June 25th, 2025: Day Twenty-One
Distance Travelled: 452.4KM
Days in Hotels VS Campgrounds VS Guest: 7/10/3
Quebec/New Brunswick Border –
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
With a checkout time of noon, I was in no hurry today to get underway and stayed in bed as much as I could until a point where I thought it was time to get ready, but I could still do so without rushing.
Once I got on the road it was a very short time before I was in New Brunswick. Funny, as soon as I crossed the border it was like, suddenly people knew how to leave space in between cars again. In fact, the first person to ride my ass on the highway had Quebec plates. Not only that but the quality of the roads dramatically improved.
There was a decent amount of construction and passing the first area, in the oncoming traffic, a car drove over a plank of wood in the middle of the road. I saw what looked like a spray or mist from the tire. I can only assume they punctured it but going in the opposite direction there was no way for me to know for sure. Pretty early on today as well a group of us driving in proximity slowed down suddenly for a black bear crossing the road…what appeared to be a juvenile. Other than that, it was pretty by the book. I noted a lot fewer rest areas, if any. No small towns to speak of in comparison to previous days and a lot of patches with no cell phone signal. Parts of New Brunswick’s highway reminded me of Ontario, other parts a little like Alberta’s foothills.
I pissed off a trucker at one point when I zoomed into a roundabout that he clearly wanted to blaze through himself and rode my ass while we waited at a construction stop, then honked the microsecond traffic started moving, though in a strange turn of events he kept an odd amount of distance afterwards, all the way across the bridge to Prince Edward Island. Maybe he sensed I was going to open my moon roof and start chucking shit at him.
The bridge I crossed has one of those, take your picture now, bill you later tolls, and is called the Confederation Bridge and is 12.9 KM.
POST TRAVEL NOTE: This is actually false. I would learn it’s actually free to travel to PEI, but leaving you need to pay at a booth.
Once I was in PEI, I made my way to the capitol but before that I stopped for a couple of sandwiches and sat in the car figuring out which hotel I was going to stay at. Both had their issues but one seemed clearly worse than the other, and I opted for the Sherwood Motor Inn. When I arrived, I asked to see the room and established how the security deposit worked, which was the same as Hotel Interprovincial, $100 cash which you get back when you checkout. The first room smelled like smoke, but he shuffled me out quickly and said it was probably too small anyway and the second was two double beds with a kitchen, which smelled musty, but I could deal with that. I got the key, paid for my two nights and went back into the front to unload. As I was unloading, I saw a woman with her dog off leash. The dog was small, cute and of indeterminate breed. The woman was probably in her forties and hard looking, but nice. The dog made itself welcome in my suite pretty quick and she asked if she could go in and get her. I said no problem and she shuffled it out.
While my wife and I were chatting later, I heard a scratch at the door. The dog probably wanted another look, and I figured the owner would shoo her away, but I heard it again and something told me to see what was up. I’m glad I did because there was the dog…but no owner. I got my shoes and hat and went outside looking around to see if the woman had collapsed or was in some kind of distress. I knocked on the door I thought she was in, and all the time I had brought the little thing into my suite to ensure it was safe. I checked on it frequently to make sure it wasn’t getting into anything and at one point it was trying to eat trash so clearly hungry.
I went to the office, but they were long closed, so I called and a woman answered and when I told her what had happened she said suite #3 had a dog. I went and knocked and heard a dog bark. So not number three. After describing the woman, she said #1 but she “shouldn’t be there.” She also said at one point to just let the dog outside again. I was firm that I wasn’t going to just abandon an animal and that they needed to come down and handle this as I couldn’t keep it in my room.
I fed the dog which I assumed was hungry, tuna with coos coos was all I could come up with. I also tried water, but it showed no interest.
One thing that alarmed me was whenever I went to pet the dog, it lowered its head as if it wasn’t sure I was going to pet it or strike it.
The (I presume) husband of the woman I spoke with, showed up and after some rough communication (ESL) he said we need to call the police. Just then a car pulled in and he said this is probably them and it was. The woman and her partner asked if we had seen the dog and I said I had it. She said to her partner “see, I knew she’d scratch at his door” and thanked me and were off in under a minute.
They were “sure they’d put her in the back of the car”.
A swirl of emotions has cascaded over me as a result. Pity for the dog. Anger for the motel owner asking me to ditch the dog. Warmth for taking care of it. Pride for doing the right thing. Emptiness once it was gone.
June 26th, 2025: Day Twenty-Two
Distance Travelled: 43ish KM
Days in Hotels VS Campgrounds VS Guest: 8/10/
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Today was the first day getting up to an alarm, and it worked out pretty well. I had a shower and got started on my errands and shoot list. First thing was to find the Prince Edward Island Starbucks mug for my collection, but the location I went to didn’t have one. Just Canada. Then something occurred to me. Does PEI have a mug? The answer is no, PEI, NB and NS get lumped into a mug for Atlantic Canada. I decided to hit another one in search of it after I got my oil changed.
I had to wait a bit at Mr. Lube but when I got in, the people were great. I was about 500KM short of technically needing my oil changed but I said “well, where am I going to be in 500KM?” I also had them replace the engine filter. There were no mouse droppings and they said it was probably fine but I figured I may as well while I am here. I also asked if they noticed anything loose as I’ve heard a little rattle while on certain types of pavement on the highway. Nothing was found.
At the next Starbucks I got the mug, I also got my usual order, and I hit the Shopper’s Drug Mart in the same parking lot to get some shaving cream. On the way back to the motel I stopped at a Home Depot and picked up a sanding sponge for my walking stick.
When I returned, I hopped back in the shower for a head shave and went downtown to tackle my shoot list. I photographed a massive church…the “new” biggest church I had ever seen and definitely the biggest I had ever been in. The popular (but surprisingly small) Victoria Row, the harbor, and a few other places. I got a new keychain with indigenous art, postcards, and starting the whole ordeal, a PEI sticker for the car.
“St. Dunstan’s Basilica is a stunning architectural gem located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. As the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlottetown, this majestic basilica boasts a rich history and a striking Gothic Revival style that captivates visitors from near and far. Completed in 1913, St. Dunstan’s features beautiful stained glass windows, intricate woodwork, and a serene atmosphere, making it a must-see for both architectural enthusiasts and those seeking a moment of reflection.”
–TouristPlaces.ca
All and all I shot over two hundred frames and spent about two and a half hours walking around. I felt new blisters forming and noticed some sun on my face later.
On the way back again, I decided to take advantage of the kitchen in my suite and get dinner at Sobey’s, but once I got there I chickened out because I didn’t know what pots, pans etc. were in the cupboards. I would end up pan frying pizza pockets after having an array of veggies and a salad. Oh and chips and pop….healthy! This whole trip thus far has been one giant cheat meal and other than the vegetables, this meal was no exception.
Once I started looking ahead at the Halifax hotel situation I was taken aback. The cheapest one I could find for two nights was in the range of $700 plus taxes. And there was but just a handful available on some dates and none available on others when I played around with the app.
Suspicious.
So, I Googled Halifax and the date I wanted to stay to see what popped up and …music festival. A massive one with big names. So now I have to come up with a plan. Tomorrow’s itinerary doesn’t change and that is to head to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. After that though it is up in the air. A smart move may be to stay outside of Halifax in a campground and gogo-gadget when I need to drive into town. Another idea would be to head south to Kejimkujik National Park then try a hotel again in Halifax when things have settled. June 27th and 28th in the north, June 28th and 29th in the south, and June 30th to July 2nd in Halifax. The problem with this plan is I’m passing Halifax and driving six hours in between parks.
Also, in less than great news, I texted my Aunt Jayne today for her address in Fort Frances, Ontario to find out that my Aunt Michele has an inoperable brain tumor, and likely won’t survive the weekend. Aunt Michele is my Uncle John’s wife. It’s awful, they only found it like five weeks ago. I had only met her twice in my life. She was on a list of people my mother avoided while growing up, probably because Michele saw right through her bullshit.
I have a lot to sleep on tonight.
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