Family Fun in Prince Edward Island
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After out final pick up in Dartmouth, we headed out for the " Gentle Island " .
We did stop for coffee and maybe a bit of breakfast at Tim Horton's at Truro. We arrived at the Northumberland Ferry Terminal at Caribou around 10 o'clock, it was sunny and was sunny through-out our crossing of the Northumberland Strait to Wood Island, PEI.
Traffic was quite light as we toured to Charlottetown, but it did start to rain for a time on the way in but stopped long enough for me to pick up our tickets at Confereration Centre for the Anne of Green Gables Musical, the ANNE-iversary Dinner, and the Ballad of Stompin' Tom, for Tuesday night.
As you are aware Prince Edward Island , is called "Spud Island" (over 110,000 acres of land devoted to the growing of potatoes),
and called "Golf Island" because of it's many golf courses; also called "the Garden of the Gulf " as it sits in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and seems to be one gigantic garden; our native peoples called it "Abeqweit" meaning " land cradled by the waves " and St John's Island by the French the first European settlers, and became Prince Edward Island , named after Prince Edward, one of George the Third sons and the father of Queen Victoria, once the island was acquired by England. Charlottetown, is named after George lll wife, Charlotte.
Our rooms at Brackley Beach North Winds were truly great, Murray ( the owner ) gave us rooms in the Executive Wing - they were large, comfortable, quiet and fit for a " king "! Thank you, Murray.
Late afternoon, we made our way into Charlottetown to Confederation Centre where Anne of Green Gables the Musical is played plus where we were to meet with " Anne " for dinner. "Our Anne " proved to a delightful young lady studying to be a teacher and is currently a student at the University of Prince Edward Island enrolled in a Bachelor of Arts degree program. As they say the meal was fine but the company was simply great! Following dinner we had time to stroll around Confederation Centre exploring the gift shop and the Art Gallery before adjourning to the theatre for the evenings performance. " Anne ( the Musical ) " ended about 10:20 PM and all thoroughly enjoyed " Anne " - we arrived at Brackley Beach North Winds shortly before 11o'clock.
Following breakfast, we headed into Charlottetown after seeing the old/new resort Stanhope-By-The-Sea and being routed to C'town and passing the Vessey Seed complex as we made our way to historic Charlottetown and our tour of the city. Passengers had time for personal exploring during our morning in the city and again later on in early evening while we waited to experience The Ballad of Stompin Tom!
About noon we drove out to New Glasgow where we toured Prince Edward Island Preserve Company ( located in an old butter factory )
plus a delightful lunch was to be had in their Cafe on the Clyde - soup, sandwich and dessert. Following -
We passed the site where Lucy Maud Montgomery is buried ( Cavendish ) to spend time at the Anne of Green Gables National Historic Site the cottage ( Anne's Cottage ) is surrounded by the Green Gables Golf Course.
Following this visit we drove to a look-off site at French River -- here one can see from one vantage place - all the major components of PEI's economic life -- farming, fishing, aqua-culture and scenery (ie. tourism ).
Following along Route 6 we drove into North Rustico Village - it hard to imagine that jelly-fish could get that large -- and as they dry in the sun ---------well !!!!! - hoping the photos at least show their size -- what must be like to try swimming with these creatures around you?????
Yes, it was lobster dinner night -- Fisherman's Wharf at North Rustico -- what a feast - the buffet table looks to be 100 feet long groaning under the weight of all sorts of goodies from salads of all kinds, pizza, and pasta , clam chowder and mussels PLUS a mulitude of desserts - plus lobster, or scallops, fish, and even steak as the main attraction.
Once dinner was complete we drove ( toured ) to Charlottetown for our date with Stompin' Tom - yes Bud the Spud - Tillsonburg - Sudbury Saturday Night - the Hockey Song and more - it was a great performance !!!!! We arrived at North Winds at about 11 o'clock.
Homeward bound, using the Trans Canada Highway - took a detour to the quaint village Victoria-by-the-Sea ( on the Northumberland Coast ) before arriving at Gateway Village at the PEI end of the Confederation Bridge and a rest stop. There is lots to see and do here ( for about up to an hour - unless you love shopping )!
Over the bridge ( was a clear and partly sunny day - no wind to speak of - light traffic - a good crossing ) and into New Brunswick and making our way to Nova Scotia's Sunrise Trail that makes it's way from New Brunswick to the Strait of Canso - hugging Nova Scotia's Northumberland Coastline. Very scenic as we made our way to the Jost Winery at Malagash. Yes, some sampling took place and a few bottles were purchased before we left.
Virtually no traffic - in either direction - as we traversed Six Mile route and through the Wentworth Valley to our final meal restaurant near Truro - the Pallister over-looking the Tidal Bore Park at Salmon River it ( Salmon River ) is a Bay of Fundy Tidal River - in fact - the highest recorded tides ever - were documented at nearby Burntcoat on the Minas Basin.
Surprisingly, everybody ordered Salmon well ......................... everybody except me ------ yes always one out of step!
Again, because of light traffic we were in Halifax by 4 o'clock and all passengers were home by 5:15 PM and I too was home before 6 o'clock.
Family Fun in Prince Edward Island - surf - sand - sun - red soil - golf - scenery and lobster !
See the snapshots - we tour your way !!!!
Till next time - cheers !
Bob
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