This is a shameless plug for one of our homes away from home--Prince Edward Island. Nestled in Atlantic Canada just northeast of New Brunswick and west of Nova Scotia's Cape Breton, this lovely isle is known as the Garden of the Gulf because of its pastoral beauty and fertile agriculture and fishery industries. The Mi'kmaq Indians (one of the Native tribes) call the island Abegweit which means "Land Cradled on the Waves."
I've been to PEI at least 7-8 times in my life--my wife and I have made 4-5 visits together. We've been up in late spring, summer and early fall. Every season is beautiful there, though we particularly like late summer/early fall. There's a quiet, peaceful beauty to the Island that restores life. While not quite Walla Walla (see post on www.fordstreet.net dated 14 September 2008 for the background), people are friendly and helpful, waving to complete strangers as they drive or cycle by. Locals are more than willing to engage tourists in conversation and even share a meal. If you want a truly relaxing vacation, this is the place. (Feel free to contact me for specific suggestions--Ihave plenty!)
On our last visit, in May, I attempted to get up in the air over PEI for the first time. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate on both of my scheduled times, including one day with absurdly high winds (a la our landing at Ainsworth, NE on the way back from Yellowstone (see the entries for September 2007). It was extremely frustrating as it was the first time I had been back to PEI since getting my wings. But we'll go back to the Island and I will fly....heck, I've even plotted out the flight up there from CT in the hopes that we can make the trip ourselves sometime. It would be an absolutely beautiful flight up the East Coast--I can only imagine how amazing that will be!!
But the reason all this came to mind was that I stumbled across a photo gallery on The Guardian website today. (The Guardian is the main newspaper that covers the entire province of PEI.) One of the staff photographers had done a late October flight (looks like a morning flight from the shadows of the locations I recognized) over the Island and posted them in a gallery. While they're not necessarily the most stunning photos, they made me feel homesick. And now I'm already scheming in my mind's eye of where I think some of the most beautiful aerial shots could be taken from....there are some beautiful beaches and red cliffs with beautiful lighthouses that would be breathtaking.
The link for the gallery is: http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/index.cfm?main=gallery&cid=1852 . Photo 21 is the harbor of North Rustico, not too far from Shaw's Hotel, where we stay each time in Brackley Beach.
PS--Take a look at the crime blotter on The Guardian's website, or even the front page. It's the kind of Island where a kid's bike being stolen could make it to front page news!!!
