End of the caravan in PEI ;-(

Alas, all good things must come to an end... Well, at least the Fantasy part of our tour does. We ended in Cavendish, PEI, home of Anne of Green Gables. Much flatter and more fertile than most of our island tour, PEI is an agricultural center. Lots of fresh vegetables and fruit, and they also farm mussels and oysters, and fish lobster and crab. The water is warmed by the Gulf Stream, so on sand bars and during the summer, it might reach 80 degrees, and 65-70 is normal summer temp for the beaches. Sounds cold compared to FL, but it's on par with San Clemente, CA. Remember the Watts Towers? Well, here is PEI's own Bottle house. Cool. Shrink wrapped bales? Yep. How'd you like to learn how to count in Mi'kmaq? Lotsa luck. On the last nite, our friends Coop and Cheryl announced their engagement, and launched a candle lantern. Finally, a story about a Mi'kmaq craftsman.

We visited a Mi’kmaq Indian reservation, and met a Mi’kmaq named Gilbert. You will see his picture with the base for a ceremonial drum, and a church in the background. Here’s his story… He used to be a competitive dancer, doing ceremonial dances all over Canada. Hurt his knee, had to retire. Now, his son wants to learn, and wants his dad to teach him. So, he needs to rebuild his ceremonial costume. First order of business: find an Eagle feather bustle. Not easy to get. A friend of his had one, offered to trade it for a ceremonial drum. Gilbert needed wood for the drum, and the church (140 yrs old) was undergoing renovation. Contractor cut a hole in the floor of the church to shore up foundation from below. Gilbert traded a small drum for the wood. Scrounged rawhide from the reservation archives for a cover. Now, the drum will combine Mi’kmaq culture with Christian culture. How cool is that. And, he will have his Eagle bustle for his costume. Karma.