July 14-16 Prince Edward Island

Confederation Bridge, 2017

We drove across the Confederation Bridge to PEI in the early evening, which is a lovely time to cross, but didn't leave us much time to linger if we wanted to make it to our hotel on the other side of the island before dark. Though in reality there are few opportunities to linger anyway. There is a natural area on the New Brunswick side and a little commercial area on the PEI side from which you can view the bridge, but beyond that there is little fanfare for the world's longest bridge. The bridge, itself, is a narrow two lanes with no room to pull off, so the views from it must be taken in while keeping up with the flow of traffic. That said, the views are incredible, and the eight miles of bridge seem an unfathomable distance even as you driving it.

PEI Landscape, 2017

It was early evening by the time we got across the bridge, and we needed to find dinner and our hotel, which was on the north center of the island. We quickly learned some key facts about navigating PEI. First, there are no direct routes. Coming from the prairies, it is easy to take for granted the grid system for survey and roads. No so for PEI, which was established on a older system in which all roads radiate from the largest centre on the water (in this case Charlottetown) with connectors in between. A map of the province looks like a big spider web. Speaking of maps, ensure you get a full size map of the province - PEI will be too small on a combined map of the Atlantic provinces to be of use, and even if you use GPS or Google Maps, you'll want something to follow as you a navigate the many twists and turns to your destination. Keep in mind, even though the distances between points may be short, there generally is not a quick way to get where you are going.

PEI Landscape, 2017

The second learning is also related to maps. According to our map, PEI was littered with small dots, but when we drove through the "towns", they were by and large just a collection of farms indistinguishable from the countryside. These townships on occasion had a school or small store, but they did not have the services one would expect of a town.  This becomes problematic when you are trying to find a specific service such as a gas station, grocery store, or as was our case, dinner, without first researching your destination.

Part of the charm of PEI is that it works on its own time, and is a decidedly slower pace than the mainland. Realigning our expectations regarding when things would be open was our third learning. Finding a restaurant outside of Charlottetown that was open late was difficult, as was finding a grocery store (even Walmart) that was open before noon on a Sunday.

Ultimately, we found Brackley Beach, and with it dinner and our hotel. The next morning we took advantage of some of the amenities at Brackley Beach North Winds Inn & Suites - an amazing complimentary breakfast that included fresh, homemade baking; a large swimming pool for the kids; and most importantly, laundry.

Greenwich Dunes, PEI National Park 2017

Chores complete, we set out to explore a bit of the island. Our first stop was Rick's Fish and Chips for a great lunch. Then it was off to Greenwich Dunes on the east end of Prince Edward Island National Park. Here, we hiked the 5km Greenwich Dunes trail which starts by offering beautiful views of St. Peter's Bay, then turns into a cool forest, then out to a stunning boardwalk through marsh and sand dunes, and finally ends at a long stretch of open beach.

Greenwich Dunes, PEI National Park 2017

I very much enjoyed this trail as it provided amazing views and a number of wildlife viewing opportunities, and would highly recommend it. However, I did later learn that the dunes landscape extends throughout the park, and you can see it from both Brackley and Cavendish beaches without the drive to Greenwich.

On the way back, we took a scenic drive along the Gulf Shore Parkway, past Dalvay by the Sea and the many beaches that make up the central section of Prince Edward Island National Park. By this point, the boys were seriously itching to dip their feet in the ocean, so we capped off the afternoon with a visit to Brackley Beach.

Sandcastles at Brackley Beach, PEI National Park 2017

Unfortunately, the waters were overrun with bright purple jellyfish. While I am uncertain as to whether or not they would sting, it was certainly enough to keep everyone out the water. Earlier in the day, the beach had been the site of sand castle competition and fortunately, this was enough to inspire the kids to make their own creations... and so, we managed to make the most of our beach time regardless of the invaders.

We decided to head into Charlottetown for the evening, where we enjoyed a terrific lobster dinner at the Water Prince Corner Shop before going for a little walk and drive through the city. We returned to Charlottetown the next morning in search of gas and groceries before our drive to Nova Scotia. This is when we learned that everything, but gas and convenience stores, are closed on Sunday mornings. We did, however, take another drive through Charlottetown to view some of the sites in daylight, including St. Dunstan's Basilica, Province House, and Confederation Centre for the Arts. We also drove by a great Farmer's Market on Queen Street that would have been fun to explore if we had had more time.

From Charlottetown, we took the southern section of the Central Coast Drive, making a couple of scenic stops before heading to Borden-Carleton and back across the Confederation Bridge.

Central Coast Drive PEI, 2017