My, how time flies when you're having fun! Here it is August 6th already and we've begun the long trek home. We dropped the mooring lines this morning, leaving Baddeck after a lovely stay and were greeted with a beautiful double rainbow over the town as we looked off the stern. Just gorgeous! Yesterday was spent doing laundry, picking up a few provisions for the journey, returning the rental car and enjoying our last lunch in town at the Bell Buoy. Great lobster sandwiches!

Today we enjoyed a brisk sail down the Bra D'Or Lakes, and passed through the St. Peter's Canal locks, with the hope of continuing on for another 25 miles. However, the weather and seas didn't cooperate--the winds built to ~20 kts on the nose with seas predicted to be 6 feet, so we bailed out, turned around and headed back to the lovely D'Escousse (means Scotland in French) where we had anchored previously. Since it was a short day, Ingo had some time to diagnose the failed pump on the watermaker, which decided not to work earlier in the day. After a brief conversation with a technical rep from Spectra, he was able to rewire the pump and voila! It's working! My hero!

Impressions of PEI:
We would return in a heartbeat! What a beautiful island--very relaxed way of life and very friendly people. The economy centers around agriculture, fishing and the services associated with tourism, at least in the summer. (From what we heard, winters are not so great unless you love snow up second floor windows!) We stayed for five nights at a B&B called Fitzroy Hall which was built in 1872 in Charlottetown, the provincial capital and perfect location since it is centrally located. From there were we able to take several drives around the island:

Day 1 - Drove to the north coast to St. Peter's Bay where we stopped at Red Head Harbor and learned about mussel aquaculture from some friendly fishermen on the dock, and then spent the afternoon at the Greenwich National Park to see the unique parabolic sand dunes and beach. To get there, the three-mile walk took us through woodlands, across wetlands on a floating walk-way, and up the beach to view the dunes. The weather could not have been more perfect and the views phenomenal. And, to end a perfect day, we stopped for the quintessential PEI dinner, a lobster supper in New Glasgow. Lobster suppers originated as a fund-raiser put on by the ladies of the church. However, they have evolved into a more commercial operation, but retain the "church hall" feel with seating at long tables in a hall-like atmosphere. Of course, all you can eat of seafood chowder, mussels, salads and dessert, but only one lobster. By far, the best lobster on the whole trip!

Day 2 - Drove to the west coast, with a stop at Summerside, the second largest "city" on PEI to check out the Silver Fox Yacht and Curling Club. Yes, yacht and curling club--good combination of summer and winter activities! The rest of the day included a lot of driving with little reward, with the exception of a visit to the Acadian Museum in Mecouche. Very well done! It was interesting driving around the area seeing so many Acadian flags in front yards. Clearly, the Acadians are proud of their heritage and are working hard to preserve their culture. We ended the day with another dose of Acadian culture by seeing Evangeline, a musical play performed at the Confederation Center for the Arts as part of the Charlottetown Festival. Magnificent, powerful performance and portrayal of Longfellow's epic poem of the same name.

Day 3 - Drove to the east coast to visit to Souris where the ferry departs for Isle de la Madeleine and the beach at Basin Head, but did not experience the "singing sands." Apparently, if you drag your feet through the sand, it makes a squeaky "singing" sound. After exploring some of the small towns along the coast and the beautiful river views, we ended the day with a lovely dinner at the Inn at Bay Fortune.

Day 4 - Spent the day walking around Charlottetown, including a visit to Founders Hall and an historical walking tour led by a young lady in period costume from 1764, the year that the Confederation Conference took place in Charlottetown. As she explained, this was the conference where the idea of a Canadian Confederation was conceived, but birthed at a later date during another conference several years later. We ended the day by seeing another play called Dear Johnnie Deere, another well-done musical with great foot-stompin' music and excellent performances. Very fun!

Almost forgot to mention another PEI icon...COW'S ice cream! OMG, it's right up there with Ben & Jerry's, with flavors like Wowie Cowie and Gooey Mooey!

Day 5 - Drove back to Baddeck, including a trip on the Northumberland Ferry (instead of crossing the Confederation Bridge as we did to get to PEI). Long drive but nice picnic lunch in Port Hawkesbury along the Canso Straits.