The North Cape Coastal Drive is our target for today. We had done the southern part on last Saturday so today we hope to finish the drive.
It was raining when we left Cavendish, so we hope we can still get some interesting pictures. We have not heard how many days a week it rains on the PEI, but as I remember when we were here it rained the whole time we were here.
Let me talk about ecology for a moment—first, there is no litter anywhere on the island. All the ditches are perfectly clean and at least 80 percent of the houses and farms are very neat and clean. They do recycling everywhere you go. They have similar bins in stores, restaurants, on the streets and in the restrooms. The bins are usually 3 setting together in one area. Bottles, Plastics and Refuse are the labels on each bin. They also have recycling areas where you can drop off you waste. I believe the US needs to get more in step and we would not see the inmates cleaning the ditches like they do in the south.
We left Cavendish on route 6 to a new route we have not traveled. This new route was 254 to route 2 and then we drove to the North Cape Coastal Drive on route 122. When we were on Route 2 we passed on of the traditional Catholic Churches on the island. The Church was St. Patrick’s Catholic Church. It was a large yellow beige wooden church with white trim. The windows were fairly tall windows with round tops. The balustrades on the side of the church were white with black accents cut on a 45 degree angle at the top. The main entrance , as all the other doors on the church, had huge white pillars capped with the black 45 degree cap at each floor level and came to a peak with more black accents. The fret work around the church just above the large windows was white with black accents. The steeple was stripped horizontally in the colors of black and yellow beige bands with white accents as trim. The church sat on a hill so it shinned in the sunshine and it could be seen for miles. It was a very impressive building.
Our first stop of the day was at the Green Park Provincial Park just south of Lennox Island. This stop became one of the most memorable stop on our whole trip to PEI. As we drove up to the interpretive center there was one car parked at the entrance and one car in the parking lot. So it seemed like no one was there at the time. So we went in the front door and was met by a very friendly person who said she was filling in for one of the staff as she left on an errand. We wanted to pay admission and she did not have her glasses so she ran to her car to get her purse. When she came in with her purse she could not find her glasses until she dug to the bottom of her purse. While she was doing all of this hunting she continued to talk about her day and how blind she was without her glasses. When she finally started to use her credit card machine the second person came up and helped her. They then gave us a tour of the center and add more personal info.-like one of the first shipbuilders was her great grandfather. Then we were asked if we wanted to see
the house he had built. So both ladies had us follow them in their car to the house. It was a large Victorian house on a hill which was built in 1865. It had been occupied until 1950’s by a family member. The next relative to own the house was not able to restore it so she sold the 200 plus acres and the house to the province. They restored the house and furnishings and made the farm a park.
When we got in the door they asked if we would like some coffee. Well they had some Home made buttermilk biscuits and a percolator with them. So as one of the girls made the coffee the other gal showed us the house with much detail. When we reached the kitchen she had the table set with biscuits and coffee. When they found out I did not drink coffee they made me a cup of tea. Both gals were now dressed in period dress as maids. There was a large fireplace in the room across from the table. They had a quilt hanging by the back stairway and they had just taken it off of the quilt frame. It was a beautiful quilt in period fabrics. As we were talking about our families I happened to say something about the tin sitz tub they had next to the fire place and one comment lead to another and before we knew it Walt was sitting in the tub with one of the maids helping him lather up. We all laughed so much we had a hard time taking pictures. They were just incredible people and we had a lovely tea party with them. It was hard to express how much we enjoyed this tour.
When we left these lovely ladies we drove to Lennox Island and the First Nation. They had a interpretive center which explained their customs and beliefs. We had a private tour again. It was given by a lovely native girl. She used some of her families language to name certain animals. She also explained basket making because her father had been a basket weaver. She also showed us photographs of some honored people who had lived in their area. She had known many of them and she could describe their lifetime works. She also had some paintings which described their religious beliefs. It was amazing how it was somewhat like our beliefs in God. The twin sons of their God were like Cain and Abel in our bible.
After we left Lennox Island we looked for a place to eat lunch. It was found in a small town at a local eating establishment. The food was homemade and was really good. We had a simple Western Omelet and some toast. It was light and just what we needed.
Then we drove to the northern most part of the west drive. This place was called North Cape. As we approached North Cape the skyline was filled with the moving blades of the towers in the wind farm. They have a facility tests the wind turbines and they are a leader in wind energy research. The largest wind turbine in North America has been tried and evaluated here.
The North Cape has been famous for the longest natural rock reef in North America and the ‘meeting of the waters.’ At low tide, you can walk out almost a kilometer onto the reef. As the tide moves in, you can see the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait merge together over the reef. It made some beautiful pictures.
After we left the North Cape we drove to Miminegash. This area is known for its Irish Moss harvesters. They harvest the moss from boats or by the traditional method using horse-drawn rakes in the surf and on the shore. This seaweed is used in the food industry in jellies, ice cream and also for lotions and cosmetics. While we were driving thru the area we had seen many Belgian horses eating the grass in the fields. Well they use these horses to drag the rakes in water after or during high waves with a storm.
The other place we were told to try Seaweed Pie. Well, we found The Seaweed Pie café and we ordered a piece of pie to share. It had a layer of angel food cake on the bottom with a light filling on it with some whip cream on top. It was good but not special like everyone else tried to tell us.
After we left the café we decided we needed to point our truck towards Cavendish.
It had been a long day with rain for the first hour and then we had occasional sunshine. Thank goodness we did not have a cold rain all day. When we got close to Cavendish Walt decided to go to North Rustico and get some seafood. Well, he came out with some salmon and a cooked lobster. He had wanted to eat some lobster since we stepped our feet on PEI, but he could not pay the 30 dollars in the restaurants. So they have a thing called a cooked lobster which is done and all you have to do is crack the shell and dig in. He definitely enjoyed the meal.
That was the end to another good day for the Albers.
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