Ida pushes us back to Stratford PEI for the weekend

We did get out for a sail on Tuesday, passing by a docked Bluenose II. It was a gorgeous day for a sail, unlike Monday.

Bluenose at the Charlottetown dock, lots of people around to view her

Our Boat owner, co-Captain and nephew Michael

A lovely day, a good breeze but not too rough

A large tanker was manoeuvring in the harbour too

Waterfront near the Charlottetown marina. Lots of development.

 

After the sail we headed out for a couple of nights camping in the area. First night was at Panmure Island Provincial Park. OK but didn't appeal to us for another night. So we decided to head to Cavendish, the main part of the North Shore National Park. We know there is good biking and beach hiking there.

Lobster rolls for supper as well as one for lunch earlier. Al would likely like them with peanut butter. :))

A nice beach for roaming. Usually not busy, even though this is busy Cavendish.

Looked a bit threatening, but nothing developed today.

In the late afternoon we had a nice campfire, and had a small visitor drop by, hunting around the campsites for varmints:

That's our campfire ring between us and the fox

Clearly hunting, not begging for scraps

 

We had intended to stay here Thursday night too, but hedged our bets by just registering for one night. The remnants of Hurricane Ida are expected sometime Thursday, and a windy wet weekend ahead.  The forecast Thursday morning included rainfall warnings, and the radar showed a large system moving in. We decided to head out as it started to rain by 8 am.

Strange clouds looked like icebergs in the distance this morning

So we're back in N&P's driveway in Stratford, spending the long weekend here before heading towards home.

 

Windy days at Stanhope Beach PEI, and the Bluenose arrives in Charlottetown

After our welcome dip on Thursday, the winds picked up Friday and continued on through Sunday. Even when swimming was not specifically closed, the wave action was too much for us to consider going in again, but we sure enjoyed beach walks and some short bike rides.

The steps down to the beach

No swimming today

The seagull kind of blends in to the surf

 

Pat and Nancy visited us Saturday

Happy campers

A lot of these seaweed clumps cling to rocks so they are not swept away with the tides. Don't kick the seaweed with your bare feet!

Cathie and Nancy

A little sea snake washed up? Nope, just seaweed.

Rest stop along a bike trail, looking at Dalvay House

Stanhope and Cavendish campgrounds have another accomodation option they call oTENTik, kind of like the yurts available in some Ontario campgrounds. A growing trend. A new friend rented one as a break from rainy weather in his little tent, and let me take a couple of pictures:

Inside can sleep 5-6, electric heat, basic utensils etc

BBQ on back deck. No cooking inside.

A rare photo of rolling PEI countryside

We've moved back in to Nancy and Pat's driveway for tonight, anticipating a sailboat ride out to greet the Bluenose when it arrives later today. Unfortunately the weather is not cooperating, and our captain called his outing off. Luckily though, we were able to get to a really nice vantage point to see the Bluenose sail by. This is just before the Charlottetown Harbour entrance:

And here is what the Bluenose looks like under full sail on a sunny day:

(photo by Brent Smith / Osprey Cove Productions)

We may get another look at the Bluenose as it's in the Georgetown PEI area in a couple of days, and we expect to be over that way then.

Camping at Stanhope Campground

Some wave action Friday

 

On Thursday we moved from P&N's driveway to a site at Stanhope Beach camp. We'll be staying here for several days. 

Our Stanhope site

Thursday was hot and muggy so it was a real relief to get into the cool salt waters at the beach, a 10-minute walk from our site:

Cathie coming out after a dip

Lots of people out today

A White Whale sighting was reported. I didn't see it though. :))

 

Friday the weather turned cool and windy. Still nice, but not beach weather for us, so we headed off on a bike ride around the Stanhope area.

 

Covehead was pretty deserted. The famous Richard's diner wasn't open for the day yet.

Nice summer cottages eh!

Lots of winds come off the open water to the right of the highway here

The beach was not so busy today, with fairly strong winds coming onshore:

Still a few diehards though, more as the day went on

 

 

 

Getting ready to move our camp

Lower tide at sunset, looking at Charlottetown

After several days at N&P's, we're getting ready to move to a different camp today. It's been a great visit as usual.

Open-air piano on a downtown street

The ladies after the now-traditional pedicure

Lobster night with Nancy. Pat had a soccer game, and doesn't care for lobster:

Preparing the freshly-cooked lobster

Our last full day with N&P (for now) we had a great day trip to some Island spots:

A manly welcome to PEI Preserves

Beautiful gardens at PEI Preserves

A walk around the coastal buildings at North Rustico, parking at a premium

 

A great and special lunch at the Blue Mussel Cafe

Last evening we attended a Patsy Cline tribute at the "Music at the Manse", an intimate in-house live music venue just outside Charlottetown. The lead singer, Louise Marie Moher, sure had Patsy down pat.