This week, we made the 1,800 kilometre drive to Prince Edward Island on Canada’s Atlantic coast to get our daughter Colleen moved and settled in her new home. Instead of my usual Sunday post, today I’ll provide a glimpse into this heavenly corner of the planet.

About Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island—or PEI as we call it here in Canada—is Canada’s smallest province in both area and population. Unlike Rhode Island in the United States, PEI is actually an island. You can get there by plane, by car ferry from Nova Scotia, or by driving across the 13 kilometre Confederation Bridge from New Brunswick.

With a population of around 175,000, the entire province has fewer people than the city of Kitchener where I live. You can drive the 224 kilometres from the western to eastern ends of the province—or from tip to tip as the Islanders call it—in three or four hours. And it only takes about 45 minutes to drive from the north coast to the south shore. But I guarantee you’ll want to take your time and explore everything the island has to offer.

PEI’s most famous exports

PEI is best known around the world as the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables. The island is the setting for Montgomery’s books. When she arrived on PEI, Anne marvelled at the sight of the red soil that matched the colour of her hair. That bright red colour of the sand and soil is one of the things that makes the island unique.

You can visit Green Gables house in the picturesque Cavendish area. And the Charlottetown Festival’s production of Anne of Green Gables, The Musical is a must-see if you’re here during the summer months.

Red-headed orphan Anne is undoubtedly the island’s most famous export. You’ll see her image everywhere. Other than Anne, PEI’s most common exports are potatoes and seafood—specifically lobster and mussels. That rich red soil is perfect for growing potatoes, and we’ve seen PEI mussels on restaurant menus as far away as California.

Wait, there’s more to love about PEI

Colleen is living in PEI’s capital city of Charlottetown. It’s a small city, but it’s quite busy and has everything you need. (Except for Costco and IKEA much to the dismay of the Islanders. You’d have to go the mainland for that.)

Charlottetown is known to Canadians as the birthplace of confederation. It’s where our founding fathers first met to discuss the union that would eventually become Canada.

If you like rugged coastlines, historic lighthouses, beautiful beaches, friendly people, delicious seafood, and a more relaxed pace of life, I predict you’d love Prince Edward Island. And my favourite part—no matter where you are on the island, the ocean is never more than a 10 or 15 minute drive away.

If you visit, though, be sure to do it in the summer months of July and August as many businesses and attractions close for the season after Labour Day.   

A glimpse of Prince Edward Island

Here’s a small sampling of the photos I took during our visit.

Saying farewell

We loved our time in Prince Edward Island, but we sadly had to say goodbye to Colleen at the end of the trip.

This is a day I never expected to come. Unlike her sister Laura, who has always had an adventurous spirit, Colleen is a home body like her dad. I would never have predicted she’d move so far away. Although she’s been working on PEI for almost two years, the thought that she won’t be home for a visit every three or four weeks is hard.

By the time this post goes live, my husband and I will be more than half way home in a empty van—having left one vehicle and a lot of precious cargo on PEI. I hope I brought enough Kleenex for the journey.

With one daughter in British Columbia and one on Prince Edward Island, I predict a lot of travel from coast to coast—and from tip to tip—in my future.

The Sunday Spark will be back next week.