed an evening of visiting with the MacKinnons and eventually succumbed to snacks, libations and tunes in the early hours. Fun night!