Because much of Québec and the Acadian settlements of Nouveau Brunswick along the St. Lawrence River are located centrally in what was our Maritime journey from Ontario and back, many of the charging stations for our electric vehicle (EV) were in those areas of French language influence. On these charging stations the French word for charge is written “recharger” which obviously means close to the same thing though with the added definition of restoration or replenishment.
Acadians are the descendants of French settlers who arrived in what is now Canada’s Maritimes in the early 17th century and developed a distinct culture. Known for their resilience and rich cultural traditions in music, literature, and arts, they are one of Canada’s oldest and most important francophone communities. While many Acadians remain in their ancestral homeland in Atlantic Canada, their history also includes the “Expulsion of the Acadians” (Le Grand Dérangement) in the mid-18th century, a tragic event of mass deportation by the British that profoundly shaped their identity and forced many into exile.
In French, the verb “recharger” means recharge, refill. reload. It can refer to putting electrical power into a battery, topping up a lighter or other device, or reloading a weapon. The noun form, “la recharge,” can also mean a refill or a place to relax and regain energy. Unsurprisingly I am gripped by the coincidence of our automotive experience with that of our internal combustion so to speak! In both vernacular, the evident core is to get back vitality. And – by further coincidence – the enterprise requires reduction or moderation. It was this leisure reawakening of inner spirit which succeeded to propel both our locomotion and personal gusto.
Apart from the metaphor of recharging and all that that entails, neither experience was entirely satisfactory. On the electrical side for example we routinely faced sometimes insurmountable obstacles to employment of the charging stations. We even encountered two others on separate occasions who reported having run into the same difficulties as we with certain charging stations. Some of the charging stations simply did not work. Others required an unnerving amount of application to reach the intended goal. The electric charging stations – unlike the fuel stations – often require more than a simple credit card to function as intended. Certainly some of the obstruction is no more than a learning curve which – for someone who uses the identical charger on a regular basis – would constitute a momentary lapse only. But for the infrequent traveler in similar circumstances, it was annoying beyond words.
Which brings me to my next point (no doubt of similar inconsequence); namely, all this business about “getting away”, “seeing the world”, “taking a holiday” or whatever commonplace expression is used to imply the vagabond rejuvenation is a deceit upon the as often unexpressed worthiness of simply staying home. Understanding this peril requires close attention, not because vacationing is bad but because the more influential and restorative features of home are too often undervalued. Perhaps this is ironically the chief success of recharging oneself – that is, that the withdrawal from the mundane succeeds to elevate its disregarded value. In short, not only is it good to back home; it is good to recapture all the convenient pleasures of one’s drawing room. It is good having one’s own private parking space, not being required to cart one’s belongings in and out of hotels, avoiding the chaos of early morning traffic and GPS instructions in an unfamiliar environment, not having to cope with destination ambitions or reconfiguring one’s toiletries, to name but a few. I know this all sounds like the complaint of an old fogey. And it is. But the effect of it all is that in my curmudgeonly manner I am content to have withdrawn from the travel mode.
My remonstrance is unforgivable in comparison to the labours quietly undertaken by my partner throughout our travels. He arranged everything from start to finish, the travel routes, all the hotels, the charging stations, the ferry, the record keeping of expenses, intermediary communications between interested parties, dinner reservations, etc. In the end – as I look back upon our recent exploits – it was a 100% successful peregrination. There were highlights at the Rodd Crowbush resort on Prince Edward Island and our rendezvous with friends Jay and Alana. We accomplished our primary goals to revisit the maritime provinces (and to see some of their glorious vistas) and to reconnect with our friends in Nova Scotia. The lesser objective was to discover what if any impediments prevailed for travel by electric vehicle. That particular plan has awakened a hesitation regarding similar future outings. The EV industry is yet in the making. Meanwhile we have convinced ourselves that, aside from local endeavours, our interest in moving outside immediate boundaries is much diminished. This is as much an intellectual admission as it is an acknowledgment of personal change. I view the conclusion are satisfactory. Recharging is not replacing; it is filling up with what works.
