Garden of the Gulf: Literature, Lobster & Life on PEI

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024 ~ From New Brunswick, we traveled to Prince Edward Island, or PEI as the locals call it. While PEI is the smallest Canadian province (about the size of Delaware with a population of 178K), it’s the most densely populated.

Getting to PEI is an adventure in itself. We crossed the impressive Confederation Bridge — all 8 miles of it! — spanning the Northumberland Strait from New Brunswick. The bridge is the longest bridge over iced covered water. Before it was built in 1997, you had to take ice-breaking ferries in the winter. There's no toll to get onto the island, but it’s $50.25 per passenger car on the return trip.

The island’s famous red shores come from high iron content in the sandstone soil. Our guide told us locals actually avoid these beaches because the soil stains clothing; they prefer the sandy north shore for their beach days.

The shoreline is always changing on PEI and coastal erosion can be more than one foot each year. Stone was brought over from Cape Breton for some of the buildings.

PEI is an agricultural island growing 85K acres of potatoes (russet being the biggest crop) and 30K acres soybeans. Surrounded by water with the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the north shore, PEI is nicknamed “The Garden of the Gulf” with its rolling green hills and pastoral setting.

PEI is also the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of “Anne of Green Gables” and 22 other novels. All but one were set right here on PEI. This is where Lucy Maud Montgomery was born. The house is open for tours from April to October, though we did not stop to see it.

Lucy’s mother passed away before she turned two, so her father left her in the care of her maternal grandparents. Her grandparents’ cousins lived nearby in the house that inspired Green Gables. She could walk through the woods to the house…and everything in her books has some basis in fact. Below is Green Gables Heritage Place maintained by Parks Canada which includes the original farmhouse that belonged to the Macneills,

The two trails referenced in Lucy Maude Montgomery’s books…Lover’s Lane and The Haunted Wood. Walking through the trails and preserved rooms of the house, you can see why her imagination was sparked.

PEI isn't just about literary history though…there are lots of little fishing villages on PEI. We stopped in North Rustico for a fascinating lobster demonstration. Did you know there are more than 1,000 lobster fishermen on PEI, each managing around 300 traps?

They sustainably harvest 44 million pounds of lobster each year. Lobsters enter a trap in the Kitchen (on the back right side) hoping to get the bait inside. They try to escape to the Parlor (on the left) but are trapped if they aren’t small enough to escape out the black rectangles.

Lobster leases can only be passed down to son or daughter, otherwise it goes back to the Government. To buy a lease from the Government, the price is ~$2 million. Lobster season is from early May until the end of June and again mid-August to mid-October.

After learning all about the PEI lobster industry, we ended our day in Charlottetown, Canada's birthplace. With about 45,000 residents, it's got that perfect small-city feel. Charlottetown is the birthplace of Canada since it hosted a meeting in 1864 that led to Canada's confederation, or unification. The 40 acre Victoria Park was donated by the colonial Governor.

We hit the timing just right - the annual Scarecrows In The City Festival was on, with over 800 scarecrows throughout Charlottetown. We even found Waldo at the public library!

Down at the harbor, we discovered a sweet LOVE art installation covered in couples’ locks, right in front of the convention center.

Those red Adirondack chairs you see all over Canada made the perfect spot to sit and soak it all in. Tourism is booming here again…this year finally exceeded pre-Covid numbers at 1.7 million visitors, with 150K from cruise ships. The cruise ships pull up to the docks in the middle-left of the photo.

The sunrise over Hillsborough Bay the next morning before saying goodbye to Prince Edward Island.

Until next time,
Deb

Next Up: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia…aka New Scotland