Pictures, Pictou, and PEI

Baddeck was blanketed in fog as we left this morning, but it didn’t take long to drive out of it and into the sunshine. After stopping to buy a CD of Celtic music before leaving Cape Breton, we crossed the causeway (the only connection to the rest of Nova Scotia) and drove to Pictou, where we toured The Hector, a replica of a ship that brought the first Scottish immigrants to Canada in 1773. How 189 of them survived on this ship for 12 weeks is almost beyond belief. Even the Captain’s quarters were tiny – note picture of Rob not able to stand upright.

Pictou is near the ferry to PEI, where we went next and enjoyed the leisurely 75-minute ride across the Northumberland Strait. (I did not get seasick!) The red soil really stood out as the ferry neared land. We drove to Charlottetown through rolling countryside, which might have looked much like parts of Saskatchewan except for the colour of the earth. Charlottetown is a beautiful, historic city. (I’m figuring out that there are many more historic sites in Atlantic Canada than in the prairies. One of the photos is the restaurant in Pictou where we had lunch. It was built in 1810! The other photo of the old looking building is the inn where we are staying.) We walked along the harbour and stopped at an information place to get a map of the downtown area. There we talked to a young lady at the information booth who was obviously proud of her city and explained that the fathers of confederation had signed their documents in a particular building about a block from where we stood. We asked if that was now the provincial legislature. She paused. We said, “This is the capital city of PEI, is it not? Yes, she knew that it was. Again we asked where the government met for sessions. She was silent again, and then said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that before!” Interesting. I hope that none of my students live in the city of Regina without knowing where Saskatchewan members of the legislature meet, but then, perhaps I am over confident.

Just a note about Large Marge. I thought for a moment we may have spotted her on the ferry, but we were not quite close enough to get a positive ID. However, later during a walk along the Charlottetown harbour, we definitely came across her bag hanging in front of a store called Bagmania. Note photo. And speaking of photos, I don’t think my photo with John A. MacDonald is going to pull any high score, but I’ll keep trying. Tomorrow is ‘explore Charlottetown and area day’. I think our days on the island may be a little more low key and relaxing than those in Nova Scotia, but that may depend on how many places I discover where I can learn about something new. I have already warned Rob that we will be doing the Green Gables/Avonlea thing as well, and I will try and give him a crash course on the writings of L.M. Montgomery in the next couple of days. Thanks for the points for title alliteration. I’ll keep trying.