Every year, my husband, Rick and I celebrate our retirement from teaching. We do this during the week that teachers head back to school, which was last week here in Prince Edward Island. This year we decided to spend the day at Dalvay by the Sea, in the National Park, PEI, about an hour from our home in Summerside.
We drove along the coastal route to the park on an overcast day, passing fields of crops, hay, cottages, and communities, including Cavendish, home of Anne of Green Gables. The pastoral setting calms you as you wind your way to the park with the ocean sometimes hidden by trees. You can feel yourself relax as you go through northern Queen's county, tension leaves your face and you breathe deeper. Then the park appears, with its walk/bike route parallel to the road. The ocean is hidden behind sand dunes but you could hear it over the noise of the car.
Our short walk on the beach was wind blown but exhilarating. There were very few people there that day on the beach that stretched for miles.
The sea grass was blown by the on-shore breeze, giving a rolling texture to the sand near the dunes.
The signs of erosion were visible as well, with the vegetation clinging to the edges of the dunes in places.
The ocean was warm in spite of the cool breeze. It typified our Canadian island home with the cool but pleasant breeze, in an uncrowded seaside setting.
Dalvay by the Sea is a magnificent national historic building, built between 1896 and 1899 by an American industrialist.
It is minutes from the beach, making it easy access for the hotel guests. Its Queen Anne Revival style features gables and dormers, large fireplaces, textures, colours and wood.
It is a place of beauty, to be absorbed as you sit by one of the huge fireplaces.
The semi-circular restaurant is on the side of the building, with a wall of windows overlooking Dalvay Lake.
It is a tranquil setting with delicious food, featuring lots of seafood but other choices as well.
Our chowder, scallops and lobster dishes were tasty and ample. We had a leisurely lunch topped off with sticky date pudding which we recommend to anyone. Rick enjoyed a Caesar so I was the designated driver during the sunny drive home.
We stepped back in time that day, to more than a century ago with man-made beauty, and millennia with nature. Yet, the dynamics of the beach make the area ever new. How blessed we are to retire in such an incredible place!
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