WE EXPERIENCE A PEI WINTER STORM

Taken on Monday afternoon

When we made it known we were moving to PEI, friends were concerned about us living through the harsh and cruel winters. We heard the warnings, we just didn't heed them. After all, it snows in Canada. There is winter in Canada. Canada is cold.

Hearing weather reports, friends have been getting in touch to know if we had managed to 'dig out' from storms.The Maritimes had been hit hard, how were we coping? We showed them pictures of our smatterings of snow with grass showing through and told them, thanks for the concern but they had been misinformed. Oh, yes, Nova Scotia had been hit hard and yes, New Brunswick experienced an ice storm that left thousands without electricity for days but here on little PEI, nothing. The big storms just passed us by. Oh my, oh my. Until..........

Taken on Monday.

What a difference a day makes. Taken on Tuesday afternoon. Same exact location.

And that was the beginning of the snow fall that was making headlines. Believing the news reports, we made sure we had everything in the house we would need in the way of food and, of course, beer and wine. We took precautions in case the electricity went out. We filled a bathtub with water so flushing would be possible and filled a couple of jugs with drinking water.  The flashlight was left within easy reach on the dining room table.

Tuesday came and went; the snow did not stop. Wednesday, the snow was still falling and the wind still blowing as tops of trees are bending in the gale force winds. Schools are cancelled, busses aren't running, social activities are rescheduled. Our electricity does not fail us. We are pleased with ourselves that we went to do shopping on Tuesday morning.

Tuesday. Still snowing.

Wednesday afternoon the wind had died down somewhat so we ventured out to take a walk but really couldn't get very far. The road we normally walk along was non-existent, and the fields around us were deep in snow drifts from the 80km winds that had been blowing non-stop. We stomped a bit through the snow drifts, me up to my thighs, Kaede nearly buried and headed back. It took us about 15 minutes to trudge 400 yards.

Sheltered by the trees, the wind did not bury the truck.

Snow drift that has all but covered up the sign.

Erik and Kaede contemplating the snow. That is the road we usually walk down.

Some great snow drifts.

Not terribly cold but snowy and still windy

No snow plows came along. We were, literally, stranded in the house for two days and would have been unable to get out had we wanted to. Truthfully? We didn't want to. It was kind of fun sitting inside watching the snow come down sideways and the drifts growing higher and higher. We were warm, we watched Turner Classic Movies, we had food and beer and wine and, more importantly, we had electricity. And, of course, we had each other.

As suddenly as it started it stopped. Early Friday morning we heard the sound of the snow plow going down the road. The roads were plowed, everything was back in working order and kids were returning to school.

The road was back.

The sun was streaming through the windows and the sky was a beautiful summer blue. And just like that, the storm was over. And, we survived.

Beautiful blue sky and beautiful day for x-country skiing.

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW HOME CONTINUES; WE GO OUT WITH LOCALS; FLIES FOLLOW-UP

Driving around PEI looking for that perfect place to call home has been our primary activity for the past month or so. We plot out our route for the day, throw Kaede in the back of the car, and drive by houses that we have found on the internet.

Here we go again!!

This allowed us to size up neighbourhoods and towns to see if we got that 'feeling'. At first we had no definite criteria, but we quickly formulated one based on the following: distance from Charlottetown, maneuverability on winter roads, ability to quickly to get to a store for that parsley you need for tonight's dinner, closeness of neighbours and a few other things that occurred to us as we went along. We knew (pretty much) what we wanted in a house, we just needed to find it in the perfect location for us.

Not only did all this driving around help us to zero in on our perfect location, it also gave me inside information to share with you on this blog.

BRACKLEY BEACH: A Few Things of Interest about Brackley Beach

One of the many Brackley Beach beaches.

Brackley Beach has one of our favourite RV Parks where we have set down roots (wheels actually) for weeks at a time the past few summers. We'll probably spend a couple of weeks there this summer too. Check out Vacationland While there are a few residential neighbourhoods, Brackley Beach is a favoured holiday destination offering deep sea fishing, bike canoe and kayak rentals, horseback riding, campgrounds, several restaurants and dairy bars. It also boasts Prince Edward Island's only drive in theatre.

MONTAGUE, GEORGETOWN, CARDIGAN: I lump these three towns together as they are each clustered around the Brudenell River and within a ten minute drive of each other.

Montague is the largest of the three with a true town centre, Sobey's Grocery Store, banks, restaurants (some of which are open in the winter), and a wonderful open air market in the summertime that sells fresh PEI produce. Montague is a really attractive town with plenty to offer, especially its close proximity to the other two towns that have what Montague doesn't have.

Eating a picnic lunch in Montague along the River, summer of 2016

The river in Montague. Beautiful. Summer 2016

Georgetown is being billed as the next town in PEI to rival Bay Fortune as a culinary destination. Bay Fortune is where Chef Michael Smith has his very famous and highly thought of Inn at Fortune Bay. You Need to see This: Inn at Bay Fortune In Georgetown a new inn was recently opened, Georgetown Historic Inn, that is getting excellent reviews and will add tremendously to Georgetown's summer appeal. See the new Georgetown Historic Inn. Last summer, while on holidays with the dogs, Erik and I had a wonderful lunch at Clam Diggers Beach House and Restaurant. There's not much that is nicer than sitting on an outdoor patio, watching the ocean while eating good food and drinking good wine. In addition, our two dogs were welcomed to sit beside us and were pampered with cool drinking water.

Clam Diggers Beach House and Restaurant

Cardigan  Little Cardigan With less than 500 occupants, Cardigan is a fishing village that sits smack dab on the ocean. There you will find peace and quiet and Canada's smallest library.

The crux was this: We really like all three of these communities but, seriously, if you live in them where do you go when you want to get away from it all if you are already there?

There it is. Canada's Smallest Library

Besides,  Brudenell Provincial Park, Brudenell Provincial Park - Beautiful is just up the road from all three towns.  It's one of our favourite spots, offers a limited number of RV sites, a golf course, riding stables on site, all of which are directly on the beach. For those who prefer a more luxurious holiday, there is a hotel and beautiful vacation homes awaiting. Again. No need to live there when we can have it all summer long in the RV.

VICTORIA is an historic seaport Victoria By The Sea, PEI and home to 100 or so souls. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch on the pier last summer followed by a walk on the beach when the tide was way out. We did look at a piece of land there that had a wonderful view of the ocean but decided, once again, that perhaps we needed more in the way of amenities.

Lunch in Victoria summer 2016

Lunch in Victoria summer 2016

Tide was out.

Crabby Erik ha ha

Kaede was very interested in the crab but knew better than to get too close

SUMMERSIDE: Summerside - The Other City not called Charlottetown

Summerside has a population of about 15,000 and is located an hour west of Charlottetown, give or take. It has the necessities of life that would make it unnecessary to trek into Charlottetown on a regular basis including big box stores, Atlantic Superstore, Walmart and the other usuals. There's also a year round indoor market every Saturday morning where you can purchase home made breads, meat pies, sea food, cheese, arts and crafts or get coffee and lunch. There is a lot to draw someone to live in Summerside.

This is a house in Summerside that we looked at with a serious view to purchasing. Its back yard backed right onto the ocean, a nice summer feature right?

Looking at the back of the house.

That frozen water is the 'river' behind the house. Across the bay is the town of Summerside.

As nice as this property would have been we realized that our future home on PEI needed to be a lot closer to the city of Charlottetown. Summerside, as nice as it is, just didn't offer us everything we were looking for.

STRATFORD: Our search then took us Stratford, ten minutes from downtown Charlottetown and the fastest growing community in PEI. Here's an interesting little tidbit about Stratford, foxes and golf balls. What Happens if a Fox Takes Your Golf Ball in Stratford?

Nice house, but a bit too big for us.

Our offer on this cute bungalow was rejected.

Could this be the world's most patient realtor in Canada?

We quite liked Stratford and its proximity to the centre of Charlottetown, but, having our offer rejected we then went to look at this little beauty.

10th March we will be calling this little beauty home.

On an acre, 20 minutes to downtown Charlottetown, 10 minutes to the North Shore beaches, with plenty of room for a music room and visitors we decided we wanted it. Our offer was accepted within two hours and we move in on the 10th March. It's located in an area called Pleasant Grove and, seriously, who doesn't want to live in a place called Pleasant Grove?

Before making our house buying decision we had also looked at a couple of farm houses - yes, farm houses. A few in subdivisions and even contemplated buying a lot and building. In the end, the house we settled on had everything we wanted and needed.

NOW WHAT DO WE DO? Now that our house hunting days have come to a close, what will we do with ourselves? Well, here are a few things we have been doing.

The PEI Brewing Company, a micro brewery.

We were invited, by some new found friends, to attend a revue called Shack Wacky. Shack Wacky refers to being housebound in the winter time, specifically in PEI, and Patrick Ledwell and Mark Haines played on that theme with down home music and some hysterically funny comedy. Between them they play about 10 musical instruments and deliver real side splitting, laugh out loud comedy. Taking place at the PEI Brewery Company, we got to experience yet another pub.

Gahan House, a really great pub downtown Charlottetown.

I believe I have mentioned that Erik and I like pubs and we've found a few that we would heartily recommend to anyone. The Gahan The Gahan -You Will Like This Place, is a microbrewery in the heart of Charlottetown that has interesting decor, great food and beer.

Dalvay Beach. Ten minutes from the new house.

 Dalvay - A beautiful spot is a historic site located within a National Park. The dunes are beautiful and the beach is spectacular (in the summer). This picture was taken a week or so ago in January.

A bit of cross country skiing when there has been enough snow.

Just thought I would mention. Remember the flies? The ones called cluster flies that we found in the house we are renting? I hummed and hawed about putting them in my blog because, well, because they're flies. Sure they played a big part in our lives, in a minor way, but should they even be mentioned?  Well they were and the feedback those cluster flies got was too overwhelming not to mention. Seems Erik and I aren't the only ones to have experience with cluster flies.

ERIK'S FIRST GIG. Erik packed up his keyboard and the peripheral machinery that goes along with it to entertain at a local seniors' home. Having been told beforehand that the residents were partial to old country tunes, Erik went on the internet to hear and learn some of the old favourites such as You're The Reason I Don't Sleep at Night, Red River Valley and, appropriately, ironically If I Make It Through December.  Armed with song sheets so the seniors could sing along and his new repertoire off he went. His ability to hear a song once and then play it perfectly amazes me. Gotta' love a man who plays a piano.

KAEDE had a birthday and is now officially a senior at the ripe old age of 12. She is a city girl gone wild as she runs off leash through the fields with not a care in the world.

WHAT'S UP NEXT TIME? If you plan to take a road trip to PEI, there are plenty of great places to stay along the way. We've made the trip several times and spent some wonderful holidays in the Maritime Provinces. If you want to see where we've stayed, places we would recommend without hesitation, then stay tuned. See you next time.