Day 75: Prince Edward Island

Right next door to Nova Scotia is the Province of Prince Edward Island.
We hadn't even planned on going but we discovered there was...

a ferry that goes there!

We love a good ferry ride and LeTigre blends right in with the other vehicles...

Things started off sunny but quickly got overcast and foggy, unfortunately.

However, our new friend, Mary, made up for the clouds.  She, her sister Jane, and her mother (who both just happened to be walking behind Angie in the previous photo!) were all heading over to PEI.  She saw our license plate and struck up a conversation with us.  She's a travel agent so we talked about trips and she gave us several recommendations for places to visit.  They were asking us all about our travels, travails, and budget and we said that Canadian gas was so expensive that we'd quit drinking to save money.  By the time we left the boat, they had given us a bottle of wine!

Mary, it was delicious, thank you!

Once we got onto the island, we visited a beach called "singing sands" that our friends Isaac and Louise from New Brunswick had told us about.  We met them in South Carolina and have been emailing since arriving in Canada.  Hopefully we'll get to see them...

Anyway the beach was more like "squeaking sands" the overcast day we were there, perhaps the it needs to be hotter.  Supposedly the sun is what makes it sing when you walk on it.  Singing sand or not, it's a beautiful beach!

Another lighthouse, these things are like rabbits up here.

Arrrrr!!!

Cap'n Angie getting in touch with her inner pirate.

Province House in Charlottetown.

Prince Edward Island is considered to be the birthplace of Canada because the Fathers of Confederation met here for the first time in 1864 to contemplate the idea of a Canadian nation.

We toured the building and saw a pretty entertaining film about the meeting.  Originally the heads of the Maritime Provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI, were the only delegates invited but the Canadians heard about it and invited themselves.  The film portrays the convention as a week long, non-stop party.  According to the film, they didn't even write anything down.  However, it was a success because it built a camaraderie among the delegates and Canada became a nation in 1867.  Ironically, PEI didn't join until 1873.

Adjacent to Province House is Victoria Row, lined with shops and restaurants.

Queen Street.

There's a chocolate shop on this street that sells chocolate covered potato chips... we didn't buy any.  I regret that decision now.

We entered PEI by ferry and left by the Confederation Bridge.

Next: We dine with friends in New Brunswick and the sun comes out!