OK then...where was I?

Oh yes, my hols. Very very good. Few piccies posted here. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't expecting that much out of this trip. After all, Prince Edward Island ain't exactly Europe, is it? But I was pleasantly surprised by what a nice time we had, and how lovely it is there.

Monday morning we headed up to Pictou, NS, to catch the ferry over to Wood Islands, PEI, which is on the southeastern shore of the island. Trip took 75 minutes, and we were in PEI by about 2.30 pm.

We were meeting friends of ours in Charlottetown for dinner, so we did a bit of a meandering drive west from Wood Islands. I had a good map with us, so we started detouring towards some specific roads. PEI has an excellent waymarked network of old dirt roads (some of which were first cut in the late 18th century) which have now been officially designated as 'Scenic Heritage Roads'. I think it's an excellent idea, which could work really well in Nova Scotia as well, as we have so many wonderful rural roads that visitors really have no way of knowing about. Anyway...these roads are fantastic. We didn't encounter a single other vehicle on any of them, and they would be particularly good for bicyclists and hikers as there is lots to see and many are shaded with beautiful tree canopies.

Later that afternoon, we decided to go find our rural B&B and check in before heading back to Charlottetown. We found The Raspberry Inn in Lower Freetown with no difficulty. It's a lovely old place, and the owners have done a fantastic job with it - so cozy and homey, beautifully decorated, and with lots of little personal touches (like the chalkboard propped up at the entrance to the driveway with 'Welcome Jennifer and Andrew' written on it - sweet). One of the nicest places I have ever stayed, and I wished we could have had an extra night there. The breakfast next morning was utterly historic - the man of the house is a professional chef and cooks for all the guests before going off to his day job at a restaurant in Charlottetown!

The next day, after that fantastic breakfast and lengthy chats at the table with the other guests (from Nova Scotia, New York and Germany), we headed off again and this time turned northwards. We drove a couple other scenic roads before emerging on the north shore and the town of Cavendish. Cavendish, being the epicentre of all things Anne of Green Gables in PEI, has unfortunately been rather overdeveloped over the years and is now a bit of a touristic nightmare. So we pressed on eastwards, driving through lots of very attractive seaside communities, until we arrived at our home for the next two nights, Dalvay-by-the-Sea, around lunchtime.

And what a gem! It's a huge beautiful house, built as a summer home at the end of the 19th century by a Scottish-American man who was president of Standard Oil (i.e. Esso). It was bought by the government in the 1930s, who were purchasing all the coastal land along the north shore of PEI at that time in order to establish a national park, and turned into a summer hotel. It's still owned by Parks Canada, but is operated under a private lease between June and September. It has the most beautiful location, inside the national park, and has the most incredible private beach just across the road.

Given that when we arrived, our room was not yet ready, and that the temperature at that point was hovering near 30 degrees, we didn't hesitate to grab our swimsuits and head straight for the beach for a couple of hours. Happily, Dalvay Beach is a bit of a well-kept secret. The sand and the dunes stretched for miles, but there were relatively few people around - perhaps due to the complete lack of facilities like change rooms, lifeguards, etc. But I prefer it that way!

We read, swam a bit, walked along the shore for ages. Nova Scotia has few sandy beaches, so it was such a treat to be able to walk and swim without bashing your feet on the rocks (or indeed, being stung by swarms of jellyfish). The north shore also has amazing sand dunes that stretch for miles and miles, all of which are now protected habitats since they're within the boundaries of the national park.

After a couple hours of sun and salty air, we went back up to the hotel, checked in, then hit the dining room in search of afternoon tea, which they do reasonably well. Spent the rest of the afternoon crashed on the verandah with the newspapers before heading back in for a late dinner (Dalvay is an old-fashioned residential-type hotel - you have to stay a minimum of two nights, and dinner and breakfast are included in the room rate). Fantastic food - filet mignon and lobster all round - YUM.

The next day we headed back over to Cavendish to visit Green Gables. Now, you can't swing a cat in this area of the province without hitting some site connected to L.M. Montgomery and the Anne books. Many of the connections are pretty tenuous ("L.M. Montgomery's left arse cheek rested against this chair for half an hour in April 1907!"), but given that the Green Gables site is run by Parks Canada, I figured it should be reasonably good and low on tackiness. And so it was. Lots of nice walks on the property, and the house itself has been reasonably well restored.

We then popped over the road for a gawp at the famous Cavendish beach, which was heaving with families. While the dunes here are very impressive, we thought Dalvay was far nicer, sandier and quieter. By this point it was quite hot and I'd had just about enough of the Cavendish scene, so we booted it back to Dalvay and spent the rest of the day on the beach. Utter bliss. The hotel loaned us some chairs and towels, and we took lots of things to read. Despite my best efforts with the SPF 30, I managed somehow to get a sunburn on my back.

By 6 pm the sun dropped and we headed back to the shelter of Dalvay's verandah, where the waiter came by periodically to ply us with drink as we read. Later, I showered and dressed for dinner before taking a gin and tonic on the lawn as the sun began to set. Dalvay is absolutely marvellous - and quite evocative of another era. It has no TVs or radios, and there is nothing to do but read, relax, go to the beach, take a rowboat out on the lake, play tennis or croquet, rent a bike... It's the kind of place where, on a rainy day, things get really crazy and they break out the board games and jigsaw puzzles in the lounge! ;-)

By Thursday our sojourn was over. Having sorted out the damage, we headed southwest again and back towards Summerside. But we stopped for the afternoon in a lovely village on the southern shore called Victoria. We had booked an afternoon of sea kayaking for ourselves. Now, I have never done any sort of kayaking in my life, but of course the intrepid A. has. So we booked ourselves a double kayak, and went out for an afternoon tour with a local man who gave us a bit of instruction before we all headed off. Within 10 minutes, my shoulders and arms were screaming and it was a bloody good thing I had the 'main engine' in the back to rely on - otherwise, I honestly don't think I'd have had the strength to paddle (and it was a bit choppy that day).

Still, it was pretty fun - I think I'd do it again, and God knows there's plenty of places around Halifax to kayak. The sea in the Northumberland Strait is like bathwater (they say the beaches on the south shore of PEI have the warmest water north of the Virginias - and I believe it), so even though we got soaked, it wasn't uncomfortable. We pulled up onto a small beach after an hour of paddling, had a bit of a rest and something to eat before heading back to the village as there were some ominous grey clouds building (the first sign of cloud we'd seen all week). We spent the rest of the afternoon poking around Victoria. It's tiny - about 4 blocks in total - and despite being a working fishing village, it's also become an artists' haven and has some very nice shops.

Then we jumped back in the car and headed west towards Summerside, and our B&B for the evening. Nice place, as it turned out. Briarcliffe Inn is owned by a very enthusiastic couple; she is a former antiques dealer and has filled the house with her various collections. While it may not be to everyone's taste, there's no doubt she has an eye for decorating. We went into Summerside in the evening for a bit of supper, then drove the roads around the B&B as the sun set, taking in the last of the evening light at the lighthouse on Seacow Head. Then the mosquitoes came out in force. ;-)

Friday dawned and it was our last day on the Island. After breakfast we drove into Summerside to check out a house there that has recently opened, the Wyatt House. It was the lifelong home of a woman called Wanda Wyatt who gave the house to the city after she died in 1998 at the age of 103. She came from a prominent Island family and was the first woman in PEI to study law. Anyway, her house was quite remarkable. It had been her parents' home before her, and not much had been done to it throughout her lifetime. Combined with the fact that she never threw anything away, historians have been able to open the house up and show what it would have looked like during the early 20th century. It was incredibly well done and much, much better than I was expecting - we spent far more time there than I had anticipated.

By midday we headed for the Confederation Bridge, which links PEI with New Brunswick and which even I found impressive (and I'm not really into marvels of engineering!). We made a quick detour to Sackville, NB, and had a quick visit later in the afternoon with our friends Marie and Kevin. Another two hours down the highway, and we were back home in Halifax.

Great trip, but nice to get home. You know you've been on holiday a bit too long when you start to run out of clothes, develop a pervasive odour of sunscreen, and find sand sifting out of your belongings at every turn....