July 24, 2017

We drove at a leisurely pace along the north coast of Prince Edward Island enjoying the sun and waves. The Prince Edward Island National Park is essentially a strip of beach but  was still scenic. We stopped several times for pictures. There were few people on the beach despite the sunshine. 

We drove south to Charlottetown, the provincial capital. The center of the city contains classic Victorian era buildings. We managed to walk around the dock and yacht club before perusing the neighborhood homes. It was very pleasant with no sign of decrepitude. It was also not on our agenda to spend a lot of time looking at city life. We followed the GPS out of town and headed toward the ferry to Nova Scotia. The drive through the potato fields was calming and uneventful.

We boarded the large ferry and relaxed for the 90 minute crossing. We landed near the town of Pictou and found our lodging for the night. The small hotel was built in 1866 are just remodeled with antiques unique to each room. The exception is the modern mattress. We had a nice conversation with the proprietor and went for a walk. Pictou presents itself as the birthplace of Scottish settlement in Nova Scotia. They have rebuilt a replica of the ship “Hector” that landed in 1763 with some 200 Scottish settlers. It was of interest to us because the Scots-Irish Bryson’s probably landed in Philadelphia in a very similar ship in about the same era. It was no luxury cruise ship. 

We continued our walking tour before stopping for dinner at the recommended restaurant for grilled salmon. The fish was very good. I am not sure about the blueberry dessert called “grunt”. It was filling and you could certainly grunt when finished. We split one and that was enough. Tomorrow we head for the east coast of Nova Scotia.