Cradle On The Waves

Prince Edward  Island.  The name alone conjures up the image of a bucolic world of red bluffs separating a cobalt blue sea and lush green meadows sprinkled with swaying lavender lupines.  Synonymous with this Eastern Canadian province is the red-headed, pig-tailed little girl wearing a white apron - Anne of Green Gables.  Anne has been a friend to thousands of young girls since Lucy Maud Montgomery created her in 1908.  (For those not familiar with the story, an aging brother and sister who run a farm on the island intend to adopt an orphan boy to help with the farm work.  Instead, Anne, a precocious 11-year-old girl is sent to the farm and becomes an integral part of their lives and of the island.) Prince Edward Island has much to offer but the Anne of Green Gables "experience" is the centerpiece and is a must-see.

Red bluffs and a cobalt blue sea...this beautiful scene was right at
the edge of our campground at Prince Edward Island National Park 

PEI is famous for its potatoes, grown among lush green
fields bordered by lupines

Crossing the Confederation Bridge is, in itself, an experience.  Built in 1997 at a cost of one billion Canadian dollars, this 8 mile (13 km) causeway connects New Brunswick with Prince Edward Island. The opening of the bridge offered a new option, in addition to daily ferry service, to reach or leave the island.  Though we spent most of our time traversing the coast and visiting the sights, there are a variety of activities to be enjoyed.  For the golfing enthusiast there are over thirty courses.  If bicycling or hiking is more your style, there are over 174 miles (280 km) of trails and paths.

Crossing the Confederation Bridge. There is no toll as you drive onto the island;
you pay the toll (61$ C, about $48 US for our truck and RV) as you leave.

Prince Edward Island National Park offers full hook-ups and a great location for RV'ers. There are several entrances to the park and the park actually encompasses two separate parcels of land 15 miles (24 km) apart. The park is undergoing extensive work on the infrastructure...grading and resurfacing roads, etc.  In addition, many of the sites in Cavendish Campground, where we stayed, are undergoing renovation.  Make sure your GPS is leading you to a completed section!

Our full hook-up camp site at Prince Edward Island National Park.
Many of the sites in this park are undergoing extensive renovation. 

We started our immersion into Anne Shirley's - better known as Anne of Green Gables - world with a lively musical, Anne and Gilbert, which traces the young woman's courtship with Gilbert Blythe. The actors and music were engaging. The play was staged in Charlottetown, the oldest and largest urban area on PEI.  Charlottetown is noted as the "Birthplace of the Confederation" because in 1864  it was the site of the meeting that led to Canada's Confederation three years later. On a lighter note, just outside of town is Cows Creamery Factory. The factory tour was limited to three viewing windows (and when we visited, they were finished making ice cream for the day) but the ice cream is fabulous! Especially fresh wild blueberry...yum.

Cows Ice Cream is found only on Prince Edward Island.  This
store was located at Cavendish.

The bottom scoop is Wild Blueberry, Yvonne's
favorite of all of the Cows Ice Cream flavors

The Cows store on the harbor at Charlottetown.  Yep, we tried it in a
a number of different locations, and it was delicious at all of them.

Very close to PEI National Park is the town of Cavendish, the heart of the Green Gables properties.  Lucy Maud Montgomery, the creator of Anne Shirley, came to Cavendish to live with her maternal grandparents at twenty-one months of age, after her mother's untimely death.  Alexander and Lucy Macneill's farmhouse is no longer standing but many old trees and vistas can be recognized from the author's descriptions.  Anne of Green Gables, as well as other novels, were written here at the Macneill Homestead.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's endearing and enduring novel,
first published 1908. This edition by Nimbus Publishing, 1998.
Cover design by Joan Sinclair, cover photo by John Sylvester.

Cavendish Post Office.  L.M. Montgomery's grandparents ran the post office
out of their kitchen for almost 40 years. The original Macneill homestead no
longer stands. This house, from the same period, was moved to Cavendish.

L.M. Montgomery's grandparents, the Macneills.  She lived with them from the age
of 21 months until she was 36 years old.  No house stands on the property now.
These original items are located in a book store near where the house stood.

Though she never lived there, Lucy Montgomery used the farmhouse owned by cousins of her grandfather as the inspiration for her setting for Anne of Green Gables.  Today the green-and-white house is furnished in late nineteenth century style.  Various rooms have been re-created as they are described in the novels.  It feels like you have just stepped into the pages of her books.  It was fun to watch little girls in pigtails who were visiting, pointing out details such as the pattern in a rag rug or an amethyst broach sitting on a bureau that they recalled from reading the book(s).

This is the main entrance to the Green Gables house.  The house,
owned by cousins of Montgomery's grandfather, served as the
inspiration for Anne Shirley's house

The "Green Gables" house was originally built in 1831. Over
the years, modifications were made; the last was right at
the end of WW I, when 3 additional bedrooms were added.

The parlor of the "Green Gables" house

The pantry of the "Green Gables" house

The distinctive "New Waterloo No. 2 Cast Iron Stove"
patented by Fire King Ovens of Sackville, New Brunswick.

Sewing room, "Green Gables" house

About 7 miles (11 km) away is the Lucy Maud Montgomery birthplace, Clifton Corner, which overlooks New London Harbor.  Montgomery was born here in 1874.

Lucy Maud Montgomery's birthplace at Clifton Corner

Shadow box with an elaborate floral wreath made of human hair.
These were popular during Victorian times. For more information
about these pieces, see our blog dated August 30, 2013.

Memorabilia about Lucy Maud Montgomery's life and writings.

Kitchen of the house at Clifton Corner.  Note the stove, similar
to the one in the "Green Gables" house.

Portrait of the author.  Year unknown

L.M. Montgomery's bedroom at Clifton Corner, where she lived
until her mother died when the child was 21 months old.

Front entrance of the Clifton Corner home.  Montgomery's father continued
to live there after the child was sent to live with her grandparents in Cavendish.

Some 21 miles (32 km) west of Cavendish is Malpeque where the "Anne of Green Gables Museum" at Silver Bush is located.  Silver Bush was once the home of Montgomery's aunt and uncle and she stayed in the house at various times.  The parlor of the house is where she chose to be married in 1911.

Silver Bush, home of L.M. Montgomery's aunt and uncle.  When she
returned to PEI to visit after her marriage, she stayed in this house.

This is the bedroom that L.M. Montgomery used when she returned to visit PEI

The parlor at Silver Bush, where Lucy Maud Montgomery married
Reverend Ewan Macdonald, a Presbyterian minister, in 1911

This china cabinet was originally in her grandparent's home.
Montgomery used to talk daily to the two girls she saw reflected
in the glass, "Katie" on the left and "Lucy" on the right

The "crazy quilt" made by Lucy Maud Montgomery on display at Silver Bush

The barn at Silver Bush.  This property was first homesteaded by
Montgomery's relatives in 1776, and is still owned by the same family

This church in Cavendish was where Montgomery first met her future
husband, Reverend Ewan Macdonald, when he was the pastor there.

Returning to Cavendish, another stop can be made at Avonlea Village of Green Gables. There are two original buildings that have been relocated to this spot:  the church that Montgomery attended and a one-room schoolhouse where she taught.  Avonlea is a commercial endeavor where raspberry cordial and other treats and souvenirs can be purchased.

This church, which Montgomery occasionally attended,
was moved some 20 miles in three sections to Avonlea
Village and is in the process of being restored

Beautiful wisteria vines in Avonlea Village

One of two "original" buildings that were moved to Avonlea
Village, this is the school where Lucy Maud Montgomery
once taught.  It is now being used as a store.

Yvonne and Anne Shirley - Anne of Green Gables - at
Avonlea Village

We had a wonderful time traveling and exploring with our
friends from Chelmsford, Ontario, Liliane and Guy

Need a break from all things Anne?  There are plenty of options. In Summerside, the second-largest city on PEI, there is Spinnaker's Landing, a series of cute stores meant to feel like a seaside fishing village. During July and August the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts (yes, a school for bagpipers...) hosts concerts in the town.  On my list of places to visit on our next trip to the island are Georgetown and Victoria, two small villages with historic Victorian town centers.

A picturesque fishing village on the north shore of Prince Edward Island

One of the many beautiful churches that dot the landscape

Marshmallow farm?  No, baled hay wrapped to keep it dry.

Lupines line the roads across the island

Vibrant colors add to the charm of Prince Edward Island

The  "Points East Coastal Drive", 233 miles (375 km), traverses along the north and east coasts of PEI  hugging the coastline.  Actually, "hugging" doesn't mean there are coastal views along the entire route.  There are forests and farms as well as fishing villages and coastal parks.  At the tip of the peninsula is East Point Lighthouse, one of fifty lighthouses on the island. The lighthouse was built in 1867 and tours are possible. Continuing along the coast, 8 miles (13 km) from Souris is Basin Head Provincial Park, the site of a unique phenomenon. The beach, which is accessible via a boardwalk, is noted for its "singing sand".  Some scientists believe this rare singing sound is produced by the sand's high silica content....or maybe it's just magic.

Fishing boats in the harbor at Naufrage.  We talked to two fishermen
who had just unloaded their catch. They had a 5-gallon bucket filled
with half-pound lobsters that they were taking home for dinner.

Lobster traps.  Many of the wooden traps are being replaced with steel
traps, and wooden ones are for sale all over PEI.  I almost was the
proud owner of one, but couldn't figure out how to get it in the truck.

Mike looking out over the lobster fishing fleet

The lighthouse at East Point, 64 feet tall, built in 1867.
Note that it is octagonal. Lighthouses built after Confederation
were 4-sided because they were cheaper to build.

The "singing sands."  If you sort of shuffle your feet while walking
on this beach, you really do hear what sounds like music.

Our long odyssey around the north and east coasts was topped off with one of PEI's famous lobster dinners when we reached the village of Cardigan. We were fortunate to have dinner here as the restaurant had just opened the previous day for a special group dinner. In fact, the proprietor asked if we minded having our picture taken as the first customers of the season.  For $29.00 Canadian we feasted on seafood chowder (the best of the entire trip), salad, a one-pound lobster, corn on the cob, potatoes (PEI potatoes are renowned throughout Canada), homemade rolls and fresh blueberry cobbler for dessert.  All of that plus good friends and a spectacular view of the bay from our table...a great way to end the day.

The main attraction - Yvonne's lobster at Cardigan

The view out the window from our table at the lobster supper
at Cardigan.  It doesn't get much better than this.

No part of PEI is over 10 miles (16 km) from the coast and never over 500 feet (153.8 meters) above sea level.  PEI is about the size of Delaware with 2,184 square miles (5,656 square km).  Starting with the first inhabitants, the Mi'kmaq people, who called the island Epekwitk, meaning "cradle on the waves",  to the colonization by the French in 1603 (Ile Saint-Jean), to the British rule in 1763, to the creation of the Dominion of Canada in 1867, there is so much to see and understand about Prince Edward Island's history and culture.

Along the harbor at Charlottetown, we found these giant numbers
denoting 2016, the perfect place for a kid to get his picture taken

Boats bob gently in their slips in the harbor at Charlottetown

Our trip to Canada was spectacular, and travelling with our good friends from Ontario was a real pleasure.  I'm so glad that they were a part of our ROAD STORIES.

Prince Edward Island, as idyllic as you might imagine

"There is nothing that keeps its youth, so far as I know, but a tree and truth."

~ Lucy Maud Montgomery