Prince Edward Highlander / Day 3 – Greenwich beach time

By John LeBlanc JULY 25 / The rule of thumb when visiting P.E.I. in the summer is when the weather’s nice, head to the beach. And based on the reports we were getting from the Island so far this year, the weather had been pretty crappy—that is unless you’re the type who likes cold and wet summers. So, with a forecast of 24 degrees Celsius and sunny, we packed up the Highlander Hybrid and made the one-and-one-half-hour drive to the beaches of the western tip of Greenwich, on the northeastern side of the Island near St. Peters. Part of the Prince Edward Island National Park, the Greenwich beaches have never been crowded in our ten years of day-tripping there. An intricate and rare type of coastal dune system, wetlands and various rare plant species will keep nature lovers happy. And if you’re a history buff, you can visit the Greenwich Interpretation Centre (above). It catalogs and exhibits local archaeological digs illustrating P.E.I. cultures over the past 10,000 years—from the aboriginals to Mi'kmaq to English immigrants. Neat stuff. It’s literally early days in the Highlander Hybrid. But from the front of the bus, a couple complaints have already been filed. First, the USB/AUX plug-ins (left) seem like afterthoughts. If the tranny is in P, my fat fingers can’t attach the connection to my iPod. Second, despite its north-of-$40k price, the Highlander’s cloth front seats could use some additional adjustments. I can fiddle with the lumbar support in my driver’s seat. But Mrs. Automotive Journalist, riding shotgun, couldn’t get her non-lumbar-equipped front passenger seat to fit her spine. The forecast for tomorrow, Tuesday, is rain. If that holds, we’ll head into the teeming metropolis of Charlottetown. Total kms: 493 Av. L/100 km: 8.1 Older entries: Day 2 – Cavendish National Park’s scenic Gulf Coast Drive Day 1 - Settling in

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