Moving, Music & Beaches
- Gwendy Harrington
- May 13, 2025
- 4 min read
I had this really ambitious plan when I started writing this blog the other year in that I was going to be diligent and post regularly. Then, life showed me that it had other ideas. I found myself in a bit of a writer's rut. To me, that means I need to focus on living life and embracing the people and experiences around me. So, that is what I did. My life got super busy.
When I reflect upon the past year, I must say it has truly been awesome. I spent time on PEI last summer. I spent a few weeks in England and Scotland last fall. Over the winter, I moved from Alberta to PEI. I taught engineering courses during the winter semester at UPEI. And just last week, I helped out with the Queens County Music Festival in Charlottetown. My life has looked very different from what it was two years ago and in ways that work so much better for me as a person.
I hate moving. Truly, I do. I hate packing. I hate having to re-organise my belongings in a new place. I hate the complete upheaval. When I was younger, I had always thought it was a fun adventure. Now, I prefer to be settled. I find myself envying all those people that have been settled for a long time in one place and in one house that may not be picture perfect, but they have made it work for them.
With the real estate and rental markets having gone completely nuts on Prince Edward Island since COVID-19 in 2020, I found myself renting a place on the north shore for the winter. It was a very cute spot and worked perfectly for me for the winter. However, in the summer, the owners rent it out as an AirBnB. In a few weeks, my lease will end as the summer season will begin. And so, I am moving...again. I truly wish that I could wave my magic wand and have everything moved and organized without me doing a thing.
I think I actually just dislike the fact that this will be the second time that I have moved in a year. It is time for this moving frequency to diminish and fade.
The cool thing about my winter residence is that I was not far from the water. In fact, the residence across the road is a waterfront property and so I am able to see water through the trees. I see and hear the waves during the high winds and storms. I can see, and hear, the boats on the way out to fish in the morning and on their way back to the harbour in the afternoon.
I am not far from Cavendish. The dog and I had regular walks through the national park. While we did not go on the actual beach, we did spend time in the trail system and wandered about the property that was formerly known as Rainbow Valley. It is now known as Cavendish Grove, and while you can still see some of the natural features of Rainbow Valley, as well as some of the electrical and piping hookups, it looks very different. Nature has taken over. Walking through that section of the park is always a hit of nostalgia from 30 years ago when I would be wiping down picnic tables and picking up cigarette butts as we got the park ready to open for the public in the mornings.
There have been a lot of changes on Prince Edward Island over the years. I do like the public transit system. It makes it very easy to get around without a car - particularly in Charlottetown. I find that parking in Charlottetown can be challenging at best, so the public transit is a great way to avoid the hassle.
I was really shocked with the change in the music festival. It was such a treat to hear all the talented music students playing. But then, PEI has always had a great pool of talent when it came to music. What had changed was the number of participants. There just wasn't the same number of young music students participating as there were when I was a kid.
May was always music festival month. It was the huge highlight. The results were captured in the newspapers and there was always a lot of media attention on the participants and the results from their performances. Sadly, newspapers are no longer published on PEI and the media coverage is greatly reduced. Is this what happened? Or is this just another victim of the cultural shifts that have been occurring with the rise of technology? Given the close relation between math and music, this should be alarming. Many accomplished engineers, scientists, doctors, etc. are also accomplished musicians. The pattern and sequence recognition and manipulation that is common and required in music is also a skill that is common and required in scientific fields. As an engineering student at UNB, the university concert band consisted of 95% engineering students. It is important the music be included in a child's education.
I must say that living in Alberta, I missed the shore. As I prepare to move from my winter residence, it was truly lovely to be so close to the beach and to hear the waves. My next location is also near the water, but the river is more inland and the waves are more subdued even on the wildest days in comparison. I am not one who likes to be landlocked.
With much to do, I will end my first post in almost a year. I hope everyone else had an adventurous journey this past year.
