July 24
Today we drove the southern half of the eastern coastal drive. Even though it is called a coastal drive, we were not always next to the water. But, the drive was picturesque and quieter than where we are staying in Cornwall.
PEI has 63 lighthouses; round, square, plain, striped, tall, short, wood, brick… they were all built around the mid-19th century to protect passing ships from the treacherous seas. We didn’t see all 63 lighthouses, but, we did see a few on our tour today.
Point Prim Lighthouse – Prince Edward Island’s oldest lighthouse
Standing at the mouth of Hillsborough Bay and Charlottetown Harbour, the Point Prim Lighthouse has guided traffic into the province’s capital since 1845. It also has the distinction of being the only round lighthouse on the island and the only one made of brick.
Cape Bear Lighthouse
Cape Bear Lighthouse was a beautiful spot to stop on our East Coastal drive. The lighhouse was built in 1881 and is still in operation today. It was a square 3 story stucture with gabled windows. This lighthouse was also the site of a Marconi Wireless Telegraph Station, and it was here that Thomas Bartlett received the first distress signal from the Titanic as it was sinking off the coast of Newfoundland.
Along the water’s edge we saw some beautiful red cliffs and even spotted some sea lions in the water. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any good photos of the sea lions.
Along our route, we saw another Bottle Village – Hannah’s Bottle Village -Created by a retired school bus driver, this bottle village is made from donated bottles and a bit of cement. The village started with church and now includes a store, school, sports center and even a lighthouse, all made from bottles cemented together. Ken turned around in the driveway and I snapped a few photos. We didn’t think it was necessary to look at more bottle structures.
On our day trips, I sometimes see whimsical things. I usually refer to them as “weird things”. Here are some from today’s trip.
Two other things we noticed on our trip today; Eagles Nest and Hurricane Fiona Wind Damage.
Along the way we saw the fishing villages of Murray Harbour, Panmure Island, and Montague. We ended our drive in Georgetown, a quaint island village with arisan shops.
Georgetown was the very first harbour built on the eastern seaboard and it is the deepest harbour in North America. We found a delightful restaurant with a nice deck looking out over the water. It was too windy to sit on the deck but we were given a window table…almost as good as being outside. We enjoyed another great seafood meal!
Instead of following the same path home, we chose to cut straight across the island to Cornwall. It took us 4 hours to drive to Georgetown and only 40 min. to return to our RV.
So far, I would describe PEI as island of rolling farmland, red cliffs, and white lighthouses We are told there are numerous beaches on the north side…maybe tomorrow will be a beach day!
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