PEI

July 20
I don't even know where to begin when it comes to describing PEI other than to say, it's perhaps one of the most beautiful places on earth that we've ever seen. Honestly. My friend Susan D. told me this before we left on this trip and I remember thinking to myself, "Well, I'm sure we'll see many beautiful places all across Canada" - which was (and is) true but there is something undeniably different and consistently mind-blowingly incredible about PEI that sets it apart from everything else we've seen (and we've seen some stunning places along the way to be sure!)
I think part of what is incredible about PEI is that the entire Island is one giant garden. If you're not right downtown in some town or city, it's all rolling green farmland that has been farmed to perfection and cared for with great love and attention. The entire Island is one giant hunk of red red sandstone. There isn't any gravel on the island at all - no rocks at all! Imagine THAT! All gravel (for cement etc. ) has to be hauled in from Nova Scotia. The dirt is red red red you can't imagine the crops they grown here - potatoes like you've never seen but also a lot of wheat, corn and hay. Every turn in the road, every crest of a hill reveals another postcard vista and I could honestly spend 3 months here just taking photos. There are little lakes, rivers and, of course, miles of coastline and coves to be explored. Throughout PEI is a network of paved roads which are in GREAT shape for motorcycles. One fellow told us there are more paved miles of road per capita in PEI than anywhere else in Canada. We can believe it. And there are also TONS of motorcycles here which makes sense given this is incredible motorcycling country.
Today, we took the #1 through Stratford and into Georgetown. We got held up because of a small town parade that was happening today so we chatted with a Bell Mobility van driver who gave us some tips on what to see. We followed the coastal road north to Cardigan but decided to hoof it on the main road to Rollo Bay because the "Coastal Route" wasn't so coastal after all - lots of lovely country roads through trees but we wanted to "Make A Mile" (as Lynn would say). There was a Fiddle Festival in Rollo Bay this weekend but honestly, by the time we got there, it was over 100 degrees and the farmers field the festival was being held in had NO TREES. Not one shred of shade to be found. There was just no way we could tolerate an entire afternoon in the sweltering heat with no relief in sight - fiddles or no fiddles. Next time. Off we went, back on the coastal road from there which was along the shoreline for the most part and was lovely. We went through Souris (where you can catch the 5 hour ferry to Isle de la Madeleine - sorry Mom - we just didn't' have enough time this trip!!!) and to the East Point light house. From there we followed the North Coast road over to a place called St. Peters. It you haven't heard of the TV show (and book) called "You've Got To Eat Here" - it's all about the best hidden restaurant/cafe gems in Canada. In St. Peters is a place called Rick's Fish and Chips which made it into the TV show and book. We had heard about it from our neighbour at the campsite, Rhonda, who told us it was the best fish and chips in the world. Well, we've heard that a few times on our trip so we take those kinds of comments with a grain of salt (and a little tartar sauce on the side) but we saw it so we thought we'd check it out. At first, we weren't sure we had the right place - it's small and out of the way and just a non-descript mom and pop shop looking fish and chip joint like we'd seen about 1000 times in the past 2 weeks in the Maritimes... but boy did we get schooled in the art of fish and chips!! Un-Be-Freaking-Leavable. Seriously. Truly, the best in the world. We're not sure what they put in that batter but it's light and crispy and melts in your mouth like ambrosia de la mer... topped by PEI's own Iron Horse beer which was fantastic. Incredible. 10/10.
Leaving St. Peters he hoofed through spectacular farmland back into downtown Charlottetown and went straight to the Confederation Arts Center. Alas, the Anne of Green Gables musical only shows on Mon/Tues/Wed nights (why, we can't figure) BUT - they had just mounted a brand new show this season called Evangeline - a musical historical fiction piece about he expulsion of the Acadiens from Grand Pre, Nova Scotia based on the epic poem of the same name written by the American iconic poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This show was 10 years in the writing by Ted Dykstra (who also wrote Two Pianos, Four Hands) who originally teamed up with Mirvish Productions but was dropped due to financial constraints. Along came the Charlottetown Festival who saved the day and they finally mounted the production this year. We went and saw it and it was fabulous. What a show. The talent were all Broadway veterans so you can imagine the quality of the singing/acting/dancing and the music and dancing was a wonderful mix of traditional Acadien and Cajun. The story follows Evangeline and her husband Gabriel who, on their wedding night, were separated by the Grand Derangement - the expulsion of the Acadiens by the British government. True story - over 10,000 Acadiens were put on ships and sent off in all directions, separating families and friends to the 4 corners of the New World without any knowledge of where each other went. Imagine THAT back then, with no phones, internet etc. Many people never did find their family members again and more than half of them died in the process from starvation, disease, exposure etc. Hard to imagine. All because the British felt they were a threat to their plans for colonization. ANYWAY - the show was brilliant. Another 10/10. We're at the point now where we can't believe how each day just brings more amazing experiences our way. We're so grateful...

July 21
Up early and off we went up North on route 2 through Bedford, Grand Tracadie and into PEI National Park - a strip of stunning beaches along the north shore. We stopped a few times along the beach and took pictures and walked along the red sand - so beautiful!! We headed over to Cavendish which is the now very famous "Anne of Green Gables" part of PEI. You can't come to PEI and NOT do Anne of Green Gables even though yes, it's very touristy BUT - for those of us who have grown up with this story and have watched the Mini Series 100 times, it's a bit of a pilgrimage. The Green Gables house is now a National Historic Site and, contrary to what many expect, is NOT the house the miniseries was filmed in. Shocking news! The miniseries was shot in Ontario!! OY!! Sacrilege! The historic site is, in fact, the farm house that belonged to Lucy Maud Montgomery's cousins and Aunt and Uncle who she used to visit frequently (as she lived just down the road with very austere grandparents after her mother died and her father buggered off). This was the house the inspired her to write Anne of Green Gables and, in fact, she was a great lover of the outdoors and she had two walking trails on the property, one through the haunted woods and one called Lover's Lane, both of which appear in her Anne books. So - this is where she roamed as a young child and into adulthood and where she imagined all of her Anne books. As a side note, she married a minister and they eventually moved to Ontario and she never lived in her beloved PEI again which greatly saddened her but it was nice that, when she died, she was buried in the Cavendish graveyard so she did, finally, come home...
Our last stop in this area was the Cavendish beach itself. It, too, is part of the PEI National Park so a day pass will get you into all of the beach areas. It was perfect. The day was perfect. A sunny, warm day with puffy clouds scudding across the sky as the seagulls hovered on the seabreeze. Whitecap waves hammered onto the red sandy beach and the wind blew drifts of sand up and over the miles of grassy sand dunes. The sand is so fine, it's like sugar and the water was very warm - people were swimming and I walked for a couple of kilometers, soaking it all in. It wouldn't be hard to spend a summer vacation here...
After we Green Gabled ourselves out, we noodled on down yet another spectacularly stunning country road to a wee township called New Glasgow. Remember that TV show/Book I told you about yesterday - "You've Gotta Eat Here"? Well another PEI establishment made it on the show and it was none other than the New Glasgow Lobster Dinner (that's the name of it).
I'd heard of this place before, when I was researching the top things to see and do in PEI before we left on our trip. Again, our lovely KOA neighbour, Rhonda, told us about this place and, in fact, her son Alex works there. Well, gosh - it was right handy by the time we were getting peckish after all the Anne-ing we did. It opened at 4:00 so we got there around 3:45 and there was already a line up outside the door. When the door opened, we went inside to a till where you buy your dinner and they give you a ticket for the dinner you bought. They seat you and the server comes around and starts to bring the grub - you see, THIS lobster dinner is all you can eat seafood chowder, fresh steamed muscles from the local bay, homemade buns, 8 different kinds of dessert, tea and coffee. Oh yes, and then you get your whole lobster too. My God. That's all I can say.
The New Glasgow is to PEI what the Collander is to Italians in Trail as far as Italian food goes. The story is that back in the 1950s(ish) there was a farmer's coop and they jointly purchased an old community hall for a couple hundred bucks. They started to have fundraiser lobster dinners for the community and before you know it, it took off and is still going strong all these years later, still owned and operated by descendants of two of the original coop families. So awesome... It's still a huge big dining hall that seats about 350 people (and 150 more downstairs) and is noisy and loud and full of locals and tourists alike. Our server said that on a busy night, they can serve 800-1000 people. Hard to imagine. And so freaking good.... Seriously, this is the best traditional lobster dinner experience we found.
After dinner, we headed down yet another spectacularly gorgeous rural farmland road back to Charlottetown in time to catch another musical theatre production called Anne and Gilbert - this one focussing on the second part of the mini-series when Anne becomes a teacher and she and Gilbert circle around one another until they finally get together at the end and get married. A lovely, light musical with great music, excellent talent and a dearly beloved old plotline... a much smaller theatre this time - only 150 people and we ended up in the front row with only 3 feet between us and the actors. Great fun.