Visit Charlottetown, PEI

I slept well after the long trip to PEI and awoke to another spectacular orange ski. My tent is positioned on the West River, West side looking to the east. The sun was low in the sky and my tent was filled with a warm glow. Looking east the sun was obscured by trees but radiated a welcoming glow over Charlottetown, PEI. The river appeared much higher this morning indicating the tidal effects of the nearby Atlantic. The red sand beach was partially obscured this morning. I made a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal and watching all the activity in front of me.

Modo Yoga

I planned to do a yoga class at Modo Yoga near the water front in Charlottetown. Normally, a twenty-minute drive from the campsite, according to Google Maps, it took 45 minutes to get downtown. I arrived five minutes before the class began and parked in the public lot in front of the building. Nothing like a little stress before a yoga class. FYI, there’s a maximum 11 CAN charge per day.

Andrea greeted me and guided me to the hot yoga room. I’m guessing it was 95 F in the room. This was a beautiful, large, well thought-out yoga space, with mirrors on two walls and natural light on one wall. There were 20 students already in shavasana pose (or corpse pose). This is normally a pose done at the end of a practice to allow the body to absorb the practice and allow the mind to relax. I went to, what I thought was the back of the room, rolled-out my mat and relaxed into the warm inviting shavasana moment.

Andrea came into the room and began to guide the class, walking around and inviting us to slowly move out of shavasana. She took her place on the mat beside me and I suddenly found myself at the front of the class. The class was slower moving which was perfect in this hot environment. In the middle of the class we were invited to go into shavasana once again. Andrea explained that at Modo, they use shavasana three times during the class. This one was used as a transition to slowing down from our peak poses.

There was not a clear end to the final shavasan. Students randomly finished their practice when they desired and quietly left. After the final shavasana, I was drenched from the heat of the room. I began to pack my things and asked Andrea if there were wipes to cleanup my mat. She gave me a cloth and told me they had showers available as well. I obviously looked like I needed to cleanup. The showers were large and had a scent of lavender. Gentle meditative music was playing in the background. I was ready for a day of exploration.

Cruise Ships

Many cruise ships stop in Charlottetown on their way up and down the Eastern coast. When the ship empties, the streets fill with tourist ready to spend on nicknacks, food and entertainment. It seems that this is a significant revenue stream for this coastal town. The fisherman sell to the markets and restaurants and keep that industry afloat. Others live off of tourist dollars as well.

This particular ship, came to port to avoid the storm that I rode through on the ferry yesterday. It came from Quebec and was headed down the coast to New York City. It seemed that most of the people were Americans that had flown to Quebec and were going to fly home from New York.

As I was having dinner at my campsite in the eventing, I saw the same ship leaving the harbor headed south at sunset.

Coffee

After my yoga class, I found Receiver Coffee Company around the corner. The outside seating area was packed and there was a line to get coffee. I assumed this must be the place for a good cup of joe. The coffee was excellent as was the chocolate croissant. Everything was fresh and the service was top-notch. Although there were several other people with computers at the shop, I decided to go checkout the new library space instead.

During the day I also had coffee at The Kettle Black on Queens St. The coffee was good, but I found the coffee at Receiver to be smoother and better prepared.

New Library / Research Space

On Queens street, there is newly renovated library and research space. I found this space and decided to plan my next couple days. It is such a beautiful area you just want to hangout and enjoy this well thought out space with media center, cafe and large work areas with power outlets. Just what a nomad needs. The coffee is also excellent.

Canadian Post

When I visited my brother in August, I took his garage door opener with me. I’ve had trouble finding a post office that could handle something other than a post card. In Vermont and Maine, the post offices were closed when I got to them. In Newfoundland, the postman told me it would probably be better to find a larger post office that could handle shipping electronics to the States. I knew there must be a post office in a town the size of Charlottetown, PE that could ship a small electronic device.

It took some work to actually find the Canadian Post counter. Google guided me to a shopping “mall” off of Queens street with a small entry door that led to a much larger shopping area (memories of Europe). I went to every floor and searched and giving up, I finally asked a woman at a travel agent. She explained that it was located in the pharmacy located at the front of the building. That was new for me.

I asked the woman at the counter if she could send a garage door opener to the states. She didn’t bat an eye and said of course. I explained to her why I was sending the device to the states and a little bit about my trip. She told me, “I’m jealous”. In 2002, she had traveled with her “ex” and his mother to New Orleans. She said they had to keep giving her mother-in-law alcohol to keep her from saying things that would get them into trouble. She said she would love to be traveling again. We compared Newfoundland stories and she told me about how they had taken so many stranded passengers in during 9/11. I told her I had the same experience of their kindness.

She also told me she liked to roam the beaches looking for things that washed up, including sea washed glass. She said she was obsessed with the Titantic and the relics that are still being found washed up on shores. Apparently there are two American brothers that bought a small island near PEI to collect the washed up items. I believe she was referring to the Lagina brothers (not sure).

Charlottetown History

Charlottetown is the capital of Prince Edward Province. It is also where the first conferences discussing the confederation of Canadian states was born. In 1864, Province House, the capital building, was the location where confederation met to discuss the possibility of confederation. Note, the building was being renovated and was covered with scaffolding, so I didn’t get a picture.

This is a very interesting history for an American. I was not taught in school about the desires at the time of America to incorporate Canadian territories into the United States. There were Canadians pushing to become part of United States, but most areas were not in favor. They tried to stay out of the North / South conflict in the states. At the time, the British were siding with the South. After the North had won, they had a huge army which Canadians feared would be used to annex Canadian territories as a result of British support for the south. There were calls to do just this in the American Congress. Apparently these fears grew when United States acquired the Alaskan territory in 1867.

For some of the details, read Canadian Encyclopedia: Confederation

Memorials

Canadians since WWI have fought in the same wars as The United States of America with the exception of Vietnam. In the capital, there are several monuments to PE citizens who have served in the armed forces, police, fire and other public services. There are also war memorials to those who served in various wars.

Memorial to PEI Soldiers: Stands behind Capital building

St. Dunstan’s Basilica

The Catholic Church of Charlottetown dates back to 1721 when French missionaries came to deliver the word to settlers. As the British came to take over the land, Scottish Catholics who felt persecuted in Scotland came to settle in the area. Father MacEachern preached in the various settlements around PEI, Nova Scotia and other islands. He must have been an interesting character traveling over great distances in summer and winter. He had to travel over land, sea and ice. His original vessel and snowshoes are inside the Basilica.

There have been many church developments over the years. In 1913, there had been a fire destroying the original cathedral. The current, St. Dunstan’s Basilica was modeled after the St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. The same number of Bells with the same tone were installed. I was able to take a quick tour 10 minutes before the doors closed. It’s a beautiful building. Photographs were allowed inside, but there isn’t much light.

In front of the Basilica, a woman asked if I would take their picture. She was Marry, he was Joseph and she said, “we are without baby.” We chatted for a few minutes and I gave them my website. They were having trouble remembering the site name. They said something about senior moments, I smiled and said I totally understood.

Horse Rides

I had read that a guided tour of the downtown area via horse drawn wagon was available. As I was walking, the tour came by. I’m not sure how happy the horses were but everyone on the wagon was laughing and smiling. The guide must have just told a funny story.

Campsite

Back at the campsite, I made dinner and as I had done in the morning, watched the sun create a picturesque landscape. After dinner, I walked down to the beach and tried to capture some of the herons fish for their dinner.