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June 2 Thursday, between O'Leary and Waterford
The day began well with two soft boiled eggs and good conversation with the other guests staying at the Willowgreen B&B. The couple from Germany who were on a two week trip to P.E.I. showed me their ‘Pink Dream’ room.
The last thing to bring to the van was the cooler. Imagine my astonishment when the whirring of the little fan was inaudible. The cigarette lighter socket was dead. The radio was also not letting itself be heard.
All the plugs were checked. All the wires were inspected. With trepidation I returned to the Canadian Tire Store. Perhaps the mechanic has inadvertently dislocated a wire when he took the steering apart. The garage manager instructed the mechanic on duty to check the fuses. A number 20 was needed to replace the one that had blown. In a gesture of infinite goodwill the manager gave me two extra fuses to take with.
And a good thing too because not 20km out of town the radio went dead again. Stopping at a garage and car sales centre I asked the man for a goose neck plyer. He helped me find the blown
The Peruvian Potato
Van Gogh painted Potato Pickers ftenfuse and all was well. He also suggested I take the converter out of the lighter socket. He said that plugging in all of my gadgets at once was too much for the fuses.
Now the cooler is plugged in while at the campsite and the battery charger, the cell phone and the tablet have to take turns being charged.
On the way out of Summerside I stopped at RBC to exchange the now unnecessary Euros. The parking lot of the local library was a handy place to leave the van. It also served as a good excuse to visit inside the library. The train station that had become superfluous served as the local book depository. Money is being raised so that shelves and technological needs can be updated. The librarian was very friendly and she showed me the Book Club bags, each contained ten copies of one selection. Another set of bags hanging at the sign out desk contained a collection of books for little ones so that when a parents came in to pick up a hold a new selection of books for the kiddies could also be brought home. I noted some interesting titles that
Sorting Spuds
Three womwn, dressed warmly, check that all spuds are cut and have a standing blade to correct any escapees. I will seek out once I am back at my home library … Surveyors of Empire in particular.
I was heading for Waterford and the campground there. As much as possible the secondary roads were taken. Suddenly the Wool Mill that is on the list of must sees came into view, but being anxious to get to the campground, finding a grocery store, cooking some food, organizing the van, putting away laundry, airing the feathers and making up the bed, I drove by and continued north towards the edge of the map and a six day stay beside the water.
The grocery store was found because there was a sign on the road saying the Co-Op was open in O’Leary. I bought milk, eggs and NFLD steak.
O’Leary not only has a grocery store, it is also home of the
Potato Museum. I know a lot about potatoes. I have been to South America from where potatoes originate. And still I learned a thing or two or even more!
The potato, to the Incas, was more valuable than gold or silver.
The Incas made ‘chuno’, freeze dried potato that could last indefinitely by
Potato Shed
This shed can hold over 8million pounds of seed potatoes. freezing the tuber, melting it and squeezing out the moisture and then drying what remained. Chuno was stored for times of war or famine.
There are thirteen possible diseases that potatoes can have. ...found at least three on the potatoes in the bag I bought in New Brunswick ... that must have been the reason they were so cheap ... did not buy at $2.99/lb
Thomas Jefferson invented French Fries.
The sweet potato was brought to Europe by Columbus fifty years before the potato.
The word potato comes from batata … the Arawak Indian language.
The Spaniards realized the potato helped curb scurvy.
In the 1740’s the French scorned the potato … no poutine for those early settlers in Quebec.
The restaurant was not open to serve P.E.I. potato delicacies and they had no patch for my pack. The lady who took my entrance fee did offer me potato fudge which was 98% sugar, 1.5% chocolate and .5% potato …maybe not even that much. Lots of old farm implements were on display but my interest was absorbed by the history of the potato written up with graphics in glass vitrines. There
All That's Left
This shed was full and the pipes and holes along the wall keep the piles aired. were even terra cotta vessels in the shape of potatoes on display.
After touring the museum I took a picture of what looks like a papier mache potato at the entrance and continued towards Waterford.
On the way into get the groceries I had noticed two trucks laden with potatoes. Where were they going? Where had they come from? On the way back to the main highway past the last Tim’s in this part of the Island, I stopped to take a picture. One of the trucks was empty.
A man was walking about so I asked him what was going on with the potatoes. He took me into the huge building and there I saw what had happened to the potatoes from the empty truck. Thousands of pounds of potatoes were being cut for use as seed potatoes. PEI sends seed potatoes to all parts of the world where nations eat the tuber. China is trying to turn the population to potatoes because the potato is so easy to grow. Right now in PEI the machines are in the fields planting by the million hundred weight.
The man with whom I was speaking owns with his brothers, the machines he was showing me. In the huge sheds he stores 4.5 mil pounds in one, 3.5 mil in another and so on and so on. Millions and millions of pounds of potatoes are stored with large air hoses the size of culverts keeping them from rotting. It was the most fabulous half hour spent so far on this trip. Three women controlled the quality of the cut potatoes going on to the trucks that were headed for the red ploughed fields. Each cut has to have an eye to begin growth. They shovelled up the left over bits with big aluminium shovels. THese bits were deposoited in wooden slat bins and used for compost,if I understood correctly because the machine doing the cutting and the conveyer belt carrying the sliced potatoes made a terrific noise. No earguards for these women.
Once in the ground the potato needs no other attention. It is left until machines come to harvest the treasures from the red loess soil of PEI. What a story! He has been at it for 42 years.
The rest of the day was spent driving north on highway two keeping an eye open for number 155. The road turned right at Pleasant View and continued on number 14. Waterford Cottages was found but it was totally deserted. Knocked on the door. Tried to use the pay phone … no cell service … a Lonnie does not fit in the slot.
Driving back to the only other place where I saw RV’s, I stopped in front of a house that had a car in the garage. The lady let me speak to the campground owner …my destination was the deserted place.
I drove back and ‘settled’ in. Found an electrical outlet that seemed to have been installed in 1950. The water tap was atop weathered 4X4 and dripped. The spot had no picnic table but two 2X6’s on the ground. The clothes line although fraying was clean enough to hang the feather bed on for airing. The wan was organized the bed was made the guy showed up.
There would be no hot water in the shower. He did not offer to bring over a picnic table. He did not live on the premises. His wife had cleaned the woman’s toilet (never did go in there … it was so far from the van I would never have arrived on time). Then it became dark. The other campers that he said were expected never did arrive.
I was alone. It was dark … well yah …night time! The cell phone had no bars. There was Wi-Fi. I washed important part in heated water and crawled into the wan and LOCKED the doors.
Watching a movie and typing my blog was OK. BUT with the lights went out and the wind was blowing my imagination went into overdrive. Do they have big animals in PEI? The waving dishrag made threatening shadows. I had the need to step out of the wan in the night ... more than once... as usual!
All turned out well. Explored the space and approached the water. A very high red cliff made access to the shore impossible. Along the way I saw how other properties had built stairs to go down the cliff. No access at this campsite ….unless the stairs are stored somewhere for the winter … highly unlikely because no evidence of an anchoring place at the grass edge.
Emailed the guy… going to move on … waited till 10:30 -11:00. He did not show up for his $25. I skedaddled.
I had made reservations at the Mill River Resort Campground and also at Cymbria in the Central Coast area. Would continue to enjoy the North Cape Coast Drive for three more days.
I will mail a cheque for $25 from Sudbury in August ... maybe ;-/
The pictures of the redcliffs refuse to upload. The lunch crowd is crowding in so I will leave my breakfast table. There is also a guy waiting for the plug to use his laptop. :-(
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Karen Taggart
non-member comment
do take care, hope the small problems do not become big ones..