Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island....

I was up and out for our sail into Charlottetown this morning. It was a later arrival so we had no fog or early wakeup calls to contend with… It’s always such a beautiful sail into Charlottetown with the highlight being the Block Island Lighthouse. We decided to walk around town today before meeting our good friend Florin Dragomir for lunch. It’s always great being in port with the Zaandam, giving us the possibility of a visit. Off the ship we were greeted by the local PEI ladies giving out samples of lobster rolls…Delicious!!! With two ships in, it was busy on the pier this morning with the lobster rolls and Ann of Green Gables greeting the passengers…a fine Prince Edward Island welcome this beautiful morning indeed. We started our walkabout, and the girls ran into Jean, a friend from Gananoque. Jean recently moved home to PEI…small world. Moving on, we walked through the Confederation Landing Park around the harbor to Peake’s Wharf, the waterfront boardwalk. We looked in a few shops before walking to Water Street with its beautifully preserved Georgian architecture. Cutting through the PEI Regiment Armory and Museum grounds we rejoined the waterfront boardwalk passing the Culinary Institute of Canada, taking a stroll along Havilland and West Streets passing a number of exquisite Victorian homes. We passed the Beaconsfield Historic House, a great example of Victorian architecture with historic tales about Charlottetown.  Continuing to the boardwalk along the Charlottetown Harbor, we noticed the Governor’s House across the street…. The gate was open with a sign saying pedestrians are welcome to walk the grounds, so we walked up to the Fanningbank Government House, home of PEI’s Lieutenant Governor. Watching our time, we decided to return to the ship via the Irish Settlers Monument. This memorial honors the Island’s early Irish immigrants and is modeled after the High Cross of Moone in Ireland. Its circular floor has 32 flagstones, originally imported from each of the Irish counties where the Island settlers originated. We met Florin at the pier and went to Lobster on the Wharf at Mackinnon’s Wharf. We had a delicious lunch and a great reunion… it is always a pleasure to spend time with a great friend. Florin & I had lobster rolls which were delicious, and Ann & Cathy had fish & chips, the largest portion of fish, ever! After lunch, we said our goodbyes and came back to the ship. We will see Florin again in the Fall when we sail on the Zaandam.  The weather was hot and sunny, so I continued my tanning regimen. Another great day in Charlottetown…