Prince Edward Island (PEI for short) is a charming little island that is definitely worth a visit, if you are in the eastern New Brunswick area, close to the show. It costs some money to get there, as they seem to really take advantage with very steep prices to cross the bridge on your way out of PEI! It costs $45 to cross, so be warned!
During the days when the French still had a presence in Canada, the island was called Île Saint-Jean.
But after the fall of Louisbourg, the French fortified city and trading post that was a key military installation for the St. Laurent waterway, the British took over, and the island was renamed Prince Edward Island, as it has remained since. Shortly after the British took over, many of the Acadians living there were forced out.
Charlottetown was raided early on during the American Revolution, in 1775. But following this, the island made a strong effort to attract Loyalists fleeing the American colonies.
One of the things that PEI is best known for, and which is always very present on trips to the island, is the fictional Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Montgomery was inspired to write it, in part, due to the rural beauty of the land. You can see pictures of the statue that is situated in the tiny, tourist village right by the PEI side of Confederation Bridge.
We traveled past the long span of Confederation Bridge, which was constructed between 1993 and 1997, and which also went a long way towards ending the isolation of Prince Edward Island, which had been the only province that consisted entirely of an island that did not quite border any other provinces.
You can also tell just how big of an impact this had on the province, which suddenly was not quite as isolated as it once had been. Many provinces and American states have welcome centers when you enter them. Prince Edward Island has a welcome village, with many shops and small points of interest.
After spending some time at this welcome center, we started up again on our way, driving through the pristine greenery of the Prince Edward Island countryside, heading in the general direction of Charlottetown, the capital city, as well as one of the most historically rich places in Canadian history. This was the birthplace of Canada, where Confederation was agreed to back in 1867, after a series of conferences held in the city back in the 1860's. As such, it has earned certain nicknames, such as the "Birthplace of Confederation" and the "Cradle of Confederation". So, in many respects, this city can rightly stake a claim to be the birthplace of the modern nation of Canada.
Interestingly enough, however, Prince Edward Island itself did not join Canada until 1973 as Canada's seventh province, six years after Confederation was initially reached for Canada at the Charlottetown Conference.
One of the things that we noticed while driving in rural PEI (most of PEI is rural, and even the biggest cities there are hardly what can be accurately described as "big cities") were signs promoting Prince Edward Island's "famous potatoes". We had never heard of them before but, as it turns out, the island province produces roughly a quarter of all of Canada's potatoes, and it is a main source of economic strength for the island!
Charlottetown was as charming as I remembered it being in 2004! Perhaps even more so, honestly. I imagine that it is truly the only town on the island that could feasibly pass as an actual city. It attracted a lot of attention simply because of it's historical importance, as well as it's present-day prominence as PEI's provincial capital, politically. It must be the economic hub of the province, as well, and for a small city of this size, seemed to offer a decent selection of restaurants and summer activities. One of those activities included a concert that evening by the Killers, which we did not stick around for. I would not have minded, but we were in the area for only so long, and I really, really wanted to make sure that my son got the opportunity to see the Hopewell Rocks, which are truly spectacular (watch for a blog entry, complete with pictures, about those in the coming days!).
Charlottetown is a pretty little city, and probably punches harder than it's weight, given it's small size. I mean, Quebec City seemed small to me (still does, often times), yet Quebec City is a huge, sprawling metropolis compared with Charlottetown. Yet, Charlottetown attracts a lot of tourists - it certainly was packed with them on the day that we went! And if it can attract some big names in concerts (the Killers were not the only big name that were scheduled to play this summer), then frankly, the little city is doing alright for itself!
We ate at a Fish & Chips place that had a distinctly London feel to it, complete with what appeared to be newspaper (but wasn't) that the dish was served on. I poured plenty of vinegar on my "chips" (fries, just in case you were unfamiliar), and enjoyed the meal! And we walked around, absorbing the atmosphere of the city. It was a beautiful day (surprisingly hot, though!), and the atmosphere was quite festive. There were events in and around that date, and it seemed that it was a good time to visit this provincial capital, although our stay would be unfortunately short. Like my previous trip to the island back in 2004, we came and went on the same day.
I think next time, I will make a point of visiting Prince Edward Island quite a bit more extensively than I have, and perhaps explore some decent camping sites! Also, I have long wanted to visit more of the island and, perhaps next time, will try some of those famous PEI potatoes firsthand.
For now, however, we headed back to Confederation Bridge and New Brunswick, satisfied that we got the opportunity to visit Prince Edward Island!
Much of the information that I used to complete this blog entry was from the Wikepedia page on PEI:
The Anne of Green Gables Statue, near the Confederation Bridge
A piece of what was designed to be part of the Confederation Bridge, which again, is a big deal in Prince Edward Island, as it helped to break the province out of the relative isolation that it had long suffered from.
Lighthouse right by Confederation Bridge, on the Prince Edward Island side
Welcome to Prince Edward Island, with Confederation Bridge in the background
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We got a kick out of this statue of Sir John MacDonald seated on the bench, looking at whoever he happens to be sharing the bench with at the time. That's my son, dressed way too warm for the day, although to his credit, he never complained!
This looked like it was Charlottetown's main artery!
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City Hall of Charlottetown
My son and my brother, eating at the Fish 'n Chips place.
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