Day 14 - Last full day on the Island

I hope to someday honeymoon at Dalvay By The Sea. I’m considering starting a savings fund for the sake of affording the $340 nightly fee for a room.




This is a Blue Heron, the marshes and bays around the island are full of these birds. For 30 years, my father has had a habit of trying to sneak up on these birds in order to take a good picture or just watch them through binoculars... they always seem to know that he’s coming and proceed to fly away. I just happened to catch this shot through the trees at the pond right near our cottage.


This is where I intend to live one day, or at least someplace like it. The island is covered in beautiful farm houses nestled in amongst rolling green fields and beautiful groves of tall trees. I might get a horse too, just to complete the scene, but I’ll need someone else to handle the feeding and grooming (stupid allergies).


A red dirt road with rich green trees on either side. The definition of PEI.


An eight-second exposure from Stanhope cape beach. I think this is my favourite image from the trip.

Day 13 - 2300 miles for this???

The last trip in to Charlottetown, apart from our upcoming visit to the airport.

Caught a brass quintet on the steps of the Confederation Centre for the Arts. College/University students, playing a repertoire based almost entirely off of the works of The Canadian Brass. Nothing too original, but still enjoyable. Took some photos, the tuba player asked me to email the set to her, I can’t deny the slight bit of hope that they might be my first published photos, if the Centre produces any advertising for the event next year.





While I was listening, the family went around the corner to the Centre’s outdoor amphitheatre to watch a musical show that had been advertised at the Cynthia MacLeod Ceilidhs (the step-dancer was a member of this outdoor performance). Turns out that it is an Alberta-sponsored show about Alberta... we flew across Canada to watch a show about Alberta in Charlottetown. I stood there for a moment or two, watched some cowboys prance around on stage, and then went back for the second half of the brass quintet’s performance. Had to take a photo at the amphitheatre though... only in Charlottetown would you see this.



Got back to the cottage in time for an evening walk on the beach. Took off my ankle brace and shoes and went for a barefoot walk on the beach and through the shallows. There was no way that I was leaving the island without dipping my toes on the Atlantic once more. It was worth it, but I’m sitting here a week later in Ottawa and my ankle is only now getting back to the point of healing where it was before that walk... But it was worth it. Saw some lobsters in the shallows, an unfortunately crippled 4” one, and a whole bunch of tiny 1” babies, still white/clear. Also saw (and interacted with) lots of crabs. Neat to watch, but I must admit that I am not particularly fond of the nibbling.

Day 12 - The gables are most certainly green.

Went to Green Gables today. I’m still not entirely sure why, I guess I just felt that it was something that I ought to do while I’m here. I plan on reading the books when I get home for the sake of having some context so that I might be able to better appreciate what I saw during our walk through the grounds.






But, once again, the highlight of the day was definitely the evening spent at the Brackley Ceilidh. This event is hosted by Cynthia MacLeod, a fact that ensures some excellent fiddle at every event, but includes different guests every evening (Monday and Wednesday) that give a good sampling of the island’s musical offerings. Last week was Gordon Belsher, a long-time islander who oft bemoans his permanent “from away” status due to his birth in Saskatchewan. This week was two members of “The Fiddlers’ Sons”, a very well known group here on the island. These guests usually provide the vocals, guitar, and percussion (baran... spelling still evades me). The combination of all involved make for a thoroughly enjoyable event with crazy-good music, dancing, and comedy.













My only complaint is that these ceilidhs are primarily a tourist event; Islanders rarely make up more than 10% of the crowd. My goal, in future trips, is to somehow get myself invited to a local kitchen party where I can get my east-coast music fix in the real setting, without the nagging feeling that it’s something put on for us tourists. Don’t get me wrong though, I still enjoyed it.

Day 11 - Churches and Lobster

To be perfectly honest, the architecture just wasn’t as impressive for me as the rural churches. Sure, these things are big, but I sometimes wonder about the inherent value. Between the half-life-sized stations of the cross, three or four obvious confessionals (maybe more), two shrines to Jesus and two shrines to Mary (sorry RC friends, don’t know the proper names), and TWO pipe organs... I couldn’t help but feel that this money maybe could have been better spent. Beautiful nonetheless.








Went for a drive, ended up in New Glasgow (what a perfect excuse for another lobster dinner). Visited the Island Preserves Company to load up on jams, jellies, and other goodies for us and for friends. Visited the Toy Factory to look around, seems that most of the items we found so charming last time (mailboxes, painted sea glass, island themed wood work) were all gone in favour of more generic wooden children’s toys and stuffed animals.

Hit Cavendish on the way home, I enjoyed the view from the top of the cliffs while the family enjoyed the rocks and beach below (ankle isn’t ready to brave the less-than-ideal pathway down).





Got back to the cabin, waited around for an hour or so for the sun to set completely, then headed down to the Covehead lighthouse for some photos and the general experience. I love to watch the beam of light sweep across the dunes and then cut a clean swath through the misty air above the bay. Occasionally you will see fox eyes reflecting the light back from the grassy dunes. Our drive back to the cottage was, as it usually is, a fox hunting excursion where we drove down the coastal highway with our high-beams on and our heads out the windows, looking for some sign of ‘the locals’. Caught a few fleeting glimpses in the bushes along the ditch but got to watch one of the red foxes as it sniffed its way around the parking lot for Ross Lane beach (our regular beach). Combine that with the site of one earlier in the afternoon, gnawing on a vole by the side of the road, and today was a fairly good day in terms of foxes.



(You'll see a small horizontal line out on the water, it is a freighter cruising through the strait. We could hear the thrum of its engines even from the shore)

Day 10 - Rustic Adventures

Today was gift/art-shop touring day. Started out at The Dunes, an impressive establishment about 15 minutes away from our cottage. The basement has an excellent gallery of art that appealed to me (highly textural, barely impressionistic, sharp-lined, vibrant); Found myself wishing that I had my own place and $2500 to spend on a piece of art for my wall. I was less impressed with the rest of The Dunes, not because it was of lesser quality, but simply because the style didn’t appeal much to me. If I were to describe the general theme of the upstairs galleries, I would have to go with Eastern/Neo-Pagan Feminism (or Boobs & Buddhas). The artists were obviously talented in their own right, but their works definitely were not going to fit in to the art theme of my eventual hovel. The gardens and grounds of The Dunes were absolutely amazing though.


Spent some time in Rustico Harbour, a slightly touristy fishing town that remains, as its name would suggest, charmingly rustic. Did some short walks around the area, but generally stayed fairly close to the car as my ankle had yet to heal enough to make any longer excursions comfortable. Enjoyed dinner at a little restaurant in town as well, had a crazy amount of mussels (this is a theme for the entire trip) followed by a beer and a pleasant “seafood melt” (various seafood in a white sauce, baked under some cheddar cheese). The view from our table was very nice, looking out over the back end of the bay and the homes that sat on the bluff above it.











Today saw the first daytime rain of this trip (not counting the sprinkle or two that I heard a few nights ago). The clouds rolled in during the day and it showered while were eating (thankfully the patio was covered). I love the experience of rain, it is a huge source of joy when I’m at home, but I was struck by the fact that something seemed to be missing on this day. It took me a few minutes to realize that it was the lack of change. Most Calgary rainstorms see a bright day shift to dark and brooding, the ground go from dust to mud, and the air fill with the smell and the feel (humidity) of the rain. PEI’s ground is always moist, the sky is often hazy or overcast, and there is no room for the humidity to go any higher than it already is. All that I had to enjoy with this rain was the sound of it on the patio roof.

I can’t deny it, I do miss Calgary.