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.
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Red bluffs and a cobalt blue sea...this beautiful scene was right at
the edge of our campground at Prince Edward Island National Park |
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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.
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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!
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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.
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Cows Ice Cream is found only on Prince Edward Island. This
store was located at Cavendish. |
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The bottom scoop is Wild Blueberry, Yvonne's
favorite of all of the Cows Ice Cream flavors |
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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.
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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. |
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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. |
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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).
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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 |
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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.
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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 |
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| Beautiful wisteria vines in Avonlea Village |
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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. |
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Yvonne and Anne Shirley - Anne of Green Gables - at
Avonlea Village |
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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.
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| A picturesque fishing village on the north shore of Prince Edward Island |
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| One of the many beautiful churches that dot the landscape |
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| Marshmallow farm? No, baled hay wrapped to keep it dry. |
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| Lupines line the roads across the island |
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| 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.
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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. |
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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. |
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| Mike looking out over the lobster fishing fleet |
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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. |
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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.
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| The main attraction - Yvonne's lobster at Cardigan |
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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.
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Along the harbor at Charlottetown, we found these giant numbers
denoting 2016, the perfect place for a kid to get his picture taken |
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| 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.
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| 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
