03 July, 2017 0 comments Leave a comment

The last time we visited PEI was 20 years ago, when we were on a motorcycling holiday. This spring, as the finale of a two-month, 8,000 km journey, we spent 11 days there. We camped in our trailer, along with our good friends in their trailer. Below is a photo of me, John, Carolyn, and Roger at Greenwich Dunes.

I had forgotten how stunningly beautiful PEI is, with it's white or red beaches and cliffs, and lush, green farm fields blanketing gently rolling hills. The photos below are taken near Cavendish, on the north coast of the Island.

We saw cormorants nesting there.

One day we hiked into Greenwich Dunes National Park and I took lots of photos of the beach, waves, and dunes. It was a very peaceful place.

We planned our visit to PEI so we could attend the 150th Canada Day celebrations in Charlottetown, the birthplace of Canadian confederation. It is a charming, prosperous town, with lots of well-crafted historic architecture, as shown in the home and commercial building below.

Part of the Canada 150 celebration was a Tall Ships festival, with about eight sailing ships on display at the harbour. We toured four ships, including this impressive 4-masted sailing vessel called the Union, from the Peruvian Navy.

On Canada Day weekend, Charlottetown hosted the finals of a national lumberjack competition, free music concerts, and fireworks in the park near the harbour. We wore our Canada T-shirts and hats and really enjoyed the festivities. We are so proud to live in this amazing country, and grateful that we are able to travel to many of its uniquely beautiful parts.

Tourist season officially started July 1 and the beaches were getting noticeably busier, as shown below. I'm glad we got to experience the Maritimes in the 'off' season. It was time to say good-bye to PEI and start the drive back to our homes in Ontario. 

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