21 Sep 2023 – Short&Sweet Visit From Chuan

Mon: bus36, bus-stop on MP-Rd again moved, but looks like the MT-TEL(brownLine)-MRTstation has come a long way in my absence.  Passing by the F1-Pit-building on the ECP and detouring after Suntec to NBridgeRd(thus traffic backup here) joining back the usual route on StamfordRd – but did not affect too much time despite of the diversion.

Mon-morning-movie, the best day for me, ie if not public holiday to catch new movies on a big screen, and one of my favourite cinemas is Lido/Shaw@Orchard with panorama view to Ion&Tangs with a nice comfortable sitting area by a McD.

HauntingInVenice – HerculePoirot is here again to solve an adaption of another of AgathaChristie’s novel crime. But he will also has to figure out if supernatural forces are interfering in the investigation? Spoiler alert, so do not read on for my thoughts here regarding where some mother’s love(do wonder about LOVE! especially MotherLove here??) can be difunctionally unhealthy.

AssamFish+Achar-lunch @WarungPadang/ FoodRepublic(ShawHouse,#B1-02) with endless decent food selections here.

Being back here has its advantages that places&things are familiar, but always something new to discover, this time round a SugarCaneFreshJuice machine/FortuneCentre. Not only can I now get fresh OJ, now also this without having to deal or talk to anyone. Tkx to a dear nephew Clement for taking time to be with his old-auntie to lunch, movies, T and for getting me to line up for the 10mil-lottery, hahaha! A quick hello@CC to arrange a date to present the PEI-Hike/Thanksgiving,Thu23Nov2023.

Tue: welcome Chuan, nice to catch up and looking forward to the next 2days in his company, tkx for one of the best(to my taste)PineappleTarts. Has been~5yrs ago since we last met. SIN-KCH-SIN 2018 – Here-There-Everywhere – This-That-Everything (amylamsg.com) Appreciations to Chuan&Leonard for coming over to the EastSide for dinner&dessert – has been hot day and 1+hr on the bus to their area would have given me a worse headache.

Wed: guiding Chuan from 10.30hrs FullertonHotel-TheMerlion-

NationalGallery-VictoriaHall-ArtsHouse-ACM-met Leonard to

lunch@GodmamaPeranaken/Funan, good OtakOtak&NgohHiang(pork& prawn rolls).

PeranakanMuseum sheltering from pouring rains@SMU. Underground all the way from BrasBasah/CCL(orangeLine)MRT-PlazaSIN for VietnameseDinner@CôChung. Showered&crashed before 22.00hrs, body&mind not at their best with muti-functions/tasks like today – hahaha.

Thu: picked up OtakOtak@OldAirportRd for Chuan(unable to get these in KCH). Exploring the Sarawak eateries@Jewel&T4, planning a trip to KCH to pay my respects to Lawrence in Nov, so no need to eat these foods now!

Has been ~5yrs since in T4 and these kinetic installations PetalClouds are fun&hypnotic to watch – cannot get enough of these and the KineticRains@T1. Safe trip to Chuan till we meet again soon.

17 Sep 2023 – Safe&Sound In SIN

Wed&Thu: tkx to Jeff for driving me to the CAE-airport and appreciations to my Fabulous5&their parents for this time round. The next time round here will be May2024 for #1’s Graduation. For now until Fri, 4airports+flying hours. Besides airports,airplanes&crowds(2 is company and 3 is a crowd-hahaha), packing is another thing on the least favourite things to do on the list…

Fri: TGIF and a good weekend to all – after 4airports: CAE-IAD(1+hr flying&5+hrs layover@IAD(where there was time for a bite from Chick-fil-A)-SFO(5+hrs flying&2+hrs layover@SFO on a full flight-SIN(15+hrs flying!). Total shock to the system from these overwhelming crowds!! Now safe&sound back within my 4-AC-walls here in SIN️ feeling more human after a LONG-nap. Les had Ablation done@FarrerPkHospital today. For me, done in Norway/Feb2017, and so far it is still ticking OK.

LHL-klinikkene Feiring – Here-There-Everywhere – This-That-Everything (amylamsg.com)

Sat: Happy 80Bday to Ivy. Had to activate the renewed PassionSilverCard (found it in the pile of mail, tkx to niece for clearing my mailbox in my absence), explained why the expired card did not worked on the bus when I arrived yesterday! Bus to BedokBusInterchange, then another bus to OldAirportRd to pick up miniPaus for Ivy&Les, also to visit Les after his procedure&stay at the hosptial. MRT/CCL(orangeLine) to MarinaBay changing to TEL(brownLine) to OrchardBlvd, buses that will take me to the OrchardRd area are redirected due to F1. Took from 11.00-16.00hrs and on top of the heat&humidity, it was quite exhausting. Kat is here for the weekend, and we arr on the same plane from SFO,CA/USA yesterday without knowing that we were on the same plane!!

Sun: another good night sleep last night to be able to think logically again! Somehow it is strange to be back where things are so familiar after being on a go for~5months. Now even my laptop is on the same time as where I am – hahaha! Looking forward to catching up with family&friends and to some local foods – cockles(SeeHums)&durians. Looks like MT-hawkers&market is closed for renovations and will not be opened until Oct, and in SIN there is certainly no lack of eateries, even in this neighbourhood. Also at this stage, eating smaller portions slowly and to an advantage that hopefully will not put on weight. With the shorter walks on PEI+all the eating, no weight has been gained or lost! Tkx to Ivy&Les for dinner.

Took the same route there as yesterday, but being Sunday night with the F1 ongoing, thank goodness there was no need to deal with crowds or with anybody on the MRT!

12 Sep 2023 – ClemsonU &UofSC

Fri: appreciations&tkx to Nancy&Karen for getting me to the Portland airport in ME/USA.

Stopped to use the rest room somewhere on the MaineTurnpike which happened to have one of the most tasteful(in my eyes!)

ME-Crafts in the VisitorInfo. PWM-IAD(1hr delayed there, rains&thunder)-CAE. Safe&sound now in CAE, and looking forward to a few days with the FabulousFive. Tkx to first-born&#5 for meeting me at CAE-airport

Sad news to hear that one of our AT-Fellow-Hikers ChrisWidmer(Sawbuck)’s passing. A perfect gentleman who gave us much support during our 2005AT-Thru’Hike and my trailname TigerLily. when we were having a resting by some TigerLily patch and I told him+another young hiker what TigerLily show is about in Thailand! Condolences with prayers&thoughts to Blossom&his family – he will be missed.

Sat: shopping@Walmart – suppliments,food,etc. Made steak dinner for the family, good to taste some red meat again.

Sun: Happy GrandparentsDay to all grandparents. Tkx to #2 for showing us around her campus(made my day), ~2hrs drive from CAE. Lunched@SoleOnTheGreenRestaurant in the ConferenceCentre. Sole on the Green Restaurant & Joe’s Place Bar | Clemson University, South Carolina

Good luck to a new chapter in her life@Clemson,SC/USA.

About | Clemson University, South Carolina

Impressive campus with the view of a nice stadium from the balcony across from her dorm room, and a football team who were NationalChampions in 1981, 2016, 2018.

Mon: appreciations to #1 for taking the time from her busy schedule for dinner@CaliforniaDreaming, formally UnionRailwayStation. Compared to the stations visited on PEI, this one is quite different.

The history behind Union Station + California Dreaming 🚂 – COLAtoday (6amcity.com)

Time really flies, and she is now into her final year@UofSC with the Gamecock/Cocky. Looks like another visit in 2024 for her graduation…

Tue: packing for early flight tomorrow morning. TacoTueDinner with Allison&Jaime, appreciations&tkx to these lovely ladies and the only contribution I could offer was to share these sweets!

7 Sep 2023 – From PEI/Canada To ME/USA

Sun: VictoriaPlayhouse/PEI – the curtain on this new theatre company opened in 1981 and, since then, has seen 40 seasons (and counting!) of professional theatre and performance events.

The Hall was designated a HistoricPlace on the CanadianRegister of Historic Places in 2007 and has been at the heart of the community for 100+yrs and continues to bring people together, from near and far.

Stroll around this delightful area, unlike the first time when we were soaked thru’&thru’ –  oyster dinner@CasaMia

Mon:BeachPointLighthouse&CapeBear(1881)Lighthouse+MarconiStation. Marconi, Guglielmo Marchese(1874-1937), invented the first practical radio signalling system. At age 16 he was sending and receiving Morse code across his parents garden without using cables. Formed Marconi’s Wireless Telegraph Co. Ltd. in London (1897). 1899 established communication across the English Channel between England and France. 1901 communicated signals across the Atlantic Ocean between Paldhee in Cornwall England and St. John’s Newfoundland

RossignotEstateWinery  Rossignolwinery.com

Interesting mixture berry+fruit wines and our favouite today was LittleSandsWhite, semi-dry wine with a balance of crisp apple and delicate flavours.

The Wood Islands Family of Lighthouses – 3 buildings on this site represent a family and all were once navigational aids. The lighthouse beacon is still maintained by the Canadian Coast Guard as part of the marine communication system used by ship traffic in the Northumberland Strait. The two smaller structures are called “range lights” and have been retired from service since 2007 when electric harbour lights on steel poles replaced them. Prior to that time, the range lights were situated on the east side of the lighthouse point before being moved in 1941 to the steel pier entrance to the Wood Islands Ferry terminal. As vessels approached the terminal, the deepest part of the channel was identified by a sight line alignment of the inner and outer range lights. The shorter range located farthest from shore, was called the “outer range light” and the taller one closest to shore, was called the “inner range light”. Some ranges were equipped with lights and fog horns and in some cases, a red vertical stripe that faced the open water.

In 2012, maintenance repairs to the steel pier required the now obsolete range lights to either be moved or destroyed. Thanks to the joint efforts of the Coast Guard, the provincial government and the Wood Islands Community Development Corporation, the range lights at Wood Islands have been moved and preserved as part of our community museum.

WoodIslandsFerryTerminal – would have been interesting to take this car-ferry(75mins) over to NovaScotia, but it would have been a longer drive to ME/USA.

Tue: ConfederationBridge/PEI, a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-CanadaHighway across AbegweitPassage of the NorthumberlandStrait, linking the province of PEI with the mainland province of NewBrunswick/NB. Opened 31May1997, 12.9-k/8m bridge is Canada’s longest bridge and the world’s longest bridge over ice-covered water.

Cape Jourimain Lighthouse, New Brunswick Canada at Lighthousefriends.com

The Canadian environment where recycle and using of the wind&solar energy is very impressive – the rest of the world has much to learn from here…

Wed: appreciations&tkx to AndyBrown for driving&guiding us around Bangor/ME where he is born&bred, and known to the locals here as the Mayor of Veazie. Lunch@Mason’sBrewing with a short stroll along the PenobscotRiver.

StephenKing’s Victorian mansion+ornate sculpture with a chainsaw in the heart of WhitneyPark HistoricDistrict on 47W Broadway.

Stephen King’s House: Bangor’s Spooky House of Horror – Unusual Places

with interesting cast-iron fence&gates and 2magnificent old trees on this street

UofME where Andy attended and now works there – his first-born also there for her freshman year now. Must be to nice to be the president of this U when you can live in a house like this!

Thu: an afternoon at Acadia National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

Last evening@Young’sLobsterPound & SeafoodRestaurant/Belfast

to be edited&updated…

2 Sep 2023 – Days 26-30

Tue: Day26~14k/9m, 5+hrs DingwellRd-Route323 on the ConfederationTrail including rest stops+socializing with many who crossed our path stopping to chat.

0900hrs into MorellWelcomeCenter(formal railway station) just in time for them to open to let us into their restroom.

3 ladies from Toronto doing sections of the IslandWalk, cyclists from KY/USA, couple(she from USA, he from Australia) who hiked the AT Thru’Hike in 1981.

HurricaneFiona last year/2022 destroyed millions of trees and changed much of the landscape of this island – another glorious blue-sky day.

Today’s shelter nearer to RT323 justified to be named Seredib after the accommodations here as like our lodgings for now that I did not mind lingering on longer with butterflies,cicadas,grasshoopers,other insects+the breeze all sounding in harmony.

Nancy:PEI – Day 26/August 29 – appx 13 km/8.8 miles. Another beautiful day- pesky mosquitoes in the morning but lessened throughout the day. A very social day- we finally met some Island walkers – 3 ladies from Toronto in their 60s who have known each other since age 14, some bikers stopped to talk with us, and Karen and Amy met a couple of AT Thru hikers from 81. Everyone here is so nice! When I finished for the day and sat by the trail, people stopped to ask if I was ok and the lady living nearby stopped to offer water. We had a quick stop at the Morell train station, now a community/tourist center.

After our hike, we headed to the PEI provincial park at Greenwich and Karen and I took a 4.6 km walk out to view the sand dunes. The walk on the boardwalk across the water was awesome. Many beautiful views today, dinner at a local seafood restaurant in St Peters Bay, and a quiet evening at our lodging. It’s now August 30 and we are taking a zero since it’s pouring rain outside. So nice to sleep in!

Karen:Tue29Aug2023: Day26~14k/9m, 5+hrs ‘DingwellRd-Route323’ on ‘The ConfederationTrail’including rest stops+lots of socializing with many who crossed our path including 3 women from Toronto hiking ‘The Island Walk’, cyclists from Lexington, KY & a couple from Mass who thru hiked the AT in 1981. It was a spectacular sunny day with a breeze.

After finishing our mileage we visited the Greenwich Sand Dunes (PEI National Park) for another 4.6 km. There was a floating boardwalk- pretty spectacular.

Wed: Day27 zeroK/zeroM on the trail, 10days ago since a zeroK/M-day! A luxury to sleep in&listen to the rains in this idyllic Serendib-Solar-A-Frame-House isolated in the middle of nowhere(CardigenRdRd/StPetersBay) and with only ~22k/13m left to complete the Tip-Tip-CT before 5Sep. Lovely&relaxing afternoon with Beethoven’s 6thSymphony/Karajan&5thPianoConcerto/Ashkenazy on the roof-top while the rains stopped and the others were out.

Looking forward to tonight’s lighthearted Village’sIdiot@StPetersCourthouseTheatre/StPetersBay.

Nancy: PEI – Day 27/August 30 – Zero day – no km or miles while the rain settled in. Slept in, ate lunch in a restaurant, stopped by the local co-op to purchase some groceries, ate leftovers for dinner, and attended a performance in a small, local theatre of “The Village Idiot”. Four characters – all talented. The story centered around three ladies on a town council who rope in a newcomer, who came to the town seeking solitude, to be their new council chairman. They assign him all kinds of impossible duties- bingo caller, yoga teacher, giving a eulogy for someone that no one liked, and entering a step dancing contest against the “Cardigan Duster”. Kept us laughing.

Thu: Day28 on this last Aug2023day~12k/7m, 4hrs
BarryRd-Route307 on the ConfederationTrail. Looks like autumn is on its way with on&off light drizzles&rains.

Crossed path with a cyclist couple from Alberta who are tenting some sections.

Nancy: PEI – Day 28/August 30 – Appx 12 km/7.6 miles. Rain, rain, go away! Today we had periods of no rain, light rain, and steady rain with wind blowing so that my umbrella could not give full protection. Didn’t see many mosquitoes, though. Trail was nice – few puddles, more grass, but wet grass makes for wet shoes. Stayed dry mostly(except my shoes)-even worked out a system to get my poncho over my backpack while hiking alone – it’s challenging when you have short arms. Passed 5 benches & 4 picnic tables (all wet) and 9 or more bikers passed me. Tomorrow promises better weather and we plan to complete our last 10-11 km of the Tip to Tip trail. No excursions planned for this evening but we do have tickets to two more plays before we leave the island.

Karen: Thu31Aug2023: Day28 on this last Aug2023day~12k/7m, 4hrs’BarryRd-Route307′ on ‘The ConfederationTrail’. Looks like autumn is on its way with on & off light drizzles & some changes in leaf 🍁 colors. A chill day while we are finishing up mileage on the top to tip hike.

Fri: Day29 TGIF on this 1stSep2023 and a Happy Labour-Day weekend. Completed our last mileage PEI-Tip-Tip-CT(~273k/170m) on The ConfederationTrail from Tignish-Elmira. Today’s hike, Rt307-305 ~8m/5m 3hrs was done in perfect weathers&conditions.
Appreciations&thanks to the good company&support of Nancy(driving&logistic),Karen, Glenda&Lori(the first 2weeks of the IslandWalk before changing of plans). Looking forward to 4more days to enjoy this lovely island before heading back to SIN via USA.

An evening in Charlottetown with an attempt to attend The Songs of Johnny&June@TheMack, but had to leave after 5mins, loud music in a packed full of ppl was just too overwhelming for both body&soul…

A walk about town with the outdoors street entertainment and snooze in the car while waiting for Karen&Nancy was more to my taste of a delightful evening.

Nancy: PEI – Day 29/ September 1 – Appx 9 km- 5.5 miles. Great weather and no mosquitoes for our last day on the Confederation trail. The short mileage gave us time to go to the end point, take pictures, and get our “Tip to Tip” certificate. We then visited a lighthouse,

revisited The Lobster Shack for lobster, clams, and mussels, and are headed out tonight for a show featuring the music of Johnny Cash and June Carter. Fun and more fun!

Karen: Fri1Sep2023: Day29 TGIF on this 1stSep2023 and a Happy Labor Day weekend to everyone. Pokey & Tiger Lil finished ’The Confederation Trail’ tip to tip but I am short 20+ miles due to earlier injuries however hiked close to 200 miles total. Feel very fortunate to have recovered from shin splints & be able to complete this adventure.

Sat: time to relax and move to new lodgings, but unable to get on to WiFi here@Forest&LakeCottages/MurrayHabour. Will have to edit&update.

Lovely beach/BothwellBeach&boardwalk/Souris walks. Was not quite prepared for this and did not have umbrella or sunscreen, thus slightly sunburnt on the face! It is not the time to stay indoors on the beautiful day like this…

Nancy: PEI- Day 30/September 2 – Just a fun day. 1 mile hiking on beautiful Bothwell Beach and one mile hiking on a boardwalk in Souris. We also visited Basin Head where the water is channeled to a lake(?). The lifeguard said the channel was built for boats but is no longer used. We enjoyed watching two young kids and their father jumping into the water in the channel where the sign said “dangerous” but the lifeguards did not protest. Water was very clear. The tide was coming in so the current seemed strong. We had lunch at Basin Head where I had another lobster roll and fries and my friends had a poke bowl with lobster. We are at a new accommodation that has a lake available to its guests so maybe we will take a boat out. All of our accommodations have been very different but very nice. Everything in our new kitchen is very small and the tv is on top of the refrigerator. Lol. (We actually haven’t watched any tv for the last month). I forgot to mention yesterday that we met some Island walkers while driving on the highway from the East Point. We stopped and talked for a short bit. They actually said they like the road walks. Oh my. They started last year but had to leave after day 20 (of 32) when Fiona hit. They are now finishing up. By the way, the Johnny Cash/June Carter performance was excellent. They told stories about how Johnny and June met and their rocky relationship but also how it persevered. Both had great voices but the lady playing June was so vibrant and really played the role of June well. Turns out the performers are a couple in real life so the love and caring they showed towards each other was especially realistic.

Karen: Yesterday was our first day off trail, we explored ‘Basin Head’ – home of the singing sands, Bothwell Beach (best kept secret) with nice beach walk & walked the boardwalk at Souris Bay before returning to the east part of the island/Queens County

Accommodations from 2-5Sep: Forest&LakeCottages /MurrayHabour