A trip to PEI

Bridge in Summerside, PEI. (c) Mercedes Déziel-Hupé 2011

My short adventure to the Maritimes took me to Prince Edward Island. The catalyst was a family wedding, but the greater motivation was definitely the thirst for travel and discovery. 


I found out the Island is divided into four major areas, including the famous Cavendish, known world-wide because of the tales of Anne of Green Gables. We drove on the Confederation Bridge and into Gateway village; we had ways to drive still as we were staying in Waterford, in the North West part of the Island.


We stayed in a cottage on the water front. We enjoyed a walk on the golden beach with red cliffs, even in a misty rain and an unfriendly breeze. Our arrival day aside, we had absolutely beautiful weather. The Islanders told us we brought the sun.

Rusty Anchor. (c) Mercedes Déziel-Hupé, 2011

We spent the better part of our time there driving around, seeking sights to see, things to do and locals with whom to chat. We drove through Skinner's Pond and saw Stompin' Tom's house. We went to Cavendish and Summerside. We even signed up for Deep Sea Fishing. An idea I half-regretted for the number of flapping fish and fish guts I hadn't accounted for... serves me right I s'pose. The photos I took from the trip overall were fantastic (I'm still going through them). 


We also visited the Green Gables house, made famous by L.M. Montgomery, and we stopped by the Glass Bottle House in Mont-Carmel. On our way out, we had breakfast in the capital: fishcakes at Maid Marian's, a local restaurant in Charlottetown. 


The family activities enabled more bonding with my man's clan - an opportunity I was happy with which to be presented. As for the wedding itself, it was a delightful (and short!) ceremony and a low-key reception in River Mills. The guests were so welcoming and kind and all were in a festive mood. Scott and I even got to dance!

(c) Mercedes Déziel-Hupé 2011

My trip was made even more interesting by the fact that I was reading, parallelly, a novel by Ottawa writer Rachna Gilmore, about a PEI boy growing up on the Island in the Depression. But, That Boy Red is for another post.