July 15 – North Eastern PEI

We were going to go biking today to break up the driving tours but I saw that the high today was 29C while tomorrow was 24C so we postponed the biking for the cooler temperatures. I hear that everyone back in Ontario is baking even more than we are.

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We had to make it out to the farthest east point in PEI naturally called East Point. We did it in a loop starting by driving up to the north shore rather than doing an out and back on the south shore. I’m glad we did it to be complete but there wasn’t much to see as we were far enough inland that we couldn’t see the water most of the time.

One thing I will say about PEI is that it is just about the cleanest, neatest place I have ever been. No garbage anywhere and even the smallest house will have an immaculate lawn and garden. I don’t know if there is a law or people just really like to mow the grass but I have never seem a lawn that didn’t seem like it was mowed today. And they have huge lawns. I grabbed a couple of pictures as we were driving along.

This is his front lawn and not a farmers field. On every drive we see many people out with their mowers.

I don’t know why this place was up on piers. He was high up on a hill and in no danger of being flooded.

Our first stop was the East Point Lighthouse.

The other side of the sign,

Their picnic table.

As I was paying to go up the lighthouse the girl hesitated at first and then asked if I was a senior. Here a senior was 55+. Great, I got a dollar off. I told her to not worry about asking a guy how old they are.

The stairs were a bit weird as the railing sort of leaned with the slope of the side of the lighthouse.

The usual museum on the way up.

The view from the top was OK. Nothing amazing. You mostly just saw ocean.

It was very hot and there were lots of flies buzzing around so I didn’t stay long.

Heading back west along the south shore the views were much better. Lots of wide open fields down to the ocean.

We decided to stop at some of the beaches on the way back. In PEI they never seem to put a sign about a turn right at the road. You only get a sign that says turn in so many meters so I am never exactly sure were the road is.  The sign said Bothwell Beach and this was the next road but I was a bit hesitant.

But it was the right place. Notice the divide between the white sand and the red soil.

The beach was really empty.

There was nothing to interest Jennie so we moved on.

The next beach, called Basin Head, couldn’t have been more opposite. A nice paved road and I followed 3 cars in to see this.

The lot was full. We had to park on the side of the road. We wondered what the heck was going on to make this place so crowded. We almost left but decided that we had to check it out.

There is a channel with a wharf on either side and a bridge over the middle.. The current was moving quite quickly inland. People were jumping off the bridge and then floating on the current around the corner to the beach on the left, below.

On the way down we saw this sign.

Yet there was the lifeguard presiding over the scene. Maybe it only applies when the current is flowing out.

This guy went for maximum splash to get everyone on the bridge.

Fun for all ages. We saw everyone from grandmothers to very young kids jumping.

We were amazed that there were no collisions because the show offs didn’t seem too careful about when they went.

It was mostly teenagers though. Notice all the guys lining the bridge.

The beach on each side was packed as well.

Since neither of us swim very well there was no jumping for us. We just watched for a while and then moved on to find a quieter beach. I guess these crowds are just getting us used to what it will be like when we move to central PEI.

Red Point Provincial Park was just a few kilometers down the road  but it was back to what we expected.

After having lunch, we both got our bathing suits on and since it was very hot out and the water was not too cold, we had no trouble getting in. We have proof. My signature hat, just above the waves.

Jennie did get all the way in. We both stayed in the water a long time.

As we were sitting on the beach a lady went by with a bag full of shells so off went Jennie on a quest.

She didn’t find any good shells but she did find some interesting cliffs so she called me down.

We tried to decide what kind of head this looked like.

The beach was mostly free of seaweed but as we walked down there was one section, about 100 meters long, that was just clogged. There didn’t seem to be any reason for it.

We headed back to our stuff and moved on home. This whole shore seems to be made of beaches. We could have stopped at a bunch more.

When we got back we had a nap and then decided it would be a good night for a lobster supper.

We went to the Cardigan Lobster Supper, which was only a few kilometers away. We forgot the camera. We were on a nice balcony overlooking Cardigan Harbour. We each had the 5 course dinner.

• all you can eat clam chowder. I had two bowls.
• a salad
• big bowl of mussels. I had mine and half of Jennie’s.
• a 1 1/4 lb lobster and a baked potato. Strangely Jennie didn’t give me any of hers.
• blueberry cobbler or a brownie and ice cream for dessert. One of each.

The desserts were OK. Everything else was really good but it was kind of pricey. We waddled home.

We’ll work it off biking tomorrow.