Denise or Anne of Green Gables?
Trip Start
Aug 20, 2010
1
7
19
Trip End
Sep 07, 2010
Cavendish, Prince Edward Island, Canada
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Kilometers Driven: 250
Miles Walked (in flip flops!): 2
Anne of Green Gables Stops: 3
As Aaron mentioned in the previous blog, our day sort of began at 5:30 this morning. We both woke up to find ourselves on a deflated air mattress and listening to "take responsibility for your actions" lady still arguing with her boyfriend. To escape the hard earth and insane rambling, we grabbed our pillows and sleeping bags and tucked ourselves away in Monty. Three hours later bright sunshine pouring in through the windows woke us up. It was the start of another perfect day of weather!
Deciding this should be a fairly relaxed day in an otherwise hectic vacation, we took our time getting ready in the morning. After a few hours, I realized that we hadn't accounted for our new time zone…we had sprung ahead an hour when we entered New Brunswick. The discovery hastened our departure as we wanted to get to Prince Edward Island and see a few sights before setting up camp again. Luckily, our route took us through Moncton, a good sized city, where we located a Wal-Mart and purchased a new, deluxe air mattress.
Not too many kilometers past Moncton we came to the 14 kilometer (8.75 mile) Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island (from here on out referred to as PEI). I was so excited! I have been a fan of Anne of Green Gables for at least 20 years – honestly, what little red headed girl isn’t? – and the novels are set on PEI. In fact, immediately upon arrival to the Island we pulled over to a little touristy area and found Anne of Green Gables Chocolates where we purchased chocolate covered potato chips (granted, they have nothing to do with the books, but they were delicious!) and raspberry cordial. Ironically, I had just been reading the part of Anne of Green Gables that prominently features raspberry cordial. It’s actually very tasty.
We jumped back in the car after a quick picnic lunch and began motoring along PEI. Aaron and I both really like the Island. It has a charm about it. It’s hard to explain…maybe it’s because you’re never more than 16 kilometers from the ocean or because it just seems easy going and laid back. Whatever it is, we’re enjoying it.
Our first stop was at L.M. Montgomery’s (the author of the Anne books) grandfather’s house. We only stayed long enough to read a plaque that said her ancestors arrived in England with William the Conqueror – very impressive! Next, we went to the Anne of Green Gables Museum at the Campbell house. L.M. Montgomery lived here for a while (she was related to the Campbells) and the “Lake of Shining Waters” is found in the front yard. Sorry, there will be several references to the books. If you’ve never read them, you really should. A few minutes up the road we came upon the village of Avonlea. It’s not the actual village, just a recreation to sucker tourists into paying $22 a person for the experience. It reminded me of Crossroads Village in Flint but smaller. We did not go in.
Instead, we found the Anne of Green Gables House. It’s maintained by the Canadian National Parks so there’s an admission fee, but it’s very nicely done. It’s the actual house that inspired Montgomery; the surrounding grounds provided her with more “scope for the imagination”. We were able to go through the house, ramble through the Haunted Woods, and meander down Lover’s Lane. It was a beautiful place, only slightly tarnished by the golf course encircling and passing through the property (although it was a fantastic looking golf course, it was never mentioned in the books!). My favorite approach to the house was from Lover’s Lane. You would almost expect Anne to come running out to meet you.
After I’d had my fill, we made our way to the local KOA Campground to settle in for the night. We played some cribbage, looked through pictures, and did some writing. Next, it will be time to make a fire and eat. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
Comments
Nice PEI vacation pictures