Prince Edward Island Pt. 4

The next day, we followed the PEI National Park shoreline quite a ways, headed to the End of the World....

Actually we were at East Point, the NE tip of PEI.  This is blue fin tuna territory (500-1500 pounders are landed).  And a cool lighthouse open for tours.

 

East Point is also where three different tides converge...  from the Gulf of St. Laurence, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Northumberland Strait.  Also East Point is just a cool place to hang.

As we left East Point, the world resumed...

Further down the Eastern coast, we stopped at Basin Head, home of the singing sands.  The sands weren't singing that day, but it was a cool place with some nice herons hanging out.

The black clouds in the pics above meant we had to hit the road...  seems that the remnants of "Hurricane" Gabrielle were still dogging us.

Prince Edward Island Pt. 3

We spent a day driving around the central part of the island, crossing through some beautiful landscapes and headed to the Prince Edward Island National Park, and the infamous House of Green Gables.

A favorite stop was another Provincial park, Cape Cabot.  Since we were "off season", the beaches were pretty much empty, and I had to play lifeguard.

The obligatory tourist stop on PEI is the Ann of Green Gables house.  This is a nice little park area, again, well preserved, with walk through the "haunted" woods.

We then cruised along the northern coast, and the PEI National Park extending for miles.  Supposedly the warmest water north of North Carolina.

We ended the day at the famous Glasgow lobster dinner...  what a feed!  And very happy people all around us.

Prince Edward Island Pt. 2

PEI has been called the "most beautiful place on earth"...  I'm not sure of that, but there were a couple days driving around the island that I was impressed by that statement.  About 200 miles tip to tip, around 150K people, and everything neat as a pin.

You get to the island via ferry or by crossing the Confederation Bridge (above).  Immediately you are surrounded by a very rural culture, potato farming being prominent.

Always surrounded by water, there are many Provincial parks as well as notable views of the Strait of St. Lawrence.  And lighthouses....    (it's common to have a little lighthouse in front yards, sort of like pink flamingos in the US)

We drove up to North Cape, the NW most point of PEI.  There's a large wind farm up here, and great ocean views.  (oh, and everything on the island is in French as well as English....  the Acadians maintaining their language and culture).

Note the size of this wind generator blade...  in comparison to the people...

Very rural, each farm has incredibly huge lawns, we're talking acres....  and, again, all neat as a pin (with tractors and implements all neatly lined up together...  I'm sure this is where I get my OCD gene, since my grandfather was born on PEI).

Got to be the riding lawnmower capitol of the universe!

Prince Edward Island Pt.1

We spent nearly a week driving around Prince Edward Island, Canada.  My grandfather was born there, so I've always wanted to visit the island.  There are some really dominating features found on PEI (besides tons of mussels and lobsters!).  About every mile along the roads are churches...  Catholic (French influence), Anglican (Brit influence), United, Baptist and a scattering of others.  Most of the churches are small country affairs, usually surrounded by cemeteries...  Seems like there are more than expected numbers of dead people!  Anyway, some pics of a few interesting churches we found.

Above is St. Dunstan's cathedral in Charlottetown...  the spires dominate the city skyline...

B&Bs on PEI

We recently took a trip to Prince Edward Island, Canada.  It's a very beautiful place, surrounded by ocean.  There's a zillion B&Bs available on the island, we stayed at a few, and here are the pics.  Note that each B&B was a wonderful victorian restoration with impeccably detailed interiors.

Above is the Orient Hotel in Victoria by the Sea, PEI.  It's a little seaside village of about 200 people but with good restaurants and a nifty playhouse.  Here's the famous Landmark Cafe (no, it is not a convenience store, it is a top flight restaurant).

OK, before we leave Victoria for the next B&B, here's a shot of the largest tree on PEI (somewhat debatable).

On to Summerside, the second largest "city" on PEI (maybe 20K?).  We stayed at the Summerside Inn, another incredible restoration.  As would be our fate, the owners are a Mormon couple!  I though we'd escaped!  But they were excellent hosts and were quite helpful advising us on our trip.  Only four rooms available, but a very good value.

We cruised along the coast over to the central part of the island and found this B&B in Rustico.

The Barachois Inn is a bit off the road, we luckily found it after some helpful advice at a gas station.  Again, a great restoration and amazing interior detail.  We had a room that was basically a full apartment, very comfortable.

After a long day exploring the eastern section of PEI, we arrived in Charlottetown, the capitol of the province of PEI.  We had reservations at the Fairholm Inn, one of the classic Victorians of Charlottetown.

Again, great interiors, detailed and comfortable rooms.  Charming beyond belief dining room for breakfast.

I'd like to thank all the innkeepers for making our stays quite comfortable and for the unique and filling breakfasts that started our day.  If I have any complaints, it's that B&Bs are getting quite expensive for a guy on a Motel 6 budget.  But the individual experiences were certainly worth it.

Speaking of Victorian restorations, I'll drop this pic in of the Beaconhouse, one of the most famous Victorians in Charlottetown.  It's now a museum and well worth a tour if you are ever in the area.