Peaceful Prince Edward Island

On Wednesday morning I took the ferry from Caribou, Nova Scotia to Wood Islands, PEI. There was a light rain that day, made the driving easier for me. No sun beating through my car windows.

That afternoon I went first for a walk along the beach:

and then to a lovely old hotel (that had once been a residence) for high tea with my friends:

and a walk along the beach at sunset:

Thursday it rained hard. The tail of Katrina. It’s been hard for me to watch the news. Mostly I read about it. It is so very frightening and painful. My heart goes out to the people who have lost so much.

Because of the rain, we thought about going to see Anne of Green Gables but it wasn’t playing that day, so we went to a movie. Wedding Crashers. It was fun, had some memorable scenes, but definitely fantasy-land, and classical Hollywood comedy: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love (instantly), then boy and girl meet obstacles, then boy and girl overcome obstacles and everything turns out rosy—and fun—and they live happily ever after, completely oblivious to the cares of the world, which have been so traumatic lately.

The next day was sunny. First to the beach. Later in the afternoon we explored the countryside, stopping in at some craft stores and various beaches.

Then to the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company to sample their amazing selection of preserves, check out their gardens and have a fine dinner at their restaurant.

In the evening I took a walk along the beach with my friends. At dusk, friendly red fox are often seen along the shore. At this point, the one we saw was very tame, eagerly foraging amonst the debris washed up onto the beach from the storm the day before.

PEI is very different from Nova Scotia. Much flatter with low rolling hills, fewer trees. Most of the trees were cut down at the beginning of the 20th century to make the tall ships. Fishing and potatoes are now their main industries.

I’ve heard people say PEI is feminine because of its gentle landscape. I guess that makes Nova Scotia masculine, with its rugged, unpredictable terrain-- dinosaur country. A different kind of peaceful.

Posted by leya at September 5, 2005 04:31 PM