No, the title isn’t a typo. We’re freshly arrived in PEI (Prince Edward Island). This morning we still had faint hope of reaching Newfoundland, since that’s the most weather-dependent stop we hope to make. Weather it turned out, was characteristically undependable so we filed our flight plan for Moncton, NB and hoped the weather in Charlottetown, PEI would improve since it’s widely reputed to be a cool town. Again the weather changed our plans, so just before reaching Moncton we tried a shortcut to Halifax which also has great buzz. As you’ve guessed, it too was socked in so we came back to land at Moncton. While it’s surely a nice city (largest in NB), we still yearned for some fresh PEI rather than another taste of NB.
0075 New Brunswick Scene
Poring over charts and weather info at the airport, I saw a possibility on the Summer side of things. That is, Summerside, PEI is only a short drive from the still out of bounds Charlottetown but had relatively balmy weather (details to follow). Back into Tripp and sure enough it was an easy and short flight. During the short water crossing, Anne got this dreamy pic of the wispy clouds and fuzzy PEI.
0194 Summerside PEI Area
The air was so smooth after our bumpy ride to Moncton, and the wind so directly down the runway, we didn’t realize a serious blow was going on – until we stepped out of Tripp. Cold has a new name for us tonight, and it’s Summerside. We found a hotel right next to the airport and dragged our stuff here for a tasty meal and now to hopefully get an earlier sleep tonight.
I’m smiling as I wonder about tomorrow. Will we fly to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, maybe Charlottetown? Rent a car and drive to Charlottetown? Settle in here at Summerside? Look at the gloomy forecast for the week ahead and turn tail for home? Maybe the answer will arrive in a prophetic dream tonight, or on the first few weather screens I skim over coffee in the morning. 🙂
John & Anne Wiley 
This place is windy and cold and (thats why) has most wind farms in Canada. Actually it was cold in Boston today as well.
I think a cold front is moving northeast and you will be in crappy weather by mid weekend. But since you are crossing tomorrow you should be OK.
Comment by Zubair — 2011/05/13 @ 02:43
Speaking of wind farms, I noticed as we tied Tripp down that all the windmills near the airport had their blades bent back by the force of the wind – much more than I’ve ever noticed on any other windmills. Putting the cover on Tripp was an exercise in kite flying. 🙂
Looks like we might be grounded until Sunday by some accounts, but forecasting here is notoriously difficult. Luckily, PEI seems to have many diversions in arts and culture.
Comment by John — 2011/05/13 @ 13:26