So we've been to PEI and back within a week. And as you all know we went via Joan's place. Almost gave up the hunt, but found her in the end. Here's the story.
Joan e-mailed me some written directions. I searched on map quest but her little corner of the world just isn't to be found. No problem - her directions were pretty straight forward. I was a wee bit concerned about the "one hell of a dirt road". I mean we have rough PAVED roads around here so I couldn't imagine what a rough dirt road would be like. The ferry from NL was a little later arriving than what we had planned so we stopped in North Sydney and had supper at Pizza Delight. I called Joan and told her we were on our way.
Now you have to understand that last year while we were in Ontario the Lord decided he just had to have one of those GPS things for the car. He got a Tom Tom - although that didn't make sense to me because he already had a "Tam Tam". What more could he possibly need, eh? And I was always telling him where to go. Anywhooooo ... the only trouble we had with Tom Tom was that we didn't trust him so were always turning before we should, or turning too late. So this trip we vowed to believe him even if he seemed wrong. BAD IDEA !!!!!!!!! Because there isn't an intersection or street number that Tom Tom would pick up we just had to program in Hay Cove. The Lord was following Tom Tom and I was checking our progress with Joan's directions. Next thing you know Tom Tom says, "turn left". It seemed a bit early to me but what the hell do I know ... right?! Sure enough it was one hell of a dirt road". Turns out it was a logging road. And of course we had made the trip without our 4 wheel drive working. It was bumpy and slippery. The Lord didn't dare slow down because if we did we would have been stuck. All I could think of was, "Joan must be nuts if she is going to trailer down this road". Suddenly Kayla says she has to pee because of all the bumps. By this time there is so much tension in the truck that you could have cut it with a knife. As I was in mid-sentence telling Kayla that we couldn't stop for a pee because we'd get stuck, I heard this little voice from the back say, "never mind". Guess it was too late!
Suddenly the "one hell of a dirt road" ended and we had to decide whether to turn left or right. The Lord turned left. I kept trying to call Joan but we weren't even getting any reception on our cell phones. Yup - we were that far into boonie ville. About 15 minutes down this road there were some cottages/houses. I told the Lord to pull over so that I could ask someone where the hell we were ... but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ... God forbid you ask for directions. By this time the light was fading and I could only see by the fire in the Lord's eyes. He started cursing and saying that we had to get back onto the main highway by dark and to forget about finding Joan's. WELL, I wasn't too friggin' impressed with them words so I made him pull over so I could run up to the next house and ask directions. Come hell or high water (or a shit-load of mud) I wasn't going to miss out on the opportunity to meet JJ!
Holy crap, I thought I was going to die. No light on in the "shack" that I had chosen. Just one big-arsed barking dog. I swallowed, shit my pants and then proceeded to knock on the door. And knock. And knock. Finally this old fella comes to the door and I start babbling on about being from Newfoundland, down a logging road, looking for Joan, she has horses, hubby named Ed, blue barn, etc. Then he asked if Ed had been in the navy and I said YES - THAT'S THEM ! Turns out we were only about 5 minutes down the road from them. THANK HEAVENS !!!!!!!!
This is the truck on the way over on the ferry.
So we get to Joan's just after 9. The truck was that full of mud that the running boards were about an inch higher than normal. I don't think I've ever been so happy to get to a place. Kayla had to pee so Joan showed us to the outhouse (which isn't really "out" because it's in the barn). I'd forgotten that Kayla hadn't had any exposure to outhouses so needless to say it was her last pee until we left the next day and stopped for gas. I can't believe the bladder control that she has!
This is the truck once we got to Joan's.
This is the Lord washing the truck the next day. As soon as his eyes opened he said, "I have to get that friggin' mud off the truck and trailer NOW or it'll never come off". Luckily Joan had a pressure washer and got him all set up. He was MUCH happier then!
Here are a few snaps from when we first arrived. Joan was the hostess with the mostest. She treated us to fresh buns - once she got the package open that is. Actually if I remember correctly, Ed had to hack the ends of each tube off. But they were yummy and I had REAL butter on mine!
After a bit of gabbing Kayla decided to watch one of her movies. Joan had quite the selection, but no Barbie ones. So we watched the Diamond Castle. Joan is now fully up to date on what's been going on in Barbie's life. She's changed quite a bit since the days when she was with Ken!
At 11:15 we looked at the time and scurried into bed like a bunch of rats. I couldn't believe it was that late!
The next morning I could hear Joan in the barn. Around 6-ish or so. And if she thinks she was being quiet - I have news for her. There were quite a few "explicits" being yelled at various animals. Kayla slept through it all though until our little barn elf came and knocked (quite loudly I may add) on the door. The fire was on and it was pancake time. YIPPPPEEEEEEEEEEEE ! I got nominated as cook and did a wonderful job, if I do say so myself. Kayla ate SIX pancakes by herself! Joan had to make numerous trips to the barn and back to the fire. Needed water. Needed plates. Needed syrup. Needed butter ... why the woman doesn't own a basket is beyond me!
Sam was a wee bit overwhelming for Kayla. He kept wanting to lick her but each time he tried he'd pretty much knock her over. She spent any time out of the bunkhouse on my back. Once she filled her belly she went back into the bunkhouse and had the door propped open with her little cowgirl boot to make sure the cats could come in. Stripey and Zig (or Zag) snuggled with her - she was VERY happy!
Kayla definitely prefered Bear. I had two pancakes sitting on a chair on a plate. Kayla had been petting Bear but then got up for something or other. Bear was sitting beside her chair. I looked at him and noticed that he hadn't moved a muscle but was licking his lips. Then I realized what had happened ... one pancake was missing! It was pretty funny because he had a really innocent look on his face.
After breakfast we had a tour of the hay field and the property. And believe it or not, JOAN LET US IN THE HOUSE! So you see, it does happen. Gord and Ed had a drool fest down in the basement looking at all of Ed's woodworking tools. Talk about happy boys! As we were getting back from the hay field, Sooke drove up. I was pretty excited to think that she'd drive down to see little old me! Her timing sucked though because i was just getting ready to repack all 6 of our suitcases. HA HA!!!
Joan tried to take some pictures from the loft but the sun was so bright that she couldn't see what the hell she was taking pictures of. She told me her eyesight was a wee bit WONKY but she never mentioned anything about being BLIND !!!
Joan wanted to sit in the truck and check out our side mirrors. They are awesome for towing something. Of course once she got she started talking and we kept saying, "what?!". I think she was going a wee bit nuts. I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. Ed gave her a bit of grief and we just enjoyed it all!
All in all it was a great visit but WAY too short! The bunkhouse is fantastic and has everything you could imagine.
And by the way ... don't ever let Joan trim your cat or it could end up looking like this ...
Mon Jun 01, 2009 9:03 pm
