Golly, Golly

No open campgrounds. Snow. Engine light issues. For less hearty travelers, spirits might have been dampened. Not this crew. Prince Edward Island was still full of delights. St Dunstan’s Basilica in Charlottetown rivals any we’ve seen in Europe. The ‘singing sands’ of Basin Head Provincial Park were more like ‘squeaks’…but it was our first encounter with the rugged coastline of PEI and that did not disappoint. Brackley Beach was our first stop (& sleeping spot) for PEI National Park. Fairly typical sandy beach with dunes. Cavendish Beach boasted fine sand & the reddish rocks. Perhaps my favorite was Tyron Cove. We had to park & hike to a lighthouse that perched on the edge of the red sandstone cliffs. Cormorants stood sentinel to a breathtaking vista. A good thing about it being before tourist season: we had everything/everywhere to ourselves!

The Anne of Green Gables Heritage site museum was (of course) not open but we were able to wander the grounds with impunity. LJ’s early years’ love of Lucy Maude Montgomery’s novels made this a must-do. The homesite was actually LM Montgomery’s uncle’s but she visited every summer and it was here that her imagination was piqued into developing story lines for the red-headed adventurer. Last stop on PEI was Thunder Cove. Perfect way to cap off an almost circumnavigation of the island. We waved goodbye to the northernmost point of our trip as we traversed the 8 mile Confederation Bridge. On to Nova Scotia.

Arrived in Halifax in time to check into a hotel (10 days since I washed my hair!) then walked down to the wharf for dinner. Lobster roll = famous food in Nova Scotia; a lobster roll it is. Ooh. Mine came with citrus aioli; Debye’s meal came with spicy aioli. We swapped. Chef’s kiss. All I was hoping for. Uber back up the hill passed the Citadel National Historic Site. We’re calling a drive-by of this one good. Started out the next morning at Africville—a UNESCO place of history & memory telling the story of the African community displaced by industrial expansion. On to Lunenburg, another UNESCO site. This is as far south as we are traveling in Nova Scotia. The ferry from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor doesn’t start until May. We knew that so our emphasis this trip was on UNESCO sites. It was a cold, rainy day but this best surviving, planned British colonial town offered a few open quirky shops in brightly painted turn-of-the-19th-century buildings facing an open harbor where a tall ship (among others) was moored. Just delightful. And Greg found a public spigot for potable water so we are full and ready again for anything.

On to Grand Prés UNESCO Heritage Site. The Acadian influence and expulsion are memorialized in a chapel, dykes, and recreated settlement. Also on site is a statue of Evangeline whose story was lauded in an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie.

By the time we stopped at ANOTHER end-of-the-road place, Walton Harbour Lighthouse, I believe my fellow travelers were ready to pack it in and head back to the US. No worries. One more stop, Burntcoat Head Park, the exact site of the world’s highest tides and the best view we got all day of the Cliffs of Fundy, seastacks & unique red rock formations. Thanks PEI & NS for another great adventure.

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