A Prince of an Island!

Thursday, August 2nd, 2007
Saint John, NB to Prince Edward Island

209.6 miles
Sunny

Beautiful day to be on the road! We paid a little more attention to our surroundings as we left Saint John this morning. After crossing on the ferry again (this is getting easier each time!!), we enjoyed a bit of the countryside and the city, which is quite picturesque and pretty!

The fellows operating the ferry were delightful. I hadn’t been able to retract my steps into the coach since the Customs people had searched the vehicle. As we found out a couple days down the road, they had dislodged the connection switch which operates the steps. But the guys on the ferry were so concerned for us that on the four minute ride across the channel, all three of them were under my coach trying to get the steps to work. Sweet!

Between Meg and me, we’ve probably taken at least 50 pictures of church steeples – every little town and village has at least one sparkling white church amidst all the heavenly green trees, with tall pointy Gothic steeples or the boxier Romanesque steeples, late Byzantine – some had red accents, some green, some gold. I love ‘em all!

Miles and miles of undulating hills covered in multiple shades of green – darker firs and lighter deciduous maples and oaks and many more I can’t identify – with clear-cut paths for the huge power lines. As in Mexico, the tall power lines make perfect homes for the osprey, as we saw dozens of huge nests up high in the towers.

We passed thru Salisberry, Home of the Silver Fox!

As we headed northeast out of the Moncton area, we noticed that more and more of the billboards and signs were showing French descriptions either before English, or instead of English. Hurumph!

Passed a “Car Life Auto Museum” – obviously a project of the owner, with old gas pumps and signs and several antique tractors outside, as the draw to whatever goodies he had in a large garage.

One of the coaches in our group broke down today. We passed them on the road just before heading onto the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island. This is one big bridge – impressive engineering. A little over 9 miles long – not a suspension bridge – over the Northumberland Straits. It’s the longest bridge in the world, opened about 10 years ago. It took nearly three and a half years to construct, and eliminated the need for a car ferry as the only access to the island.

Changed P.E.I. forever.


P.E.I. Facts
population               129,800
area                        2,184 sq. miles
capital                     Charlottetown
flower                      Lady's Slipper
highest point            499 ft
lowest point             seal level
time zone                Atlantic, DST

Holiday Haven Campground & RV Park
Ferry road, Route 248
Cornwall, PEI    C0A 1H0
902-566-2421
www.holidayhaven.pe.ca