Prince Edward Island

It seems my well-laid plans for entitling the initial blog entry for each province we enter have encountered a glitch. PEI has several sub-titles for its license plate, depending on the era, the language and an Islander’s choice. The old ones say, “PEI, Canada” while the newer ones say, “Confederation Bridge” , “The Green Province”, or “Home of Confederation”. The other two options are in French.

It is a good example of the island itself; a little French Acadian, a little Mi’kmac First Nations and certainly an Old World Irish/Scottish connection. The Island is on its third name: first was Abegeit (Mi’qmac) meaning Land Cradled on the Waves, second was Ile St. Jean and third, of course is Prince Edward Island. When the Brits took it over in 1758 they couldn’t give the land away and when they did, land owners didn’t want to live here so they just didn’t. You can imagine how that dampened development. Everything changed in the 1870’s with the Compulsory Land Purchase Act and PEI’s population grew to a height of 140,000 in the 1930’s; where it has stayed (Lonely Planet Canada, p. 463).

Whatever you call it, the place is breathtaking with its red sand shores and patchwork of rust red soil and spring green hills and farmsteads. We crossed the 13 km Confederation Bridge on our arrival yesterday morning, met up with our new friends for lunch, window-shopped in Summerside, then headed to a beachside campsite overlooking Charlottetown.

The evening is a great time for pouring over maps and charting our course for the following day so that’s what we did. John and Anna invited us in for watermelon and a visit so we brainstormed possible travel plans through the Maritimes, down the Eastern Seaboard and home.

It seems too early to talk about turn-around yet although we are missing family and the comforts of home. There is a common travelers’ philosophy that surmises this: at the end of the time you designate for a vacation is the time when you feel ready to go home. What are your thoughts? We are beginning to think it’s true. Newfoundland is still ahead as is Nova Scotia and the southern part of New Brunswick but it sure feels good to have come this far!