Prince Edward Island Tour

Today was our first full day on Prince Edward Island. After last night’s heavy rain, it was great to wake up to dry weather, even if it was rather overcast.. We were scheduled for a bus tour of the island.
We piled on the bus for a short drive to our first stop, Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Cavendish National Historic Site. This site served as much of the inspiration for L.M. Montgomery’s classic, Anne of Green Gables. In real life, this home belonged to David and Margaret MacNeil, cousins of Montgomery’s grandfather. The home is furnished much as described in Montgomery’s book. We saw two movies that told of L.M. Montgomery’s life.
There was also a barn which was typical of a Prince Edward Island farm in of the late 1800’s. Farm equipment and tools from the period were on exhibit. Two of the young workers were giving a demonstration on butter churning. It sure seemed like a lot of work. I'm afraid there would not have been much butter in our house!!

Next we drove on through part of Prince Edward Island National Park to some of the coastline that LM Montgomery (or Maud as she preferred to be called) loved to come to and often wrote about. Even on an overcast day like this, the sand dunes and red cliffs were beautiful.
We continued to drive along the coast. Our guide explained how the
Beach (and the island) is eroding along this North shore at the rate
of several feet each year. The province has to continually move
the road as the sea comes closer and closer.
Next we drove on down the road to North Rustico, a small lobstering
community. There, our guide gave us a talk about how the lobster pots work and how the fishermen get the lobsters in the boat. She also told of how costly it is for all the equipment the lobstermen must have. It’s a lot of hard work!!-no wonder those tasty critters can cost so much!

Next we were off to the PEI Preserve Company for a yummy lunch. We were warmly greeted by the owner who told us the story of how he came to own this property and run this company. It was a great place. The preserves we tasted were really delicious and most everyone who boarded the bus was carrying a bag of goodies from the gift ship. In addition, there was an ice cream stand with homemade ice cream that was some of the best ice cream we have had in a long time.
At the end of the tour, we drove through the countryside. The green, rolling hills were so pretty. Our guide told us that someone at one of the universities did a study and found 83 shades of green on PEI. This really seems true. Our last stop was at an overlook where we could see farmland, fishing village and aquaculture in the bay (mussel and oyster beds).
PEI is really a beautiful place. All of people have been very friendly and welcoming. We really enjoyed our tour.
Tomorrow we will explore the island again.