Beaches and Villages

We have now been home for a few days, and have been busy getting caught up with Foundation work, gardening and a dinner party for a few friends. PEI seems a long time ago .  .  .

I forgot to mention as I wrote about Summerside that we drove through Ross Corner, just a few kilometres out of town, in the North Bedeque area. This locale was referred to in some of the birth and/or death records of the Ross family (my mother’s mother). Like so many other places in PEI the place name seems to refer only to a few houses that appear to be clustered in a particular spot. I suppose that ‘in the olden days’ it would be natural to name an area or a crossroads after the people who lived there. It will be interesting to find out more about the family.

We felt very lucky to have decided on a cottage near French River on the northern shore for two days, particularly when the day we decided to just 'stop' for a day was such a glorious one. Around 11:00 o'clock, I headed down to the beach to take some photos, about a 10 minute walk in the sunshine.

Lloyd on the porch of our cottage

On my way to the beach, I found a little path in from the road and walked in to find a tiny cemetery with about six headstones and a number of evenly spaced rocks about the size of a loaf of bread. The cemetery was only used for about 80 years, ending in 1851, with the victims of ‘Yankee Gale’ – perhaps the unmarked stones.

The beach was beautiful. With the tide out, the red sand stretched forever. No wonder families go to the PEI shores for their holidays. I could just see our grandchildren playing in the sand!

Lighthouse on the Cape near French River

Lloyd came in search of me after an hour. It was such a beautiful and tranquil place, with very few people around.

We spent the rest of the day reading on the porch - a welcome change from our touring. Dinner was at a nice family restaurant in New London, both Thursday and Friday nights - very good food. The evening views of the harbour sunsets were lovely, particularly on Friday, but I had forgotten to bring my little "everywhere" camera. Memory will have to suffice for these scenes of still water, pink skies and perfect reflections. Sigh . . .

On Saturday, we returned to the south coast to a lovely little village called Victoria -by-the-Sea. My cousin Judy had recommended it, and Nancy White, from CBC Sunday mornings years ago was performing at the community theatre. She was great - lots of amusing songs, such as "Stickers on Fruit". There was also and island storyteller. Our B&B was not quite as luxurious as the others, but had a gourmet restaurant that easily made up for the room. We had a beautiful meal before the show in the evening, tasty and beautifully presented, as were the two breakfasts we enjoyed there.

Lighthouse at Victoria-by-the-Sea

One more blog entry to finish off our trip - perhaps tomorrow . . .