Adventures for Anyone: Jen's List, My Latest Book, Whatever...Let's Go to P.E.I!

As I finished a second edit on my latest novel, my characters made a short stop on Prince Edward Island, Canada. As I read over the text, I remembered seeing it on a bucket list somewhere, and wouldn't you know, Jen had it on her bucket list! So, here we go.

Prince Edward Island, or P.E.I. is one of the Eastern Maritime Provinces of Canada. It resides off the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, south of Newfoundland and Labrador. Home of the Abegweit First Nation of Lennox Island, the First Nation's People of P.E.I. are the Mi'kmaq. P.E.I is also part of the Acadian Provinces, and there's a lot of Scottish history there as well. You'll find a lot of live Scottish music and a good bit of Scottish arts, crafts, drink, food, and overall culture.

History is a massive theme on Prince Edward Island. Having been part of several empires, regimes, and part of many different countries over the years, you'll find ancient forts, open air museums, traditional museums, historic sites, and Lennox Island and all it has to offer. There are also a few lighthouses across the island that are open for visits. Some have museums on site. One is available for rent as an Air B&B.

One of the most famous pieces of P.E.I. history is that of Lucy Maud Montgomery and "Anne of Green Gables." Lucy grew up on Prince Edward Island and her stories are based in the area as any good writer would do. There are five locations to celebrate the famed stories around the island, including a homestead museum and the birth home of the author. There's also a musical about the stories at a theater named after them. Lots of "Anne of Green Gables" things to see and do.

Would you like to bring the whole family to P.E.I.? Then you might want to visit Cavendish. Famed for their awesome red cliffs and rock formations, Cavendish is a great beach spot.

But, if you have kids, they'll drive you nuts about how bored they are. Especially if you come from the United States and their phones don't work. So, given the massive popularity of the shore at Cavendish, the locals decided to put in some man made tourist attractions many years ago. They have music festivals, campgrounds and all kinds of things to do.

Another thing that Cavendish has is a water park and Sandspit Theme Park. There's a lot of rides for the kids and they even have a Cyclone Rollercoaster. Just a bit of Coney Island in the north.

Getting outdoors is not problem on Prince Edward Island, as a matter of fact, it's expected. With P.E.I. National Park, The Confederation Trail, and many provincial parks, the options for outdoor fun are endless. Being a set of islands, there's beaches and cliffs, coastal rock formations and boardwalks in national wetlands to enjoy. Biking, hiking, and beaching are a few of the most popular pasttimes in the province.

What you won't see a lot of on Prince Edward Island are trees. Being a northern province and an island, there are trees, but you won't find a lot of the dense woods that you find in other parts of the Atlantic Seaboard.

P.E.I. is scenic, as are many of the archipelagos along the east coast of America. There are some designated scenic drives around the province. There are massive boardwalks through marsh lands for the nature enthusiasts. There are bike routes, hiking trails and so much more.

Fishing is the name of the game in Prince Edward Island. Not far from the famed Grand Banks, the culture has long since revolved around fishing. Most of the giant Cod Fishing gurus have gone by the wayside, but the lobster fisherman are still on the water today.

Boats are a big part of life in P.E.I. They are necessary for travel, work, and leisure. You can make arrangements to go fishing, lobstering, crabbing, or just sailing while visiting the islands.

Charlottetown is the capital and main hub of P.E.I. The international airport is there. They're main harbor is there. It is by far the largest city in the province. They have all the clubs, restaurants, hotels, theaters, shopping and so forth that modern tourists love. If you take a cruise to P.E.I. it will stop in Charlottetown. They also have the only city historic district in the province. Most historic areas are rural or in villages. If you want to stay someplace central, Charlottetown is a great choice. It sits in the middle of the province, between the two main parts of the main island.

As with any island, especially just off the coast of Canada proper, you'll need to know how on Earth to get there. The most obvious is to fly. There are also several cruises that stop there. However, flying or cruising leaves you needing to rent a car. There's a lot to see on P.E.I. and you'll want to see a lot of it. It's a long way from East Point to West Cape. The provincial parks are spread out, and if you want to see the lighthouses; you'll need a car.

So, if you can drive to Prince Edward Island, do. Confederation Bridge is the longest connector bridge over potential ice floe lands in the world. It's 8 miles long and when you make landfall on P.E.I. one of the "Anne of Green Gables" attractions is close by. The bridge runs from Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick to Borden-Carleton on P.E.I.

You can also load those cars onto a ferry. Northumberland Ferries travel between Souris, P.E.I. and Caribou, ME; Nova Scotia; and the just off shore Wood Islands. It takes roughly five hours to get from Nova Scotia to P.E.I. Visiting the Wood Islands and Northumberland Provincial Park is a lot of fun too and they are close to the Woods Island Ferry Terminal.

Are you looking for something more traditional for tourism? Prince Edward Island has that too. They have horse racing, country shopping, sightseeing tours, sailing trips, a casino, a Ripley's Believe it or not museum, theater, cooking classes, golf, and so much more.

There's five star dining, spas, shopping and most anything you can find in more congested citified areas. There's a lot of ways to spend money and live it up in the lap of luxury.

Also, there's all the traditional watches; whale watches, seal watches, puffin watches.

But, if you take the time to travel to a lovely island province like P.E.I. I recommend you take the time to visit some of the one of a kind sights. Take a look at all the natural beauty. Visit the place where houses are made out of bottles. Go to the potato museum. Go fishing with the Fiddling Fisherman. Stop at Cow's Creamery for ice cream...one of the top ten ice creameries in the world. Embrace the unique lifestyle of the island. Atlas Obscura had a field day logging the attractions they found that were out of the ordinary on Prince Edward Island.

P.E.I. is a place to learn about a cultural history. It's a place to enjoy unique natural beauty. It's a place to get outdoors and enjoy everything the place has to offer. Take the time, meet some people, try the food, take part in a cultural event, and enjoy everything that seems just a little off. This is not a typical tourist spot, so don't try to treat it like one. Jump right in, do as the locals do, learn something, and enjoy!

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https://www.tripsinsider.com/flights/?campaignid=428087109&adgroupid=1345803586893838&lpage=chf&lb=k&YallaBeitar=1&msclkid=b714eae5661c15c205c2882a65b06313&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=B_Flights-US-DSKTAB-CHF_K-LIR-01_cx3m_Misc4&utm_term=flight%20to%20prince%20edward%20island&utm_content=Flights_01_cx3m_Misc_30%20(Phrase)

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https://www.vikingcruises.com/expeditions/cruise-destinations/great-lakes-canada/index.html?cid=SEM|BNG|999|c_376247252_kwd-77240859828867:loc-190_&utm_id=sem:VXP-US-BNG-NB-Core-Canada-Exact&utm_content=VGL-US-BNG-NB-Core-Canada-Exact&msclkid=7ad6a2c6a28c1fa2da49c009a1821d88&gclid=7ad6a2c6a28c1fa2da49c009a1821d88&gclsrc=3p.ds

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