Nova Scotia #1         Nova Scotia #2         Prince Edward Island

 

Prince Edward Island

 

It's now Sunday 8/26, and we've finally made it to Prince Edward Island after jumping on a ferry at Caribou, NS and taking a leisurely 75 minute cruise on a beautiful, balmy (mid 70s) day!   But before we get into PEI detail --- we've received a complaint from at least one person that Patty has actually received less face time on our website than Max.   As you may have guessed, Patty is not much on having her picture snapped, but in an effort to satisfy those of you who require proof that she is still traveling with me, I caught her earlier this evening in one of her typical activities:

That should satisfy everyone, with the possible exception of Patty!

---and now back to Prince Edward Island !

Note the red soil and red rock, that differentiates PEI from the islands of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, yet fertile enough to be rich potato and wheat growing country, as well as hay -- and some dairy operations .

We're here on Sunday when some of those fine fishers and farmers take time out to take their families to one of PEI's famous beaches !

I'm throwing in the next one to see if Bill Bachman is paying attention !   (one of our favorite Bachman books captures the humorous mailboxes of Australia, titled "Special Delivery" -- it's dynamite !)

The farm mailbox above pretty well says what becomes apparent on PEI, and that is that watermen here seem to be more inclined to also combine their love of the sea with farming.   We saw countless farms with workboats in dry-dock.

Taters, wheat & water !

Charlottetown, is not only the historic capital of the province of PEI, but became known as the birthplace of Canada because it is where, in 1864, the first talks were held to unite Canada.   An agreement was finally reached in 1867 when the Dominion of Canada was born.   It has a population of 45,000 of the total PEI population of 137,000, and may be the least impressive of the three capitals visited this trip.   A few things stood out: 1) A great meal at the Water Street Pub;  2) The War Memorial (currently being refurbished) at The Province House;   and 3)  In a primarily Catholic city, they did manage to find some room for the protestants!

We leave PEI by way of the Confederation Bridge, the controversial project PEIers love to debate.   It takes about 12 minutes to drive the 13 km (approx 8 miles) of the longest bridge in the world, stretching from Borden-Carleton, PEI to Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick.   It was completed in 1997 at a cost of about $900 Million.

So we leave PEI, and on the way back to Savannah, making sure that we stop by Alma, Bay of Fundy, in New Brunswick Province for the evening, and for a great meal at The Parkland Hotel, where we dined three years ago.   Still great!

All in all, another great visit with our friends from the north!

Few realize the size of Canada.   It is the second largest country in the world, second only to Russia, but its population of only about 30 million makes it one of the least populated (per square mile) in the world.   One thing we continue to experience each time we cross the border -- those few people have huge hearts!

 

Nova Scotia #1         Nova Scotia #2         Prince Edward Island