Blog Post No. 17 – Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick Part III

Late in the afternoon on Tuesday August 13 we drove onto Prince Edward Island by way of the spectacular Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick.  As arranged, we drove to a mall in Cornwall, where we were met by my cousin Janet and her husband Shane, and we followed them to the home of Shane’s parents (David and Edie) right on the water, where they were vacationing along with their three boys.  After parking the RV in the driveway and hooking up the electricity we went inside for drinks followed by a huge lobster feast.  Later the kids played while the adults played cards (the men beat the women!).

Lobster Feast

 

On Wednesday we were served a wonderful breakfast, then Shane drove me into town to get a much-needed haircut.  Then all of us except David and Edie (who went golfing) and Salty (who stayed outside the RV) piled into Shane and Janet’s rented seven-passenger vehicle and drove into Charlottetown, where we enjoyed a number of sights, including some of the older homes, Province House (where the first meeting that led to the formation of Canada took place, and still the sight of the PEI legislature), some shops, and the Basilica, followed by lunch at a waterfront restaurant.  We then watched part of a Miq’maw pow-wow and checked out the associated market stalls before returning to the house, where we worked on a broken RV closet door followed by dinner (more lobster!).

Inside Province House

With Sir John A. MacDonald, Charlottetown

Lunch in Charlottetown

 

After another wonderful breakfast on Thursday August 15 we re-installed the RV closet door and then we all left the house in two vehicles (Rhonda rode with all of the other adults and the three boys came in the RV with me and the girls), and drove first to a local farm market for some fresh fruit and vegetables.  We then drove to Dalvay Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park on the north side of the island, where we toured a mansion that is now a hotel.  We continued west to North Rustico where we walked on the beach and a pier, then continued to Cavendish Beach (also part of the national park), where we had lunch and the kids played in the shallow water, but the waves were too high for swimming or using the skim boards, and the wind was blowing the sand around.  Our island hosts left us in the late afternoon, and we drove a short distance to the campground within the national park, where we were able to get a site reasonably near the beach, and had dinner and did laundry.  I saw a large fox while walking out to the gatehouse to get some change for the laundry.

At the mansion at Dalvay Beach

 

North Rustico.  Note the famous red sand of PEI

 

At Cavendish Beach

 

On Friday August 16 we hung out at the campsite for a while and the girls went to the beach briefly, in order to complete yet another National Park Explorer Challenge.  We then went to the Green Gables site in the national park before driving east to a beach near New London where the kids collected some of the famous PEI red sand.  We then headed south to Borden where we went to some shops, then crossed the Confederation Bridge ($44.50 toll going this direction, free coming onto the Island) back into New Brunswick. 

 

 

At Green Gables, Cavendish

PEI countryside, Confederation Bridge in the distance

At Borden, PEI side of Confederation Bridge

Once back in New Brunswick, we turned north and drove to Shediac, where Rhonda’s great-grandfather was born, then went down to a pier to walk around and look (unsuccessfully) for fresh lobster (although I did buy a silly bird/wind chime). Back in town we had lobster subs at SubWay, and bought some groceries, then continued north to Bathurst, where we stayed for the night in a Wal-Mart parking lot.  The following morning we had our standard McDonalds breakfast, then drove north to Campbellton (just south of the Quebec border) where we got gas and also went to a charity car wash that was going on.  The others also went shopping briefly, and may have bought a book or something, and I went to a bank.

Shediac