HIGH TEA AND HISTORY TOO

It is raining a little, so I am trying to keep the computer from getting wet and still get the blog done for today.  We have had a great time here on Prince Edward Island, but now it is time tomorrow to drive over to the Eastern side of the Island so we can take the morning ferry to Nova Scotia on Monday morning.  Costs only $75 dollars and takes one hour versus the bridge fee of $45 plus gas and about a 4 hour drive.

Yesterday we drove over to the west side of the Island and visited the North Cape
Wind farm which had a very good display about wind energy plus a nice restaurant for lunch

On the way back we stopped at the Irish Moss restaurant and learned about Irish Moss, how it is harvested from the ocean, and the products it goes into as carregeen. Saw lots of potato field, green plants with white flowers on top. Here is a picture, the plants in the background with the white flowers are PEI potato plants.

  

We were travelling around Summerside, PEI and ran into the manager of the local Segway business, you know the one person electrical riding equipment that we rode on in Manchester with the Simmons College crew.  Anyway, he told us that he worked on a rotating house that was close to where we are staying in North Rustico. So of course, we had to drive over and see it. Here is a picture.  I am still trying to figure out how the various electrical and plumbing systems connect the lower unit to the rotating upper half. The house turns once every 43 minutes.  Anybody have an idea?

\ 

1. Yesterday was spent in Chalottetown, the capital of PEI. It was where the first conference of the Federation movement was held in Sept 1-8, 1864.  The three Maritime colonies, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island met with a delegation from the Colony of Canada (the future Quebec and Ontario) to start to talk about joining together. One of their fears was the outcome of the US Civil War and wold the Americans try to take over Canada.

So at Charlottown's Province House they have an acting group that puts on a little play about what happened. Actually Province House is the capital of PEI and we got to see the chamber where the current legislature of 27 people meets two times a year. 

 We met the young lady actor before we got there. She had just finished doing a tour in the morning and we found here on the street.  She is a theater major at the local college.

PEI stayed out of the Canadian Federation for a couple of years and finally joined when they went bankrupt trying to build a railroad system that would connect the towns on PEI.

Then on to High Tea at Delvey by the Sea.  It was a fun experience, reminded us of tea in Devon, England.  Joy had the pudding and I had scones.  Here are two pictures of their presentation.

So today after breakfast, it is off to the Eastern end of PEI and another motel for the night.
Then Monday morning it is the ferry ride to Pictou, NS where Melody's family immigrated to Canada from Ireland or Scotland, not sure.  Melody was married to Joy's father for 20 years.  She lives down in Vero Beach, FL.

Joe