Around the Island.......

When last we talked, I had no decent internet  (still don't) and the view of Prince Edward Island was only thru my eyes....... So back to geography class before we get to the pictures.    We left the Halifax area and drove north across Nova Scotia to Pictou, near where the Confederation Bridge begins.   Built in 1997, it is a beautiful 8 mile span.   The other alternative is a 45 min ferry ride which Dean and Diane did.    Access to the Island is free going North ( by bridge or ferry )but they get you coming the other way....about $7 for a car and over $45 dollars for our house.....the ferry would cost us $107 to go South.   Anyway it was a pretty drive and this pic shows the last segment.   We are camped at New Glasgow, NE of Charlottetown..(about 25 min).  

PEI is noted for it's red sand.   Due to iron oxide in the dirt, it is on the roads, beaches and farm fields.   I bought T-shirts for Andy and Mason that are dyed in the dirt and come out the same color as the sand....they include a package of sand with the shirt.    It is said that there are NO white dogs on PEI. !!

Distances are short and between the lakes, rivers and coastal areas, there is a water view most everywhere.    

It is all VERY picturesque......

We have been impressed with the size of the farms......beautiful patchwork rolling hills, immaculate large farm buildings and brown and white cows dotting the hills.   

The area is dotted with golf courses....while out exploring in the early evening, we came across this red fox ambling across a fairway of a course near the water.....Diane said they also saw one and it seemed oblivious to traffic and people.     Somewhere in our travels, we read that red fox were raised here as an industry.....(.I need to find out more about this so that my blog is informative and historical because I know it's not just about the pretty pictures. : )  

All around  the Maritimes, the culture keeps ties to the past.....music is a big part of their lives and a popular pastime is the ceilidh ( kay-lee).   We encountered these in Cape Breton as well. (This picture was of a ceilidh near the Charlottetown wharf the other day.....the young teens were very good and nimble on their feet)   At local community halls and churches you can  find postings  of a ceilidh several evenings a week.   With fiddles, and bagpipes and song and dance, these are lively and popular events.   We have plans to go to one on Saturday night at the "Historic St Mary's Church".....we'll let you know.