Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is the smallest of Canada’s provinces – about the size of Delaware – and has only about 150,000 residents. There weren’t any spectacular sites that drew us here, it was more the promise of a gentle, bucolic, landscape dotted with tidy farm houses and with long, red sand beaches on the northern shores – many of them a part of Prince Edward Island National Park – plus the charming provincial capital Charlottetown. We arrived on the island by ferry from Nova Scotia and left by bridge to New Brunswick after a very pleasant five days.

Red sand beaches in Prince Edward Island National Park at North Rustico



North Rustico Harbour Light



Saucer-sized mushrooms along a forest trail


Low budget beach-side cottage engulfing an old trailer.



Giant dunes backing the beach in Prince Edward Island National Park



Victorian buildings in Charlottetown







St. Dunstan's Basilica Cathedral



Interior of St. Dunstan's











Antique fire truck







St. Paul's Anglican Church


Bees still busy (if a bit sluggish) in late September



Beaconsfield Historical House (1877)



(photo by Deborah)







Charlottetown hosted the 1864 Confederation Conference in which the colonial provinces agreed to form a union - thus, it is considered the site of the birth of Canada. William Henry Pope was a PEI delegate and is depicted here setting off from Peak's Quay to extend his welcome to the delegates arriving from the other provinces.


Green Gables Heritage Place in Cavendish, PEI. This property inspired the setting for the popular Anne of Green Gables novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery about a red-haired orphan girl growing up on Prince Edward Island. Montgomery's cousins owned the farm and she visited often.



Deborah of Green Gables






Shopping made easy: shirts come only in one color.



The Confederation Bridge, spanning the 13km (8 mi) between Prince Edward Island and mainland New Brunswick. It is the longest bridge in the world crossing ice-covered water.



Your moment of zen: Deborah's video of dune grass in the wind





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