Need Peace? Go East!

5 Outdoor Family Trips in Prince Edward Island

Posted on 2013/05/01 by Guy Posted in Experiences .

Canada’s smallest province Prince Edward Island or ‘PEI’ for short is known for its pastoral scenery and lush agricultural landscapes. Its idyllic towns and capital Charlottetown move at a gentle pace, surrounded by Maritime delights, towering red sandstone cliffs and peaceful beaches. Whether you are local looking for new pastures to explore or you are new to the area, PEI offers plenty of fun family days out in the great outdoors. If you are travelling from mainland Canada, you may want to stay somewhere overnight to break up the journey. Look online for listings of Quebec City hotels for a quick kip before setting off on a short drive to the Island.

Basin Head Provincial Park

Enthusiastic guest reviews claim that Basin Head houses one of the best beaches on the island. The park in Souris provides nine miles of white sand along the beautiful coastline with great parking facilities for visitors. You can also learn about the Maritime history of the area in the Fisheries Museum. The popular area fills up quickly in peak times; however, you can walk along the beach to a more secluded area at Bothwell Beach. Take a picnic and laze under the sun in the day park while the kids play in the children’s village or enjoy a cooling ice-cream before a stroll around the Park’s gift shop.

Prince Edward Island National Park

Prince Edward Island’s National Park boasts a diverse range of landscapes, scenic views and local wildlife. The park is home to woodland, wetlands, sand dunes, beaches and the Island’s signature sandstone cliffs. The National Park is also important for protecting the endangered Piping Plover, a delicate bird species. Parks Canada has been helping to revive the numbers of this coastal bird since 1982, which is continued to this day. The park was also awarded Best Canadian National Park, 2013 by About.com readers.

Charlottetown

PEI’s capital is a bustling hive of entertainment, activities and historical landmarks. Like everywhere on the Island, you are never far away from water. The bays near the city provide ample activities by the water’s edge including fishing, boardwalk strolling and biking. Alternatively, you can stay inland to discover the Islands history which is perfectly preserved in an array of stunning buildings including the St. Dunstan’s Basilica and Beaconsfield Historic House.

Shining Waters Family Fun Park

Take the kids to this family-friendly park which is spread over 30 acres. Take a splash into Buccaneer Bay or climb up the tree houses in the Adventure Woods. Children can also play with animals in the barn as well as watch animated animals in performances and shows. There is also carnival rides for older children as well as canteen facilities for an energy boost at lunchtime.

Burlington Amusement Park

Fancy an adrenaline rush after lazy days spent on the beach? Kensington’s Burlington Amusement Park is home to PEI’s only batting cage and children’s go-karts. There are a total of 3 go-kart tracks for any age and level as well as bumper cars and mini golf.

~~ Guest Post by Susan Varano ~~

Shopping in PEI

Posted on 2013/04/22 by Guy Posted in Experiences .

Prince Edward Island has a lot to offer in the way of nature and attractions. However, there is also a need for shopping experiences.

Sunday shopping is still relatively new on PEI. Most big stores will not open until noon on Sundays. However, the convenience stores and gift shops are likely to be open earlier. Remember also that several of the specialty shops and souvenir establishments are not open year round. Therefore it pays to check hours of operations or give them a call before heading out.

Shopping Malls

If you come from the big city, remember that malls here have from 10-30 stores in them.

Charlottetown

Summerside

The main shopping areas in Summerside are centered on Granville Street as can be seen on the map. The downtown mall has been struggling for several years due to the popularity of malls int he outskirts where retail space is less expensive. However, in the summertime, Spinnaker’s Landing is quite a bustling spot.

Shopping outside the two major cities

There is a small mall in Montague. In the North-West you will find another in Bloomfield. Let’s not forget the Cavendish Boardwalk where you can find all sorts of treasures in the summertime. Though not a mall, Victoria by the Sea deserves mention. This is a small village when about half the houses have been turned into shops. This makes for a different walking shopping experience.

Special Gifts and Souvenirs

What do you get for that friend that has everything? I will give that some thought and give you my favourite ideas on a future post.

Guy

Gold Cup and Saucer Day

Posted on 2012/08/04 by Guy Posted in Experiences .

Gold Cup and Saucer Day is one of Prince Edward Island’s biggest events.

When you look at the list of statutory holidays, you will see that some swap out the civic holiday in August for the privilege of participating in or attending the Gold Cup and Saucer parade. Now that is dedication.

The parade was established in 1961 and continues to draw tens of thousands of spectators.

Gold Cup and Saucer day culminates with the Gold Cup and Saucer race. This is one of the most celebrated harness racing events in Atlantic Canada. The best and fastest racers gather in PEI all week for trials that culminate with this signature event.

There is a countdown clock on the Red Shores website that shows today just over 10 days left before the big race.

Formerly called the Charlottetown Driving Park (CDP), Red Shores Raceway was opened in 1889 and continues to be a major attraction on the Island.

So Come to Prince Edward Island for Old Home Week and if you are a harness racing fan, don’t miss the race for the cup.

Guy

Old Home Week in PEI

Posted on 2012/08/03 by Guy Posted in Experiences .

Old Home Week is a late summer classic in Prince Edward Island. Running for 125 years, Old Home Week it is the largest of the farm and family fairs on PEI. Now let’s not get carried away. Charlottetown has a population of 45,000 and Prince Edward Island boasts 140,000 inhabitants. So don’t expect something the size of the CNE in Toronto. That being said, Old Home Week features a midway, agricultural exhibitions, competitions, and the usual gathering of various local crafters and exhibitors.

Prince Edward Island has a lot of talent and it is showcased proudly during Old Home Week.

Old Home Week is a time when people come from all across Prince Edward Island to take part in this annual family event.

See the details of Old Home Week on their web site. There is nothing old about it. I prefer traditional fair.

So if you are planning a trip to PEI in the next few days, mark August 9 10 18 on your calendar.

Nautical Theme

Posted on 2011/05/14 by Guy Posted in PEI the Garden Province, Uncategorized .

boat

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.

fishermen

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.

confederation bridge

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.

scrapbooking in PEI

There are all kind of nautical souvenirs. You can even find nautical based scrapbooking products at the Island Made Gift Shop.

Granny ~oo~

PEI Ice Cream

Posted on 2011/05/09 by Guy Posted in Experiences .

ice cream

Did you know Prince Edward Island was home to Cows Ice Cream? You may notice I tagged this post as an experience. Visiting a Cows store is an experience.

First you have the ice cream. They have 30 or more udderly special flavours. And, they were voted Canada’s best ice cream.

The first COWS was opened in Cavendish in 1983. So yes it is ISLAND MADE. Recently, COWS opened a new creamery, open to the public, on the causeway to Cornwall.

Cheese! What is a creamery without cheese and COWS has their own brand of cheese.

Products! You can find T shirts at COWS that have just about every cow pun you can imagine and even several you could not even dream of. Just browsing through the t-shirt collection is an experience.

More Products! You can find cow pens, mugs, COWlanders, baseballs, golf balls, spoons, all with a cow theme.

Locations!

There is a COWS near where the action is.

Go to the Cavendish Boardwalk and look for a giant cow on the roof of the building.
At Confederation Landing Park, the Charlottetown Harbour, you will find COWS.
Find COWS at Grafton and Queen in downtown Charlottetown
look for COWS in gateway village as you enter PEI
the Cows Creamery on Capital Drive (new name) trans Canada highway, next to the outlet store on the causeway between Cornwall and Charlottetown.

Come to PEI and partake in the COWS experience.

Changes to “Anne of Green Gables”

Posted on 2011/03/17 by Guy Posted in Anne of Green Gables .

The words to the opening song are, “Anne of Green Gables never change.” However the festival had announced plans to re-invigorate Canada’s longest running musical last year.

Changes proposed for the Charlottetown Festival production of Anne of Green Gables this season will proceed as planned.

Charlottetown’s The Guardian news reported today that they had also announced that the last of the show’s original creators, Don Harron, would be writing a new scene.

The changes did not include new musical arrangements or new costumes but did include changes in a number of areas relating to the design of the production, its direction and its casting.

The festival executive director David MacKenzie said Wednesday that it is a bold new direction for the festival and the authors and their families after 46 successful years with Anne on our stage.

Changing any icon is a challenge and this process certainly was no different. (some words taken from The Guardian)

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Each year I make my way down to the Confederation Centre and see Anne again. Nothing changes and it is the best musical and the part where Matthew dies brings me to tears each year. I’m looking forward to the opening this year as the years before and I’ll watch for any changes I might notice.

The musical “Anne of Green Gables” plays this year in the Confederation Centre from June 28 to August 31, 2011.

Be sure to get your tickets early, they are selling fast.

~cindy

Tag Archives: Charlottetown