Michael Smith
A Visit to the Island
We have just returned from a fantastic four-day trip
to Prince Edward Island (PEI). From our home in
Fredericton, PEI is about a four-hour drive away,
making it easily accessible via the amazing
Confederation Bridge (about 14 km long over the
Northumberland Straight. Amazing!).
We went to the northeast part of the Island,
landing at a small B&B/Country Cabin place called
Howarth House in the tiny village of Priest Pond.
From there, we had easy drives to such wonderful
places as East Point, Basin Head, Georgetown, Souris,
St. Peter's and many more. We were told that the
western and central parts of the Island were more
popular with tourists but we're not that interested
in high-traffic areas and the Eastern portion of PEI
gave us exactly what we wanted.
On the first evening, our hosts Murray and Kerry escorted us, and another couple (along with their sweet girls), through private property to a beach on the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. We learned that the beaches on the north side of PEI are red from the sandstone and the beaches on the south side of the island, along the Northhumberland Straight, have white sand. We also learned about sea glass from Murray and Kerry during our evening stroll along this beach. Mother Nature joined the fun by
providing us not just spectacular cloud and sun
combinations but also a series of beautiful rainbows
to the east.
Friday morning, Patti, Marlee and I drove up to East Point, the place where the Straight and the Gulf meet at the easternmost tip of the Island. The lighthouse there is being restored but nothing prepared us for the spectacular red beach we found by walking along the north coast from the tip, then descending to the water. We walked for several kilometres on that beach and never saw another soul. An amazing experience, to be sure.
Friday evening, we visited the beach at Basin
Head (complete with the singing sand, that actually
makes a squeaking sound when you walk on it) where I
threw Marlee's favourite orange balls onto a sandbar
about twenty feet from the shore, forcing her to
splash through the water, then onto the sandbar to
fetch the ball, then back again through the water.
Great fun. The next morning, we went to Red Point,
another nice place but that day marred by what looked
to be the torso of a tuna (a massive fish; it just
seems small when they put it in the tins) washed up
on the beach. Both beaches are on the south shore and
offer white sand but still no crowds. Incredible.
Towns like Cardigan, St. Peter's and Georgetown offered interesting places to walk and shop. We especially enjoyed chatting with the owner of the Eclectic Mariner in St. Peter, a transplanted Torontonian who welcomed Marlee into her shop with open arms and many treats.
The focus of our visit was a Village Feast in
Souris, overseen by Chef Michael Smith of
Food-Network fame. More than a thousand Islanders and
several of us from away came together to enjoy a
steak dinner in the great outdoors, listen to local
musical acts and bid on prize packs, all in support
of Farmers Helping Farmers, an organisation that
helps provide food for poor people in Kenya.
So we're home and tired but happy to have gone. I've got about ten too many black-fly bites, to be honest, and didn't get as much reading done as I wanted to (finishing only Dick Francis' Canadian adventure, The Edge). I guess you can't have everything!
On the first evening, our hosts Murray and Kerry escorted us, and another couple (along with their sweet girls), through private property to a beach on the Gulf of the St. Lawrence. We learned that the beaches on the north side of PEI are red from the sandstone and the beaches on the south side of the island, along the Northhumberland Straight, have white sand. We also learned about sea glass from Murray and Kerry during our evening stroll along this beach. Mother Nature joined the fun by
Friday morning, Patti, Marlee and I drove up to East Point, the place where the Straight and the Gulf meet at the easternmost tip of the Island. The lighthouse there is being restored but nothing prepared us for the spectacular red beach we found by walking along the north coast from the tip, then descending to the water. We walked for several kilometres on that beach and never saw another soul. An amazing experience, to be sure.
Towns like Cardigan, St. Peter's and Georgetown offered interesting places to walk and shop. We especially enjoyed chatting with the owner of the Eclectic Mariner in St. Peter, a transplanted Torontonian who welcomed Marlee into her shop with open arms and many treats.
So we're home and tired but happy to have gone. I've got about ten too many black-fly bites, to be honest, and didn't get as much reading done as I wanted to (finishing only Dick Francis' Canadian adventure, The Edge). I guess you can't have everything!