Day 15 - Canada Day in Charlottetown

Couple things to note: PEI is stunning. It looks really similar to New Brunswick except the hills are smaller and there's water everywhere and it's incredibly green. For those of you who said this little island is worth the detour we give you a big thank-you.

Canada Day, Victoria Park, Charlottetown.

Hello faithful readers!

For those of you not caught up with the Bike for Bricks readings, a lot has been going on. Right now it's Canada day and the Bike for Bricks team has enjoyed it in the best possible way for three intrepid cross country cyclists - we've rested. The day started wonderfully. We woke up according to our body clocks instead of Jordan's (now hated) Blackberry alarm, an incredible luxury that we took full advantage of as we didn't wake up until 7am! It may not sound grand, but in the world of 150+km days of biking 7am is sleeping in.

Anyway, after our leisurely wake up we took our time with breakfast, took our time with changing, took our time with cleaning, pretty much just took our time. Then we got on our bicycles and departed from the campsite near Confederation Bridge...and took our time!

We rolled over some hills, under some trees, around some penninsulas and eventually we rolled right into Charlottetown after an easy 57kms. It's very interesting that once upon a time a bike ride approaching 60kms would have been considered a decent workout and now it's considered an off day. Distances really are a relative thing and we've really improved our cycling ability.

Once we arrived in Charlottetown we went straight to the waterfront to enjoy the start of the Canada Day celebrations. There was a singing of the national anthem to kick things off and a 21 gun salute that initially scared us half to death and had us jumping while eating our "Loaded Fries" under the sun of the park. The day was hot, the fries were good, we were right on schedule and the scenery was spectacular.

We continued our little wandering of discovery around some of the other Canada Day attractions and managed to get into it with Red and White style! Pictures, sticker tatoo's, red and white cupcakes, and of course a busker show that I got volunteered to participate in. Definite nerve wracking moment as this goofy busker juggled some knives right over my body while I lied in the grass in front of hundreds of people. Thankfully it was over quickly and we recommenced our day by searching for accomodations; having spent the previous two nights outside and feeling like a place to put our stuff down in the city was necessary we headed towards the local youth hostel while checking our the prices for other Hotels. Naturally, we ended up at the hostel and signed in.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, and mingling with the other guests. We enjoyed a free late lunch of Canada Day burgers before hitting the computers hard with updates, blogs and emails - and though not as strenuous or exhausting as biking the day still felt tiring but great.

Chnage of narrative!
Kyle's Birthday:

Kyle's birthday DQ on the pier.

Canada day is also Kyle's birthday! A fact me and Jordan were both very aware of but chose to ignore for the majority of the day. All day we dropped birthday related lines and July 1st comments without ever mentioning Kyle's birthday. It may have seemed mean at the time but the plan needed to be followed through - and so we continued with the ploy the entire day. "It's Jerome Iginla's birthday today eh?" and other similar lines were splattered throughout the day. Until eventually when grocery shopping at 8pm Jordan and I commenced "operation ice-cream extravaganza" and set our well set up plan of distraction and misdirection into action. The details aren't important but we managed to buy an icecream pizza from Dairy Queen (without him noticing) and take a natural detour down to the ocean where I give Jordan the lighter, he lit the candles while I slowed down Kyle and finally, we acknowledged his birthday and sang loudly while eating icecream with all the Canada Day celebrations on in the background. It really was a trip highlight.

To conclude the day we made our way back to the hostel to set up for getting back on the bike routine and the impedning 4:30am wake up the next morning while resisting the temptations to go "get smashed' in the park with the other hostelers...will announce the results tomorrow.

Canada really is a stunning country, that I'm thrilled to be in, and even more thrilled to be touring and seeing in such a natual way.

Happy Canada Day and Happy Birthday Kyle. What a great way to celebrate.