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Cindy and I are beachcombers. When we needed to unwind – like after the morning routine, we would take a walk on the beach looking for treasures. We found some nice pieces of seaglass – see tomorrow’s post for details.
I also found a coke bottle. You can find these coke bottles in antique shops and garage sales. But this is a seaglass coke bottle. Gently frosted by years of exposure, it only has a small chip on the top lip.
This bottle says P.F. O’Neill Bottling Company of New York with an address on Greenwich Street. I have seen various pictures of this type of bottle on the Internet but not one yet that can shed any light on its history or age. Judging from the thickness of the glass, I would guess it is early last century.
My next and most prized find is this bottle stopper. We now have two in our collection. Although rare, I know several people have dozens of these but it is always a big thrill when you find one.
Cindy also found a clay pipe bowl. See her scrapandwrap blog for details.
Come back tomorrow to see what we did with the seaglass we found.
Guy
A few days ago I talked about the Gold Cup Parade. Gold cup parade day is Friday August 17th. Remember that Gold Cup Parade day is pretty much a provincial holiday in the Charlottetown area.
For those that may be coming to Charlottetown on Friday, you may experience traffic delays and road closures. The parade forms on North River Road, which is also called the Lower Malpeque Road as you approach Charlottetown. Since parts of the lower road will be closed, the Upper Malpeque road (Route 2) will experience incraesed traffic flow as will University Avenue.
Consult the route map on the Gold Cup Parade Day website for more details.
This has been a public Service Announcement.
Guy
Come to Prince Edward Island and rejuvenate. We have not stolen the fountain of youth from St Augustine. But after a trip to PEI, you are likely to feel more relaxed.
PEI has had many slogans.
The Gentle Island
This portrayed a place where you go to relax or feel pampered. However, in that same year, New Brunswick said “we don’t do ordinary.” Nevertheless, PEI still appeals to people who like to be a bit of the beaten trail. This who comehere to relax and have some “not so noisy” fun.
The Gentle Island of Rejuvenation
The next year, they added rejuvenation to the theme. Interesting. The dictionary refers to reversing the aging process. So come to PEI, take a step back in time, and go home feeling younger, relaxed, and ready to tackle the rat race again.
SO if you want a way to remember how to get to the PEI website, just remember “gentleisland.com.”
It is wise to be informed before coming for your prince Edward Island Vacation.
Fortunately, the Internet is always ready to help. In case you forget the address for the PEI Tourism site, use my favourite equivalent: peiplay.com. They have been making many changes this year. There may be occasions where one part or another may not work as advertised . . . be patient.
From the home page, you can do your accommodation search – this is probably the most important part of your planning. This year, campgrounds have been added to the search criteria so you can find all accommodation types. Remember to have cookies enabled in your browser or the search will not work. You can refine your search criteria in many ways. I asked for a B&B in Charlottetown under $100 with internet access available for July 1 for 2 people. See the 21 search results. Note also that the search from the home page never seems to work. You have to repeat the search criteria again on page 2. I hope they will have that fixed soon.
Now that you have found a place to stay, click on THINGS TO DO at the top of the page. The select Beaches for a list of beaches and tide times. Or select Culinary, Sights, Outdoors, or whatever strikes your fancy. There is lots from which to choose.
You can also search by type of activity on this page. Pick from tours, bird watching, agri tourism, seafood, or water sports.
Other sources
While the government website is a good source, you can also rely on other websites.
Trip Advisor has several reviews – mostly for accommodations. Beware of the quality of the reviews. Overly exuberant reviews are sometimes written by the owners to beef up their popularity. It is also rumoured that horrible reviews are posted by the competition for similar purposes. Look for reviews that seem to come from the heart and are written in plain language.
I found a site that offers campground reviews.
You can also visit one of many travel blogs to find information about PEI.
Lunch Online offers listings and reviews for restaurants.
The Tea Guide has reviews of tearooms.
But the most important reviews are from people like me (me is important) who give you first hand experience and advice. For example, If you visit PEI outside PEAK SEASON, check to see what is open. Peak season is generally from June 15 to September 15. Some places are open year round, others start to open in mid May. The biggest mistake you can make is coming to PEI in May with your heart set on having a traditional Church 5-course lobster supper. Come in the early spring or late fall for the scenery and a get away from the hustle and bustle. Prefer to stay at a B&B and ask your hosts for help in finding out who is open. You will find some operators very helpful – even calling attractions to confirm if they might be open for you tomorrow.
Tomorrow, back to the animals with Llamas.
Granny ~oo~
We have Mourning Doves on PEI. Note the spelling. Some people say morning dove. Their name comes from the mourning sound they make – I find it quite sad myself – I think they’re crying.
For all I read that they are strong flyers, I have never seen one in my bird feeders. They are always foraging on the ground for the seeds the others have scattered about.
I really enjoy seeing them in my back yard I hope you have a chance to enjoy them also.
The weeds are calling again this morning. See you soon.
Granny ~oo~
Yes we have coyotes on PEI. If you listen carefully at night, you can hear them howling at the moon.
Coyotes have been migrating East for some time. They arrived in PEI in 1983. If you recall, we have no large game in PEI so the coyote has no natural enemies. Therefore their numbers grew very quickly. They have been a problem for farmers. Coyotes will prey on small domestic farm animals, particularly lambs, sheep and poultry. Newborn calves born in the open field may also be vulnerable.
While there have been some concerns about human safety, normal precautions are usually sufficient to avoid serious problems. However, if you are in an open area late at night, be vigilant.
In 2001, the PEI government concluded a study that bounties are not useful in reducing the population. They allow hunting of coyotes during the usual hunting seasons (October to February). For more information on hunting in PEI, see the government website.
Going for a road trip today, perhaps I’ll come back with some seaglass or some more geocaches.
Granny~oo~
Do we have Alpaca on PEI?
There is an Alpaca farm in Pownal.
There is another in Montague that invites you to visit the animals.
The newest seems to be Green Gables Alpaca Farm.
On the Dover Road, near Murray River, I visited Spit”n Image. There I learned all about alpaca wool and other things. It naturally comes in two shades of brown and in white. It is also naturally waterproof which makes it an excellent yarn for winter wear. Sheila was very exuberant and passionate about her product. It is definitely worth a visit.
Granny ~oo~
Small boats abound on the Northumberland Strait. That is the body of water between Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. The Blue Heron Power Sail Squadron has good resources and warnings for boaters. If you are planning on coming to Charlottetown by boat, be aware that there will be major construction this year and that slips will be limited until the expansion is complete. See the news article.
Find a list of all slipways on the government website. Boating PEI has longitude and latitude for slipways.
In souvenir shops you can find all sorts of salty dogs (colloquial for experienced sailor). Often these are one-of-a-kind rather than mass produced molds. I have also seen shrunken apple figures of sailors in shops on the Charlottetown Waterfront. See a partial listing of shops at Peakes Quay where they claim to have nautical gifts for every taste.
Since PEI is an Island, in the old days, the only way to get material in and out of PEI was by ship. As a matter of fact it was not until 1997 that PEI obtained a road link to the mainland. The Confederation Bridge is an architectural wonder. at 12.9 Kilometres, it is the longest bridge in the word over water that freezes. The picture is from the Environment Canada website where they monitor ice conditions.
There are all kind of nautical souvenirs. You can even find nautical based scrapbooking products at the Island Made Gift Shop.
Granny ~oo~
Yesterday I completed my first PEI A to Z. Before I start another round, let’s see what we have covered:
- Attractions
- Beaches
- Cavendish
- Deep Sea Fishing
- Experiences
- Festivals
- Green Gables (Anne)
- Hospitality
- Inns & B&B
- JUST Crafts
- Kilts
- Lucy Maud Montgomery
- Music
- Nautical
- Old Macdonald had a farm
- Parks
- Questions and Answers
- Relax
- Scrapbooking
- Tea
- Unusual Experiences
- Victoria by the sea
- Weather
- X marks the spot
- Your cYcling holidaY
- Zone for gardening
It was an interesting challenge, especially JQXYZ, while other letters offered so many choices I had trouble picking the best one. Tomorrow I will start over with some new subjects. Some topics like experiences, crafts, and music will deserve more updates, while other letters will feature new subjects.
Please tune in and feel free to suggest topics: especially for JQXYZ.
Granny ~oo~