ZIGZAGGING ACROSS EASTERN PEI

Got up in good time today and saw the kids off to school.  I took advantage of Pam’s washer and dryer to clean up all my clothes, knowing I still have a few days in PEI.  Then I asked if she knew of a good place to go for lunch.  Pam knew of a new restaurant called The Wheelhouse in Georgetown.  With the community of Georgetown reputed to be a picturesque little place, I thought this sounded like a grand place to go for lunch. 
 
Georgetown has a beautiful town park, and apparently one of the Fathers of Confederation, A.A. MacDonald, was from Georgetown.  For a small place, they work hard to keep their community alive, boasting a huge venue for plays and concerts, the aforementioned gorgeous park, and several tourist shops and restaurants.  A nice waterfront boardwalk completes the picture.  The Wheelhouse has a patio right on the water and one look at their menu told me a choice for lunch was not going to be easy!  In the end, Pam and I both settled on the fish and chips because we had heard it was outstanding.  We heard correctly – wow.  The fish was so fresh and the tartar sauce, made in-house, was so good.  The french fries are made from their home-grown potatoes and were to die for.  Considering I’m kind of fussy about french fries, that’s saying something!  I would go back in a heartbeat to try the crab mac and cheese or the lobster melt.    Since I had someone to help me, I also ordered the sticky date pudding, which came with some kind of blueberry sauce around it and whipped cream.  Sooooo good. 
 
After lunch, we went our separate ways and I wandered down the east coast of PEI, seeking the little side roads and oddly enough…….finding lighthouses.  There were some amazing ones and I met some amazing people along the way as well.  At the Cape Bear Lighthouse, I found a reference to Marconi again.  Remember Marconi?  We met him at Signal Hill in Newfoundland – the first guy to send a trans-Atlantic wireless signal.   This lighthouse at PEI was one of the sites that he had a signal station set up.  I paid the $5.00 to climb the lighthouse and was rewarded on each level with pictures and stories from the area about the lighthouse keepers, shipwrecks and all kinds of stuff.   Finally, I climbed to the top and was delighted to find I was standing right beside the operating light!  THAT was pretty cool.  Looking out over the ocean and watching the light revolve and send out its signal was a pretty neat experience. 
 
I continued down the coast and along the south coast, with at least an idea of what direction I was travelling in this time.  I zig-zagged my way across the western part of the island, past stunning ocean views, by crops of ripened corn and potatoes, fields of golden bales, lit by the sun.  I only hit a dirt road once and had to turn around and go back and did not regret the detour. 
 
Tomorrow, I discover the west coast of the island.  It is easy to see how one could get seduced by Prince Edward Island’s beauty and peace.   The west end of the island is next and I fully expect it to be as charming as what I have already seen, with a few surprises thrown in for effect!