Notes from a vacation on Prince Edward Island

Most of my family has left now, though Johnny and Jodi from Vancouver are around for another 12 hours until they fly back in the morning at the insane time of 5:50 a.m. Thus closes a family-packed week, most of which was spent at a rented cottage in Canoe Cove.

Highlights?

We all enjoyed go-carting, both at North River, and slightly zippier and slightly longer, at Burlington Amusement Park. The Do Duck Petting Farm was its usual wonderful self — this is, I think, the single best attraction for children on Prince Edward Island.

On the same trip to the north shore, we walked along the beach at Cousins Shore, had dinner at the New London Seafood Restaurant (excellent service, good food).

Otherwise there was a lot of walking along the beach (and, for Oliver, swimming around, tethered to one uncle or aunt or grandparent or another), drinking of beer (recommendation: get a keg from the Gahan House; good, handy form for beer, and works out to about a dollar a pint, Johnny says) and eating both in and out (including an excellent pasta meal cooked by Johnny and Jodi).

Perhaps the wisest decision was to rent a cottage duplex rather than One Big Cottage. This gave everyone their own personal space, and let us split into sub-groups when it made sense. The cottage we rented is owned by the Trainor family (their main base of operations is in Hampton, where they’re known as Hampton Haven Cottages). The duplex was clean, well equipped, and had uncommonly comfortable beds (better than most hotels). The location, about 500 feet from the beach, across from Camp Keir, can’t be beat.

Sometimes it’s good to slip into the tourist role for a while, even if you live here fulltime; helps put the tourism industry in perspective. Having been in Boston, New Hampshire, New Brunswick and Quebec in the past month, I can say without hesitation that the people and facilities of the Island tourism industry are a cut above the rest.

Now, onwards and upwards towards fall…