Travels with haRVy

Today we fell in love…with Victoria, Prince Edward Island (PEI). We came upon this charming little town in less than an hour after arriving on Prince Edward Island via the incredible 8 mile/13 km bridge across the Northumberland Strait. By the way, that bridge wasn’t built until 1997, which is why PEI retains much of its charm.

Victoria has everything one could want within three or four square blocks of mostly heritage architecture. A lighthouse, a chocolate factory, a couple small lodging establishments, a few eateries, a pub, a potato chip purveyor, a live theater, a bookstore, and a sprinkling of fine craft galleries. It faces a bay that totally empties of water at low tide so you can walk for hours on the sandbars. And, it is surrounded by fertile farmland. Is this heaven or what?

On top of all that, the people here are incredibly friendly and helpful. In the first little shop we entered, we met Ben, who seems to be the local “mayor.” After speaking (mostly listening) with/to him for a half an hour or so, he invited us to boondock at the municipal parking lot next to the wharf (yet another waterfront camping spot for free!). He even left the public restrooms unlocked overnight for us. How could we say not to such an invitation since we had no idea where were going to camp out? Besides, we were more than happy to spend more time here, especially with a farmer’s market and the annual chocolate festival occurring right down the street tomorrow! This all seems just too incredible, doesn’t it?

Tonight we dined at the local family owned Landmark Cafe after several people recommended we do so. Taking advantage of the local bounty, Al enjoyed a dinner of scallops and my appetizer was a huge bowl of steamed mussels…yumm.

Abundant sunshine and warm – up to 78 degrees. 68 miles