We returned our bikes in the morning after the
Charlottetown ride. We said our
good byes to the rest of the group as they headed off in their rental van to
explore Nova Scotia. Deborah and I
had plans to link up with former colleague and friend Natalie (a former
resident of Abbotsford, current resident of Victoria, but a summer resident of
PEI, her ancestral home.)
But before meeting Natalie … we received a phone
call from our Summerside B&B, I had forgotten my Kobo E-Reader in the
B&B back in Summerside. As we
fretted about how we were going to retrieve it, Judy, our Eden Hall host,
pulled her car keys out of her pocket and tossed them my way, “away you go, you
can’t leave your reader, be back by three pm when I’m off”. So typical of PEI.
We had a relaxing 45-minute drive, retrieved the reader, bought take out food at Lin’s, sat on the beach, and enjoyed our picnic.
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Lin's Take Out Picnic
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Summerside Beach
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Summerside Lighthouse
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Nice Fixer Upper Waiting For A Family
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We were back at Eden Hall by the early afternoon
just in time to see Natalie pull up to take us to here house in Belfast, Lot
#57 on the southeast coast of the island.
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Most Of This Point of Land Belonged to the McWilliams
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Natalie’s family has lived here since 1805. The Earl of Selkirk bought the entire
Lot #57 Township from the Smith brothers and brought a contingent of Scottish Presbyterian
settlers to the shores immediately in front of Natalie and John’s current
summer home. Her great, great +
grandfather, Mr. McWilliams was amongst them.
Natalie took us on a tour of her neck of the
woods. You can’t traverse a
kilometer without traipsing over property once or currently owned by her
family. We saw the house she was
raised in, the school she attended and the various farms and businesses once
held by her family.
Natalie’s summer home is next door to her sister
(from Chilliwack) and her view also includes homes of her many relatives.
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Nat and John's House
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Sister Kathy's House
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From Natalie's Living Room
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We enjoyed a great meal and lots of laughs as we
learned even more of the local history of the place. After too many wines we flopped into bed early the next
morning but were up early for our 10:40 flight.
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Bad Pic But Good Company
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Socks
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Back home now but still enjoying the glow of our
new found fitness levels and a new respect for the folks and the lands of
Prince Edward Island.
