The forecast called for rain all day so we had decided to go to Charlottetown and take advantage of a few indoor sights to pass the day. We set off so that Rhys could have his nap in the car and drove the scenic route through the park and into town. We wanted to make sure we had enough time to see everything on our list so decided that both naps would have to be on the go.

With Rhys in the carrier, rain covers on the backpack and umbrellas in hand, we set out for Province House. When we arrived we were surprised to find out that it was under renovation and we couldn't actually visit it. Instead, we could visit a reproduction of the hall in the nearby arts centre. We arrived just in time to hear the guide talking about the reproduction. In the reproduction, the only part that was actually from Province House were the lights and the crest which they figured were high enough up to not get damaged by tourists. The table, chairs, carpet etc had been recreated for the temporary exhibit. We learned that Province House had been closed for 2 years and that the renovation would take 5 years; they were already behind schedule. We learned about how PEI didn’t want to join Canada at first because there wasn’t anything to benefit them at the time. Later, they were forced to join when their leader caused PEI to go bankrupt by building a squiggly railroad which was paid for by length rather than at a fixed price. Our guide commented on the fact that PEI is often known as the birthplace of confederation, but in reality he thought it was more like the conception of confederation. The founding fathers gathered to have a good time and left the actual details to be discussed in Quebec at a later date. We decided not to watch the short film and headed back out into the rain.

We spotted a Cows ice cream shop across the street and decided that we would be proper tourists and get an ice cream even though it was raining. We chose variations on a vanilla base with caramel, nuts and chocolate chunks and all of the flavours were so creamy and delicious. We walked down to the waterfront to check out Founder’s Hall and found that it had closed down the previous year. So much for indoor sights! I guess a couple of years can make a big difference in guidebook recommendations… We decided that since it was getting close to lunch, we should find a spot to eat and then do a walking tour in the afternoon. We passed by the Chip Shack, the #1 rated place to eat on tripadvisor. It really was a shack and had picnic tables set out in front. We decided to see if there was anywhere covered nearby where we could park ourselves and come back if we did. We wandered in and out of all the touristy shops along the waterfront, including the shop selling dirt shirts which are dyed with PEI mud. We resisted the pull of tacky tourist items and looked up a place to eat out of the rain. We found a good looking bakery a little ways away and checked out their menu online to see if they had light lunch fare as well. They did so we walked over only to find that they had a sign in their window saying they had closed down… Now if you have closed down, wouldn’t you think to put that on your website as well!?! 

By this time Rhys had given up and fallen asleep so instead of lunch we decided to follow part of the walking tour in the nearby area. We passed by lovely brick buildings, a pastel painted houses, a solid brick building where they stored rum during prohibition and a basilica. We headed in and the interior was quite impressive with tons to look at including a stained glass window from Germany. We braved the rain again and headed to Victoria Row to browse some shops. Since Rhys was napping, Anoop walked up and down outside so that he didn’t wake up with the chatter in the shops. I had a look in a gallery and a few shops with work by local artisans. There were really funny mitts knit in the shape of a lobster claw which we pondered but the stitch they had used at the bottom didn’t stretch enough to fit over Rhys’ wrists. Rhys had a nice long hour nap in the carrier, shocking us both!

Afterwards we headed back to the car and drove over the Chip Shack to pick up a late lunch. It was pouring so we parked in the lot next door and decided to eat in the car. We ordered a lobster roll and a pulled pork poutine. Neither of us had tried poutine before so we thought it was about time! It was quite tasty, but could have used a bit less salt. We then headed back to our place for a cup of tea to warm up! We did some laundry at a nearby laundromat for the bargain price of $3.25 including drying!