Tag: Anne of Green Gables

All About Anne, PEI – Part 2

“Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about?”

On Sunday, I drove to Cavendish to tour the Green Gables Heritage Place. The visitor’s center before you enter the farm had numerous displays describing LM Montgomery’s life and writing process. It was really well done – concise but thorough, a difficult combination to achieve.

It was like stepping back in time to tour the building site. While it wasn’t the Green Gables from the movies, it was representative of the time and how people lived in the 19th century.

The grounds around the farm were lush and beautiful for early September. There was a nod to Lover’s Lane and the Haunted Woods on the trail to LM Montgomery Cavendish National Monument and a beautiful park at the end of the trail before the monument, which was a pleasant surprise.

Some pictures from Montgomery Park.

The trees around the former site of the house were inspiring. Under the tree on the left, the placard quotes Montgomery, “I am grateful that my childhood was spent in a spot where there were many trees… When I have lived with a tree for many years it seems to be like a beloved human companion.” The right picture has one of her poems, “The Gable Window“, in the foreground of the iconic landscape of PEI.

The lessons at its casement taught me, / My life with rich fruition fill; / The rapture and the peace they brought me / are with me still!

I can still hear Anne naming the Lake of Shining Waters on her ride from the train station with Matthew, so it was amazing to see the pond that inspired Montgomery.

Stepped in some dog poo, so it wasn’t just shiny – it was also smelly and sticky. 🍫

There was just so much to see on the island. Here are a few more pics from around the island.

Prince Edward Island – Part 1

“Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet…”

When I was a little girl, we watch Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea – two movies released in the mid-1980s. It wasn’t until I was much older that I understood why I was so enamored with the movies. Anne, like me, is adopted, a bit dramatic, independent, and just trying to figure it out. I also fell for the landscape of Prince Edward Island, and I knew I needed to visit when I was in Maine. So, I reserved a cute AirBnB, a rental car, and made some plans.

I drove up on a Saturday and made a stop at a scenic overlook on my way out of Maine. It was about a six hour drive from the RV resort to Charlottetown, PE, my first destination. I made reservations to see Anne & Gilbert: The Musical on the Holland College campus at the Florence Simmons Performance Hall. It was a good local production, and the audience was made up of fans like me who were around the island to visit the sites from the books, original movies, and the newer TV series. They offered a package that included a ticket to the show and admission to the Green Gables Heritage Site, the Anne of Green Gables Museum, L.M. Montgomery Birth Place, and the site of L.M. Montgomery’s Cavendish Home.

The weather was mostly overcast during my trip, so when I made a stop for snacks, I also bought a jacket at a local sporting goods store, Hart, and grabbed a jacket. Then I headed to my AirBnB and had some time do some reading and relaxing.

Of course there were lighthouses dotting the coastline, and I visited three of them. I’m afraid of heights, so climbing up the stairs is a “no go” for me.

The pictures don’t do the coastline any justice. The red sands reminded me of scenes from the Anne movies, especially the ones near the Red Sands hotel. In the background of the picture on the right, you can see the enormous Confederation Bridge that spans the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Other than by boat, it’s the only way to get to the island, and it’s the longest bridge in the world that goes over ice-covered water. Thankfully, it has very high sides, so the 10-minute drive across had my palms only slightly sweaty.

I’ll spend more time on the Anne sites on the islands, but I’ll close with some words on the food. I think I might’ve been made for life in Canada.

There was a museum dedicated to POTATOES. I love potatoes. In the cafe, you could get a loaded baked potato with – you guessed it – a side of potato chips. It was one of the best meals I’ve had on my journey.

I stopped at the re-creation of Avonlea village and had lunch at Turkey Tavern where I had a generous turkey dinner, a delicious sparkling apple juice, and my first taste of Cows Creamery butter, which lead to buying a pound of butter at one of their local stores.

The junk food on PEI was the same but with some slight differences – all delicious.