Road Trip - Western Prince Edward Island

We are staying on Prince Edward Island for three nights which gives us two full days to explore, so today we decided to check out the Western region of the island. After breakfast we drove for almost two hours until we reached North Cape, which is the northwestern-most point.

At North Cape is a lighthouse, and the Wind Energy Institute of Canada (WEICan). Because this exposed bluff has 300 degrees of exposure to the sea, it is a great place to test wind turbine technology. There are currently 16 turbines permanently installed at the site, which generate 7.5% of PEI's energy. WEICan conducts renewable energy research and development for the Canadian government, and provides their testing services to many commercial turbine manufacturers. Because of the extreme conditions that North Cape experiences (salt spray, high winds, and bitter cold), it's a great place to prove the design and engineering of new technology.

We walked through an interpretive centre, which had been built in the early 2000's but not ever updated. It had lots of really interesting information, but presented it in a totally overwhelming way with walls of small text all over the place.

We didn't hang around up here for too long, and after taking a couple of pictures of the lighthouse we drove back down south to the Canadian Potato Museum. We had hoped to try some fresh cut french fries for lunch, but upon arrival we discovered that today was their kitchen's last day and they didn't have any fries at all!

In the Potato Museum we learned that most of the farming on PEI is potato farming, and the tiny island produces 25% of Canada's potatoes! The museum had lots of information on everything potato related, like proper soil management and crop rotation techniques, an encyclopedia of every different potato type registered in Canada, models showing all the different diseases that could befall a potato, and a garage full of vintage potato farming equipment.

After wandering around the museum for an hour or so, we drove to a seaside city called Summerside, the second largest on the island after Charlottetown. We found a restaurant on a wharf for lunch, and finally had a chance to try some fresh local french fries! Today was also the last day of the season for this restaurant, so their menu was also a bit limited. We ordered a local fish burger and a plate of loaded fries, and ended up with far too much food.