Wednesday, September 17, 2008

P.E.I.

We loved Prince Edward Island. I don't know why I didn't take many pictures there, but here are some.

beach near North Rustico

Lighthouse Café, North Rustico

We took the ferry across from Nova Scotia. I'd hoped to visit Belfast Mini Mills, but we didn't arrive on P.E.I. until almost 5:00 p.m., so we were too late. Instead, we drove straight to St. Ann's Parish for a lobster supper. There are several places that serve lobster suppers, but the church basement seemed the most appealing, and it was great.

The next morning, we went to Charlottetown. We started doing a walking tour, which included the huge St. Dunstan's Basilica, Province House, and the art gallery (which had a fabulous photography exhibit). After a while we ended up just wandering around the waterfront and the downtown. It was charming, and it was a beautiful day.

St. Dunstan's Basilica, Charlottetown

We decided to have our own lobster supper that night, since we were staying in a cottage with a kitchen -- and since lobsters were only $7.95/pound. We bought two live lobsters in Charlottetown, and then we went up to a fishing village called North Rustico and bought two pounds of mussels ($1.75/pound). We had a feast. Earlier we'd thought of going out that night, but after stuffing ourselves all we could do was sit on the couch and watch So You Think You Can Dance Canada auditions. And it was worth it.

P.E.I. lobster

The next day, we visited the home of my bosom friend Anne Shirley. You didn't think I'd skip Green Gables, did you? I think Bill and I were the only tourists there who weren't Japanese; the Japanese love Anne. Bill didn't know anything about the story; as we walked through the house I was saying things like, "And then Gilbert called Anne 'Carrots,' so she stood up and broke her slate over his head!" (There is a little pile of broken slate pieces in Anne's room, of course.) Bill was a good sport. Later, as we drove away, he said, "I just don't get it. It wasn't the author's house, it was somebody else's house, but now it's decorated as though it belonged to fictional people. That was the weirdest tourist attraction I've ever been to..."

Green Gables (the upstairs bedroom with the geraniums in the window is Anne's)

From Cavendish we drove down to Summerside, but then we decided just to get on the road and head home. After a quick stop at a fabric store (more on that next time), we headed over the 13-kilometre Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick. Thirteen freaking kilometres!

last few kilometres of Confederation Bridge

The radio in our car is always tuned to the CBC, and as we drove over the bridge we listened to a call-in show about misheard song lyrics. I didn't even notice the moment when the bridge finally ended, because suddenly I was turning up the radio and shouting, "It's a knitter!" Did you know that Ingrid used to think Lynyrd Skynyrd were singing, "We-ee all have a grandma!" Heh heh.

So that was the end of our holiday. We drove all the way home, about twelve hours. I hope we go back someday; I lost track of how many times I said something like, "Look, we could buy that house and move here!" I loved it. And yes, I did buy some crafty things -- those are for the next post.

12 comments:

Seanna Lea said...

Gosh, that church is gorgeous!

I completely understand about the Green Gables thing. While I read most of the books as a kid, I don't think I own any of them except for my Japanese copy of the first Anne book, heavily abridged and wonderfully colorful for younger readers. It gets a lot of use, because my Japanese is only good for about that reading level so it is great to see the words and follow along!

ingrid said...

Ha! I can't believe you were listening! I just read your post to hubby and he thinks it's the coolest thing ever.

I also love PEI. We almost moved to Montague three years ago. I had a fabulous job lined up and everything, but hubby just wouldn't consent. Oh well.

Anonymous said...

I called CBC radio last week to talk about buttons. I am that cool.

Anonymous said...

You just totally made my day with pictures of Green Gables...Anne is absolutely my bosom friend, too!

spajonas said...

oh my god, i'm so jealous that you got to go to PEI! i have wanted to go there for soooooo long. anne is also my bosom friend :)

Steph VW said...

AAAAH! I missed that call in show b/c I was at work. I closed the website before going to lunch! I missed Ingrid!

Weird CBC story: My uncle in Quebec heard Bill Richardson read a story about a girl who used to play tricks with her grandfather's prosthetic leg. My uncle thought, "Gee that sounds familiar" and at the end of the story Bill announced my name. hee hee. And a resounding chorus of "It's a small world" rang out across the land.

I didn't read the Anne books, so Green Gables is lost on me. If then had an Emily of New Moon attraction, however, I'd be there in a flash.

Scrappy Raven said...

Thanks for sharing the photos. My daughter will be especially grateful for the Green Gables photo.

Rachael Herron said...

I wanna go there, I wanna go there, I wanna go there.....

middlevillage said...

I LOVE the lighthouse cafe! Best clam chowder on the island. And best view. And best prices!

I miss PEI now.....

Dr. Steph said...

I love Anne. I totally understand. Must go to PEI someday.

Montreal Mama said...

That lobster looks fabulous. Now I'm hungry.

I want to go to PEI one day...!

Anonymous said...

Ok I'm REALLY starting to think I should read Anne of Green Gables. A coworker just shared her trip to PEI and she'd just happened to arrive in Avonlea on the 100th anniversary of the first publication, and there was a parade and straw hats with braids for the kids! (Which I oddly wished she had brought back)