Prince Edward Island – Day 4

27 Jul

July 25

Prince Edward Island is known for lobsters, potatoes, beaches and a famous book.  So today we drove north to Cavendish to the land of Anne…Anne of Green Gables.

Cavendish is located on the north shore of the island and appeals to families because of the beaches, Anne of Green Gables, and family attractions.

Green Gables Heritage Place – Our first stop was The Green Gables Visitor Centre where we paid our entrance fee and browsed an exhibit hall featuring interpretive exhibits on L.M. Montgomery’s life and writings.

After the exhibits, we did a short hike to explore the Haunted Wood Trail.  Next, we did a self-guided tour of the house to see rooms recreated with authentic artifacts to resemble those in the novel. 

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At the end of our tour, we stopped by the snack shop. The “Beaver Tail” pastry was the best selling item. After standing in line watching the different varieties being ordered, we decided on Banana Rama. It was a fried dough pasty, like elephant ears, with lots of chocolate smeared across the top with a layer of bananas. It was good, but, way too much cholcolate!

Before leaving the Heritage Place, we stopped at the gift shop that sold books and merchandise of all kinds.  The shop had a great selection of items, but, I settled on only two magnets.

On the north shore, we were anxious to see the red-sand beaches of PEI National Park.  At the park, we talked with a very nice gate attendant who helped us purchase our Canada Discovery Pass.  I purchased a pass before we left home but the pass did not arrive in time.  We were given a credit and told to purchase upon arrival at a park.  This is our first national park stop, but, we will be stopping at a few more on our trip.  With our pass posted in the Jeep window, we proceeded to the find the beach.  

First we drove to Cavendish Beach, PEI’s best-know beach.  It has miles of white-gold sand surrounded by gorgeous sand dunes. The beach is the place to be! The parking lots were full and there were lots of people on the beach and in the water today.  The water temperature was posted at 15 C (59degrees).  BRRR! 

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Next, we drove along The Gulf Shore Parkway, a beautiful scenic drive through the park. The parkway has many access points to the beach and walkways to the water. 

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At one of our stops we witnessed this group of folks enjoying the beach!

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Leaving Cavendish, we started our drive back towards Cornwall.  We stopped in the fishing village of North Rustico.  At the harbour there were a number of deep-sea fishing operations and we saw a few deep sea fishing boats returning to the harbour.  Along the water’s edge we saw a  Bronze Fisherman Statue. The statue serve as a continuous reminder of the fishing community’s contribution. 

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Now that we have seen the PEI beaches, we are beginning to appreciate all the island offers; flat plains, gentle rolling hills, woodlands, farming communites, fishing villages, and sand beaches.