Another Anniversary in Charlottetown, PEI

Many people will be able to tell where we are going, just by the photo of this bridge! We spent our anniversary in Charlottetown in 2021, when Covid restrictions kept us in the Maritime provinces. We returned last year, and now it just seems like a nice new tradition.

Off the bridge and onto the Island...what's with all the seagulls??

Welcome to PEI!
 

I wouldn't even try to pronounce it in Mi'kmaq, but I like the sign.

So pretty...there is just something about the Island where you immediately calm down and relax.

You know I always find something to fixate on. This time it was the downed trees from last year's Hurricane Fiona. The Island was hit particularly hard , and although they have done a lot of clean up, there is still a lot of noticeable damage.

It was so strange to see the tops of the trees shorn off. I cannot imagine how powerful the wind was.

Arriving in Charlottetown...

It was a windy day!

This picture cracks me up...we were sitting at a picnic table near Founders Hall, next to the Airbnb we were staying in. Jim had recently been stung by a wasp on his ear, and the memory was still fresh. So when a wasp buzzed around us, he was outta there! Have chair, will travel!

Ahhh...back in our happy spot. I love this Airbnb. It has a great location on the boardwalk, wonderful views and is within walking distance of most things downtown.

Because we had previously stayed there, the owner handed us the key and wished us a good stay with no discussion required. We were set up in no time.

Clearly they had the same hot and muggy weather we had been having. The air conditioner was new since our last visit and they had a floor fan. I brought along my trusty portable fan...

And my newly purchased neck fan...and I'm still sweating! Ugh!

Can you tell I've been here? Fizzy drink, two fans and apparently I've abandoned my glasses as they were probably fogging up. It ain't easy being me!

I love this view so much. We had arrived the day after Hurricane Lee swept through the Maritimes. People were probably still shell shocked after last year's hurricane, because there was a definite lack of boats. Our host told us that Lee was like a mild breeze compared to Fiona.

Beautiful homes on the other side...I'm not sure if this is part of the Northumberland Strait. When I zoom in on a map, I see it's called the Hillsborough River, which was new to me. The birds have a great spot to hang out. 

Not the same as the Harbour Hippo, but a solar powered boat that cruises around the Charlottetown Harbour. 

Looking pretty happy as we headed out for dinner...

You need to reserve early at the Water Prince Corner Shop. The seafood is amazing. Jim had a lobster roll and I had the scallop dinner. It was delicious. 

Looking quite pleased with himself!

Quiet on the boardwalk...

This restaurant is very close by, but we haven't made it there yet. Too many other yummy options to choose from. And I will admit, the tour bus scared us away!

So peaceful at night...

The next morning we woke to the Holland America Zuiderdam in port. With passengers and crew, it can bring 3000 people to the city. Several cruises had already cancelled due to the hurricane warning, so it was nice to see some much welcomed revenue for the city.

And this was the view about an hour later...some hardy souls did get off the ship. Luckily it was nicer later in the day.

We had a few "missions" to complete this year. One was to visit the Handpie Company. Jim's body language says "Take the darn picture!"

Oh yum...dessert handpies.

And meat and/or veggie combos...

Lots of pastry is made in the run of a day!

Next stop...Holman's Ice Cream. Daniel had been in charge of the Zoomers exercise program I'm involved with, and then announced that he was taking over his parents' ice cream business. A visit was definitely in order!

All made in house...

Lots of seating areas in different rooms...there is so much character in the older homes.

Decisions, decisions...

I went for it! No skimpy cone for me today...dairy is a lunch option, right? A delicious turtle waffle.

Jim opted for something smaller...really? Brownie a la mode for him.

He doesn't look unhappy with his choice!

We'll be back to try something else next time!

So green and fresh looking...

Our yummy purchases...

Somehow I missed taking a photo at Mary's Bake Shop...

I think it had been pretty windy while we were away!

So nice to see the sunshine after the heavy rain in the morning. This guy had a powered boat, which he steered with the paddle. He had his dog as captain, complete with a life vest.

Beautiful cotton candy clouds...

We shared handpies so we could taste each other's choices. The pastry is amazing.  Potato salad, coleslaw and handpies = yummy meal!

The next morning, there were gray skies and a new ship in port. Also from the Holland America line, the Zaandam is slightly smaller than the Zuiderdam, but still can take 1400 passengers.

We were off on another mission...still remarking on the fallen trees everywhere on the island.

The mission for today was to find the Canada Connects Winter Mural. These murals are appearing across Canada and are made up of individual tiles painted by artists across Canada. When you paint your tiles, you aren't really sure where the mural will be, so we were excited to find that it would be on the Island.

Especially excited because my sister, Pam, had painted 3 tiles for the project. I've circled two of them in red near the top of the tree. The third one was hiding behind the bush.

Cats, of course, because she is a foster cat mom extraordinaire! These two near the top of the tree...

And this one hiding behind the bush. Isn't it amazing how all the different tiles come together to form a scene. Well done!

I'm really not sure what this pose is supposed to mean. I could have pointed to hers, but it was more of a ta-da! We made it! Proud of my talented sister!

It was also our 32nd anniversary that day and we enjoyed some delicious Purdy's chocolates compliments of Pam and Trevor.

They were so good!

We look so young! I guess we were! 🧡

We went to Gahan's restaurant for dinner and enjoyed a madcap play at the Confederation Centre of the Arts. It was called The Play That Goes Wrong and was totally silly, but very well done. It is called a hybrid of Monty Python and Sherlock Holmes, so you can imagine.

For some reason, I didn't take any photos at the restaurant or the play, but did manage to catch the Founders Hall market at night.

These scooters are popping up everywhere. The kids had enjoyed them in Halifax. I was tempted, but not a night time activity for your first experience.

The mission for the next day was to head to Thunder Cove Beach to see how it had fared after the hurricane last year. We passed this flower flag several times during our stay and I finally caught a picture of it on the fly.

So pretty...

Back at the beach...it was pretty deserted and very windy.

This was a picture I took last year. You can see the yellow warning sign to the left of the person.

And this is the same sign this year in the distance...wow. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...the sky always looked different and I took way too many pictures of the same scene. 

A stand-off between the black birds and the seagulls. I guess there is a line drawn that they don't cross!

Never got tired of this view...

We puttered around the boardwalk area the next day. Last year we had missed visiting the Chip Shack, so we made sure to get there this time. The owner, Caron, is a one woman efficient machine and was turning out orders left and right. This box of deliciousness was $8! Definitely recommend!

Beautiful sunrise while we packed up to head home...

My last mission was to get a photo of the Confederation Bridge. Google said to try the Chelton Beach Provincial Park, so we headed there. The park was closed, so I hopped the fence and walked towards the water. It wasn't a bad view...

So windy!

This was good, but still not quite what I had in mind...

These missions take us off the beaten path...

Ooh, this view was slightly better. I think we can do better next time from the New Brunswick side.

Until next time!