Life on the Island

By Michael J.W. Stickings

It's been a quiet day at The Reaction but a busy, and very beautiful, day for me here on Prince Edward Island -- "the Island," as we call it -- and I'm rather sad that my vacation will soon be coming to an end. Thankfully, we have a few more days left.

It's a different world here, in many ways, much different than Toronto, where I live -- especially so when, as I am, you're spending your time not in front of a television or computer screen. There's simply too much to do, and why would I ruin my vacation by paying close attention to the inanity that is U.S. politics? I'll have more than enough of that when I get home and return, sadly, to "normal."

Oh, sure, I know all about the race-bridging beer-drinking at the White House, and all the rest of the mustn't-miss news of the past couple of weeks, but it's been a real pleasure being away from it all, if only for a fairly short time. I cannot recommend it highly enough, just as I cannot recommend this place highly enough.

And what's going on here? Well, gas prices are set to rise -- that's the top story at the website of The Guardian, the Island's main newspaper, based in Charlottetown, the provincial capital. (The paper covers the Island "like the dew." Seriously. That's its motto.) Also, road work is set to begin at a major intersection in Cornwall, one of Charlottetown's suburbs. On a related note, I remember listening to a "drive home" traffic report last year on the radio -- I think it was on Spud FM (seriously, that's one of the radio stations here, with potatos being one of the Island's main crops) -- and the major development was that the traffic light was out at the intersection near Sears (the only one in town). We came to the intersection a few minutes later, and -- if only big-city life were like this -- there was only a brief delay getting through. That's what passes for a major traffic problem here.

What else? Holland College, which includes Canada's justly famous Culinary Institute, is set to get a $40-million expansion, which is hugely significant for a place this small, and, earlier today, concern at a woodworking facility in Summerside (the Island's second-largest city -- or is it a town?) that "specializes in wooden doors" that sparks could ignite sawdust prompted the evacuation of a few nearby businesses. "Emergency personnel were called in," but everything was fine.

And that's about it.

It just started raining a bit here on the north shore, but no matter. I had mussels for dinner, a renowned specialty of the Island (and from a local restaurant, Shipwright's, that I consider one of the best anywhere, and one of my two favourites here) that were fabulous -- in a Thai broth that is simply amazing. And tomorrow we're off to the Charlottetown farmer's market and, after that... well, we're not sure yet. Maybe out east, maybe to the beach, if the weather holds up, maybe for a walk around town, maybe for a relaxing afternoon here at home.

Life on the Island. Honestly, you can't beat it.