When I asked Trisha to drive with me to PEI this summer, we both knew it was going to be epic right away! And of course, it has been!

Tomorrow morning (basically the middle of the night, actually) Trisha will fly back to Ottawa while I stay in PEI for 5 more weeks to write as many patterns as I can! We've been together for the last 6 days and it has been the usual cluster-*&(^ of losing things, putting the car in drive instead of reverse and eating way too much junk food- never mind the mess we've made and how we feel like we're in summer camp.

Friday - Ottawa

I was so sick with the world's worst man cold ever and we discussed leaving Sunday instead of Saturday morning. Trisha did not want my cold germs and neither did I, so it was a quick decision. 

Saturday - Ottawa Part 2

Slept alllllllll day. Well. Got up with the dogs at 6, got groceries to make chicken soup when the store opened, made the soup, ate it, went back to bed. The only thing I want when I have a cold is chicken soup.

Woke up around 4 and packed. I didn't refer to the packing list I had painstakingly made for a month beforehand, I randomly stuffed clothing and yarn halfhazardly into two giant suitcases. Took a shower and went back to bed.

Sunday - Ottawa - Montmagny, QC

Felt better (mostly). My new roommate Myriam took one for the team and went for a COVID-19 test and was negative. We knew it was a cold. EW. She has kids in little school and daycare; of course it's a cold. 

Packed the car with my giant suitcases and FIFTY POUNDS of Samoyed fur. I can't explain how much fur that is, so here is a picture of Trisha's husband strapping the fur onto the roof of the car. 

I drove (and this is the only time I drove) to Montmagny, Quebec, where we checked into Stubbs' first hotel and tried to figure out the math of a shawl design. There were chickens walking around the yard of the hotel like there weren't two vicious samoyeds drooling at the patio doors. This is the best picture I got of them. 

Here's an action shot of Trisha's math skills. 

Monday - Montmagny, QC - Moncton, NB

Trisha's turn to drive. I was avoiding that shawl, so I started a new pattern to be released sometime in the new year. It still had some math, but A LOT LESS.

We drove about 400 hours to Moncton. It took so much longer than I had expected and not just because we stopped for cheese curds at the Frommagerie Le Detour and at Bulk Barn for more snacks that weren't cheese-related. 

Tuesday - Moncton, NB - Charlottetown, PEI

We left Moncton early the next morning, around 10 am cause I couldn't get my ass out of bed. We couldn't figure out when the time change happened and why we missed it. All the sitting and knitting while Trisha did the heavy lifting of maths and driving were exhausting. We headed out to Hopewell Rocks, the highest and lowest tides in the world! I had taken Poppy a few years ago, and now Trisha and Stubbs needed to walk on the ocean floor too. Thankfully, I got Stubbs an entire canine-cross kit so he couldn't pull me through the mud puddles; almost losing my flip flops in the process. HA! Of course he could. Just not as well as usual! The Hopewell Rocks people know how mucky it can be though, so they had hoses to wash off all of our feet after the magnificent walk. 

One thing you may not know, is that Poppy is a total jerk on a leash. I don't have any idea why or how to make her stop. Trust me, we've tried. She basically taught Stubbs her bad habits, so if a dog walks by (or even someone with a cooler who they mistake for a dog), Poppy barks her face off and lunges like she's so mean with her growly face. Of course, off leash, she could care less about other dogs. 

I don't even digress! On our walk back to the car, Mean Poppy pulled Trisha DOWN IN SLOW MOTION! And I totally missed it. I am so sorry I missed it. Trisha is sorry I missed it. Poppy is not sorry at all.

We drove for FBGs (Fresh Baked Goods) at Kelly's Bakery in Alma, NB and stocked up on sticky buns and lemon tarts. OH MY GOODNESS.

After we stuffed our faces and had a lovely conversation with a couple outside the bakery, we headed on our almost-final leg of the journey to a hotel in Charlottetown. Crossing the bridge was simple and we lined up and waited to see if the province would let us pass. Which they did! After they stuck a tip up Trisha's nose to check for COVID-19. NEGATIVE AGAIN! Well, we are vaccinated, which helps. We were ON THE ISLAND; practically Karen and Trisha with an E! (That's a super Canadian reference, click here if you don't get it).

First stop, Handpies! We were stuffed full of the FBGs, but I had to get a handle before we headed to the hotel. So we headed over to the Handpie Company and got two handpies for dinner. Here's one of them:

We checked into our hotel early that day, and I knit my face (and hands) off in bed. Poppy and Stubbs were exhausted and used to hotels by this point, so there were almost no issues, except I swear I heard them barfing in the night even though Trisha says they didn't. It's an unsolved mystery, call Robert Stack!

Wednesday

We slept in for a normal amount of time, I think we had adjusted to the time change and were super ready to get out of the overstuffed car and into the house I rented for 6 weeks. We drove over to Malpeque and unpacked the car, and I drove back to the airport to pick up our friend Liz and her family! Now Stubbs and Poppy have a 1-year-old to play with all day!

Did we do anything else that day? I actually can't even remember. I probably knit something. I know I read half a book, like an actual tangible book in bed. No Reddit! It was One Plus One by Jojo Moyes and I finished it last night. Trust me, it was a cute, quick read and I could not put it down. I'll have to try some more of her books.

Thursday + Friday

Ok- the day had finally arrived. We woke up early and headed out only a little bit later than we planned, drove 15 min from the house when I realized I forgot my phone. OH MAN. Trisha drove back to the house so I could grab my phone and we make a restart only quite a bit later than intended. Oh well! We're on vacation!

We headed to the mill where we have some of our yarn processed, and Trisha had not had the opportunity to visit before! It was amazing, as usual, and I picked up some new types of yarn and we had a tour and chat with the awesome team at the mill. And I want to go back on Saturdays for the knitting group! Of course I was nerding out so much I didn't take any photos. OH BROTHER.

P.S. they have an amazing rock shop and Trisha and I bought some megalodon teeth for our kids as well as some really cool crystals. 

Oh! I probably should have mentioned that the end of Hurricane Ida was wreaking havoc on the maritimes, so we got soaked, over and over, every time we left the car. I have to say I would rather be soaked in the downpour than walk in mud feet!

The afternoon and evening (and most of today) were spent planning what is coming over the next few months and into the new year- something we do really well when we are together and not as well when it's over FaceTime. It's ok, we're working on it.

Tonight Liz is preparing some pasta and fresh bread with Cows' butter - Cows the shop, not just regular cows. I have to go feed the dogs their dinner and then prep tomorrow's email - then back to reading and knitting!

Happy knitting, road tripping and fun-having!

Karen and Trisha (and Poppy and Stubbs)