Tag: Lighthouses

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.

A Maine Stay

Despite the number of signs I saw warning of moose and moose crossings, I didn’t see any on our way in or out of NH and into Maine. We had a pretty uneventful drive to Maine, but Arthur was definitely done with our day-long adventure. During the last half hour, he sat in the passenger seat, hidden behind the window curtain, meowing.🍫 Maybe he was upset that he didn’t get to see the FLW houses?

He was in for a treat at the Paul Bunyan Campground though. Little did we know that our neighbors would be these free-range chickens that provided a lot of entertainment.

Our roaming neighbors.

We had a great spot. It was set-up like a semi-circle, so we didn’t really have any neighbors and were surrounded by trees. It was a great set-up. The only downside was that it was water and electric only, so we needed to make a pitstop at the dump station before we left and be mindful of our water usage.

The campground was right off a main road in Bangor, but it was set so far back from the road that there was no traffic noise. The bathrooms were good for showers, and an ease walk from our spot. They even had a little library where I donated some of the books that I finished.

Because we were so close to Acadia National Park, I wanted to see it from the water. I found Sea Princess Scenic Nature Cruises that offered a morning cruise. I drove to Northeast Harbor and grabbed breakfast at local place, which I didn’t write down the name of, so it’s completely lost. I sat on their porch, and I’m pretty sure I had the blueberry pancakes because, well, it’s Maine.

I also had time to walk around before the cruise and found this great, little trail that lead from where the boats were docked to the downtown area.

The cruise was great. We went out of the harbor and saw Sutton Island and Great Cranberry Island, and docked at Little Cranberry Island in Islesford.

It was quaint community that we all had a chance to walk around. There was a small museum that had more details on island life. Remote and challenging as it sounded, it seemed idyllic. I can believe that the winters would be anything but.

While I was waiting for the rest of the folks to return to the boat, I got to see some fishermen return and process some fresh seafood from the dock. It’s hard work, and it was impressive to see them going through their daily routine.

Yep. There were lighthouses.

I also had time to visit Stonington, a lovely harbor town, that weekend.

I parked near one of the inlets at Small Cove Park and managed to step in some poop when I went to grab this first picture. The town has a lovely library, which had some very impressive local art. If I wasn’t in an RV, I might’ve been tempted to buy something. There was a miniature village as well that you could walk around. I bought some post cards at small shop and walked the rest of Main Street on a sunny Saturday morning.

Arthur had some great naps in Maine. I also bought a rug to put on the back of the couch, and he loves it.

While we were in Maine, I took a trip to Prince Edward Island in Canada. More on that excursion next time. Thanks for reading!