Fantasy RV Caravan - Day 23

Saturday, 24 August - Day 23

We woke up to a cool, crisp Fall-like morning - 51 degrees, brisk wind from the north, and sunny.  The humidity was noticeably lower.  Today was our last travel day as part of the Fantasy RV Tour.  136 miles from Elm River, NS to Cavendish, PE (Prince Edward Island).

As before, we decided to add golf to the day.  Along the route, there were three nine hole golf courses, and one 18-hole course.  Our Plan A was to play a nine-hole course in Springhill, NS (same town as the Anne Murray Centre we visited a couple weeks ago).

We were first out of the campground, leaving before 8am.  When we arrived at the Springhill Centennial Golf Club, the small parking lot was almost completely full, and there were 15-20 people waiting to tee off.  If it had been an 18-hole course, we might have stuck it out, but nine-hole courses are a real challenge on busy days as people just starting off blend with those wanting to play 18 making the turn.  So we moved to plan B.

A quick phone call to the Amherst Golf Club in Amherst, NS got us the 10:51am tee time.  When we arrived, the parking lot was nearly full, and we were concerned of a very slow day.  After warming up on the range, we got off about 5 minutes early.  We played the front nine at our pace, and made the turn in about 1.5 hours.

We both hit good tee shots, and made par on the first hole.  After four pars in the first five holes, Darrell had visions of a repeat of yesterday.  Back-to-back triple-bogeys brought reality into sharp focus, and Darrell had to be satisfied with being able to cling on to a three shot lead at the turn.

As we started the back nine, things slowed down for a few holes.  Kris steadily picked up shots, and things were tied up after hole 13.  The four-some in front of us let us play through, and we cruised after that.  Kris’ play was consistent, while Darrell was a little more erratic.  Kris took the day by 3 strokes.

The Amherst Golf Club was a good choice.  The course was in good condition, the greens were pretty fast (about twice as fast as yesterday), and we had to contend with 20+ mph winds and several short periods of drizzle. 

Photo of the ninth hole:

After golf, we did some grocery shopping in Amherst, and Kris enjoyed her caramel Iced Capp from Tim Hortons for outplaying Darrell today.

We continued on to Prince Edward Island.  There are two ways to get to Prince Edward Island - by ferry or by bridge.  The Confederation Bridge joins the eastern Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, making travel throughout the Maritimes easy and convenient.  The curved, 12.9 kilometre (8 mile) long bridge is the longest in the world crossing ice-covered water, and continues to endure as one of Canada’s top engineering achievements of the 20th century.  An interesting aspect of the ferry and the bridge - it is free to travel to the island, you pay a fare or toll when you leave.

Immediately when we crossed the bridge, we passed the Visitor Center and a group of outlet shops.  We elected to follow Google Maps instead of the Trip Log, and enjoyed back country roads through farmland.

We also learned the meaning of what the sign “Broken Pavement” means.  We saw the sign, and then the asphalt disappeared as if someone came in the night and stole it.  We drove almost an mile on gravel road, then we were back on the pavement.

As we neared Cavendish, we could see that Prince Edward Island was different.  All sorts of tourist type places along the road.  Somewhat like Myrtle Beach.

We were the last to arrive at about 4:30pm at the Marco Polo Land Campground in Cavendish, PE.  We were led to our site by our Wagonmaster.  Marco Polo Land Campground has 500 sites, including a section of 24 sites for caravans.  We noticed some other Fantasy RV Tour RVs at the campground - the other Fantasy RV Tour that started 4 days before ours, finished today, and some seems to be staying a little longer.

We had a few minutes to get Sprinty settled and walk to the office to get a campground map before we gathered to car pool to Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers in North Rustico.  One of the features of the campground was a Jumping Pillow, a large bouncy mound that had kids jumping on it like a trampoline.  No doubt quite popular with families.

We had arranged to ride with Doug and Jan in their Jeep, which seats five, so the sixth person rides in the back.  Darrell got to the Jeep first, and as the Jeep was unlocked, he climbed in the back to ride to the restaurant.

The main attraction of the Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers is lobster.  The normal arrangement is a lobster and buffet-style salad bar.  Neither Kris or Darrell were looking forward to lobster, especially after the lobster dinner the first night of the caravan.  Fortunately, we were offered other choices, and we both selected fried shrimp.  The rather large restaurant was packed, and when we left, there was a line out the door of people queued up for dinner.

After dinner, Lyn and Darrell jockeyed for who would ride in the back of the Jeep - like two pre-teen kids.  Imagine watching two people appearing to be elderly adults running across the parking lot, then wrestling to climb in the back of the Jeep.  In the end, we both rode in the back of the Jeep, giving lots of people something to laugh about (or shake their heads).

After we got back to the campground, we checked out the facilities.  There is a fairly large laundry room - 10 washers and at least a dozen dryers.  The machines and the laundry room seemed tired.  The bath houses were minimal, and showed signs of needing attention.