From One Island To Another

Normally, every summer we pack up the car and head out to some new-to-us location here in Newfoundland: Codroy Valley, Twillingate, Fogo, Rocky Harbour, Glovertown and many points in between. This year we did things a little differently. We packed up the car and drove and drove and drove until we reached a boat, crossed the gulf, drove some more, got on another boat, drove some more and next thing you know we were unpacking the perfectly packed car in spectacular PEI! Of course, you might have guessed that John was the one who neatly arranged and packed the car. For the life of me I don’t know how he does it, and he didn’t even play Tetris back in the day.

I gotta say I was a little nervous crossing on the ferry, it was my first time! I’ve flown many times before yet I’m almost 50 and I’ve never been on the Marine Atlantic ferry. Dad spent his entire working life with Marine Atlantic, or some version of it through the years, whether it was CNR, CN, CN Marine or Marine Atlantic. He started with the company in 1956 and stayed with them until he retired in 2002. Now that’s what I call dedication! He was on my mind every single minute that we were near or on the boat and just for an instant I thought to myself, “I can’t wait to tell dad all about this and show him some snaps.” I know he would’ve loved to hear all about it.

Prince Edward Island is just like the magical place you you’ve imagined it to be. Rolling hills and green valleys, farmland, birds and animals of every kind and red sandy beaches for kilometers. We decided to take the ferry over to PEI and drive back using the Confederation Bridge. From the moment the ferry pulled into the wharf I knew there was going to be a problem. Okay, not really a problem as such but it was like sensory overload. We made our way off the boat and started driving to North Rustico and it felt like we were driving through a postcard. Of course, me being me, I hauled out my camera and started snapping away. As we drove along the highway I was trying to take pictures but I quickly realized that many of the roads in and around PEI had a speed limit of 70-80 km/h and there wasn’t much room to pull over to the side of the road. You might think it’s crazy but I was pretty bummed that we weren’t able to stop on a whim every few hundred feet to take a picture. It stressed me out and I know John was stressed because of me. Charlotte pipes up from the back seat and says not to worry about getting the pictures, just sit back and enjoy the scenery. Easier said than done but I tried to take her advice…to some degree.

PEI is known for many things, among which are potatoes! Naturally one of our first stops was the potato museum to learn about all things potato! Just imagine all the delicious things you can make from that little brown spud – boiled potatoes, french fried potatoes, potato chips, potato salad, potato hash browns, twice baked potato, potato skins, and potato fudge! Yes, you read that correct, potato fudge and it was delicious.

No visit to PEI is possible without a stop to Green Gables, the backdrop to the Anne of Green Gables novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery.

The bottle houses are one of the coolest things in PEI. Here’s a little backstory – In the spring of 1980 a gentleman by the name of Édouard Arsenault began the construction of his first of three bottle buildings. The buildings consist of over 25 000 bottles cemented together to form a six-gabled house, a chapel and a tavern. The three structures are surrounded by a lush green garden! Check out their site to learn more about this wonder.

We headed to Charlottetown for a day to see what was on the go there. One of the things we did was stop by St. Dunstan’s Cathedral for a look. Such a beautiful church and amazing architecture.

Here are a few other churches we encountered during our travels.

Have you ever hung out with goats on the beach? No? Well, I highly recommend it. Nothing beats a leisurely stroll down a garden path to a magnificent beach where goats run, frolic, head butt each other, occasionally paddle board, and poop in the sand. Mind where you’re walking if you have bare feet. 😉

The Toy Factory in New Glasgow is one of the sweetest toy stores I’ve ever been in. Many of the wooden toys are crafted on site in their workshop! There’s so much to see with a wonderful variety of whimsical toys.

One of the most picturesque and stunningly beautiful places on the island is Island Lavender Distillery. My photos do not do it justice. We were a little late getting there in the lavender season but there was still plenty to pick from.

Our last night in PEI we went for an evening drive and as we were cruising along the highway I saw people jumping off the side of the wharf. It startled me for a minute but I quickly realized they weren’t in any danger and there were just as many spectators as divers. It was a great way to spend our last evening, watching them dive and back flip over the edge.

In early fall of 2022, post-tropical storm Fiona ravaged the Atlantic provinces leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Along with damage to homes, businesses and valuable infrastructure, many trees and dunes of PEI were not spared. Because it was my first time in the province I didn’t notice the dune damage as I had nothing to compare it to. The tree damage, however, was quite noticeable; so many uprooted and toppled over. She may have tried her hardest but Fiona did not stop us from enjoying our time in PEI. The places we visited showed very little in the way of battle scars which it a testament to the people of the island and their resilience, something Newfoundland & Labrador has in common with them.

We are all too familiar with Mother Nature and the power she has wielded over us for centuries; something I felt when we landed in Port Aux Basques. It was a warm summer evening when we drove around the town, the sun was setting, casting a golden glow all over it. It was hard to imagine those days in late September 2022 when post-tropical storm Fiona hit the area. Scenes from that day raced across our TV screens and when we saw the depth and scope of what happened it was hard to wrap our minds around it. “How could they recover”? I reference my previous blog to say ‘Life Finds A Way’, and the people of Port aux Basques and surrounding areas are doing just that. There is still plenty of work to be done in the hard-hit areas but perseverance and determination will pay off in the end.

The list of things to do in PEI is endless. When planning the trip, I compiled a list of “must see” items but we certainly didn’t get to do it all. That just gives us a perfect excuse to go back again some day. Yes, we went and did all the usual touristy things but we tried to find things that were different like the beach goats, bottle houses and a drive-in theatre movie night. I think I can safely say that it was one of the most memorable and fun road trips we’ve ever done! Can’t wait for the next one. 🙂

These are just a few of the pictures I took during our time in PEI. If you’d like to see more please click on the link Atlantic – PE, NB, NS, NL which will take you to the full gallery on my website. As always, I hope you enjoyed my ramblings and accompanying photos!

Until Next Time!

Andrea