We started out today driving through green farmland.

Then to views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Oyster farming here.

Closer-up. Oyster spats or seeds are placed in baskets or cages and then lifted out when they are mature.

The harbor at Rustico.

Lobster traps and buildings catering to fishermen.

A lobster trap.

A mussel boat. Mussels are grown on ropes, I believe tied to the balls like those in the boat. It takes 12-15 months for a mussel to grow before it is harvested. Most of the cultured mussels come from Prince Edward Island.

More lobster traps.

And more.

Sign on the blue building: Used lobster traps for sale.

A view of Rustico harbor.

Closer-up view.

Lobster traps and a sign for Joey's Deep Sea Fishing.

The sign.

Our local guide in the yellow slicker explaining how lobster are caught in the traps. It looks like my tourmates are bundled up. It is cold and windy.

Our very informative and funny guide without her rain hat covering her head.

Back on the road and more farms.

Now at the seashore. The wind was ferocious here. We stopped for a photo-op.

Our tour guide Blair warning us not to get too close to the edge.

Another view of the coast.

My tourmates who were brave enough to get out of the bus.

Another view of the coast.

Our local guide had a very good sense of humor. Our next stop would be at the House of Green Gables and she has on her Anne of Green Gables hat and braids.

The House of Green Gables was built in 1872 by Lucy Maud Montgomery's aunt and uncle. Lucy used the house as the House of Green Gables in her 1908 novel "Anne of Green Gables." I read the book right before this trip so I was familiar with the story and the house and property. I also became a fan of the book.

Inside the house. The entrance hall.

The parlour.

The parlour.

On the mantle.

Dining room.

The kitchen with the old oven.

The pantry.

Anne's room.

The guest room.

Mariella's room.

The hired hand's room.

The path nicknamed "Lovers Lane" by Anne. There was no one on the path and therefore a bit spooky, so I didn't walk down it. Sometimes, you wish more tourists were visiting.

The view of the house from the path.

Some leaves are changing color here.

More of the grounds.

The Haunted Wood is in the background.

Path to the Haunted Wood.

Farther along.

Farther along. Again, I was the only one on the path, so turned back.

"Anne of Green Gables" became very popular with the Japanese as Anne, an orphan of 11 years old at the start of the novel, showed great independence as a female. The Japanese were inspired by her. And here are the Japanese tourists. Surprisingly, this group and another group of Japanese tourists did not stay long at Green Gables.

The rest of the property with the barn and outhouses.

Back on the road, passing farms.

And a cattle farm. On one of the roads on the island, we passed a robotic dairy farm, but we didn't visit it. This is a technology developed in the Netherlands whereby cows wear collars with computer chips in them; the cows decide when they need to be milked; when they decide this, they head to be barn with the milking machines; wait in line for their turn; then head to a milking machine which knows where their teats are and hooks them up to it. All this makes for happy cows as cows are uncomfortable waiting around to be milked on someone else's schedule.

Our next stop was at the village of South Rustico which was settled in the 18th-century by the French Acadians who avoided capture and deportation by the British during the French and Indian War (1754-1763) by hiding out in the forests, helped by the Indians. The British, who were fighting the French, thought the Acadians were helping the French, hence their explusion. About 11,500 Acadians were expelled, many of them resettling in Louisiana and becoming known as Cajuns.

An Acadian house from the 18th century.

Inside the house--a very simple house of a few rooms.

Inside the house.

A woman dressed in the clothing of the era.

The outdoor oven.

Seagulls resting on the lawn.

Close-up.

More of the Acadian village.

The Farmer's Bank of Rustico, 1864, the first community-based bank in Canada.

The bank is now a museum which illustrates the history of the Acadians.

Also here is the St. Augustine Church, 1838, the oldest Catholic Church on Prince Edward Island.

St. Augustine Church.

Its gate.

A view of the church and its stone cross.

Inside the church.

Inside the church.

A view of the Acadian village on the water.

Back on the road and more farms.

Also, horse farms.

Entering Charlottetown.

Houses on the water at low tide.

Downtown Charlottetown. It is the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island and its largest city. It was founded in 1720 by the French from the Fortress Louisbourg who were expelled when the British captured the fort. During the French and Indian War, the British took control of the settlement and expelled the French.

We were dropped off on a back street and saw these colorful houses with a sculpture in front of them.

The sculpture of the John Hamilton Grays. Two men of the same name met at a meeting of 23 delegates at the Charlottetown Conference in 1864. They were both believed in a confederation and had other similar views and careers. The sculpture respresents "that if they had met here on Great George Street that week in 1864 they would have had much to discuss."

John Hamilton Gray.

And also John Hamilton Gray.

More colorful buildings in Charlottetown.

Charlottetown was many historic buildings. This is St. Dunstan's Basilica, 1907, a Roman Catholic Basilica.

Inside the basilica.

Inside the basilica.

Inside the basilica.

Although the basillica is very old, the figures in the stained-glass windows are modern.

Another stained-glass window.

Looking backward.

The rose window.

Another old building, the Charlottetown City Hall, 1888.

On the main street.

A Cows Ice Cream store is across the street. I tried their ice cream--very good. I also bought a sandwich for dinner at the Subway store. We had an option of staying in Charlottetown longer to eat dinner here or to pick up something for dinner and eat back at the motel, which I did.

You can sit next to this sculpture.

In the park, a memorial soldier.

The Province Hall, the second oldest legislature building in Canada, 1847. It is the home of the Prince Edward Island House of Assembly and is undergoing renovation.

Another military memorial: "Lest We Forget 1914-1918, 1939-1946, Korea 1950-1953."

Another church.

An old house seen on the way back to our motel.

And another.