Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada... Part 1 of 2

I knew I was in trouble yesterday when the Staff Captain announced that we would be passing Blockhouse Point Lighthouse in the early morning hours… As a result, I was up very early and captured a lot of photos of Blockhouse Point Lighthouse on the sail into Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. This is my first visit to PEI, the original home of my maternal grandfather before he immigrated to the United States. We meet our guide Betty for a tour of the North Shore Coastal Route. We left Charlottetown following the Hillsborough River to Dalvay National Park to visit Dalvay by the Sea Hotel. The house was built in 1895 by Alexander MacDonald, a wealthy businessman and one-time president of Standard Oil Company with John D. Rockefeller. He named the house “Dalvay by the Sea” after his boyhood home in Scotland. The lower half of the house was built with local Sandstone boulders and the huge fireplaces were also constructed with quarried blocks of the famous reddish sandstone…today, the house serves as a 25-room hotel and resort. We followed the shore passed Stanhope Beach and made a stop at the Covehead Lighthouse and then a short drive to Covehead Harbor. Our next stop on the Green Gables shore was Brackley Beach…Brackley Beach is a popular beach destination with majestic dunes, clear water and miles of pristine sand. Betty, our driver made a stop at the Dunes Gallery, Gardens and Gift shop…this was a gem…a stunning architectural complex, shop and beautiful water gardens…one of the nicest gardens we have seen on our travels. Next, we stopped at Rustico to visit St. Augustine Church, the first Catholic Church in PEI and the Farmers Bank, the first bank located in PEI. This area was first settled by the Acadians and the Doucet House still stands from this era. On we went to North Rustico and Rustico Bay Harbor, known locally as "the Crick", a delightful destination that is strongly connected to its proud fishing heritage with its harbor lighthouse guiding the seafarers on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Continuing our drive along the Green Gables Shore known for its stunning natural beauty—rolling hills, sandy beaches, and sandstone cliffs. It’s also the place that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic 1908 novel 'Anne of Green Gables’…we stopped at the Green Gables House, a National Historic Site and Cavendish Beach both located in Cavendish. We made our way back to Charlottetown via New Glasgow. We had a great day; the weather was stellar and lovely place to visit. The sail away was great and if you were tired of seeing lighthouses sailing into Charlottetown, you will really be sick of them now. Once again, I overdid it on photos, so this blog is in two parts…  Tomorrow we are at sea and cruising west up the St. Lawrence River. Another spectacular day here on the Zaandam!