Maritime Provinces 2007 - Prince Edward Island, Canada 

Updated: 11/30/08

 

w ns07d5 foggy hh 003.JPG (17103 bytes)It was foggy in camp the morning we were moving to Prince Edward Island. The fog remained as we started our travel. However, it didn't take long for the day to clear.

 

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Along side the road we saw towers and a pattern of wires strung between them. As we approached, a sign said that it was an antenna system for the broadcast network. We aren't sure. It was something we had never seen before. (Later, on a tour of the Marconi National Historic Site of Canada, we learned about this type of antenna system.)

 

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We were aware we were going to cross over the Confederation Bridge to get onto Prince Edward Island (PEI).  It was an interesting sight in front of us. As we got closer, the real size became apparent. The bridge is nine miles long and reaches a height of 120 feet over the water. It has hollow construction allowing it to house cables for electricity and telephones for the island.

 

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The views from the bridge were spectacular.

 

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The view from the top ...

 

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How would you like to
change this light bulb.

 

 

w ns07d5 pei vc 112.JPG (32461 bytes)The Visitor's Center was located in an area looking like a small village. It is appropriately called Gateway Village. In addition to the visitor's center, there is a nice collection of shops for your shopping pleasure.

The Visitor's Center building contained information, snacks, and some more shopping opportunities.  We shared a very tasty, hot, soft pretzel before we headed across the island.

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This hooked rug is inset
under glass in the floor.

 

A display about lighthouses was popular.

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w ns07d5 bridge toll on 153.JPG (40522 bytes)We looked with a carefree attitude at the tollbooths across the road. You can drive on the island for free - no toll is collected. Getting off the island is a different story. Island residents do not receive any discount.

(To quell your curiosity, the toll for us to get off the island was $54.25 Canadian.)

 

 

 

w a ns07d5 road farm 165.JPG (38181 bytes)The drive across Prince Edward Island was mostly through farm land. Fields of many shapes and colors made it a pleasant drive.

 

This covered bridge was a special treat to see.

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v ns07d6 bus dbl 003.JPG (65790 bytes)The next day, we toured PEI by bus. We had heard rumors that we would be using double-decker buses. They were very impressive as they arrived at the campground. 

In actuality, they were noisy, fumes came into the open platform and they were so low in power, we almost got out to push. In spite of this, it was a fun experience.

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v ns07d6 farm 011.JPG (37019 bytes)Our first destination of the day was a tour of Charlottetown. It was a beautiful ride through rural areas. Close to town we could see water - everyone likes to see water. The lighthouse is a common site on PEI.

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It was a fast moving tour with many sights mentioned but few stops. In the center of town we stopped to walk a little in front of Province House and across the street from a church with tall steeples.

 

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We passed through more rural areas as we headed for our next stop. The fields of canola added a different color to the landscape. The countryside is dotted with many picturesque churches. The blue sky made the rivers blue also.

 

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We noticed on PEI the pride
many people take in their lawns.
They mowed a tremendous
amount of land.

 

 

 

This is Anne of Green Gables. She met our buses and greeted each guest.  Many will recognize her from books written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. 

After greeting us, she roamed her yard visiting and being photographed with other guest.

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We liked this piece of art work portraying Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author, and her character, Anne.

 

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Green Gables has become famous around the world as the inspiration for the setting of the classic tale of fiction, Anne of Green Gables. In real life, this farm was the home of David Jr. and Margaret Macneill, brother and sister, who were cousins of Montgomery's grandfather. Ms. Montgomery never lived at Green Gables.

 

v ns07d6 gg barn 226.JPG (29046 bytes)      Matthew's barn with the carriage in front.

 

     

 Green Gables

 

 

Although Ms. Montgomery never lived at Green Gales, she grew up nearby with her grandparents. The house and grounds have been restored and decorated as described in her novel.

 

v ns07d6 gg br r 201.JPG (43477 bytes)   v ns07d6 gg br l 200.JPG (41565 bytes)  Anne's bedroom . . .

 

v ns07d6 gg dress 202.JPG (10911 bytes)   The dress from the book . . . 

 

v ns07d6 gg haunted wood 231.JPG (90693 bytes) The path to the haunted woods . . .

 

If you are a fan of Ms. Montgomery's you could visit many place in the area that were significant in her life. Her birthplace, her grave and the footprint of the house her grandparents lived in are all in the area.

 

The stop at Cavendish Dunesland Trail  in Prince Edward Island National Park was appreciated by all. We walked around the rocks for half and hour.

 

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One of our members brought their grandson on the tour.
 He went 'out on a limb' so to speak.
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In addition to these sights . . . 

 

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 . . . we could see the beach off in the distance.

 

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The view was just as beautiful from down the cliff a little ways.

 

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The tour guide had to almost drag us away from this beautiful location.

 

 

 

v ns07d6 lupines 354.JPG (84121 bytes)Lupines were everywhere. Patches large and small colored the roadside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We learned about mussel farms on our tour. As the bus drove through the countryside, we saw buoys in many locations - lots of buoys. The mussels grow in the net bag attached to the buoys with a rope. Each bag of mussels will weigh 50 to 80 pounds. The tour guide is holding a small sample of the net bag.   

 

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v ns07d6 ch steeple 366.JPG (22441 bytes)One church along our route had an unusual event in their history. It seems the Trustees of the church ordered a steeple for the church. After it was built and delivered, it was found to be too heavy for the existing roof structure. Rather than go to the expense of having another steeple built or reinforcing the roof, the members of the church decided to set the steeple on the ground next to the church building - not on the church roof.  

 

 

 

 

v ns07d6 mini sign 371.JPG (49156 bytes)It seemed like we drove a long time to our next destination. We finally arrived at Woodleigh Replicas & Gardens. This site features 30 large-scale models of castles and cathedrals from the British Isles, set amid English country gardens.

 

        

 

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v ns07d6 mini 422.JPG (61236 bytes) More than one scale was used.           

Some buildings were large enough to people to enter and walk around. A few of them contain antique furniture, painting and carvings.

 

More farm land . . . 

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v ns07d6 ice cream 530.JPG (28530 bytes)We stopped for homemade ice cream in New Glasgow. The store also sold jelly and preserves. It was a rehearsal for the ice cream social the event leaders planned for this evening. We were celebrating the 4th of July.

They were out of the flavor Al wanted when he reached the window. They gave him the 'empty' container and a spoon to eat the 'crumbs'.

He seemed to enjoy it.

 

 

v ns07d6 ice flowers 532.JPG (90355 bytes)            v ns07d6 ice flowers 533.JPG (81592 bytes)
We enjoyed the flowers while we ate our ice cream.

 

After the bus dropped us off back at camp, we had a couple hours to have dinner and relax before our ice cream social. 

 

As promised, the event leaders dished up the ice cream, topped it with strawberries and blue berries. Yes, red, white and blue in honor of the holiday.   

 

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Let the singing begin.

 

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The quartet . . .

 

Sometime after the 'sing-a-long', the games began.

 

The first game eliminated people based on the flip of a coin. You held your 'tail' or your 'head'. If you lost the coin toss, you were eliminated. 

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>>> 3 tails and 1 head <<<           Gary won when a head was tossed. 

 

 

The next game had the teams spell words in a story read to the teams. Each team member had random letters printed on cardboard. When the reader paused, that was the word to be spelled. The team members would scramble around until the word was spelled correctly. The team to complete the most words first won the game.

   

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Winning is great!

 

 

The evening was closed with 'our' song - The more we get together. 

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The next day was a 'free day' with no scheduled activities until another lobster dinner. That gave everyone an opportunity to go and do whatever they wanted until bus departure time.

 

 

u ns07 d7 nrh boat 013.JPG (25574 bytes)We headed for North Rustico Harbour. It proved to be a fun place to visit as we had expected. 

 

 

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u ns07 d7 nrh pier 016.JPG (34023 bytes)            u ns07 d7 nrh ram 034.JPG (27770 bytes)

 

 

Lobster traps were drying on the docks.

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u ns07 d7 nrh lob trap 041.JPG (36381 bytes)This is where we purchased our largest souvenir - a lobster trap. We saw this attractive display on a lot next to a house. We didn't how large it was until we put it in the truck. When it was too large for the bed of the truck and still permit our SuperGlide hitch room to work, we put it in the backseat area. If we didn't have the flat floor option, it would have been too large for there also. 

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The  Cavendish Post Office itself is a tourist attraction. In addition to regular postal services, it includes a small collection of Green Gables artifacts. This was the first post office offering a special postmark that we visited. 

 

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               Today . . .                                      In the Green Gables books days . . . 

 

 

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   This box is in use today.        The is a first edition Green Gables.

 

 

As we continued our ride, we found a house with an interesting yard ornament.

 

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How about a lighthouse in
your front yard . . .

 

 

We drove into Summerside for lunch. It was raining and cold. We ate at a small restaurant on the pier then headed back to the campground.

 

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Every community had its own collection of charming churches.

 

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u ns07d7hh lob 810.JPG (46887 bytes)Dinner was back in the New Glasgow area. Everyone agrees that the HitchHikers are no different than other groups. We like to fellowship (a.k.a. eat). This time the lobster was already separated for us. Well, some of us - Fred had scallops. They served all the mussels you could eat as an appetizers. They taste best if you dip them in butter and don't look at them.

 

 

 

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We had been very fortunate with the weather until this evening. We arrived at the restaurant in a light rain. After dinner, it was raining pretty hard. The bus drivers turned the buses around so the platform faced the restaurant. The ride back to camp was still pleasant.

 

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t ns07d8 bridge church 045.JPG (19932 bytes)The next day was a travel day. As we approached the Confederation Bridge, Fred stopped to make several photographs. We parked on the grassy shoulder of the road behind a tractor pulling a mower. When the driver came back to ask why we pulled behind him, he told us about a church parking lot where we could see the entire bridge. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

t ns07d8 hh vc ques 089.JPG (21105 bytes)After we parked our HitchHiker II in the visitor center parking lot. A guy asked us if we just got out of one of those HitchHikers over there. We said yes. He said, "Good. What is going on, I have been seeing HitchHikers all day". We explained that we were all part of a tour and explained what that meant. That took care of his curiosity.

 

 

 

 

The other HitchHiker in the parking lot was two trailers ahead of us on the bridge. It was obvious that it was about noon on a  Friday - more people were heading for a weekend on the island than off the island. 

 

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We entered New Brunswick again at the other end of the bridge. But, we were just passing through on our way to Nova Scotia.

 

           

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