15th September 2022
Finally the weather has turned on us. It is 14 C, overcast, with a cold, biting strong wind. Nevertheless we are off to do our sightseeing regardless and after a substantial breakfast we hit the road at around 9.30 am.
Most of the attractions on PEI appear to be around Cavendish and the PEI National Park that runs along the Northern Shore of PEI, so we head off in that direction with a view to visiting some of the recommended tourist spots.
As we get closer to the coast we begin to see oyster/mussel farming in the bays, and a few little fishing harbours.
The red sandstone cliffs are the standout feature, leading to reddish sand and quite dirty looking water, probably due to the wind wave turbulence. Not everyone was deterred by the weather, as we saw a lone rock fisherman getting very wet and from what we observed, no fish.
North Rustico was next on our destination list, stopping once along the way to capture a photo of an erosion hole in the sandstone shore line.
The village of North Rustico Harbour was worth the visit. Nice houses, a few quality restaurants, a lighthouse and a good sized fishing fleet. The sand was very red and the shoreline was dotted with a few fish markets and stores selling touristy items.
From here we had to find the famed Ann of Green Gables tourist attraction. About 10km down the road we found the Ann of Green Gables Visitor Centre, an impressive building with a gift store and lots of exhibits, requiring an entry fee to see the mysteries behind the impressive building. It didn’t seem there was much there, other than the house that featured in the story. We managed to get a photo without the full tour.
Ann of Green Gables House
Much to our chagrin, we discovered there were many other Ann of Green Gables tourist sites, there is a Museum, the Authors House and even a store selling Ann of Green Gables Chocolates (not far from our hotel). It seems much of the PEI tourism business runs on Ann of Green Gables.
Our last attempt to take in something different, was a recommended drive to Thunder Cove where we were promised unusual red sandstone rock formations, a bit like a few ocean road apostles, on the beach. To get there we had to pass various Ann of Green Gables sites, and some very scenic rural vistas along the way.
Once there, it was not a welcoming spot with signs up saying the roads were private and trespassers were not welcome, there were "no parking" signs everywhere theoretically making it impossible to stop and have a look, and it was blowing a gale.
Not to be deterred we used the road, parked where we were not wanted and headed to the beach to seek out the formations we had come to see. Alas, we could find nothing but a normal beach with some red cliffs and some sand dunes. A good look up and down the beach did not reveal the formations we were looking for, so it was back in the car, and a trip off in search of lunch. We did look around for lighthouse that was supposed to be nearby and found it in the middle of a paddock surrounded by hay bales.
We headed back in the direction of Charlottetown and stopped in a small town in the middle of the island, called Kensington. There was a nice café/bakery that we found where we all tucked in to a bowl of very comforting sweet potato and red pepper soup.
Sightseeing completed, we headed back to Charlottetown and were back at our hotel by 2.30pm. John and I braved the strong wind to go for a walk to find a suitable restaurant for dinner, and to walk down to the waterfront where we discovered the Charlottetown Yacht Club, which had a sizeable marina with a very eclectic collection of yachts including a few etchells on a hard stand.
We sought refuge from the howling wind in and Irish pub on the way back to the hotel, and a Kilkenny seemed sufficient to warm us up for the last leg of the journey.
Our booking for dinner is at Searocket Oyster House (a short walk from the hotel). Every restaurant here seems to be an oyster bar.
The weather got worse and rain set in, forunately we were lucky enough to get to and from the restaurant without getting too wet.
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