Day 8–Water, Water Everywhere

We spent the day either resting or riding some form of amphibious contraption. Mostly we rested. Our flight on the ninth took off at 5:20 am, so I knew getting rest would help us survive the early morning.

If you remember, Adella won a free Harbour Hopper tour. Turns out the actors from Anne and Gilbert the Musical were also our duck boat tour guides. This livened up the presentations!

I remember, not too long ago, Missouri had a major catastrophe with a duck boat, so I tried to make myself very aware of our surroundings. These vehicles start on land then move to the water. It gave us the chance to see the compact city while hearing about its history. Here are a few facts:

• The Delta Hotel is the tallest (by stories) building in town. Unfortunately because of the sandy nature of the island, it sinks by about 1 cm per year.
• The lieutenant general’s house is the residence of King Charles should he visit the island. The lieutenant general is the king’s representative.
• Many homes are over 100 years old. The historic homes have plaques detailing the history in each home.
• The canons in battery park never actively defended the city. The only time the city fell under attack was before the canons arrived.
• Up to three cruise ships can port in Charlottetown. None were there when we visited, but cruise ships often double the population of Charlottetown.

Overall, the Harbour Hopper would have been a great option for visitors. We loved that Adella won the tour, so we could experience it.

Our next (paid) water excursion occurred with Ride Solar. This company has the largest boat run completely on solar power. Originally, the boat had been made of wood, and it debuted at Montreal’s World’s Fair, but the people who bought it had to make it sea worthy. The process took eight years. However, the boat uses less solar energy than it takes in.

The captain and tour guide provide great information as well as performance with an interesting electric guitar. In fact, the frame comes apart for easy storage.

We had dinner on board. I ate lobster and Adella had a Caesar salad. We topped it off with cheesecake.

I asked prior to the tour if it would be appropriate for kids. They assured me it would be. Adella loved taking part in the quizzes and had fun watching the sailboat races. However, some of the jokes focused on alcohol and weed. Because Adella has no knowledge of either of these topics, the jokes flew over her head. I would have been more comfortable if they’d have left them out. Adella never asked about the topics (must have been tired), so I was off the hook for explaining.

We filled out a Google review and received a chocolate coin. Adella loved it. Additionally, you can prepay your food or pay on board. You can also prepay a tip. I did, so when the guides talked about the tip jar, we could bypass it. (I think they thought we didn’t tip, but I was fine feeling their temporary disappointment).

We ended or day early because we knew we would be waking up at 3:30am. Oh, how early that feels!