Prince Edward Island joined Canada as a province shortly after Confederation. Canada became a nation in 1867 and PEI joined it in 1873. Since one of the major meetings to vote on becoming a nation was held here prior to1967. So to that end, the capital of PEI, Charlottetown, is also known as the birthplace of Canada. Home to over 168,519 persons, the Island is 104th largest island in the world and the 23rd largest in all of Canada.
Prince Edward Island the smallest of all provinces in Canada and is also the greenest. It is also home to a deep red earth that is conducive to farming. Many of the potatoes that the nation consumes come from PEI as do much of the fresh sea food.
There is much to do and see in the province of Prince Edward Island. Home to over a thousand bed and breakfasts, there are plenty of places to stay as well. Besides visiting beaches and lighthouses (we went lobster hunting while were camping on the beach), there are cultural centre, art museums, and much more to see and do!
One great thing to do and what is a do not miss while visiting Prince Edward Island is to visit the land of Lucy Maud Montgomery. Lucy Maud Montgomery was an author who was born and raised in Prince Edward Island, Canada and it was here that she penned her classic Anne of Green Gables which has been read and cherished by millions of people world wide. In fact to prove this point, a visitor to my in-laws from Germany was so entranced by the book that she wanted to learn more about the author and story! She wanted to visit the place were the movies was filmed and we are fortunate enough to live close to the pioneer village were it was filmed in and every year they have Anne of Green Gables days.
Lucy Maude Montgomery was born on the Island in a small village called Clifton in 1874. Her mother passed away when she was two years old and her father subsequently left the island shortly after leaving Lucy to be raised by her maternal grandparents who lived in Cavendish, PEI. In 1890, she was sent to live with her father and new stepmother in Saskatchewan but returned to PEI the following year where she finished to elementary school and continued studying in order to become a teacher. She was inspired to begin her writing career and write her book while living on the Island with Anne of Green Gables being written in 1908 and followed Anne with the novel Anne of Avonlea, the following year. Years passed and she married a minister and moved on to Toronto, Ontario Canada raising a family while continuing to write. When she died in 1942, her remains were taken from Toronto and buried in her beloved Prince Edward Island.
The character of Anne Shirley has been well known and loved since her inception (so much so that she is very popular in Japan and the story itself has been translated into 15 different languages!) The story of Anne of Green Gables is presented every summer in the theatre at Charlottetown, PEI. The province of Prince Edward Island has honoured Lucy Maud Montgomery by making her child hood home into a museum, plus they have built an Anne of Green Gable house and together these tourist attractions draw over 350,000 visitors annually. Green Gables is located in Cavendish, PEI in the Prince Edward Island National Park.
Should you go there, you will definitely not want to miss enjoying a lobster dinner. PEI is well known for their lobsters (as well as other sea foods) and while enjoying the delicious dish, you will no doubt get treated to some down home fiddle music. This type of music makes its home in Prince Edward Island because the largest group of population, next to the Canadians are the Scottish, followed by Irish and then English, so you will be treated with the heritage of these countries with a twist of Canadiana as well!
If you want to travel to PEI, you can travel over the Confederation Bridge. This bridge is the longest bridge that covers icy waters and joins PEI to New Brunswick and is part of the TransCanada highway. This modern marvel covers 12.9 kilometres and 8.1 miles from point to point. The bridge takes about 10 minutes to cross and costs $40.50 for the average two axle vehicle.
No matter if you come by car or by plane, plan on spending some time in Prince Edward Island enjoying the sights, smells and sounds. You will be happy you did!
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