Twenty-Two Years

That summer day, in 1996, was wet, dark, grey.

There was the possibility that we wouldn't stop. I had no desire to get soaked, only to load back into our 1980 Datsun 200SX, and make our way, wet and miserable, on to Nova Scotia.

Our first wedding anniversary had been a bust. I was coping with strep throat, had barely any energy to celebrate. Thankfully, we hadn't made any travel plans, and I sufferd at home.

It wasn't quite our second anniversary on this day. We were still a few days away, when we planned to be in Prince Edward Island. But I didn't want to remember our trip to Hopewell Rocks to be a soggy, dismal one. Though it wasn't yet our anniversary day, it was part of our anniversary trip.

As luck would have it, much like on our actual wedding day, the torrential rain stopped at the right moment. Though the sky was still grey, we decided that we would make our way down to the base of the rocks. We weren't at the lowest tide, but we could still access a good part of the shore. But with the ample rain, the mud made wandering too far afield to be less than desirable, even though we had hiking boots.

I remember the stop to be short. The rain threatened to return at any moment, and I didn't want to ascend back to the car on a soaked path.

Back to the car, back into dry, clean shoes, back on the road. I felt that I had seen this well-known, east-coast landmark, but that I couldn't completely check my internal box that says been there, seen that.

Twenty-two years later, the sun shone, the weather warm and agreeable. This time, with kids in toe, more than six weeks after our 24th anniversary, we made two trips to the rocks. The first, at high tide, where kayakers paddled among the tiny islands; the second, after low tide, where we could take our time and wander the entire coastline. An hour before sunset, the shadows in the rocks' recesses were more defined, the silhouettes stark.

We left feeling redeemed from our last visit. The Canadian must-see spot fully checked off my list.

I'll share more Hopewell Rocks photos when I return from vacation.