Prince Edward Island is certainly one of the most beautiful islands in the world. Today we drove a portion of the southern coastal drive and ended up in Charlottetown for an appointment with a vet clinic for Pepper and then a nice dinner at Merchantman Pub, an award winning restaurant in Charlottetown that specializes in fresh fish and has a wonderful chef. While we were eating our fish, the heavens opened, and we had such a thunderstorm that the streets in downtown were quickly flooded, and the hotel down the street was sandbagging around their basement parking lot. We drove back across the island to our park, and it hadn’t rained at all on the north side of the island.
It’s hard to accurately capture the essence of PEI. All of the houses and structures are perfectly maintained with huge yards, all perfectly cut. There is a lot of pride in keeping everything looking perfect. Most of the houses are craftsmen in style and painted white, set back from the highway. It reminds me of the Dutch community of Lynden in Washington where they take such pride in the appearance of the community, and all properties are beautifully maintained. Certainly they have much pride in their heritage and history here.
While the properties are beautiful, the affect of government and the attitude of the locals is a little different. The price of milk is three times what it is in the U.S., because the government is involved in setting quotas and dictating price and production. It’s a management system that smacks of the heavy hand of government intervention, and it translates into ridiculous prices for a basic commodity of daily living. Their taxes are are well over 50%, and then they think certain benefits are “free.” We don’t like that we have been consistently cheated on the exchange of dollars, and they claim the computer cash register dictates a certain exchange rate that is about half the going exchange rate of 15%. Who can argue with the computer? Gas is four dollars a gallon, and that’s if you find a lower priced station. So, while this is beautiful country, the culture isn’t that beautiful, and we will welcome getting back to the U.S. We leave PEI tomorrow and make our way back through New Brunswick, across the Confederation Bridge, which is 13 kilometres (8 miles) long (the longest ice water bridge in the world). While you are enjoying the Fourth of July in the greatest nation on earth, we will be on a Canadian highway. Have a wonderful Birthday Party in the greatest nation on God’s green earth.
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