PEI and BWW

July 28-29, 2015 – Day 43-44

My voice is back but the wi-fi is gone.  I’ve been trying to adjust to both!  It’s been a busy few days, but we have made it to the final destination for the last segment of the tour.  Can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. 

We are on Prince Edward Island but nobody calls it Prince Edward Island—it is just PEI.   Even though there were ferries for transportation, for years they wanted to establish a link from the island to the mainland, and finally in 1998, they opened the Confederation Bridge.The Confederation Bridge is the the longest bridge in the world over ice-covered water…8 miles long, running from New Brunswick to PEI!  Quite impressive.  There were a number of traffic lights along the span of the bridge. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a traffic light on a bridge!)  It cost a billion dollars to build the bridge.   There is no toll coming over, but they charge a toll when you leave…a hefty toll at that! Nonetheless, it was a beautiful entry into a beautiful island. 

PEI is called the Garden of the Gulf or the Emerald Isle, because of the beautiful colors and green landscape.  They say there are 27 different shades of green on the island. It is so different than the rest of the Maritimes, because it has few rocks, mostly sandstone, and red soil.  The red soil is due to the iron oxide in the water and the ground.  (It reminds me of the red clay in Talladega!) 

The island is 140 miles long, 38 miles wide at the widest point, and 2 miles wide at the narrowest point.

There are so many interesting things about this place.  One of the more interesting facts is that PEI is known for its potatoes.  In fact, Wendy’s french fries come from PEI—who would have thought?   Also, 80% of blue mussels consumed in the US come from PEI.

Charlottetown is the capital of PEI.  It is a town of about 60,000 people.  The downtown area is filled with restaurants, shops, and historical buildings. There were lots of people out walking, and musicians playing in the street. And, there were herons wading in the water by the park.

 

 

 

 

There have been a few more trip “incidents”.  On the way to PEI, one of our  travelers pulled over because his “service engine soon” light came on.  As it turns out, his alternator was going out.  He turned on his generator to keep the batteries charged, and we followed him to the next exit where there was a Canadian Tire Store.  The tailgunner arrived and was able to take charge of the situation and they found a truck repair shop at the next exit.  Long story short, they were able to find an alternator and get it replaced, and arrived at the campground about 5 hours later…very lucky that the part was available.   Then, at the campground, one of the 5th wheels had a jack break, and the camper fell onto the truck bed.  Someone was underneath the trailer checking the level, and was hit by the edge of the camper as it came down--very scary.  But, everything turned out ok, except for a few bruises, and the repairman was on site today to get him going again. 

We are staying at the Marco Polo campground in Cavendish, PEI.  The Marco Polo was a huge sailing vessel that was stranded in this area in the 1800’s during a storm.  The campers here are also stranded because the wi-fi doesn’t extend to the camping spots—you have to go to the office to get a signal.  So, I am BWW in PEI –that’s Blogging Without Wi-fi in PEI.   I’ve received two notes asking “where is the blog?”  I’ve finally found a spot that will work, so hopefully can catch up on missed days!