You may be wondering where Oh, Canada (Part I) is, but like all great NY Times Bestsellers, I’m putting out this part first, and I’ll follow up with the prequel later on. Why be linear, you know? That, and, Part I is still unresolved, with the whole Air Canada strike and multiple cancellations, an overnight in Chi-town, a diverted flight to Portland, ME, lost luggage, and then a drive across the border at 3am through the Canadian wilderness. I’m seeking reimbursement, and my lawyer recommends I limit my details to the public in an attempt to maximize compensation. 😂
So while I hash out that comedy of errors and relive my own personal Planes, Trains, and Automobiles nightmare, the next couple of posts will be like the Hunger Games trilogy … and you’ll eventually get the prequel a decade later. Just give me time to build to that feverish crescendo where production companies are begging for the movie rights (and there is no more gag order).
But the trip itself? The 7-day, 6-night Best of Prince Edward Island tour? With all food included, over a dozen different field trips and excursions, and free time to explore on our own? It.was.awesome. Better than I could have ever hoped for; it 100% exceeded my expectations. If you follow my Insta – which none of you do because well, I have (close to) zero followers, and even less engagement on this blog, you would have seen my daily recaps and highlights – but I’ll summarize again here because unlike my stories, this won’t disappear in 24 hours. Or at least, I don’t think so?
Day 1: Check-In and Welcome
I should just leave this section as:
We missed Day 1.
Because, well, we did. The original schedule had my mother and I arriving in Charlottetown around midnight on Monday night. That was going to give us the majority of Tuesday to catch up on sleep, roam the city on our own, and find trouble before the tour formally started that afternoon. However, our arrival was not in Charlottetown, but in Portland, ME instead. Lost luggage and more delays, we weren’t even out of the airport by the time our tour had wrapped up the first day in Charlottetown, and we still had an overnight 8+ hour drive to catch up with them.
Summary: Day 1 did not happen. At least not in Charlottetown, anyway. We were not even in Canada when the orientation started for our tour.
Day 2: Downtown Charlottetown, Beaconsfield House, Historic Walking Tour
As you’ll find out in Oh, Canada (Part I), we did eventually make it to PEI at about 3:00 a.m. on Wednesday. Or I guess you can surmise that given you’re now reading about Day 2, which is far more exciting than the Day 1 entry of: “We missed Day 1.”
After a restful 3 hours of sleep, we were ready for the day. We joined the group for breakfast and introduced ourselves. Unfortunately (or ultimately, fortunately), the group had dwindled from 20 down to 5 with the labor dispute – people simply could not get to PEI – or at least they gave up too easily. But those that were there? We were the dedicated, the stubborn, the adventurous, the fun, and we would ultimately get to know each other really well in the subsequent days and truly enjoy the experience, made even more special given the small group.
We started the day with an educational presentation on the history of Prince Edward Island and its capital, Charlottetown, and then spent the morning on a walking tour around the city. The weather was perfect, albeit the natives might disagree. They had just gotten over a week with the hottest temperatures on record and were begging for rain. As a province whose economy relies on agriculture (potatoes!), the lack of rain combined with high temperatures was tough on the farmers, but amazing for tourists and beachgoers, and we made the most of great walking weather.
Part of the tour included the Beaconsfield House, a beautiful Victorian mansion boasting the opulence of the era and the wealth of its owners. Located near Victoria Park, with a great view of the harbor, this historical-home-turned-museum was a highlight of the morning for me. I love touring historical homes and while not my favorite era – the Victorian era is just too over-the-top for me – if you are ever in PEI, I recommend visiting this house, especially if you can combine it with a walking tour around the park and along the boardwalk.
Another highlight of the tour was the story of George Dowie. Dowie was a man convicted of murder and sentenced to death. As was custom for a public execution, Dowie was allowed a last statement, and legend has it that he captured the attention of the audience through an 8-page oration on personal responsibility and accountability, followed by a 17-stanza poem to his mother, taking so long that at one point, he was provided a chair to sit in. After 30 minutes, the noose was placed and Dowie was ready to face his fate, however, it took an executioner three tries before Dowie would die by hanging.
In the first hanging attempt, the rope broke and George fell approximately 15 feet, where he broke both legs and was knocked unconscious. George was carried back to the jail, where he regained consciousness – supposedly believing that he had died when he came to, only to have to go back out to the gallows again. In the second hanging attempt, the attachment of the noose broke and he fell again. Still alive, the executioner manually hoisted George Dowie up to be hanged for a third attempt, during which, he finally died. The brutality of the botched hanging caused a huge public uproar and would ultimately be the last public execution to occur on the island.
😳
After the tour, we ended up at Sim’s Corner Steakhouse and Oyster Bar for lunch where I had the best seafood chowder I’ve ever had. The food on this trip did not disappoint. I love seafood, and most meals were truly farm (ocean!) to table.
A few additional notes from the tour:
- There is art everywhere; murals on buildings, paintings, and statues.
- My favorites were the work of local artists using things from nature – sea glass mosaics and earrings, Christmas ornaments made from oyster shells, and hand-knit scarves and hats.
- Nothing goes to waste – it is interesting to me how much is recycled, reused, and re-purposed here. I almost wonder if it started as necessity, and then became a way of life? But there is literally no waste.
- Everything is so clean! Maybe that relates to the last bullet?
- Everyone is so happy – I mean, I get it, people were on vacation, it was the summer, the weather was great, the people I was interacting with were in the service industry so of course, they are going to be happy (American tips, right?). But I mean, people were really happy. Odd, seeing as how the winters are apparently brutal – like 18′ of snow brutal. Blizzard after blizzard brutal. Yet … always happy. I’ve been to enough big cities to see a fair amount of unhappiness and poverty. But not here. I met so many people who were passionate about what they did, it was incredibly motivating and has me thinking about a career change (who doesn’t want to go back for more schooling 🙄 … but more to come on that post that’s in the hopper).
After lunch, we had the afternoon free to enjoy the city. My mom and I got our walk on (17k+ steps!) and found ourselves at Port Charlottetown. I love waterfront walks, and we took our time strolling along the boardwalk, made our way to Victoria Park, spent some time around the Governor’s Mansion, did some shopping downtown, and eventually found our way back to the hotel. Having recently been to Vancouver in the Spring, there were so many similarities (in my opinion) between the East and West coasts of Canada. Granted, the size of each city was drastically different, but Charlottetown had a mini version of a lot of what Vancouver had to offer. You want a big city? Vancouver is your place. A smaller feel? Then Charlottetown is for you. And the whole, French as an official language in Canada? (I ❤️ all things French!) I’d move to Canada in a heartbeat. East or West coast.
Back at the hotel, we had a light dinner of mussels and … ice cream. Yes, ice cream. Generally not my thing, but you know what? It was really good.
And when I finally crawled into bed, I fell asleep thinking to myself that yes, it was only Day 1 (Day 2, technically), but the struggle to get to PEI had been worth it. At one point, I remember thinking that if there was one more delayed flight, one more cancellation, one more missed day, one more hurdle, that we were going to have to cancel the trip. But we persevered.
We persevered.
And it was worth it.
Summary: Day 2 (really, Day 1 for us) was a great introduction to the Island. There was a lot of history, a lot of walking, a great sense of city-life, and great food.
Next up: Days 3 & 4 – PEI National Park, Green Gables, Cavendish Beach