So, have you ever had chocolate covered potato chips? Neither had we, but we have now. We found them to be somewhat of an interesting, salty-sweet and rich treat, a favorite of people at our next stop – Prince Edward Island.
We arrived in Charlottetown Prince Edward Island on the 15th of August after driving over a really ‘BIG’ bridge. Overlooking the full expanse of the Northumberland Straight, PEI’s Confederation Bridge (13 km), brings you to the green fields and red roads of the island. Built in 1997, it has become one of PEI’s most known icons. Most people are surprised to learn it is the longest bridge in the world over water that freezes which posed unique engineering challenges. This picture is from the New Brunswick side.
and mid span approaching PEI
and from the PEI side looking south.
We arrived in time for “Old Home Week” which, since 1888, Islanders and visitors alike travel to Charlottetown to take part in a vast array of fun, educational and community activities. There is a great parade and the Gold Cup and Saucer Race. Since the early 1960s, this has been considered one of the most celebrated harness racing events in Eastern Canada. As a culmination of Old Home Week, the fastest horses and most skilled drivers compete in 15 racing programs in nine days. You can see the races on YouTube. They also have the largest parade outside of the winter carnival in Quebec complete with pipe bands, big floating balloons and dozens of floats. Here is the RCMP Pipe and Drum Corps.
a float featuring the film "Alladin",
and an unusual but excellent parade band.
We met one of Kerry’s co-workers who has lived on the island for several years and got some great tips on where to go for sightseeing and where to find the little out-of-the-way restaurants where the BEST chowders could be found which Susan really enjoyed. They also took us to some outdoor concerts put on by the youth actors from the Confederation Centre of the Arts.
We drove the island from one end to the other and were fascinated as we came into small towns that boasted of being settled in the 1700’s, such as the County seat of Georgetown in 1763. One of the things we commented on over and over was the absolute cleanliness of the Island’s towns and individual homes. As well, almost every farmyard and house in the countryside was flying a flag. We saw more flags in PEI on private homes/yards than we’ve seen across Canada.
We had a chance to visit Green Gables, the famed home of Anne. Anne of Green Gables is a bestselling novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery published in 1908. The book is set in 1878, where Montgomery found her inspiration for the book on an old piece of paper that she had written at a young age, describing a couple that were mistakenly sent an orphan girl instead of a boy, yet decided to keep her. Montgomery also drew upon her own childhood experiences in rural Prince Edward Island. We visited the farmhouse from which the stories originated (Green Gables) as well as "Anne’s home" she grew up in. Lucy Maud, was married in 1911 on the grass of her uncle’s home, the home she used for Anne of Green Gables. We also had a chance to walk down "Lover's Lane", through the "Haunted Woods" and over "Dyrad's Bubble" (for those of you who may know the books).
One of the biggest draws to PEI has to be the beaches and their dozens of lighthouses. We drove around and visited several beaches on all sides of the island and just had to dip our feet into the Atlantic Ocean after only two months ago, dipping into the Pacific Ocean.
We also visited a lighthouse on each end of the island and were fascinated by the research Wind Farm run by the Government of Canada. They currently estimate almost all of PEI’s power needs are met solely by these windmills. In this picture you can see the lighthouse from the far southern shore of the Island which looks out onto New Brunswick across the channel. The little building to the right is where, on dark night, the night radio operator who was on one of the brand new radios build by the new inventor Marconi, heard the first calls for help from the S.S.Titanic. He passed them on to HQ in Charlottetown as the rescue began. This lighthouse has since been decommissioned and replaced by the new electronic systems.
This one is on the very north west corner of the Island, next to the wind farms and is still in full operation.
The real draw to PEI though, is its red dirt. The coastline consists of a combination of long beaches, dunes, red sandstone cliffs, saltwater marshes and numerous bays and harbours. The beaches, dunes and sandstone cliffs consist of sedimentary rock and other material with a high iron concentration. The dirt oxidizes upon exposure to the air and the red dirt is born. A favorite among tourists is the Red Dirt Shirt, which is a white T-shirt that is dyed using just the island’s dirt. It is really unique.
Historically, Prince Edward Island is known as the "Birthplace of Confederation" because the capital city, Charlottetown, is where the idea of Canada was born. The story is that the administrators of the areas of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI were going to meet in early 1863 to discuss if there might be positive feelings for them to unit and form a union where they might all benefit from the wealth and produce of the three areas. Upon hearing of this meeting being held in Charlottetown, Sir John A. MacDonald and other noted Canadians from Upper and Lower Canada invited themselves to the meeting. They arrived on the steamship “Queen Victoria” one morning but found no one there to greet them. It appeared that the entire town, including the governor and his staff had gone to see the Circus that had just arrived in town. One clerk however, who volunteered to meet the Canadians, rowed out to the ship and welcomed the Canadians to town. We even walked up the same road from the docks to Province House these delegates walked up so many years ago. This picture looks down from Province House to the docks where the ships still arrive.
and this is Province House.
What happened after at Province House that week was they all met and discussed a vision of a united country that would reflect and respect the culture, language and diversity of the land. They were under some haste due to the United States colonization drive of the same land. Later the t16 delegates from the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, who had agreed at the close of the Charlottetown Conference to meet again at Quebec City (at the Old Parliament Building) October 1864 met and conceived the idea of forming a country called Canada. Later in 1866, a third Conference, held in London was held and from those meetings the final draft of the British North America Act was agreed to and on July 1, 1867 Canada was born.
Our friends also took us to the evening light show at Province House. This is where an interactive movie is actually shown on the entire back of the Parliament. It was really fascinating to watch the entire Canadian story projected onto the back of the huge building. Here the show depicts the arrival of the Queen Victoria at the Charlottetown harbour.
All in all, a most beautiful place to visit. We had a chance to visit some of the churches in Charlottetown including this one, Trinity United, which was built in 1778.
Some landscape shots to finish off with.
Next, off to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
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