T-shirt #333: UPEI - University of Prince Edward Island

When I think of PEI, there are a lot of things that come to mind.

For most of the summers I have been alive, I have taken a trip up to The Island from Massachusetts (I know, I’m lucky). When I was a child, that meant traveling over 650 miles in a van with 6 other people. These trips usually went something like this:

Night before:

• Family outing to Burger King for dinner
• Mom panicking that trip preparation isn’t complete
• 5 restless kids getting excited for journey
• Parents attempting to calm children down
• More panicking from Mom
• Final trip preparation done as kids finally fall asleep

Morning of:

• 3:30 AM wakeup call
• Packing of family van
• 4:00ish AM departure
• I ask if we’re there yet at around 4:05ish AM
• Mom worries that something wasn’t brought/locked/turned off
• Some kids fall back asleep
• Stop at McDonald’s in Maine (which led to a very important life discovery – syrup is good on sausage paddies!)
• Post-McDonald’s “PEI Surprise” given to each child that behaved up to that point on trip (G.I. Joe figures were a favorite one year)
• Some sort of argument/fight breaks out between siblings (never started by me!)
• Dad threatens to turn van around
• Mom reminds kids of possibility of future “PEI Surprises”
• Kids hopefully start behaving
• One or more children get car sick
• Van makes it through Maine and reaches Canadian border
• Mom sings “Oh, Canada!” and encourages everyone to sing along

Afternoon of:

• Picnic lunch stop in Canada
• Younger kids fear using sketchy bathroom on picnic grounds
• Post-lunch second round of “PEI Surprises”
• “How much longer until the ferry?” questions begin
• Sibling rivalry starts back up (again, never my fault)
• Dad stops threats, actually stops the van, and all five children become suddenly silent
• Van becomes hot, sweaty, and smelly (okay, this one usually was my fault)
• Mom reminds us “We’re almost at the ferry”
• Dad turns van into race car, trying to make an earlier boat
• Van reaches ferry and waits for next available boat
• Family makes bets on what ferry we will get
• Third and final round of “PEI Surprises”
• Ferry trip – brothers play video games and/or see how many jellyfish they can see in the water
• Sight of red dirt / entrance into PEI
• Siblings stretch arms forward to claim “I was the first one in PEI this year!”
• “How much longer until we get there?” questions begin
• UPEI planetarium sighting – a sure sign we were almost there

Evening:

• Countdown chanting begins after turn onto street the cottage is on (Dun, dun, dun, dun. DUN, DUN DUN DUN)
• Arrival at “Big Stone Farm” in Millcove
• Greeting from Gram and Grandpa Dave
• Sit down to dinner already prepared by Gram
• Unpacking of van
• Mom, Dad, and all children do not take long falling asleep

Please note: Bathroom stops along the way only coincided with stops for meals – one of the reasons I believe my siblings and I can “hold it” better than most!

Although the trips these days are a bit less eventful now, I still always get excited for my annual trek to PEI. It is a trip full of relaxation, beaches, Celtic music, and hockey. It is a place I can hang out with my family and feel peace. Although I highly recommend going there, I must admit I hope not too many people find out about it. Although I didn’t realize it when I was young, I really am lucky to have PEI in my life.

Some PEI sites:

Official Page: http://www.gov.pe.ca/

UPEI site: http://home.upei.ca/

Newspaper: http://www.theguardian.pe.ca

NHL players from PEI: http://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi?country=CA&province=PE&state=

Funny story about a PEI Judge: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2010/04/09/pei-doyle-assault-verdict-584.html

Favorite PEI musicians:

Richard Wood - http://www.rwood.ca/

Cynthia MacLeod - http://www.cynthiamacleod.com

Fiddlers’ Sons - http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2455051974

Lucy Maud Montgomery: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Maud_Montgomery

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=20238247864

(I looked for an official LMM page, but couldn’t find one)

My other UPEI t-shirts:

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/03/t-shirt-63-university-of-prince-edward.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/06/t-shirt-164-upei-dept-of-athletics.html

Other PEI t-shirts:

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/05/t-shirt-129-canada-prince-edward-island.html

http://davestshirts.blogspot.com/2010/08/t-shirt-219-cow-wars.html

PS- this shirt would have been perfect for me/today: http://shirtcrazy.com/BIZyCart.asp?ITEM=TR-ATA1885-AT&NEXTPAGE=Detail-F.htm&CLIENT=ShirtCrazy