At the beach house in southeast King’s

The beach house is on the southeast shore of Prince Edward Island in King’s county. We rented the house, about an hour and a half from home, for a week recently with our daughter and the grandkids.

The house is down a long, narrow, tree-lined, red dirt road to the sea. It sits at the end of farmed fields, which grow soy beans this year. Decks on the house overlook the sea and a screened area with a hot tube makes for relaxation and comfort away from insects.

We only saw four other people walking the beach the entire week. It is pristine, the red sand lapped by the waters of the Northumberland Strait. The gentle breeze cools the body enough to be comfortable in the summer heat.

The shoreline shows evidence of erosion along its length. The soft red sandstone which breaks apart if you drop a piece is easily washed away. In places, the ocean can take a meter of shoreline every year.

Walks on the beach fill the morning with the golden grand-dog enjoying every minute off lead, sniffing every nook and cranny. She, my husband and I walk further than the kids who prefer to play in the sand. Off in the distance, the Point Prim Lighthouse stands watch as it has for more than a century.

Sea life abounds, as rock pools appear at low tide, revealing moon snails, crabs, hermit crabs, clam and mussel shells, whelks and limpets.

Suppers are later than usual and fires on the beach fill the evenings as the kids roast marshmallows. 

The rhythm of life slows down as the rhythm of the sea takes over for a few days every summer.