Prince Edward Island

Our most recent travels have taken us to PEI for four days followed by five days travelling to Quebec City and Bangor Maine.
The drive to PEI took us across the 18 km Confederation Bridge which provides the only driveable access to the island , the alternatives are ferry rides from the southern side of the island back to Nova Scotia (only takes about 90 minutes).
On arrival in the Island capital of Charlottetown we became the snap happy tourists again and we must say it was one of the prettiest towns we have visited. Great restaurants, excellent cheap lobster and wonderful friendly people.


PEI Parliament above and one of the many historic streets below.

As some of you may know the Island is the home of and location for the Anne of Green Gables novels.

The above photo is location of the Green Gables Home which is located as part of the overall Anne of Green Gables experience. It is located in the north of the island and attracts many visitors.


On our way to our accommodation we travelled along the coast road and this is an example of the many fishing villages that are located along the coast. As many of you will know the lobster prices in Canada are at an all time low as the fisherman battle to get a good price for their catch. At this particular wharf we saw the local fisherman selling their live catch to the public.

We spent a great night in Georgetown which is a small village only a 35 minute drive to the vehicle ferry we were catching to travel from PEI back to Nova Scotia. We stayed the night at the Georgetown Inn which is in the photo below however, this photo is of the horse and buggie which was used for the wedding that was taking place at the Inn just after we arrived.

The Georgetown Inn above is owned by Joel Short and his wife Dawn Sadoway. We had a great stay here and we strongly recommend this place to you all, so if you are travelling through this neck of the woods you would find it a great refuge for the night.

Our stay here was enhanced by the excellent food provided by Chef Joel and the wonderful company of the owners and their superb hospitality. To find out more about this location please check out http://www.georgetownhistoricinn.com

PEI is a great Province to visit. No where is very far as the island is quite small. The scenery is spectacular, the people exceedingly friendly and the food most enjoyable. We certainly intend to revisit this area again before we depart this lovely coutry.

Love to you all. Bev and Ross

Nova Scotia

Since our last update we have been on the go again and last Wednesday we travelled to Halifax which is located in the Province of Nova Scotia (NS) about a 4 hour drive from Fredericton. Throughout the drive to Halifax we drove in torrential rain. The windscreen wipers were having trouble keeping up with the volume of water being dumped onto the car. Sadly we passed a fatal accident.

The trip to Halifax was to attend an interview at the US Consulate for our visa for the USA, which we now have and it is good for 5 years.

We spent 2 nights in Halifax where we enjoyed great lobster with a bottle of Wirra Wirra. Here in Canada the Government runs the liquor stores and we were delighted to find that in NS they have just stared to get this great OZ wine into their stores.

As we will be returning to the area around Halifax later in the year with our dear friends Jacqueline and John to see the Tall Ships we did not explore the area as closely as we would have otherwise done.

As we had no reason to return home we continued southwest along the coast line to Yarmouth. The weather by this time saw the end of the rain and the scenery took on a different appearance. The ocean waters were a deep blue and the many brooks and rivers where a strong tea colour as a result of the many pine trees that cover this land. The previously ice laden streams were all rushing rapidly along which you can see from the photos.

We took the opportunity to stop off at a number of interesting places. One of these was Peggy’s Gove which is a lovely fishing village not far from Halifax. It reminded us very much of the fishing villages we had seen in Ireland. The Cove is located on the shores of the Alantic Ocean however, unlike the fierce Alantic Ocean we saw in Ireland the day we visited the Cove it was sunny albeit a bit on the breezy side. You will see from the photos what a quaint story book type place this is.

Further to the southwest we stopped for lunch at a pub called The Sea Dog Saloon at Shelburne, N.S. To see more of the Saloon go to http://www.theseadog.com/ . We also had the opportunity to have a conversation with the owner which was most enjoyable.

We stayed in Yarmouth for 2 nights and took the opportunity to do a walking tour of this stunning city. So we got to see some historic Sea Captain’s homes and experience the mercantile heritage of the area. You will see from the photos the style of the homes many of which were built in the period 1855 – 1903. To see more of this lovely area have a look at http://www.yarmouthandacadianshores.com/

On our second day in Yarmouth we had lunch at Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant and Brew Pub. Sitting by the ocean we ate some cajun mussels and enjoyed a freshly cooked lobster. Lobster is so plentiful here at the moment that a whole lobster served anyway will cost in the vicinity of $10 at a pub and much cheaper to buy to take home from a market or store. We are enjoying the mussels here as they are smaller and have a more delicate flavour than Australian mussels.

For a bit of variety we decided that our return trip to New Brunswick would be by ferry. To catch the ferry we had to drive to Digby which is located on the north western side of NS on the Bay of Fundy. Digby is known for its great scallops and Ross can testify that they are outstanding. The ferry is called the Princess of Arcadia and is named for the early settlers who came to Canada in 1604 to get away from the war going on in Europe between France and Great Britain. More information about this group can be found at www.grassroutes.com/clare/acadian.htm

Back to the ferry. It takes 4 hours to travel from Nova Scotia to New Brunswick and it is a little smaller than the ferry from Melbourne to Tasmania. Murphy and Herb stayed in the car during the trip and they didn’t seem to mind the ride at all. They are rapidly becoming well travelled dogs.

Well until next time. Stay safe, happy and well. We look forward to your visit.

Love Bev and Ross