Blogs from Prince Edward Island, Canada, North America - page 15

Off to meet Horty! I've taken the bus to Moncton where Horty will meet me (late as usual I am sure) and then head over the Confederation Bridge into Prince Edward Island mostly just to say I was there. I entertained myself by watching the Chocolate River once again and walked in the rain with all of my luggage. Still its Canada and its a wonderful place so I refuse to complain....out loud! Horty finally showed up and we went to PEI and saw some of the sights. A storm was coming in so it got dark and murky really fast but I still liked it. I can tell its a beautiful place to be in once you actually spend some sunny days there. One of my favorite phrases ever is ,"I'm a Toad" whenever I ... read more

Up early and on our bike over the bridge to Charlottetown we go. The Basilica of St. Dunstan had an 8:30 mass, which we attended. The basilica is known for twin gothic spires, and impressive altar and fine Italian murals. The atmosphere was formal and conservative, oh well. Charlottetown is where Canada began. In 1864 the colonial capital hosted a Charlottetown Conference, which led to the establishment of the Dominion of Canada. We visited Province House National Historic Site and saw a video recounting the conference of 1864. Charlottetown is the largest city on Prince Edward Island and the smallest Provincial Capital. On a lighter note, we took the Harbor Hippo, an amphibious vehicle the traveled through town and then into the Hillsboro River. It was a fun way to get a feel for this city. ... read more

Today we explored the trails at the National Park. Our first stop was Brackley Beach, where we came upon a school fieldtrip, where the kids were having a fun time. School will be out in another week, academic year is longer here than in the states. At Stanhope Beach we walked the nature trail “Reeds and Rushes”, well maintained and informative. Our final stop was a grand Victoria hotel Dalway-by-the-Sea, they were in the process of getting ready to open next week. I could just picture ladies in long dresses playing tennis and relaxing in the beach chairs with lemonade. Very posh. Due to the sea and erosion, the National Park is divided into basically three parts, and one needs to travel round about to get to the different sections. This brought us around St. ... read more

It rained last night but just some drizzle this a.m. We are off to Summerside to bike some of the Confederation Bike Trail. This bike trail runs on the old abandoned railway, 350 kilometers of excellent rolled stone dust surface. We did a small section, but plan to do more. The weather is wonderful today. We found the infamous Bottle House. Bob having worked in a bottle corporation for his career, was fascinated by this house built of bottles! There was also a church and a building with a bar, entirely constructed of glass bottles ... read more

I look out the window and see snow drifts while thinking that soon enough I will be broiling in the heat, in a place where people don't know about snow. There are still a few tenatious apples clinging to the tree. The sun is setting, orange against a bright blue sky. The snow on the underside of the drifts is an almost blue, flecked with the red clay blown in from the potato field across the road. Though we don't leave Canada until Jan. 10th, we bid the Island adieu on Thursday for our annual Christmas in Québec . After celebrating both our mother's birthdays early in the New Year, we driveback to Middle Ohio, Nova Scotia to drop off the dog at his buddy Byron's place. Our friends will care for him while we are ... read more