We were all very slow-moving this morning. K and G woke well after 9am (likely closer to 10am) and then spent the morning playing inside and outside. I did some laundry and some general cleaning, while J. did some waste sorting.
By 1:00pm, we were on the road. It was, again, quite chilly (around 15 degrees) but there was no rain in the forecast, so we ventured down the road to the fun park for what we thought would be some dry fun and games. I had packed the kids' swimsuits just in case they decided to brave the water park, but never imagined they would go in. Sure enough, both wanted to change and get on the slides. It wasn't long before both were shivering and begging to change back into their warm clothes.
We bought the twins each an ice cream cone from the canteen and J. bought himself a hamburger and fries (I likely ate at least half of his fries). We then got back in the car to travel further down the road to Summerside. We had planned to go to Spinnaker's Market and then go bowling. Spinnaker's Market was smaller than we anticipated and totally touristy, so we didn't spend much time there. J and I had scoped out some geocaches around Summerside and realized that we were very close to one of them. So, we mapped it out and finally found one! The kids were super excited to have found our very first geocache. This first one was at the very end of a long pier.
Our first ever find was at the end of the pier in Summerside, PEI.
Piggy-backing on the excitement of the first find, we asked the twins if they'd like to find some more. They were totally game, so we set out to find SEVEN more!
Our second find!
I loved this bottle and the trinkets we found inside.
#3 was found at a war memorial in a neighbourhood in Summerside.
My boy and me at the #2 find.
#4 was tricky as it was SUPER tiny and up in a tree, but we found it!
K. enjoyed opening up the log inside.
#5 was a tricky one as it was also very tiny. We had almost given up when K. spied it in a cedar tree!
#6 was found when J stuck his hand (bravely) under a dumpster and found it stuck to the underside with a magnet.
#7 was found only because it was in a bright orange container in thick brush.
Our 8th and final cache was found by Mr. G. Another cache stuck to the guard rail by a magnet.
Our navigators
Eight for eight! Everyone was very satisfied with our day.
Hungry, we decided to settle for fast food tonight. K., J. and I opted for Subway and G. opted for a bagel and a chocolate milk from Timmies.
On our way home, we stopped in at Giant Tiger because the twins were chatting about Shopkins and we remembered that they were quite cheap there. We also needed more bread, so we headed in.
We arrived back at the cottage at around 8:30pm and the kids were happy to be home so that they could play with their Shopkins and settle in to watch a movie.
We have been going pretty steady this last week, so we decided to keep today fairly low-key. I spent much of the morning organizing photos and write blog posts so that we could look back on our trip for years to come. The twins mostly played with various toys and spent some time outside. It was only 14 degrees today, so we had to bundle up when playing outside.
The day was quiet until we made the decision to try our hands at geocaching. I was given a GPS system by a colleague to try it out (we both teach geography in the fall) but I couldn't quite figure it out. After several attempts to get it to work here at the cottage, I had a thought: what if there is an app for geocaching. Sure enough, there was!
We piled into the car with our apps on our phones and attempted to find four caches. Sadly, though we tried with all our might, we just couldn't seem to find even one. I was a little defeated, but tried to keep a positive disposition so that the twins wouldn't feel my disappointment. I told them that we worked as a team and sometimes even the best teams can't win.
We thought this cache was hidden in the cedar.
Searching in this garden for one that we never found.
Searching
The hint for this geocache was "bison" and after a long while, we saw the "bison" sign on this basketball net.
One cache sent us into this cemetery.
I was sad to see this. Born August 1934 - Died April 1935.
While we were looking for the caches, we came upon a fun park and the kids couldn't resist.
We don't see many teeter totters back home.
Afterwards, we headed to the local coop to buy some things we needed at the cottage, then headed back in order to made dinner. We were all starving after our big trek and sought comfort food.
After dinner, K. did some painting by numbers and Griffin played some games on the iPad. It was a slow-paced evening and just what we all needed.
Settling in Tignish for our stay here in PEI means that we usually have to travel at least 10 minutes in any direction for food, for a jaunt in the ocean, or for activities. We certainly don't mind as it allows us to see the beautiful countryside and shores of the island daily.
This morning was a quiet one. K. used the dining room table to make some construction paper crafts (it had been a few days since she had done any crafting and I think she was starting to go into withdrawal). G. used the time to play some games on the iPad (a rare treat) and J. and I used the time to plan the day's adventure.
At around noon, I packed a lunch for the twins and we headed out on some errands and a road trip to Summerside and then New Glascow. In Summerside, we stopped at Walmart to buy some long, warm pants for the twins. Temperatures here are quite chilly in the evening and the mosquitoes have been fierce (especially targeting my poor K. who has giant lumps on her legs, arms, and face). J. had spotted a Thai Express in a plaza within the Walmart lot, so he ran in to grab some take-out. I drove while he had his lunch. He was kind enough to feed me bites as I drove as I LOVE their Pad Thai. the kids were confused as to why Daddy was feeding me like a baby, but after we explained that I couldn't take my hands off the wheel, they felt better about the whole thing.
Our next stop would be The Toy Factory in New Glascow. One route there would have been faster than another, but we chose to take the more scenic route and we were so glad we did. PEI is magical and so beautiful. Lush and green, the many farmer's fields along the way looked as though they were from movies.
We arrived at the Toy Factory and were surprised at how small it actually was. Each of us pictured more of a Toys R Us kind of store with aisles and aisles of toys. The store was actually a converted house packed with home-made wooden toys and some marketed toys. Many of the toys I had never heard of and many were quite entertaining. The store owners actually encourage kids to play while they are there. So, the kids were in their glory testing out products and playing to their hearts' content. Soon, we ventured back to the work shop where some kind ladies asked the twins if they would like to try their hands at making their own toys. G. chose to make a wooden car and K. chose to make a magic wand. How lovely that the owners allow children to make their own special toys at no cost. After the toys were made, the owner engraved the kids' names into each creation and also wrote "PEI 2016". What a lovely memento of our trip to the Toy Factory.
G. and K. each also chose a toy to buy with money that Gramma and Grampa had given them before we left for the island. G. chose some minifigures that were not Lego, but looked similar and K. chose a fairy headband and a paint-by-numbers activity.
Our purchases complete, we headed out to the back of the store where a children's play area was set up. We were encouraged to venture toward the very back of the property to see the fairy village. K. made a beeline toward that. It was SO quaint! the owners had set up a path along which fairies, decorations in trees, and even a total fairy village were set up. So sweet.
We took some time to play in the children's area and then headed across the street to Hope Gardens and the PEI Preserve Company. Inside the Preserve Company we samples many different types of jams, chutneys, and relishes at the preserve bar (totally like a wine tasting experience). I enjoyed almost every one that I tried, but my two favourites were the Strawberry Jam with Grand Marnier and the Garlic Relish. We ended up buying only the jam, but now I am regretting not buying the relish as well.
The owner of the Toy Factory had told us that we may be able to see eagles swoop down to eat fish from the vantage point of Hope Gardens, so after our jam experience, we headed out back to the gardens. Walking along the pathways, we were amazed at the beauty and aroma of the gardens. It was incredible. Along the way back, we saw it! An eagle soaring high in the sky. It didn't swoop down, but it was certainly scouting the area for its lunch. Amazing!
By this time, it was nearing 5pm and the kids were anxious to head back home. I wanted to stop at the Anne of Green Gables Museum on the way back, but after checking the hours online, we learned that it closed at 5pm. So, we bypassed it this time.
We, once again stopped at Walmart on the way back home as I had spotted some vegetarian fare (VERY hard to come by in the North Cape) and wanted to pick some up for the next 2.5 weeks.
We arrived at the cottage at around 6pm and the kids were starving. It would be a frozen pizza and fries kind of evening and that was okay by me.
While we waited for dinner to be ready, we Facetimed Gramma and Grampa to tell them about our day and to show them around the cottage. The kids were so happy and proud to share their adventures.
After dinner, the kids found some musical instruments and we asked them to go upstairs to create a musical for us. Once they had perfected their musical, they came down to perform for us. It was awful, but totally wonderful at the same time.
As the kids finished their performance, we saw Special Guest running around in the field, so we grabbed a carrot and the instruments and went out to the field to entertain her with music and to feed her a carrot. It took some coaxing, but she finally came over to eat the carrot.
Afterwards, we settled in and put on our PJs to wind down the evening. Another great day in PEI.
This morning, I woke up terribly early (5am) and couldn't sleep any longer. I took my pillow and went downstairs to lie down on the couch with the hope that I could sleep a little longer. J. came down just a few minutes after I did - we both tried to rest more and I think I fell asleep for another hour, but it was one of those "half-awake/half-asleep" sleeps.
The kids came down at about 8:30am and we all had breakfast together. A special treat for the kids whilst we are here is Nutella on toast and they have each been having that for breakfast every day. We were all moving slowly this morning, so none of us were in a big rush to do anything.
When we arrived at the house last Saturday night, Josee told us that the washing machine had stopped working the night before, but she assured us that she would call a repair technician first thing on Monday morning. At around 10am today, the repair technician arrived with Josee's husband, Bobby, and within half an hour, the washing machine was fixed and I was SOOO happy to finally be able to get some laundry done.
After checking the weather for the day and seeing that rain was in the forecast for the afternoon, we decided to get moving. We loaded up the bikes and shot up the road to Confederation Trail.
We thought we would spend the next couple of hours biking, but the trail was mostly gravel and our street bikes were not navigating the gravel easily. After a brief family meeting on the trail, we decided to load the bikes back up again and head to the North Cape to build more Inukshuks. The last time we were at the North Cape, the wind was fierce and it was difficult to appreciate the natural beauty there. This time, however, the sun was shining, it was warm, and there was little wind. We had a much better time walking among the shale leisurely and not being blown to bits by the wind. We came across a dead crab and a lone lobster claw on our walk, which K. loved to see.
I built this Inukshuk
We headed into the little souvenir store there and the kids each bought a little stuffie (a lobster for K and a little turtle for G.).
By this time, we were all hungry for lunch, so we headed back to the cottage to eat. Afterwards, I headed out on my own to fill the car up with gas and to check out a different grocery store to pick up a few essentials that we needed.
When I arrived back to the cottage, everyone was outside playing. We tried, once again, to feed Special Guest an apple, but she was very aloof. We ended up throwing the apple into the field and she immediately came over to gobble it up. Then, we all played a quick game of Yard Yahtzee, which the kids loved.
After dinner, we decided to head to the fun park again for the last hour before it closed for the day. It was cooler by this time and there were NO lines at any of the water slides. It was a great time to be there - though it was chilly.
As we headed back to the cottage, we saw a Foodland and a little strip mall that I had not seen before, so we pulled in to get some plant-based milk (not easy to find on the island, I have discovered) and to see what other stores were there.
Driving back to the cottage, it started to rain fairly heavily. Pulling into the driveway, we were happy to soon be able to put some warm PJs on and snuggle up to watch a movie. Unfortunately, we had locked ourselves out of the cottage and the spare key, which Josee had told us about, was nowhere to be found. After sending a quick "save us!" text to Josee, Joel had the idea to send K through the kitchen window as she was tiny enough to squeeze through. In a matter of minutes, we were back in the house and Josee was laughing at us through text. Too funny!
Time for PJs, we settled in for a quiet rest of the evening.
