Greetings from Wakefield, Quebec!

I've been on the road for five days and decided to give in to the rain for an hour or two to catch up on rest and sorting some photographs. The weather has been quite cooperative during the trip, but the last couple of hours it teemed down, so what better time to address my procrastination and get down to business?
(Note to self: does a rhetorical question still require a question mark?)

My sister, Chris flew out to Halifax from Toronto for a short visit with the idea to drive with me to Kingston where I planned to visit Mum for a week in the nursing home there.

Chris arrived on June 21 and timed it perfectly, because when I met her at the bus we went directly to the Lieutenant Governor's Annual Garden Party; quite the welcome, right?!

Afterwards, we headed to my place and relaxed in the garden for awhile before making a trip to the recently opened Discovery Centre downtown. (Wednesday evenings, admission is free from 5 - 8 pm). I was very impressed with the number of interactive stations, though I suppose these days it takes a lot to capture a child's attention for more than a few seconds.

Thursday I tutored for an hour in the morning, then we drove to High He'd to hike along the shore at Prospect, except I took a wrong turn and we ended up going to Crystal Crescent Beach instead, which I think was even better.

I often have to pinch myself and remember what a beautiful province this is!  

    

On Friday I had the entire day free, so we toured downtown a bit to "review" my tour guide speech on the Hop-on Hop-off Double Decker tour bus route I've been hired for. We didn't manage it all due to traffic, but I got a good run at it. I think it will be a fun change for me and yet another "hat" to wear in my ongoing and changing career.  We took a run out to Herring Cove and on the drive home just before I turned onto my street, I noticed what I thought was an orange sculpture on a roadside tree. I mentioned it to Chris who hadn't spotted it and I reversed the car to find an amazing discovery...

It's called sulphur bracket fungus and often grows on old and/or unhealthy trees. Isn't it amazingly beautiful? It felt soft and rubbery...

Later that evening we joined friends at the Royal NS Yacht Squadron for a patio and deck party where members and guests were invited to enjoy beverages on the boats or on the patio. We climbed aboard 'Kestrel' and shared some fine wine with Mai, Chipman and Lalya.  

It was definitely a treat!!

Saturday morning found us  up early and on the road shortly after 7 am heading toward Pictou to catch the ferry to PEI.

The plan was to visit with good friends and spend a couple days relaxing.

Here are some shots just after we disembarked on the island side...

 More to come.........