On The Road Again

When I visited Ketchikan, Alaska on work in the 1980's I saw people with T-shirts announcing "Ketchikaners don't tan . . . they rust". The town annually receives ~160 inches of precipitation. Anyone living in or visiting central Connecticut this spring would be justified wondering whether Ketchikan's climate has migrated to New England.

So this past Tuesday I set out for Prince Edward Island. While Jane is taking her class at Hartford Seminary it made sense for me to come Charlottetown to check on things at our house. In the morning it was actually warmish and partly cloudy. But by the time I got into Massachusetts it was raining again, as it did the rest of the drive.

I love the think time long drives provide. And there are amusements you just don't get at home. For instance, instead of watching a show on cable television, I got to view the RV's backup camera images. The black and white picture above was taken of the backup camera TV screen in the RV. Although its primary purpose is to assist in backing the vehicle and sometimes to maneuver between lanes, when towing the boat I can check to see that boat/trailer are behaving properly. This shot was taken around 3 in the morning while I was driving the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island.

I'm delighted that Mabel Maynard deferred her time with Jesus and suggested that Jane take him with her on her sabbatical. I wanted a traveling companion for the trip to PEI [OK, yes, I have the dogs, Sophie and Dinah with me, and they're not "high maintenance", but I wanted a "no maintenance" companion as well]. Since Jesus was busy at school with Jane, I travelled with Anatole le Castor, a Canadian beaver I met at a Roots store in Charlottetown last year. Anatole has proved helpful, reminding me to stop and walk the dogs periodically, to stop and feed myself periodically, and to drive safely. He has also been doing additional trip research for me. You can see him boning up on Scottish travel highlights.

Today I will be scurrying around Charlottetown working out some trip details, such as whether or not I can use my Rogers Communications Blackberry in the UK, and if so whether a "bucket of minutes" is affordable.