From Shediac to Cavendish

The road to PEI from Shediac is not that straight forward.  Our first bump in the road was getting our rental vehicle.  The car we thought we were going to get was not returned, and there was only one other available to us, a 2017 Dodge Caravan, which had to come from Moncton.  Not usually a problem, but there is major road construction on the highway, so we were waiting for 30 minutes for it to arrive. When we finally got on our way, road construction also detoured our exit route onto the highway.  We missed our turn on the roundabout and had to 're-calculate'.  The start of a road trip always gives me some anxiety, and I am more than a little relieved when we are finlly on our way.  Karen had recommended that we stop at Cape Jourmain Nature Centre, just before going over Confederation Bridge, for a photo op.  It was a perfect re-calculation to our bumpy start.  Not only did we get a good view of the bridge, but the Nature Centre had a very nice gift shop.  When we entered, I heard fiddle music in the background.  It was one of those CD demonstration racks playing a re-issued Don Messer and the Islanders CD. We bought that one, and two others as well.  This provided the perfect soundtrack for our drive across the Confederation Bridge and into PEI.
PEI is lovely.  If you have watched any of the Anne of Green Gables shows on CBC, then you know how scenic it is.  When drive along the road through the lovely countryside, you can see how Lucy Maud Montgomery was enchanted by this emerald and ruby isle.  I have to admit, I was never a fan of Anne of Green Gables, and have never read any of L M Montgomery's books.  I did enjoy watching the Road to Avonlea with the girls.  Still, when in Cavendish, you instantly become a fan of LM.  We visited LM's birth place, The Lake of Shining Waters, and Green Gables Heritage Place.  This is the home of LM's cousins, where she spent much of her time as a young girl and it is where she was got her inspiration for her stories.  We walked the 1km trail between her grandmother's house and her cousins house through the Haunted Forest and tried to imagine young LM doing the very same route.
Even our accomodation has an "Anne" theme - Kindred Spirits Country Inn & Cottages.  Thankfully, a little more up to date than the cottages of her time.
For dinner we took a short drive to North Rustico, a seaside fishing village with a very good seafood restaurant, the Blue Muscle Cafe.  Ed had the pan fried haddock and roasted PEI potatoes and I had the Cioppino.  This is a seafood stew in a tomato, celery, white wine broth.  It was full of muscles, scallops, halibut and salmon. Delicious.
Each town we drove through has their motto on their town name plaque at the entrance to town. Summersides' is "Peace begins at home".  Kensingtons' is "Our Journey Continues".
I am having technical difficulty uploading the photos on my tablet to this blog.  Argh!!! For now, my photos are on Instagram.