CROSS CANADA MOTORHOME TRIP 2019 – PEI

Our trip to PEI takes us across the Confederation Bridge which spans the Northumberland Strait. This bridge was opened in 1997 and took four years to build and has a length of 12.9 kilometres. The speed limit is 80 km/hr but is reduced for bad weather. It is a toll bridge based on the number of axles but you only pay the toll when leaving the island

It was our plan to leave via ferry to Caribou NS but the ferry has a height restriction of 7 feet, so we will be backtracking and taking the bridge again. Once on the island we travel north to Mill River Resort that has camping and a very nice golf course. A buddy at Predator, who is from here said that we have to do this course, so here we are.

We have had quite decent weather on the trip with any real rain happening at night. However, real rain coming in tonight and supposed to last right through to Saturday morning. Bbq gets started early as rain is supposed to start at 6:00 but we get in supper and a 4km hike after supper. Amway mosquito stuff is a must. Catherine, can you ship a case to PEI for us?

The night and next morning is rain as predicted. I have been asking various people all day as to where the rain switch is located but no good answers on that one.

Art is right, this course is a real gem with a great layout, fast greens and a real challenge. It rained the entire game, not hard, and we had a walking threesome behind us that we could not get free of, followed by another twosome. We finished in under THREE hours and the group behind were waiting as we cleared the 18th green. Holy!

The back nine was a gong show as we had a couple of maintenance machines on every hole buzzing us. The last three holes had sprinklers going where we could not use the tee boxes on 17 and 18 and could not putt on 16 or 17. We waited for them to stop on 18. A guy from the pro shop ran out to get them turned off and talk to me. Foolish guy and big mistake?

Too bad for those distractions and the weather as it was a heck of a nice course. Most holes were postcard here. All the water holes crystal clear and greens and fairways majestic.

Our campground is in Cavendish so 1 1/2 hours thru the countryside to get there

The lupine here is apparently a weed! The provincial flower is the lady slipper but flowers later and in shady areas.

Cavendish is a real tourist destination and all about Ann. Tourism here is recognized as a major major industry. This area has all the touristy stuff: mini golf, bumper cars, amusement rides and souvenir shops that even sell Anne stuff.

We went to the Green Gables Heritage Place for a look around. Still raining so a bit of a damper.

Our campground is another National Park on Cavendish beach. Hard to enjoy today with the rain but again, another outstanding campground in Canada. We have stayed at about 6 federal campgrounds and all have been reasonable and great spots for scenery and cleanliness. Good job Justin. There must be a better reason to vote for him but I cannot think of it right now.

very noisy in the campground this morning and here is why:

We have a tee time at noon at The Links at Crowbush Cove and the drive there is a challenge as hard to keep this guy on the road with the crosswinds.

And, Crowbush is crazy windy.

Going against the wind today was nuts. And, all the holes going over the water were against the wind. A normal 240 yard drive went 140 yards. Very nice course but another game messed up because of weather. We lasted 15 holes and said enough. Even the holes with the wind or cross wind were very difficult

The Inn at St Peter’s by the Sea is our stay as David Lane a Predator buddy recommended. Good choice David as this place has awesome views and a great dining room.

A couple a few doors down from us were having a glass of wine as I was sitting on the patio waiting for Marg, so I walked over and chatted with them and this guy worked with fisheries in PEI and identified the oyster farm in my photo. The couple were in their late seventies and on their honeymoon. He had a lot of fish stories and a wealth of info. His new wife worked in Iceland, and commented on the great food there. Hah! I did not ask her whether she liked the fermented shark!

PEI is on the cutting edge of Mussel and Oyster farms and supply a lot of Canadian needs. Interesting to google and read of the farming techniques . I could repeat what Bob told me but he shared it over a glass of wine, so you better google instead.

St. Peter’s is a B & B so breakfast in the morning in the same dining room.

This is Jack’s sister, the diva! She is younger and bigger than Jack and grumpy. She is the one who beat up Jack. Shame on her!

So, I always wondered why Marg’s brother Dennie moved to Ontario. Now I know, to be safe from those younger sisters. Smart guy!

Today, we play Dunderave. Another rocky drive in the motorhome so here we go again. Another beautiful course and very challenging due to the gale force wind.

The sand on the island is all that red colour as lots of iron just like the soil.

Another course here that was very challenging as all courses we have played here have slope ratings over 130. We survived this one and scored decently. Out of the 3, I would say Mill River is my favourite. Marg liked Dunderave the best. The conditions were so extreme at Crowbush that our rating of the course was affected for sure.

Approaching the end of June and we can see the campgrounds getting busier. Glad we started in June to avoid the rush.

Off to the big city Charlottetown tomorrow. This city was first settled in 1720, is the capital of PEI and has a population of 36,000 people. We have a tour planned, stay at an iconic B & B and Anne tomorrow evening. Should be a fun day.

We did a bit more countryside driving in the morning and first of all to Victoria by The Sea. First stop was Island Chocolates.

Next stop in Victoria. Trip Advisor says great oysters. Opens at 11:00. Doh! Doh!

We took a drive from here to Dalvay by the Sea on the north shore of the island. Huge sand dunes here

Ocean was blustery here so no swimming, by anyone.

This area is designated a national historical site and is adjacent to Prince Edward Island National Park. The biggest attraction is a hotel that was built as a summer residence but Alexander McDonald, a wealthy American Industrialist.

Tonight we have a B&B booked close to downtown Charlottetown.

As you can see the sign indicates the house was built in 1889

We have an afternoon tour guide booked so we had enough time to hurry downtown and grab some quick lunch and get back to meet our tour guide from Duncan Tours. The tour gave us the highlights of downtown Charlottetown. Some pics:

St. Dunstan’s Basilica built in 1896 and has two 200 foot spires

The harbour and you can see the crane in the background that is expanding the dock so more cruise ships can dock. Tourism is #2 industry here behind farming

Interesting, when we visited the legislature, this fellow that worked there was very accommodating with info and we had a good chat. I remembered reading about the recent election, that in one Riding, two candidates had the same name. He looked it up and Matthew MacKay ran for the Greens and the Conservatives. What I remembered is that the Green Matthew became Matthew J for clarity. The election officer stated at the time that it was no big deal as every body on the island new each other anyway

After the tour we had to try a few tidbits down on the wharf.

Lobster roll. Yum

So, we are stuffed, but Bob, from St Peters, says we have to go to The Old Dublin Pub for mussels, as they are the best, so we obey and it is worth it.

We have to do Eckhart yet before the Anne show, so on the run. Eckhart the mouse, is a hunt in downtown Charlottetown and involves clues to find all 9 Eckharts. It was fun, but I am sure that we got a lot of weird looks as we stood on the street corner, over John A statue looking up on to ledges to find that mouse.

We found them all, so could move on to the whole reason that we took this trip, Anne!!

The production is in the Confederation Centre of The Arts which was built in 1964 as a gift from the rest of Canada for the meeting to form Confederation in 1864. As our tour guide said, thank you to each Canadian for their $3 contribution. It is a lovely theatre to house a lovely production.I am not a musical guy but this may have been better than Paint Your Wagon. I cannot believe I said that, but this was good. I heard this guy behind me in the theatre talking before hand of napping during the show, so I was testing out the back of the chair for the nap. This production was encaptivating.

Of particular interest, was that the lady that played Marilla, threw her back out, and bailed 5 hours before the start and this was opening night. They brought in a substitute who played the part 5 years previous and she nailed it.

This whole production was over the top and fully enjoyed.

We had a 1 km walk home at 11 PM in downtown Charlottetown and no worry, felt totally safe.

We were fortunate to pick up a brochure that indicated that, the ferry would accept larger vehicles. So I rechecked the website, that confirmed nothing larger than 7 ft high so I phoned them and was able to make a reservation.

Great, so off to Wood Islands and off to New Brunswick.

On board we stayed on the upper deck as good weather and had the opportunity to chat with an Amish fellow. They had moved from Ontario to PEI. I asked him if it was because of the fertility of the land. He said no, that it was because of the cost of the land, a lot cheaper, and that the fertility was better in Ontario. This guy had a lot of farming questions about Alberta that I was unable to answer, to a large degree but he was surely inquisitive.

So, Dennis or Byron, if you get a call from a guy named Abraham, asking farming questions, this is the head’ s up!

A nice 1 1/4 hour ride and NB!