Prince Edward Island is the smallest of Canada’s 13 provinces, with a population of only 176,000. We docked in the capital city of Charlottetown, and jumped on a Tours By Locals tour so we could see a bit of the island.
Our first stop was on the north coast of the island, at Dalvay-By-The-Sea, a historic Queen Anne Revival style estate, built between 1896 and 1899, for oil tycoon Alexander McDonald. It now serves as a hotel.
We made a quick stop nearby at Covehead Harbor Lighthouse.
Looking down the beach from the lighthouse. Apparently this place is packed in the summer time. All of the soil and beaches on the island have a reddish hue from the amount of iron in the soil.
We made a bathroom stop at The Dunes Studio Gallery with some really interesting artwork and furniture, with outrageous pricing, even by Canadian dollar standards! This little dog was cute, but $1500?
Fortunately you don’t have to buy anything to visit the gardens.
We stopped along the coast nearby. The island’s red soil is much more pronounced here.
Looking the other direction from this spot you could see the remains of Mackenzies Brook Sea Arch, a famous landmark on Prince Edward Island.
This is what it looked like up until last year, when Hurricane Nicole destroyed it.
Here is the #1 tourist attraction on Prince Edward Island, the home of “Anne of Green Gables” author L. M. Montgomery. Written in 1908, this best selling book has been published in 36 languages and has sold more than 50 million copies. Apparently the house and adjacent fake town of Avonlea bring in thousands of tourists each summer. I guess you really have to be into the book to want to visit a fake town? I’d much rather visit a real town, like Hobbiton!
We had a late lunch before boarding the ship, and I had my first Lobster Roll of the trip. It was awesome! Here is Charlottetown as we were departing.
We were gifted with this beautiful sunset as we sailed to our next stop, Sydney, Nova Scotia.
