PEI's Central Coast Drive (10/02/2010)

In 24 hours, yesterday's sunrise had morphed into a windy downpour!  Nevertheless, after waiting out the heaviest of the precipitation, we headed out to complete a tour of the central part of the island.

Our drive took us through more farm lands,

across salt marshes

past the school where Lucy Maud Montgomery taught for many years

 and past some unconventional traffic

And, there is much of Prince Edward Island still to be explored, some observations about this beautiful island:
   1.  The vast number of mailboxes seem to have the property owner's first and last names.

   2.  At gas stations, the term full service hearkens back to the days when the attendant spoke to you and washed your windshield.

   3.  We continue to see nearly every home's lawn neatly mowed and many of them have either large rocks or small sections of white fence in the middle of the front lawn around which are planted flowers and shrubs.

   4.  Poutine can be found on most menus.  It is a artery-clogging concoction of  french fries, covered with cheese and smothered in gravy!

   5.  At least 90% of the cemeteries have exquisite water views which, unfortunately the "residents" fail to take full advantage of.
  6.  Many homes have ladders permanently affixed to their roofs.  This enables the owners to [more] safely get up to the peak to clean their chimneys if they are burning wood.
  7.  Numerous homeowners have set-up roadside kiosks selling everything from fresh vegetables to pumpkins to firewood to bird houses (to name a few).  There is typically a small sign asking buyers to leave their money in a unattended jar which generally have money in it left by prior purchasers.  How many of us would do that?
 8.  In many, regretfully if not most, rural parts of the United States, and even New Brunswick (which we left only yesterday), you see a great many homes with yards littered with abandoned cars, rusting appliances and a collection of other "junk".  Thus far, after passing by as many as 500+ homes in "rural" PEI, we've seen only one such home.  The island is conspicuously clean!
 9.  For an island whose area is just shy of 2,200 sq. miles (only 175 miles end-to-end), it supports 33 gorgeously-maintained golf courses.
10.  Some 300 churches, with as many architectural variations (although predominantly painted in white with black and/or red"trim) serve the population of just over 141,000.

 11.  The traffic lights are a bit different (Red lights are square, Yellow are diamond-shaped and Green round).
 12.  There are more than 50 lighthouses on the island, more than 40 of which are still in active service as navigational aids.  They sit on small rock islets,at the end of jettys or ashore.

 Over the next few days, we hope to explore both the North Cape Coastal Drive (the western end of the island) and the Points East Coastal Derive (the eastern end of the island).

Peince Edward Island (10/01/2010)

Today marked the 100th day we've been on the road with our motor home since we purchased it last October.

The day got off with promising start when we awoke to sunshine breaking over Fundy Bay.

It was the first morning sun we'd seen in more than a week.

The drive to Prince Edward Island was uneventful; although the wind was quite strong and periodically buffeted our RV, particularly on the open highway.

After crossing the 8-mile long Confederation Bridge

(the world's longest free-standing bridge over ice-covered water) onto PEI, we noticed a change in scenery.  Everything seemed to be greener, even the lawns of the most modest homes.

When entering PEI, it appeared that the island was quite flat. However crossing its mid-section we found ourselves on a roller coaster going up one ridge and down the next,

 most through farm country.

Much of the Island's economy is based on farming, as it has for generations.

Potatoes,

soybeans, corn and hay are the major crops.

We also quickly discovered how friendly the people are.  From a gas station attendant to a farmer we met along a bike path winding its way through fields in Cavendish National Park, folks wanted to talk and appeared genuinely interested in us.


After taking a quick tour of North Rustico's harbor

 and driving along the Gulf Shore Parkway (bordering the Gulf of St. Lawrence)

we arrived in Cavendish for a tour of Green Gables, made famous by Lucy Maud Montgomery's, author of "Anne of Green Gables"

We also walked the nature trail on adjoining land which Montgomery loved as a child and adult and from which she gained inspiration for her writing.

Finally, we biked the Homestead Trail in Cavendish National Park, which wound through fir forests where the scent was so strong as to evoke memories of Christmas, around fields of soy beans, large tracts of hay being cut

and over salt marshes abutting the Gulf of St. Lawrence

and home to abundant wildlife, including great blue herons.

Hopewell Rocks and Adjacent Area (09/30/2010)

We'd heard stories and seen video clips about the tides and rocks along the western shore of the Bay of Fundy. However, seeing it exceeded all our expectations.

We walked along the "beach" at low tide and then returned six hours later to see how high tides really were (and this was during a neap or lower tide; as opposed to the spring or higher tides which occur during new and full moons).

 

 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  So, rather than prattle on ...

It is fascinating to examine the structure of the cliffs from which theses formations have been carved by wave action.  It is basically a series of layers of gravel, mud and stones.

Because of the amount of mud in the shore's soil by the billions of tons of water which ebbs and flows from the Bay of Fundy each day, the water has a distinctly brown color which, if left to sit for several hours turns nearly clear as the sediment precipitates out.

Between low and high tides, we took a side trip along some of the area's back roads. We love these types of routes as it tends to give you a clearer perspective of the region and its people.  We saw a number of old one room schools, long since closed ...

many barns in various states of use and/or disrepair ...

covered bridges ...

lighthouses ...

and even a cemetery dedicated to a former resident of the area ...

No kidding!