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| 13km Confederation Bridge |
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| Ferry with bow up |
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| Ferry w/bow down |
There are two ways to drive to Canada's Prince Edward Island, the 13 km Confederation Bridge, or the Confederation Ferry. My mother and I decided to try both. Driving in from Nova Scotia we watched as the bow of the ferry rose up allowing us and many other cars and trucks drive deep into the multi level bowels of the ship. It was about 70 minutes ride to the island. A few days later we headed off the island in very different fashion. The 13km Confederation bridge was hidden from view by fog until the last second but then the modern marvel of engineering was visible in all of its glory. It was like all the fog dissapated in the blink of an eye. The island that both of these choices leads to is one not to miss.
Houses of bright colors, rolling farmlands, and famous local mussels are all in a days work here on Prince Edward Island. The smallest of Canada's 13 provinces, Prince Edward Island, or PEI as locals call it, is a wonderful and relaxing place to spend a few days vacation or even longer. My mother and I stayed at a little bed and breakfast in the main city of Charlottetown. It is an easy town to walk around in and immerse yourself in the interesting history and culture of the island.
Huge cathedrals and small Vicotorian homes proved a little insight into the first European settlers who came over from France (the Acadians) and from Scotland. In fact the owner of the BnB was a scottish woman who married a Canadian fur trader for the Hudson Bay Co. and ended up teaching and living all over Canada.
Besides the incredible architecture, Charlottetown is a hub of art and theater on the island. Multiple playhouse have evening shows like Mama Mia and of course the famous Anne of Green Gables. The author grew up on PEI's north shore and the area still draws thousands of Anne followers. The play has been going strong here for the last 52 years which has got to be some kind of world record. Historical reenactments pop up around the downtown district throughout the day and it is not unusual to run across the actors in their period dresses strolling around the city, still in character.
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| Famous PEI mussels |
The south shore is famous for its red clay cliffs and beaches, which in turn makes for very good soil to grow potatoes. The north shore has beautiful white sand beaches and unusually warm water for this far north, although it wasn't warm enough to convince me to jump in. The nearshore waters are teeming with life for lobster fishermen and of course the delicious mussels that PEI is so famous for. I did convince my mother to go in on a huge bowl of mussels with me and it was quite easy to finish them all off, despite the daunting number they place in front of us.
While there is not much wildlife on the island except some small foxes and a few bird species we happened to get lucky with a great Osprey encounter near the Anne of Green Gables house. Sitting atop a telephone pole this osprey was proudly looking over its nest, and the two young birds in it. While we were watching one of the young osprey climbed to the edge of the massive nest, lifted its wings, but then thought twice about attempting to fly and settled back in.
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| Young osprey thinking about flying |
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| red sand of Bauer's Beach |
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| Anne of Green Gables inspired house |
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| Rolling farmlands and leading lines |
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| Hay in the mist |
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| Me and Mom's sweet ride through PEI |
Houses of bright colors, rolling farmlands, and famous local mussels are all in a days work here on Prince Edward Island. The smallest of Canada's 13 provinces, Prince Edward Island, or PEI as locals call it, is a wonderful and relaxing place to spend a few days vacation or even longer. My mother and I stayed at a little bed and breakfast in the main city of Charlottetown. It is an easy town to walk around in and immerse yourself in the interesting history and culture of the island.
Huge cathedrals and small Vicotorian homes proved a little insight into the first European settlers who came over from France (the Acadians) and from Scotland. In fact the owner of the BnB was a scottish woman who married a Canadian fur trader for the Hudson Bay Co. and ended up teaching and living all over Canada.
Besides the incredible architecture, Charlottetown is a hub of art and theater on the island. Multiple playhouse have evening shows like Mama Mia and of course the famous Anne of Green Gables. The author grew up on PEI's north shore and the area still draws thousands of Anne followers. The play has been going strong here for the last 52 years which has got to be some kind of world record. Historical reenactments pop up around the downtown district throughout the day and it is not unusual to run across the actors in their period dresses strolling around the city, still in character. 
The south shore is famous for its red clay cliffs and beaches, which in turn makes for very good soil to grow potatoes. The north shore has beautiful white sand beaches and unusually warm water for this far north, although it wasn't warm enough to convince me to jump in. The nearshore waters are teeming with life for lobster fishermen and of course the delicious mussels that PEI is so famous for. I did convince my mother to go in on a huge bowl of mussels with me and it was quite easy to finish them all off, despite the daunting number they place in front of us.
While there is not much wildlife on the island except some small foxes and a few bird species we happened to get lucky with a great Osprey encounter near the Anne of Green Gables house. Sitting atop a telephone pole this osprey was proudly looking over its nest, and the two young birds in it. While we were watching one of the young osprey climbed to the edge of the massive nest, lifted its wings, but then thought twice about attempting to fly and settled back in.
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