We Visit Coastal New Brunswick and Charming Prince Edward Island

Traditional lobster traps

We left our B&B the following morning after a fantastic breakfast and a session of trading travel stories. With the rain showering us once again, we headed out for another day of gloomy weather while viewing the wonderful sights of the Maritime Provinces. The goal for today was to head over to Prince Edward Island, the smallest of these provinces.  We followed a route that took us along the coast until we came to the town of Shediac, a stop recommended by the B&B owners. Shediac claims itself as the lobster capital of the world.

World's biggest lobster

We stopped at the visitor’s center to get some information and to view the “World’s Biggest Lobster,” a concrete and steel sculpture commissioned in the 1990’s to a famed Canadian animal sculptor.

Outdoor lobster fishing sculpture

We were way too early for a lobster lunch, having the huge B&B breakfast just an hour ago and in fact too early to take in much of the town as is seemed to just be waking up. We hit the highlights of this charming coastal town (it reminded us of the town in the movie Jaws) and looked in on the wharf. Leaving Shediac we again followed the marked coastal rout to the bridge that would take us to PEI.

The bridge to PEI

This is an eight-mile long bridge that cost $46CD to cross, but the fee only applies to vehicles leaving the island. We crossed the Northumberland Strait on the bridge and exited at the visitor’s center on the PEI side. After obtaining some information about where to go and stay, Jane decided that she needed to visit some of the shops in the visitor complex before leaving.

Coastal farming on PEI

It was windy, raining, cold and lunchtime when she returned, so we decided to have a quick lunch in the parking lot of the complex, before driving to the eastern shore of the island.

Rural PEI church

Heading for the town of Cavendish, we found a motel for the night and a recommendation for a restaurant featuring lobster dinners so Jane could get her happy on.

Eastern shore of PEI

The maids were still cleaning our room, so we headed up to North Rustico to view the lobster fleet and operations and find our restaurant for the night. Returning to our restaurant, The Fisherman’s Warf at North Rustico, we had a fabulous lobster dinner with an interminable salad bar. According to Capt. Larry, the seafood chowder and mussels alone were worth the price of admission. Lobstered out, we returned to our room and turned in for the night.

Lobster pier at North Rustico

Windy, cold, and rainy, we traveled along PEI’s eastern shore the next morning while viewing some spectacular vistas of the coast. It very scenic in spite of the weather. We headed to the Prince Edward Island National Park, situated on a little peninsula that extends out into the ocean, and hoped to see a great seashore. We were disappointed.

Mmmmmmm!!

The main features of the park were a red sandy beach and sand dunes. In addition, the park road, parking lots, and buildings were undergoing a major renovation and we had to deal with construction equipment and crews. We drove most of the length of the park road, stopping occasionally to get a picture of something that might be interesting, but came to the conclusion that in the states this would probably only achieve national seashore status and not a national park.

Along the coast of PEI

In no way did it compare to the beauty of Acadia’s rugged granite coast.

Leaving the park we wound our way through the central part of PEI which was quite hilly compared to the coastal landscapes. Farming is apparently a big driver of the PEI economy as a major portion of the land is devoted to farms. Capt. Larry guessed correctly when he thought that the furrowing of the red soil might be for growing potatoes. Jane read in one of the travel guides that potatoes were indeed a major crop, as the soil gives them a unique flavor. Following our coastal route, we crossed into Nova Scotia and stopped at the city of Truro to spend the night.