Saturday and Sunday

Cavendish, Canada

The wifi at our campground is not very good so I’ve had to go elsewhere to find decent wifi so my posts will be intermittent during this time on PEI.

After Friday’s challenges with the trailer and the bridge, Saturday dawned bright and sunny to help brighten my spirits.

First on the agenda was getting my SUV checked out after having it’s rear end bashed about. Seems everything is in good shape, thankfully, aside from the body work which can wait til I get back to Ottawa. The handyman at the KOA helped by taping over the ding out of the fiberglass on the front of the trailer so no rain will get in before I get back to St. Jerome to have it fixed. And he’s helping get the safety cables issues sorted out for me. Can’t say enough good things about the staff at the Cavendish KOA. They have been outstandingly helpful.

Next I headed to explore Charlottetown to pick up some parts needed to repair the safety cables which took a beating on Friday, and on a bit of a reconnoiter trip.

I generally love cities that are on water, and Charlottetown is no different. And it provides a historic backdrop that as a political activist adds a whole dimension and seems a fitting place to spend Canada Day 2015.

Unfortunately Province House is closed for renovations so I was not able to visit it on this trip. I spent some time at Peakes Wharf where the Fathers of Confederation landed in 1864 and which is now a great place for shopping, tasting such PEI treats as Cow icecream and PEI french fries. I stopped at the visitor centre to get some information on Charlottetown and drove through Victoria Park which was full of tourists and locals alike, enjoying the beautiful weather.

I also did a quick reconnoiter around the Cavendish area and along the way I discovered there was a “world class kitchen party” at Stanley Bridge, just 15 minutes from my KOA campsite in Cavendish. So off I went. What a fabulous evening. Music is a tonic for the soul which I desperately needed and I especially like east coast music. In the Women’s Institute Hall, with only 50% of the seats full on this pre-season evening, we were treated to a fabulous concert headlining Richard Wood who is an accomplished fiddler, along with a great guitarist/vocalist/mandola player (we learned a mandola is to a mandolin what viola is to a violin) and drummer/pianist who teaches at the School of PIping in Summerside.

Highlights of Richard Wood’s career include:

– In July 2011 he played for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their visit to PEI
– Wood has twice played for the troops in Afghanistann and left Sunday to fly to Wainwright, AB to play at the Canada Day ceremonies for the troops here at home.
– He has performed at Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa, and with Shania Twain on David Letterman
- He’s toured extensively in Europe, Australia and the US
– He’s played for the Prime Minister, Governor General and for us on Saturday night in Stanley Bridge, PEI

He is an engaging and seemingly humble musician who you could see would be as comfortable on any stage as he was on the one he was on Saturday evening. At times he closed his eyes and seemed to be transported to wherever the music was taking him and then he’d open them and smile at the audience to encourage them into even more frenzied clapping and foot stomping.

You can read more about this amazing talented Canadian and link to some video of his work at rwood.ca

There were the expected reels and jigs, and even a waltz and a couple of polkas which had the whole audience clapping and stomping and singing along. But for me the best part of the evening were two songs that showed Richard Wood’s genius. The moods he was able to coax out of his fiddle were amazing. One was a song written for his fiancé which was sweet and tender and another was one written by a Scots Highlander about leaving Scotland which was sad and haunting.

At intermission the women from the Women’s Institute sold ice cream and strawberries and 50/50 tickets in the hall basement to raise funds for local projects.

The second half of the show was as full of energy as the first and included a song played by the drummer on a saw! It was a recognizable tune done with amazing precision! The last set of the evening was as you would expect the pinnacle of the evening, and included Richard step dancing to his fast paced and precise playing. The second the last note was off his fiddle the crowd was on its feet continuing the energy with our clapping and cheering. The audience from all over north america and from as far away as California had a great evening and we all left in awe of this young man from Prince Edward Island.

Sunday has been a calm day, first spent getting the trailer organized for my 10 days here, a lovely breakfast eaten in the warm sun at my campsite, and some exploring around Cavendish.