Island Life

You can see how windy it was near the bridge. The wind didn’t really let up until sundown.

I told you our PEI trip would be a story for another post.

Junkii had never been to Prince Edward Island, and it had probably been at least two decades since I was last there – so we both figured it was time. We talked it over with my folks and we agreed that the four of us would make it a day trip; we would be back in Moncton before midnight.

We had initially thought we might like to stay the night in Charlottetown – maybe take in some live theatre – but a quick scan of the plays on offer left us unimpressed. And we had no interest in trying to negotiate the Charlottetown nightclubs without a guide. So we decided we would have dinner and head home – but not before we got a feel for the PEI countryside.

We got an early-ish (not too early, come on, it’s a vacation!) start and were across Confederation bridge and on the island well before noon – plenty of time to stop and take photos. Mel and I both had our cameras and we did manage to get a few photos of the bridge and some of the dumpier parts of Borden, where the ferry used to land – but daaayum…It was a windy day. Seriously blustery – and our decision to wear shorts was probably a bit too optimistic.

Our day-trip route. You can click to enlarge if you’re interested.

Being uncomfortable while trying to be creative with a camera rarely works out. I only managed to snap about 4 photos that I think were worth the effort. Junkii probably got a few more – here’s more patient (and cold-tolerant) than I am. But he’s also busier than I am right now and hasn’t had time to develop his photos yet. So you’re stuck with my limited selection for now.

Once we finished up at the gateway to the Island, we headed off towards Summerside – despite the warnings (via text) from our Ottawa-based, Island-born friend M that Summerside isn’t really all that interesting.

She was right, but that’s okay. It gave us a chance to drive around the central part of the island. In truth, PEI has a very similar feel to Prince Edward County in Ontario. PEI is a little hillier though. It rolls. In short it’s lovely.

Well. Maybe not Summerside. Summerside doesn’t have much going for it. We stopped there for lunch only and once we’d eaten, we were quickly on our way. We continued our drive over to Cavendish (not for the beach, but we did stop for some Cows ice cream) before motoring on to Brackley Beach.

Coming back over the dunes from a brief walk along the beach. You can see the huge number of white caps – despite the funky photo treatment.

Yes, it was windy – almost violently so – and cold, but we could hardly bring Junkii for his first visit to PEI and not get him to dunk a couple of toes in the cold waters of the Atlantic. We thought that, by avoiding Cavendish beach we could avoid the park entry fees. Nope. $10 for the privilege of cold, wrinkled toes.

We dried off our toes and knocked as much sand off as we could before heading on to our final stop: Charlottetown. Lovely. It reminded me a bit of Kingston, ON with the old buildings and the waterfront.

We wandered around for a couple of hours before we finally settled on a spot for dinner…again, under the advisement of M. The oyster bar we went to was on hip, happening Victoria Row – a short pedestrian street crammed with restaurants and night clubs. It would be a fun place to hang out if the weather had been nicer. As it was, the oysters were local, fresh and delicious (even if the mains were a bit lackluster) and it gave us the opportunity to try the local island brew (Gahan House).

I didn’t drink too much though – I was designated driver. Dad had been driving all day and we wanted to make sure he could enjoy himself at the bar without worry, so I volunteered to drive us home…which was a nice change for me. I had never driven on the island – let alone across Confederation bridge. One more item to cross off the bucket list.

A big thanks to Dad and Louise (and of course to M) for making sure our day on the island was an absolute delight. Junkii is quite enamoured of the place and I can foresee another visit in the future. Maybe some time when M is home to visit family and we can spend an extra summer day or two with our own personal guide!

My only other photo. It’s not even all that interesting. Oh well – maybe Junkii’s will be better.