Tuesday, September 1st - can it really be September already?

Hard to believe the kids go back to school in another week.  It's really just flown by. It's been an interesting kind of week. Not a lot going on during the early part but a great weekend to finish it off.
Saturday morning I stopped in to Brenda's for coffee on my way to work so we could catch up, not having seen each other all week. 

After work, I picked up a few groceries and got home in time to put together a salad and some butter tarts to take to our neighbours party. It was held in what was once their barn, but has since been turned into a storage building. They did an amazing job of setting it up, and it's quite a large space inside.

 As we sat there watching people coming in with food for the feast, and others coming in with various musical instruments, we realized we were about to be treated to a traditional island party.  Once all the guests arrived, and everyone was sufficiently fed, the instruments came out and the music started. There was also a large number of folks at the other end of the area who were there to catch up with old friends. All in all, a very busy and happy place. We quite enjoyed ourselves, but didn't stay too late as we were both tired, especially Lloyd who hadn't had a lot of sleep on Saturday morning. But I heard it lasted until the wee hours of the morning so it sounds like a good time was had by all.

Sunday morning dawned a little overcast but it was expected to clear up and get warmer, so Brenda and I headed out - her on her bike and me bringing up the rear in my little car. We must be quite the sight going down the road, but then most people wouldn't figure that we were traveling together. We headed out and over about 7 hours we managed to cover 230 km.  We did make a few stops along the way.

We toured out through Rustico to the harbour and stopped to take in the sights.

 Then it was out along the north shore and out to Twin Shores Camp ground. What a lovely spot that was, filled with tourists and their large camping trailers. It appears to be a very comprehensive facility with everything a camping family could want. While there we stopped and had a coffee and some dessert.  (we were just doing our lunch in a different order).

Then it was down through Indian River and past the beautiful old church that's there. We've been there several times for musical events and there was one going on later in the day. 

They've built a new pavilion to host functions, rather than pitching the traditional tent. We'll have to check it out during Fall Flavours as one of the events is held here,
 

Next stop was  the International Children's Memorial, a place I had no idea existed. What a moving experience that was, to walk through the trees and read the plaques remembering children who had died, some of them very young, some of them adults.

The fish ladder at Scales Pond, on the site of the memorial

Then it was off to Kensington to the restaurant that won the burger love contest this past spring. Their burger was still on the menu and we were eager to try it. We weren't disappointed. It was a mighty delicious burger. 

From there it was back to town, with a stop at the farm market for some new apples and corn on the cob.  My apples have since been turned into apple butter and Brenda's were headed for pies.  The corn made for a quick and easy supper, along with a couple of leftovers.

Last evening I stopped over at our neighbours to retrieve the dishes that had been left behind on Saturday night. A cup of tea and a lengthy chat and then it was time to head home.

I received this photo from Patti on the weekend.  James and two of his friends, have been on the same ball team since they started playing rep ball eight years ago.  They are the only three still there from the original group and are affectionately known as "The Original Three". Apparently there are some changes coming next year so they will not likely be together anymore.  It's been quite a ride for these three young lads.

Their team had their division finals this weekend. They finished a very respectable 2nd place.
They still have one last tournament next weekend, at home in Guelph - Good luck guys!