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I woke up at 6am and went straight to down the beach. The sun was up but not fully and the beach was just as lovely at daybreak as it had been in the moonlight. I was the only person at the beach - although there was a tent that may or may not contain sleeping overnighters. I went for a stroll with my toes digging into the red singing sand. After a bit I sat down and scribbled in my notebook while gazing out at the vast ocean. I love starting my days like this!
Back in my room I performed my usual 'morning after' ritual: shower, organize, pack up and load the car. I went upstairs for a continental coffee and piece of toast and said good-bye to Singing Sands.
I drove about 15 minutes up the road stopping only once to snap a picture of some huge flying bird ( I think it must have been a pterodactyl - too bad the picture didn't turn out- now no one will believe me!) and ended up at East Point. The wooden lighthouse was built in 1867 (see I remember some history) but unfortunately I was there before it opened so I couldn't climb it. I also wasn't able to get my ribbon they hand out in the visitor centre that proved I made it to East Point. Maybe I'll make myself one. In any case I enjoyed the beauty and peacefulness of my surroundings and talked about the weather with a local who had arrived to do some painting. I then continued on my Points East Coastal Drive - following the handy lighthouse signs on the side of the road. Shockingly the signs led the way to a lot of lighthouses!
I didn't get lost (standing ovation, please) but I did almost get my car stuck in red mud down a path/road leading to a little lake. Perhaps I should stick to following those lighthouse signs. Prince Edward Island is a lovely province. I stopped at various look out spots to see as much as I could and eventually made my way to Greenwich National Park. There were a number of hiking trails to choose from and I decided on the Sand Dune Trail, which claimed to be moderate level and take about an hour to hike. On my way I practiced my French with an older couple and showed them the way to the trail. About 10 minutes later we ended up exactly where we started. Oops - wrong trail! They didn't seem to find the situation as funny as I did and they decided to go follow someone else.
Once on the right trail, I walked through the woods to a marsh type clearing. A raised boardwalk led the way through the marsh, which was surrounded by sand dunes. It was so peaceful and calm. There were only a handful of people on the trail with me. I lingered around and snapped lots of pictures. I saw a heron and a mink swimming in the water (no, they were not swimming together). The boardwalk led me to an amazing red sand beach. With my shoes and socks off, I walked through the ocean water and then up the path to the look out. From this vantage point I could see the entire marsh that I had just crossed and even more sand dunes.
Despite the light rain that had started I walked slowly back to my car. I sat inside eating a snack while I flipped through my maps and guidebook. The rain clouds appeared as though they were here to stay awhile so an afternoon lounging on a beach was probably not going to happen. Since I was leaving the island first thing in the morning I figured it would make sense to stay somewhere close to the border. Beth has raved about Summerside and it was only 20 minutes from the bridge so this seemed like a logical decision. Charlottetown was somewhere in between Greenwich and Summerville so I thought I might stop in town to check it out on the way.
The 2 hour drive to Summerside was... well… wet. The rain poured down and by the time I got to Charlottetown I was torn between wanting a coffee and wanting to a hot shower (I was a still damp from my hike in the drizzle). I turned onto the road leading into Charlottetown and was met with bumper-to-bumper traffic. UGH - I can see enough of this at home. At least it helped me make my decision. So I turned around and continued on my way straight to Summerside.
As I got into town I passed quite a few motels (*phew*) and went right 'downtown' to the information centre. I got the lowdown on where things were and the names of some motels that were within walking distance to everything. The Causeway had rooms available so I checked in, had a glorious hot shower and then went down to the harbour stopping for a cappuccino along the way. It had stopped raining so I strolled around checking out the view and spent my first time this trip in (overpriced) souvenir shops. I asked a couple locals where I should eat and they all agreed on the newest restaurant along the harbour. So there I went and got a prime seat by the huge window over looking the ocean and ate a delicious meal of fresh crab cakes and lobster bisque.
I went back to my room and debated 'ladies night' at the hotel bar but my week of adventuring had started to take its toll on my body. I was exhausted! I also planned on leaving by 6am to go to Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick. According to their tide chart (and yes I looked this up), there would be low tide until 10:30am. This is when you get to go down and explore the ocean floor. It was a 2.5 hour drive from here to there so I set my alarm for 5:30am, packed up leaving tomorrow's clothes out for early morning ease and fell fast asleep.
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Danielle Strnad Loved the writing Erica. Keep it up.