HAPPINESS

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” —Thich Nhat Hanh

This article “How Happiness Impacts Health” that I recently read states,

“Happiness is good. It provides us with a sense of optimism, a “take on the world” attitude and a positivity that can be infectious. According to a recent study, everyone attempts to find happiness in three ways: Doing good for others; doing things you’re good at; and doing things that are good for you.”

‘Doing things that are good for you’ is what we did these past two days. We had a mini staycation in our beautiful province of Prince Edward Island. https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/canada/prince-edward-island

For this little jaunt we chose to tour some of the eastern part of the island. https://assets.cdnma.com/7952/assets/2020VisitorsGuide/Points_East_Coastal_Drive_2.pdf

We left Borden early yesterday morning in order to make the most of our first day. The weather was slightly on the cool side but we accepted that and would still enjoy ourselves. After a short detour to stop at Winners 😊 in Charlottetown we headed to Greenwich National Park and its 2.5 km floating boardwalk. https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/pe/pei-ipe/visit/greenwich Stopping at the PEI Visitor’s Information Centre in St. Peters https://www.princeedwardisland.ca/en/building/st-peters-visitor-information-centre we sat on one of their outdoor picnic tables and had some tea, crackers, and chocolate – we brought our own little picnic. After a little visit inside (Richard picked up some travel brochures and I changed into my shorts as it had turned into a lovely hot 🌞 day) we were off to the boardwalk and beach.

It’s so beautifully pristine there (the mosquitoes 🦟 in the woods part of the trail were not but I’m choosing to put them out of my mind). Including our walk along the beach 🌊 we did a total of 7 km. and we only saw four others on the beach. Pure happiness!

Next stop Rodd Brudenell River Resort in Cardigan. https://roddvacations.com/hotels/rodd-brudenell-river/ COVID 19 protocols are obviously taken very seriously here. Perfect. Oh my, oh my, oh my! Imagine my extreme delight when I opened our room and discovered we had a King Suite with a wraparound deck overlooking the water. Took a bit of time to enjoy it and then off for dinner at Bogside Brewing https://bogsidebrewing.com and an ice cream cone at What’s the Scoop http://www.whatsthescooppei.com in Montague. At Bogside Richard had Slow Smoked Chicken. The flavour was yummy but his preference would be for the chicken to be cooked more. We both prefer meat to be really well done but realize others don’t. I chose to enjoy the moment and chose nachos (think about calories another day). They were good but I’d have preferred more cheese and jalapeños. But they can’t cater to everyone’s particular tastes now can they. Our ice creams, on the other hand were scrumptious. Can’t beat a good ice cream cone. 🍦 Richard-Sugar Free Vanilla Cone. Me-Belgium Dipped Cone

Deciding to make the most of our amazing accommodations we bought a bottle of champagne ‘ooh la la’ 🍾 and had a very relaxing evening enjoying sun ☀️ and champagne 🥂 on our deck. Why not. This is our vacation time.

What a fabulous day! We really were attentive to the moments we were in and saw the joy in them.

This morning? Cold! Cold!Cold! I’m so glad I brought a heavy sweater as we walked over the their Club 19 for breakfast. And it was very windy. https://roddvacations.com/restaurant/club-19/ Again I was impressed with all the protocols they have in place. Our breakfast was very good and nicely presented- eggs, bacon, pan fried potatoes, toast, and slices of fresh cantaloupe, pineapple, and strawberry.

Back to our room for tea, reading, and newspaper crossword puzzles. Might as well enjoy every last minute in our fabulous suite.

But, as always, the time comes to leave. Off we went. Another stop in Charlottetown, this time at Home Depot to get some supplies for work projects and then back to Borden. It’s always great to go somewhere but returning also feels terrific. These two days were a great get away and I’m so happy we took this little vacation. A change no matter how big or small, can be so beneficial.

With this vacation, as with anything in life, you have choices: be present in the moment or dwell on other things, focus on the positives or on the negatives. You know what I chose. These two days brought happiness to my soul and I savour every moment. I’ll remember all the positives and let the negatives fade away.

Hopefully we’ll have a few more mini staycations this summer in various other parts of PEI. Will let you know when we do.

Richard often sings this song around the house. He remembers it from when he was a child. I thought it was a wonderful choice for today’s song selection.

Happiness – Ken Dodd

“Happiness, happiness, the greatest gift that I posses

I thank the Lord that I’ve been blessed 

With more than my share of happiness”

Stay safe and healthy.

As always, thanks for your interest and thank you for reading.

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