Holiday!

Wow, it's been a busy week! What have we been up to? A lot!

Wednesday was Canada Day. The kids spent the morning playing with their friends, C cut the lawn clover, and I was busy packing for our trip the next day. My friend and her hubby have a boat and they invited us to go sailing with them for a few hours. So we packed up and headed over to the marina. We cruised around the harbour and then out into open water. We saw quite a few seals which was really cool. Unfortunately S started saying her stomach felt funny so we headed back in. We had a great time and really appreciate our friends taking us out on their boat!

Wednesday night there were suppose to be fireworks for Canada Day but since we had to get up early for our trip the next day we decided not to go. It turned out to be too windy that evening for the fireworks so it wasn't such a big deal that we didn't take the kids. They were pretty tired from a hard day of play so they were okay with it too.

Thursday we got up early and took the ferry over to Nova Scotia. The crossing was smooth and there was a nice breeze blowing. I was glad the seas were calm because when it's rough it can cause my vertigo to act up. Being on our friends' boat didn't bother me the day before except when we were stopped. We arrived safely in Nova Scotia and started making our way towards Cape Breton. We stopped along the way and had lunch at a place called Mother Webb's. If you get the chance, stop there. They have a simple menu but it is tasty.

We made our way up the Ceilidh Trail. Along the way we stopped to enjoy the views. This was one of them:

By the time we reached the cottage we were staying at, S was saying her stomach was feeling bad again. She kept saying she was going to throw up and eventually she did a few times. :-( Not how we wanted to start our holiday! Thankfully once she got it all out she said she felt better. I don't know if she was feeling carsick or if she ate something that didn't agree with her. She got a good night's sleep and woke up the next morning feeling all better. 

Friday - since S was better we decided to head out to the Cabot Trail and make our way up to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. C wanted to hike a specific trail - the Skyline trail. We decided to give it a try. We parked and started making our way up the trail.

This doesn't look so bad...

The first part of the trail was easy, as you can see. It was pretty much a road. We followed it around until we came to a picnic shelter where a ranger was set up with information about the wildlife we could potentially see along the trail. The kids were excited to see how big moose antlers and skulls can be. Too bad we didn't see any moose this trip! But we did see a skunk on the way to the ferry (we didn't get sprayed!)

After listening to the ranger for a while, we started on the trail. It was narrower than the beginning but still a good sized trail. We hiked along and at the time the trail seemed fairly flat. Yeah, not so much. Coming back up the trail was a gradual climb. It was tough at times because I am out of practice for hiking (thanks winter) but I made it. As we hiked along, these are some things we saw.

I liked how the ferns and flowers were growing up around the stump

It's hard to tell from this picture but we're hiking along the top of a mountain

Yellow flower

These little white flowers were everywhere. I wish I knew what they were!

A pretty little waterfall

Eventually we came out of the trees and realized just how far up we were.

Egads, is that the road down there?

How high up are we?

Yeah, we're up high and that's the ocean out there

This is a boardwalk that goes down to some viewing platforms

Looking out at the ocean

Yeah, that is high. I think I will stay right here, thank you.

C and the kids went down there but not me!

There was a boardwalk that went down to viewing platforms. I stayed on the first one because I have a fear of heights, to the point that I have had panic attacks before on things like Ferris wheels. C and the kids went down there but I decided that it was better for me to stay up on the top rather than have a panic attack in front of the kids. The views were spectacular from where I was and I could pretend that I wasn't standing on the edge of a mountain. :-)

After this we headed back to the car, which was a good long hike uphill. We drove around a bit more and then headed back towards town. We stopped for supper along the way and then made our way back to our cottage. Everyone was worn out from that hike. It was fun but hard work! It was an early bedtime for everyone.

Saturday we headed the other way on the Cabot Trail and went to Baddeck. C got a cool new hat and I got to visit Baadeck Yarns. I'll do a yarn blog tomorrow to share what I bought. There were lupines blooming everywhere (both here on PEI and over in Cape Breton). I just had to get a picture of them because they are so pretty.

After lunch, we made the decision to drive the whole way around the Cabot Trail. A lot of the way was just beautiful wilderness but we did stop along the way at some of the overlooks. At this one we managed to spot at least one Minke whale. I couldn't get a picture of it because it was too far away but it was a really neat experience to see one in the wild.

After that we continued around the trail until we found a place for ice cream and a beach that the kids could play on. J was a crazy man and went into the icy cold water. S stayed on the shore because the water was too cold for her. I don't blame her! C took the kids to explore a waterfall that was next to the beach. 

We finished the drive with supper at a tasty restaurant and then headed back to the cottage. It was another early night since we were all tired from all the driving!

Sunday we headed back home. The ride on the ferry was nice and no one got sick. It was good to be back home. The kids immediately went out to the trampoline and wore themselves out. I think they missed the trampoline!

Monday (today) we got back into our regular routine. C went off to work and I took the kids out to find new shorts (not a whole lot of luck there). We went to the grocery store because we needed some groceries at least for the next few days. We also went out to a place that sells homemade baked goods. The Sugar Shack, run by Borrowed Kitchen, is run by the mom of one of S's classmates. All weekend long she was making lemon meringue pies. Since we were out of town I couldn't get one but I sent her a message and she was able to make one for us today. It looks delicious!

I also made some semi-homemade muffins. I used a blueberry muffin mix but I added strawberries to them. I had one and it was pretty darn tasty. We'll see what the kids think tomorrow morning.

The kids are pretty tired right now. Our neighbour invited us to come swim in her pool and we spent about two hours there. A good time was had by all! I think the kids will sleep well again tonight. I know I will!

Okay, I think I'm all caught up now. Tomorrow I will be sharing pictures of all the lovely yarn I have acquired recently. Until tomorrow then!

Go Take a Hike!

Today was yet another beautiful day. When spring finally makes up its mind to arrive, the weather here is awesome. It was a little windy and cool but the sun was out (for the most part). We decided to take advantage of this beautiful weather and headed out for a hike at a pond we discovered over the winter. There's a trail, Peggy's Trail, that goes around Mooney's Pond which was our destination.

On the way to the pond, we saw this guy on the side of the road:

I tried to get a better picture of him but he kept scooting off as we drove closer to him. At least you can see that he is a pheasant. It was the first one I've seen on the island.

Once we reached the pond, we started exploring.

An old beaver dam that is now a fishing area

We started out at what is called Anderson's Pool, which looks like it was once a beaver pond but is now a fishing area. There is a nice ramp and a fishing deck here to allow easy access to the water for everyone. We continued to follow the path to the main pond. Along the way I saw definite signs of spring...

Look! Leaves are coming out!

When we arrived at Mooney's Pond, we found a very nice fishing dock. No one was fishing at the time but later we saw a few people giving it a go here.

Fishing dock at Mooney's Pond

We started on a nice, fairly level gravel path that lead around the pond. There were a few bridges along the way. This was the view from one of the bridges:

There were also quite a few overlook/fishing docks along the path that provided nice views of the pond.

Look! There's no snow on the ground! Hiking through the woods is so much easier when the trail is free of snow.

A snow free path!

There's a fungus among us! :-)

As we walked along, there was a lot of Spanish moss all over the ground. S had picked some up to play with as she hiked. She decided that it looked like Big Foot's snot. Yup. Her story: Big Foot ate a moose and it made him catch a cold. So he sneezed snot all over the woods. Ooookay.

Big Foot snot...according to the 6 year old.

There was a nice bridge at the far side of the pond. This is looking back up towards where the fishing dock is located. The view was really pretty.

We stopped at another overlook on our way back up to the start of the trail. J wasn't feeling his best today and decided to take a short nap on the overlook railing.

There's a story that goes with the next picture. In upstate NY where my in-laws live, there's a nice walking path that we like to take the kids on. Along the path there is an old tree that has been ravaged by woodpeckers. Every time we are on the path with my father-in-law he points out the "woodpecker tree". As we were hiking today I saw this tree and it made me think of the woodpecker tree in NY. So this picture is for my father-in-law and his favourite tree.

After hiking the entire trail we headed back to the car to get the fishing rods that we brought along. As we walked down the trail, I managed to snap this picture of cuteness. C was holding J's hand and it was adorable (at least to me it was).

C did some digging under some rocks and managed to find some worms for bait. He got the fishing poles set up for the kids and they gave it a go. J was trying very hard to wait patiently for something to nibble his hook.

S had a good time too. She kept hoping a fish would come nibble on her hook too but no luck!

I managed to get a picture of J casting. He only put it in the tree once so I think that's pretty good.

We didn't have any luck at this spot so we headed back up to the fishing dock at the main pond. Still no luck there! It was really windy at the pond and the current was strong. We'll try to find a better place to go fishing next time!

We came home after fishing and had some lunch and then some quiet time. Then we decided that today needed ice cream. So we headed down to a dairy bar. Hot fudge sundae - yum! This little guy decided he wanted to hang out near us. In the almost two years we've lived here I've only seen a handful of these cute little red squirrels.

We finished off the day with a yummy meal done on the grill. All in all it was a great day!

I'm Back!

I made it back from my weekend away and what a fantastic weekend it was! We started out Saturday morning with taking the ferry across to Nova Scotia and we couldn't have asked for better weather. It was sunny but a bit cool with the air off the water. Once we exited the ferry we had a pretty drive up to Cape Breton. Along the way we saw a white tailed deer which we haven't seen since we left Virginia as well as a bald eagle.

We had a late lunch in a local restaurant near where we were staying and it was quite tasty. After that we checked into our accommodations for the weekend. We found a place that has 6 cottages to rent - two with 2 bedrooms and the rest singles. The cottage was perfect for us - it had a nice big porch, a grill, and a kitchen. We had taken most of our food with us so we were able to prepare meals there. The cottages are located on 200 acres of land and the kids had a blast exploring the woods. We just turned them loose with a few warnings and they had the best time. They were constantly asking if they could go into the woods. We went with them one time and were surprised at how far away they actually ventured.

On Sunday we went up to Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We were hoping to spot a moose or two but no luck. One trail we wanted to go on was closed because Mamma Bear was very protective of her new baby and the rangers really didn't want anyone getting attacked by a bear. The ranger recommended another trail for us although she did warn us parts were snow covered. Luckily we remembered to bring along boots! We hiked the trail (it was short) but saw lots of signs that moose like the area but the moose were elusive. The signs said that early morning/dusk are the best times for moose spotting. Maybe next time we'll get to see one.

We stopped at an amazing overlook to have our picnic lunch. We had a few of the mountains as well as the ocean. It was quiet up there (well, except for the kids) and the views were awesome. Afterwards we went to another trail to go hiking. This one promised us a waterfall at the end of the hike. We trekked through snow and wet to find not one, but two beautiful waterfalls. It made the hike worth it to see how beautiful nature can be.

After that we were pretty worn out - too much sitting around this winter. So we headed back to the cottage and made supper while the kids ran around in the woods. After supper we for a walk through the meadows and woods behind the cottages hoping once more to see a moose. No luck again! But we did see a very large hare. It is the biggest hare I've seen in the wild. Now we know what the coyotes like to eat (no, we didn't see any coyotes either).

The drive home today was pretty - it was filled with sun even if the air was cool. The weather all weekend was beautiful. Originally there was a chance of rain Sunday but all we had was sun. We took the ferry home along with a lot of other people! And if we needed any more proof that PEI is a small place, S ran into a friend from school on the ferry. It is fun to live in a place where so many people know each other.

When we arrived home we found that S's friends had decorated the driveway for us with Welcome Home messages. They also left dandelions on the porch although they had closed up by the time we got home. It's the thought that counts. It was nice to know we were missed. I really do love the neighbourhood we live in.

I do have a lot of pictures of things from this weekend, I just haven't downloaded them from my camera yet to see which ones turned out good. I will do that tomorrow and hopefully do a photo blog tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest. Tomorrow will be a busy day with some after school things and I need C's help editing some of my pictures so I may not get them up until Wednesday. I will do my best for tomorrow though!

Outdoor Adventure

Today C and I decided to go for a hike. We headed back to the national park we were at the other day - the one with the snowy beach. We went to our usual trail to see how it was. There was a little snow on the trail and there was a lot of mud and muck but it was still beautiful:

We stopped here for a bit to listen to the red-winged blackbirds and enjoy the sun and the bright blue sky. Then we decided to continue on down the path. And this is what we found...

Yes, this is hiking on the island in May. That isn't sand - it's snow. We trudged on until we got to the point where the snow was deep and soft which meant we couldn't go any further. That's the snow off in the distance in the right picture. C had on his hiking boots and I had on my hiking shoes but to continue on through the deep snow we would have needed our snow boots. We turned around made our way back to the trail head through all the snow, slush, and mud.

After we got back to the car we headed back down to the beach we were at the other day. I grabbed a picture of it at the same place as the other day:

It does look like there's been a lot of melting but C pointed out that the tide was further out today than it was on Monday. But the snow in front has melted quite a bit and it seemed like the ice chunks weren't as plentiful. On Monday there were huge chunks of ice floating in the water off in the distance and today the water was ice free. We're slowly getting there! Because the ice has been disappearing the lobster fishermen will start their season tomorrow. Yay for fresh local lobster!

After our outdoor adventure this morning C and I finished putting S's bed together. He took apart her old bed and we moved it, along with her old dresser, out of her room. We then hauled all the pieces of the new bed up to her room and assembled it. I spent the rest of the afternoon putting her room back together. I think it turned out quite nice:

We're planning on getting her a small desk and chair so she will have a better place for colouring/drawing and later on for doing her homework. She loves her new bed - we'll see how she does with it tonight. Hauling that bed upstairs was hard work and I am tired and bruised. I think I will sleep well tonight.