Prince Edward Island

July 8, 2011--Left Belfast in the late morning headed for Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia for a few days. Stopped in Sussex, NB for the night near a nice little park.

July 9, 2011-- Crossed the bridge to PEI in a driving rain and about lunch time and headed for Charlottetown to find the house where Ted and Jane lived for two years back in the late 60's. We spent the day hanging around town. We couldn't find the bowling alley we visited in January of 1969 when I hitched to the island from North Andover, MA to see my girlfriend.

July 10, 2011--From Charlottetown to the west side of the island today. We poked along the shore and for me the most interesting part of the day way watching some men harvesting seaweed, maybe Irish moss, with horse drawn drags at North Point. The men stayed on shore while horses waded into the surf pulling drags behind them. It was fascinating. Eventually they worked the horses back to shore, emptied the drags into a wire basket which was hoisted up the bank on a little boom and winch operated by a man on the bluff above the cove. I want to know where they got horses willing to walk out into the surf and be buffeted by waves again and again. It was nice to see a sea product harvested with real horsepower. The horses were working just below a bluff shore where a wind farm was thrumming away valiantly making electricity for the island. The contrast in technology was a little unsettling.

July 11, 2011--Well gag me with a Lucy Maud Montgomery Anne of Green Gables Commemorative Spoon artfully displayed on a bit of lace tatting. This was quite a day. We spent a big chunk of it in Cavendish, Mecca for lovers of Anne (with and E) of Green (without an E) Gables. We saw Lucy Maud's birth place, Green Gables (where the Lake of Shinning Waters gets a roadside marker) the Anne(with and E) of Green Gables Museum and passed up a chance to take Matthew's Carriage Ride for $20. At lunch I passed up the Anne (with and E)Burger on the menu, thought about the Green Gables wrap, but went with a buffalo chicken wrap in the end, feeling only a little disloyal to Anne(with and E) for my choice.

Later, I wandered down to the North Rustico Harbour (with a u)  and talked for a little while with Capt. Wade. He was working on trips in front of a fish shack. There were wooden traps everywhere, no wire to be seen and I was curious as to why, since I haven't seen a wooden trap in Maine for ten years. I was wondering if wire lobster traps were prohibited. "No, Wade said. We just don't use steel 'cause it don't fish." He told me they prefer wood, have a 300 trap limit and have a 60 day fishing season. That sounded like a pretty short season to me and I wonder how they can support the boats, which by and large are over 40 feet on that season.

July 12--From Prince Edward Island to Pictou, NS on the ferry today. Toured along the eastern shore of Nova Scotia, stopped in Sheet Harbour to do some laundry and then headed for Truro. We're on our way home by way of the Fundy Bay.