The Adventures of Sunsette -- Our PEI souvenir (July 11)

[davidd]

"Should we, just this once, help our colleague?"
"Uhmm... no!"

So funny, and SO Grand Tour-ish!

And I'd meant to type "orchid," not "iris" when writing about the lady slipper flowers.

It was this, the Western Fairy Slipper: https://nativeorchidsofthepacificnorthwe...lbosa.html

(I'd never thought to research them in depth before.)

((I, too, would have used hot melt glue.))

[Alliecat]

Ooo, that's a pretty orchid.  I've read there are more species of orchid than any other plant.  Pretty cool.  Then when you add the zillions of hybrids of cultivated orchids, there are soooo many varieties.
We do have wild irises too, "blue flag".  I'm not sure if they're done by now.
Someone had previously tried to repair that Vespa with hot glue.  The wheel well was full of it.  I had to let it sit with rubbing alcohol in it to clean it out.  I tried it again and the wheel came right off again.  Let's hope the Krazy glue holds.  I don't think the girls will be tooo rough on it.  Unless they go full Grand Tour with, like, drag races on the beach or something 

Also, why in the world did I assume sensible reasonable helpful people would respond to my post on "Ask PEI" about the tracks? Like, I actually thought people would helpfully chime in and post useful answers instead of nonsense. What was I thinking????
It appears to be some kind of beetle.

..........................................................................................................

"Here we are with the last chapter of our PEI adventure.  Wow, Mum really took a lot of pictures of us!"

"On our last full day Mum couldn't find any more properties to look at, so we decided to go up to Greenwich Dunes.  On a first look at the map after Airbnb-lady recommended it, Mum said "I'm not going all the way up there," but when we looked at the driving distances... Well, nothing is too far from anything else in PEI.  It wasn't that far at all."


"We intended to just see the dunes, but found a really excellent interpretive center where we spent quite a while.  We found a display about shorebirds..."



"...and this cool 3D model of the surrounding area, complete with teeny buildings, that you can walk over.  We should've posed on it."



"...and a diorama about animals that live among the dunes..."



"...and marine species at risk.  Here's a great white shark.  
"...yeah, I know it's gray."



"There's a floating boardwalk across the marsh.  It's really long.  Mum didn't let us pose there because it was really windy and she was afraid we'd blow into the water and float away."



"We're at the end of the boardwalk where you go up over the very steep dune."



"The parabolic dune system is supposedly very rare in North America.  It's a fragile ecosystem with some rare species.  We want to come back and learn more about it."



"And for much of the time we were there, there was NOBODY else on this beach!!!  It was wonderful!"



"We wonder if the government parks page statement that 'natural hazards are present in the area' means coyotes.  I mean, why don't they just say so??  The sign says to hike with friends and carry a big stick.  
" ...well, we were with friends... I guess... technically..."



"What would a PTFCo road trip be without a wrong turn or two and a little bit of dirt road, even here, where generally the roads are so much better?"



"Our last morning.  We've got the art of vacating lodgings at the literal very last minute before checkout.  We don't want to go, and we're really sad about it.  But the trip has got kinda spendy, so Mum said we should head back.
"....Why did we do that, Mum?"



"And here we are, heading for the bridge, far later in the day than we intended.  We'll have to race for the ferry.  Did I mention we didn't want to leave?"

"And on that terrible disappointment, it's time to end.  Thanks for reading our adventure!  See you next time."

"Love, Sunsette "

[davidd]

A floating boardwalk? Really? Built in the manner of, like, a boat dock? Does the marsh rise and fall with the tides, hence the need for a floating boardwalk? That looks really cool. Was it kind of bouncy out there?

"Natural hazards are present in the area." Ya think maybe "government speak" is getting a bit out of hand there? That big stick you carry should be helpful if you encounter wolverines or wolves or bears.

"The trip got kinda spendy." Yeah, it seems like traveling is becoming increasingly pricey. But then, everything is becoming increasingly pricey. At least fuel prices are holding steady so far this summer around here. They haven't come down much, and actually increased a bit from their lowest point a couple of months ago, but still aren't as insane as they have been over the past few years.

A beach all to yourself? Nice... unless it's an economic indicator. Another Canadian contact has been visiting the Banff area. There are no people in the backgrounds of his photos, either, and he mentioned "having the entire place to ourselves" a few times, including the once-popular mineral springs cave. I've mentioned that July and August are looking slow here for the vacation rental units. Here, it seems like a combination of a slow-down in the number of travelers and a huge increase in the lodging options. Same thing with travel trailer parks: I think the number of travel trailer parks has tripled over the past few years, but now the parks seem to be less than half full, often only about a quarter full.

I understand not wanting to go home. I mean, years ago, when I lived in a much nicer place than I do now, for most of my time there I was actually almost thrilled to return home after traveling. The traveling was fun and interesting, but when you live in what is a "holiday destination" for a lot of people, it's kind of fun coming home.

There's something to think about as you search for a new place to live: maybe look at "tourist destinations." No, not crowded noisy tourist destinations like Las Vegas or Orlando; but "natural beauty" tourist destinations.

Oh, wait. You actually live in a place like that already.

Yeah, a problem with "tourist destinations" is that once new development starts, it only accelerates. There are plans afoot to develop pretty much every square inch outside of Zion National Park, which has been open rangeland until now. The other side of the park, that was once a "sleepy little town," is now a crazy mass of hotels, restaurants, and "adventure outfitter" shops. I drove through there for the first time in five or six years last month and it was shocking and depressing.

They were destroying Hale'iwa Town when I left in 2015 -- coming up on ten years in September (I honestly thought somehow I'd figure out a way to be back in less than five years) -- by putting in a huge new shopping development... while failing to address the "city plan" that had been in effect for over a decade to simply add sidewalks to the highway. I know I ranted several times about them having turned the open dunes fronting Velzyland Beach over to developers who built a gated community with a wall to block ocean views from the highway.

'Kay, now I'm getting depressed, but I'm just gonna look at that red and white "bathing pavilion" there at the end of the floating boardwalk again and get cheered up. That looks like fun!

So I take it PEI is not entirely "off the list" at this point, but you're going to keep looking for now?

[Alliecat]

Yes, kinda like a boat dock, composite material, and yes, a little bouncy.  And the marsh is behind the dunes so it isn't tidal.  The floating boardwalk would be less damaging to the environment than driving a bunch of piles in and making a big solid thing.
Increasingly pricey travel is why housesitting is so great.  Unfortunately there are no housesits on PEI.
Too bad about all the development.  I mean, I guess people have to live somewhere, but it is kind of sad to see forest and farmland getting trashed & buried under subdivisions.

(I honestly thought somehow I'd figure out a way to be back in less than five years)

I hearya.  I have sworn for 3 years now that something has to happen THIS YEAR before this place completely destroys my sanity.  I'm still stuck 

So I take it PEI is not entirely "off the list" at this point, but you're going to keep looking for now?

PEI _IS_ the list.

............................................................................................................................

"Here we are, back from our adventure, and we had to repair our new scooter.  It had a loose wheel in the shop and Mum debated about getting it for us (we got to go to the shop and try it out for size), and finally the lady gave her a few bucks off so Mum said What The Heck We're On A Holiday, and bought it for us.
"In great Grand Tour fashion, we had to take it apart, and because we didn't really know what we were doing or how the wheels were supposed to go, Mum sawed a piece out, but it didn't help, so she glued it back again, and finally thanks to teh interwebz we learned that we have an older model and the second rear wheel is not, in fact, also supposed to touch the ground but is actually a spare."

"We also learned that newer scooters don't have spares because they use tubeless tires, which last longer if punctured, and it is assumed they can be got to repair shops which are 'readily available' 'in most areas'.  These are also easier to fix.
"Thus, we have the perfect model for a future Grand Tour episode... a complicated fix for any accidents that may happen in the middle of nowhere."




"Why is this thing full of dead glue?"
"I dunno, let's put some more in."
"No, you have to get rid of the old.  Where's the rubbing alcohol?"
"Oh great, so now it has to soak and it won't get fixed tonight."
"...Still, it could be worse."



"Well that didn't work.  Now we know why the previous hot glue repair was no good."
"Let's try the tacky glue."
"........."
"Well that's just not ever going to set, is it."
"Great.  Now it's not going to get fixed tonight, either."
"I wonder if we could drill a hole through the outside and put a pin in it."
"We just glued back the piece we sawed out.  Let's not put any more holes in it."



"Mum to the rescue with Krazy Glue!  And UNlike our Grand Tour heroes, no one got glued to the table."



"Yay!!"



"Let's go!"

[davidd]

The riding pix at the end are particularly fun! Makes me wanna get a scooter or a motorbike and just go!

(I'd crash before I reached the end of the driveway.)

So... was the scooter not broken until you tried to fix it by getting both wheels to touch the ground? Was it the spare wheel under the rear fender that was loose as opposed to the primary rear wheel?

Well... you learned a lot about vintage motor-scooters!

In the Krazy Glue pic (in which nobody got glued to the table), is that a snapshot of mom & dad in their fishing gear at top left, and of Baby Alliecat (Alliekitten?) at top right?

[fishy]

Yes, kinda like a boat dock, composite material, and yes, a little bouncy.  And the marsh is behind the dunes so it isn't tidal.  The floating boardwalk would be less damaging to the environment than driving a bunch of piles in and making a big solid thing.
Increasingly pricey travel is why housesitting is so great.  Unfortunately there are no housesits on PEI.
Too bad about all the development.  I mean, I guess people have to live somewhere, but it is kind of sad to see forest and farmland getting trashed & buried under subdivisions.

(I honestly thought somehow I'd figure out a way to be back in less than five years)

I hearya.  I have sworn for 3 years now that something has to happen THIS YEAR before this place completely destroys my sanity.  I'm still stuck 

So I take it PEI is not entirely "off the list" at this point, but you're going to keep looking for now?

PEI _IS_ the list.

............................................................................................................................

"Here we are, back from our adventure, and we had to repair our new scooter.  It had a loose wheel in the shop and Mum debated about getting it for us (we got to go to the shop and try it out for size), and finally the lady gave her a few bucks off so Mum said What The Heck We're On A Holiday, and bought it for us.
"In great Grand Tour fashion, we had to take it apart, and because we didn't really know what we were doing or how the wheels were supposed to go, Mum sawed a piece out, but it didn't help, so she glued it back again, and finally thanks to teh interwebz we learned that we have an older model and the second rear wheel is not, in fact, also supposed to touch the ground but is actually a spare."

"We also learned that newer scooters don't have spares because they use tubeless tires, which last longer if punctured, and it is assumed they can be got to repair shops which are 'readily available' 'in most areas'.  These are also easier to fix.
"Thus, we have the perfect model for a future Grand Tour episode... a complicated fix for any accidents that may happen in the middle of nowhere."




"Why is this thing full of dead glue?"
"I dunno, let's put some more in."
"No, you have to get rid of the old.  Where's the rubbing alcohol?"
"Oh great, so now it has to soak and it won't get fixed tonight."
"...Still, it could be worse."



"Well that didn't work.  Now we know why the previous hot glue repair was no good."
"Let's try the tacky glue."
"........."
"Well that's just not ever going to set, is it."
"Great.  Now it's not going to get fixed tonight, either."
"I wonder if we could drill a hole through the outside and put a pin in it."
"We just glued back the piece we sawed out.  Let's not put any more holes in it."



"Mum to the rescue with Krazy Glue!  And UNlike our Grand Tour heroes, no one got glued to the table."



"Yay!!"



"Let's go!"

If you go to PEI, we're eecting(hoping)] pics from The Museum.

(The giant city here is trying to encroach on the little fish villages and fruit orchard towns... Poeple run to those to escape. sigh.)

Best photos are always!

[Alliecat]

Yeah, I purposely didn't make time to go to the very touristy attractions because I wanted to do a more general recon and save the tourist stuff for things to ex.plore "when" I find a home and get moved.  A reward of sorts.
...sigh... I have to keep hoping

So... was the scooter not broken until you tried to fix it by getting both wheels to touch the ground?
...is that a snapshot of mom & dad in their fishing gear at top left, and of Baby Alliecat (Alliekitten?) at top right?

Fishing gear, wut    It's me and James Topp; and a lifelong penpal.
The scooter was broken when I bought it, which is why I got a discount.  The rear wheel was broken off.  I didn't know the other was a spare so it took a while to figure out the configuration.

[davidd]

Fishing gear, wut    It's me and James Topp....

Ohhh... now I see. I was looking at the pic on an iPad earlier, which has a smaller screen. I thought it was somebody wearing a floatation vest (or, in older terminology, a life jacket) standing next to somebody wearing a wide-brimmed "fishing hat" and holding a gear bag or creel. I guess that's kind of not entirely inaccurate -- after looking at pics online, I see that James, who trekked across Canada to raise awareness of unfair vax requirements, is wearing a hi-viz reflective safety vest... and Our Intrepid Reporter is probably toting a backpack full of dolls!