First of all, I don’t know whether it was the time change or the incredibly wonderful blackout drapes in my Moncton hotel, but I slept a good solid six and a half hours which, for me, is exactly what I need.  My plan this morning was to shower, drink my double cappuccino as I dressed, then wander Moncton a bit before checking out as Charlottetown is a mere two hours away, so I knew I had plenty of time to explore.    I had found that although the Moncton area was first settled in 1733, Moncton is considered to have been officially founded in 1766 with the arrival of Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants from Philadelphia. I kind of wanted to see how (or if) this influence could be seen today.

Unfortunately, we woke to a hotel without electricity.  We were told that we were not alone as thousands of people in Moncton and surrounding areas woke up without electricity Saturday morning and it could be several hours before it is restored.  The outages were a result of some sort of equipment failure in a remote location in the woods.

So, no cappuccino.  Chloe and I did walk the few short blocks to the Petitcodiac River since she needed the walk anyway.  It wasn’t particularly pretty; the river’s heavy sedimentation led to the nickname “Chocolate River”, due to the resulting brown tint.  But, despite Moncton seeming to be a vibrant and modern city, our heart wasn’t in Moncton.  So, after the walk, we packed up and left.  On our way to PEI, we stopped at a car wash as my poor little VW bug was covered with bugs and dirt and it wanted to be clean again!

I think my little car felt so much better after the wash and I, even without any coffee, felt light and ready for our next stop—Prince Edward Island.  We drove through miles and miles of farmland in eastern New Brunswick and finally were on the approach to the Confederation Bridge.  The Confederation Bridge is the longest bridge in the world crossing ice-covered water. The toll bridge spans a 12.9 km (which, for us Americans means 8.015688 miles) stretch of the Northumberland Strait connecting Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island, to Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick.

Obviously, in the summer, the water is not frozen.  Also, there is no place to stop and take pictures so these are both stock photos I found.  Amazing bridge that, to be honest, felt like it was much longer.

So, we are driving onto the bridge.  It was surreal.  Clouds moved in, the skies darkened; it appeared that we were climbing on a bridge to nowhere.  You couldn’t see land anywhere.  Then, we reached the summit and, as if by magic, the sun shone brightened the sky and a vast vision of greenery, dotted here and there by farmhouses, spread out before us.

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I then drove through some of the most beautiful farmland I’ve ever encountered.  Color everywhere!  They were growing flowers.  The smells were heavenly and visually, it was a delight.  At first, I couldn’t figure out what was causing the colors because I don’t think I ever encountered a “flower farm”.

So, Chloe and I finally checked in to our hotel…beautiful room and such lovely people.  I made myself a cappuccino (I hadn’t had any yet today) and, after resting up for a short bit, we were back outside exploring.  Charlottetown is beautiful!  Every single house seems to burst with flowers.

We were driving through town when all of a sudden we encountered a parade of trucks! Apparently, this is an annual event here in Charlottetown where they say “Come on out and check out the trucks that get all of our products to market and to the store shelf. There will be all types of trucks and trailers in attendance, from antique trucks, highway tractor trailers, local oil, dump, towing trucks and New heavy trucks, trailers and products in the exhibit area.”

After the show, they parade around town and I just happened to be stopped at one of the cross streets so saw the whole thing.  It was pretty impressive!

So, after a bit of exploration, we ate dinner where I was so hungry I never thought to take a picture but I ate every bit:  seafood chowder with lobster, haddock, shrimp, scallop, potato, and celery in a creamy base fish stock served with a freshly made biscuit followed by pan seared scallops cooked in an herb butter and served with a mango salsa served over arugula..  I cannot even tell you how good this was.

We finally retired to the room where Chloe made herself very comfortable amidst the many pillows provided while I tried without success to find something I wanted to watch on television since I lean towards politics or true crime.  Political channels in Canada are definitely out but I did find a channel that Gerry Foreman turned me on to when I visited him and Cindy in 2016:  Canada Border Patrol.