PEI Trip Day 3: Points East Coastal Drive

The part of the trip I had the hardest time navigating was around and through Charlottetown, PEI. In the downtown core towards the harbour the construction was brutal and the streets confusing. Thankfully, once over the bridge and away from the city we were quickly seeing the sites along the Points East Coastal Drive:

Our first stop was Cape Bear Lighthouse, we did not go to the Marconi Museum, did not even see it actually! I had no idea it was there but we did see the beautiful lighthouse and the amazing views:


I will never get used to that red soil! Absolutely stunning and magical, what a special place. We continued driving on and began noticing a trend: very few places to stop for food and gas. If you did come across a place, it would be closed for the winter. Crap!

The drive along the east coast of the island is very windy and was going to take a ton of time. We did not have a lot of food with us and to be honest, many of the stops were not that exciting, especially with everything closed. As much as we love the views, we really wanted to accomplish to Tip-to-Tip Tour and get our certificate at the East Point Lighthouse.




We decided to cut across part of the province and then drive all the way into Georgetown which looked like a bigger town than most of the other ones. As soon as we drove into the town we got a weird, weird feeling. There were no restaurants, no cafes... nothing but old houses. One house was so old and broken, the windows had been smashed and the curtains had flown out onto the side of the house, blackened and frayed. I told my husband, we are not stopping here. Not that there was anything to visit or do.



We picked up some Skittles in Souris to keep us alive, at this point we were starving and just wanted food. Souris also did not have a lot to visit or do. We considered getting a slice of pizza at a tiny joint but we were getting close to East Point and figured there would be a restaurant there like there was at North Cape.



We made it! Oh thank goodness, we made it and it had a cafe! Here is another stunning lighthouse overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.



First we picked up our certificates which we were very proud of. I think it is clear from this photo though I was having a hard time. I was in a lot of pain, starving and exhausted. I loved this trip but going home the next day sounded pretty good to me. We had made this huge adventurer's accomplishment but it was time to think about going home. Next I wanted some food and to start making our way around the other side of the drive, down towards Charlottetown.


We stopped by the cafe and ordered some sandwiches and a hot beverage. I did not even photograph the food, it was immediately devoured and topped off with a couple of two-bite-brownies. We got in the car and headed southwest.



I would have loved to stop by some of the cafes that we found but everything was closed.



We tried to get to see this lighthouse but there did not seem to be a way to get there. The signage on this drive was not as good as the North Cape Coastal Drive and there was more garbage on the side of the road in this area which just made me want to bypassed a lot and just head for downtown. We did try stopping by the information center in Mount Stewart but it seems to have disappeared, we could not find it anywhere and once again, we got weird vibes and decided to drive right downtown:



Starbucks! Hot chocolate and a big comfy chair to sit in as we relaxed and recovered from a long day's drive. From here we had to figure out what we were going to do for dinner. Money was getting a little tight, we were not dressed up so we had to find a casual place to go for a bite. I absolutely adored downtown Charlotte, it was so cute, friendly and adorable. I could see myself living there!



We ended up at Olde Dublin Pub in downtown Charlottetown. Lots of atmosphere, very casual, I was hopeful.



My husband got a fantastic shepherd's pie and I got the seafood potato skins with a Caesar salad. Both were terrible. As soon as I saw how burned the cheese was on top, I had a bad feeling. I think the only seafood was some salmon on top and they were completely unseasoned, dry and awful. I had to get some sour cream to go with them and still, horribly dry and absolutely tasteless. I thought combining seafood and potatoes was perfect for a PEI meal, I was totally wrong. At least I was not hungry anymore, I forced myself to eat it, how disappointing.

The conclusion of our third day ended with a long drive on the wrong highway back to our b&b, taking the two across the province and through Kensington. I saw the most amazing tudor house lit up like a Christmas tree that I just knew we had to visit before we left for home. But that my hammy hamster friends, is another story.