mercredi, mars 01, 2006
the words turn the minutes to hours
When I was growing up, since we had a large family and not a ton of money, our family vacations consisted primarily of camping trips. For several years in a row we went to Prince Edward Island for a summer vacation, taking in a musical performance of Anne of Green Gables, visiting Rainbow Valley, and camping at the Sunset Campground at Cavendish Beach (the campground had an L-shaped pool!). We had to be quite the sight, the seven of us loaded up in our red van, hauling a tiny trailer behind us with all the gear - two tents, seven sleeping bags, seven mattresses, two coolers, a water jug, a couple gas lanterns, and all of the dishes and cleaning supplies needed for a family of seven.
A trip to PEI always included a stop at the Bonshaw 500 for some go-kart racing (it was on the way to Charlottetown). I've got lots of good memories from that place - we used to have a blast driving those little lawnmower-engine-powered buggies around the track. In my memory, I won a lot of the time. Some might dispute that, though.
Also on family trips, Mom would randomly get out of her seat and travel through the van doing a "seatbelt check". When you didn't have your seatbelt on, it meant that you didn't get ice cream with your brothers and sisters at the next stop. Very sad.
Travelling to PEI back then meant taking the ferry, and in the summer, with the abundance of tourists headed that way, it meant that you joined the other lines of cars waiting sometimes for several hours before space was available. Luckily we planned ahead, and were equipped for sandwich-making, because trip preparation always included a trip to "Bun King" for fresh Kaiser rolls, to fill with cold cuts, mayo and cheese.
While we waited we would innocently debate which ferry we would get that day - would it be the Holiday Island, or the Vacationland? In the winter time, you got the enclosed boats that were built for icebreaking - either the John Hamilton Gray, which Dad called "Captain Crunch", or in later years, the new Abegweit, called "the Abby" (it replaced an older version of a boat with the same name - see image to left). It's kinda sad that you can't experience this aspect of Canadian history anymore - the bridge is nice and everything, but the ferry was an experience.
|
¶ 6:30 p.m. 
When I was growing up, since we had a large family and not a ton of money, our family vacations consisted primarily of camping trips. For several years in a row we went to Prince Edward Island for a summer vacation, taking in a musical performance of Anne of Green Gables, visiting Rainbow Valley, and camping at the Sunset Campground at Cavendish Beach (the campground had an L-shaped pool!). We had to be quite the sight, the seven of us loaded up in our red van, hauling a tiny trailer behind us with all the gear - two tents, seven sleeping bags, seven mattresses, two coolers, a water jug, a couple gas lanterns, and all of the dishes and cleaning supplies needed for a family of seven.
A trip to PEI always included a stop at the Bonshaw 500 for some go-kart racing (it was on the way to Charlottetown). I've got lots of good memories from that place - we used to have a blast driving those little lawnmower-engine-powered buggies around the track. In my memory, I won a lot of the time. Some might dispute that, though.
Also on family trips, Mom would randomly get out of her seat and travel through the van doing a "seatbelt check". When you didn't have your seatbelt on, it meant that you didn't get ice cream with your brothers and sisters at the next stop. Very sad.
Travelling to PEI back then meant taking the ferry, and in the summer, with the abundance of tourists headed that way, it meant that you joined the other lines of cars waiting sometimes for several hours before space was available. Luckily we planned ahead, and were equipped for sandwich-making, because trip preparation always included a trip to "Bun King" for fresh Kaiser rolls, to fill with cold cuts, mayo and cheese.
While we waited we would innocently debate which ferry we would get that day - would it be the Holiday Island, or the Vacationland? In the winter time, you got the enclosed boats that were built for icebreaking - either the John Hamilton Gray, which Dad called "Captain Crunch", or in later years, the new Abegweit, called "the Abby" (it replaced an older version of a boat with the same name - see image to left). It's kinda sad that you can't experience this aspect of Canadian history anymore - the bridge is nice and everything, but the ferry was an experience.
|
¶ 6:30 p.m.
