I have to admit that I'm glad I changed plans for my exploration of the western side of PEI, the section known as the North Cape Coastal Drive. It was a wet morning, and a wet afternoon, with a little bit of dry stuck in the middle. It would have been a very wet ride.
I drove the roads that I would have ridden if I hadn't let the weather forecast change my plans, around the edge of the northwestern corner of the province. It would probably have taken 3 long days or 4 more reasonable length days by bike, and now that I've seen the roads I know that I would have been very happy with the northern section and not as happy with the southern section. I don't think it was the rain that colored my interest in the two sections of my drive today. It was more that I found the roads in the northern section to be closer to the edge, and within sight of the water for more of the time. I just liked then northern scenery more than that in the south.
I started my wander this morning by heading back to North Cape to see if I could walk out along the reef that marks where Northumberland Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence come together. The tide was lower than it was during my visit yesterday, but it was still too high for me to walk. And no, walking in the water and in the rain was not on my list of things to do today. It was interesting to see the view through different colors today. Yesterday there was sun, haze, and some blue sky, and today was very, very gray. Oh, and wet too!
A quick repeat visit to North Cape in the morning, and although the separation between the waters looks different than it did yesterday, tide conditions still don't support walking out on the reef. I guess that's a built-in excuse for a return trip to PEI!
I took an occasional right turn down roads marked "No exit / Impasse" just to see what I could see at the end of the road. There were a couple of lighthouses, some working waterfront areas, and some interesting views of the red cliffs along the water. Many of these little side roads were unpaved, so for a while my car was wearing an interesting coat of red sand. That didn't last too long though since the rain quickly washed it away.
Unlike traveling by bike, I went through the territory too fast to form lasting impressions of most of it. There are many views on my camera in spite of the rain, and there are a few places that jump out in my mind. One of those is West Point Lighthouse. It's quite possible that I would have ended up spending the night at this lighthouse if the weather hadn't interrupted my cycling. It's a working lighthouse, but it's also an inn. When I thought about staying there, one thing that I wondered about was fog. As in, how do you sleep in a lighthouse with a fog-horn going off all night long? Well, that wouldn't be a problem here. I asked, because I haven't heard a foghorn at any of the lighthouses I've seen here. And at this point in time, they are lights only, no noise. The woman working at West Point Lighthouse says that she grew up just down the road, and that there was a horn at one point in time. But that horn was down the road at the harbor; it was never at the light. I just remember standing at the light at the eastern-most point in Maine during my June trip with my hands over my ears, attempting to protect them from the piercing noise of the foghorn!
Back to the light though... The West Point Lighthouse houses a light, an inn, and a lighthouse museum. The museum is in the lighthouse itself. It includes exhibits on all 5 (tiny) floors of the light - and the light itself is on the 5th floor. The warning not to look directly at the light source is printed on the last stair. And that last flight of stairs? Wow, talk about steep! The last flight was really little more than a ladder. In the days when there was a lightkeeper who had to take care of the light, there were no railings on the stairs. Luckily for me, there are railings on all of the stairs now. That last flight kind of freaked me out, but I couldn't resist and I went right to the top. I don't have problems climbing, but I really don't like it when I look down and realize there seems to be nothing (solid) under my feet. I never would have made it down those stairs facing forward, but coming down backwards as though it was really a ladder worked. And the view from the top was well worth the trip back down. It was absolutely gorgeous. And keep in mind, it was a very gray day. It would be very interesting to see that same view in sunlight. Hmm... Maybe I can use that as an excuse for a return trip! (Actually, I wonder if I'll ever go someplace and find that one visit is enough. That just never seems to happen.)
Another place I stopped was The Bottle Houses in Cap-Egmont. These three (admittedly small) houses were built in the early 1980's out of more than 30,000 bottles - and they might be enough incentive to ride that southern section of the North Cape Drive that I said I would skip if I ride here again. The keeper of the place is the builder's daughter, and she told me it was a labor of love for her dad. It was just something he had to do for himself. The houses were rebuilt using the original bottles and the original design during the 1990's Apparently the winters here on PEI were not kind to the original structures.
As I rolled into Summerside, close to the end of my tour of Prince Edward Island, I started to drive by a snack / ice cream / lunch stand. It seemed to be a popular place based on the people waiting for their food on this very rainy day, so it became my lunch spot as well. Ah, a lobster roll for lunch. Yum! And for only $6.95. I've been enjoying so much wonderful seafood here, and at some great prices too.
Just a short time later, I was back at the Confederation Bridge. This beautiful bridge was my exit point from PEI. Although I understand why the barriers on the side of the bridge are as high as they are, I again found myself wishing I could see over the edge. As I drove back across the bridge I was very happy that today's gray weather was rain only and no wind.
The bridge toll of $39.50 is charged only when you leave PEI, and the charge for the ferry is also only on the outbound leg. Do you think the provincial government is trying to get people to stay? No, I didn't think so. It's probably just easier to collect the tolls in one direction only.
