Day 28 Anne of Green Gables

Day 28 - September 17, 2014  - Anne of Green Gables, Cavendish, Prince Edward Island

It was a neat surprise yesterday when we arrived at the Cornwall KOA in Prince Edward Island just to find our neighbours from the night before. They are both from BC, but are not traveling together; they just happened to be going in the same direction for one night. So here we all are again!

We stayed at the campground as long as we could this morning as they had some pretty fun activities offered for their guests. The boys decided to spend $3 each to rent the “Banana Peel” bikes, and those were a hoot! I even took a spin on Isaiah’s. They are good for the legs, and more comfortable than a traditional bike. 

The other very cool item was the “Bouncy Pillow”. This monsterous pillow is filled with air and you can jump as high as a trampoline, but it is huge enough to have loads of kids or adults on at the same time. I had a little time on this seeing how high I could jump...

Soon it was time to go, and we hooked up the van to the caravan. I am proud to say that after this time on the road I am getting quite good at backing up and making the connections. This picture shows you what I did with just one move! I eyeballed the centre of the back window and then the centre of the caravan and very slowly headed toward my goal. Bit by bit I am mastering this job. 

Prince Edward Island is everything I might possibly want in a place to live. The colours are exquisite. The greens, blues, reds, yellows are all so vibrant. The flowers were still in full bloom even though it is now mid September! They say their spring was late, but they will not enter fall until well into October or even November! How amazing is that!  The land is lush and rich, with rolling hills, waterways, small farms, historical houses, and lovely little villages. The older homes are listed at such a steal. One home had a price tag of $80,000 on it. A lovely home was selling for $367,000, but this was in a historical village and was fully fixed up. Sadly, there is no real way to make a good living here, as I was told, so many are seasonal workers. I would love to pick up Prince Edward Island and move it to my side of the world, so that I could move there an live. 

Today was spent visiting the Anne of Green Gables sites. Our first stop was Green Gables. Upon entering the National Park office and being invited to watch a movie that spoke of L.M. Montgomery, I will say that it was impacting. I knew this was the land of Anne of Green Gables. I knew that L.M. Montgomery was the author. But putting the two pieces together and getting to know who she was was fascinating. It made the writing of Anne of Green Gables, so much more profound knowing the woman who was behind the words. 

The site of Green Gables is the home that one of her family members owned, and much of what she envisioned for her books was depicted throughout the home. So though she never lived there, this home is what gave her the picture of Anne’s adoptive home. The haunted wood and lover’s lane were also there. Over time, the National Park has incorporated into the home wallpaper, furnishings, and carpets that match what L.M. Montgomery wrote about in her book, so that those visiting might see it as it was written about. 

The Broken China Cabinet Glass With "Katie Maurice's" Reflection In It

The Milk Product Room Off the Kitchen - Considered a "Dirty Room"

The Kitchen With Milk Room and Baking Room Off on the Left Sides

Anne's Room

Anne's Room

Green Gables

The Haunted Wood

The Barn That Matthew Worked In

L.M. Montgomery's Birthplace

Once we had passed through this, we headed to another area of Cavendish where Silver Bush was located. On the way to Silver Bush we passed the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery, but we did not stop as we had to make it to Silver Bush before it was too late. Silver Bush is what L.M. Montgomery called her grandparent’s home. She was raised with them from when she was just about two years of age after her mother died. She began her writing career while living in this home. Throughout the home one can see autographed copies of her first edition books, plus many other memorabilia of L.M.. Also, you have an opportunity to read bits and pieces of various works as you wander through. She was certainly a woman with a deep and meaningful heart!

A china cabinet was something that she always had in her home, and from this she created the character of Katie Maurice - her friend in the broken glass pane of the china cabinet when she was just an orphan child come to live with the Cuthberts. 

She mentions that she was married before the mantle fireplace and her wedding dress is displayed in a cabinet. There was a note that Lucy Maud once said that if she ever had a little girl she would name her Anne. She never had a child...

 L.M. Montgomery's Bedroom

 These Are the Dishes From L.M. Montgomery's Aunt Emily That Are in Emily of New Moon

 Autographed First Editions of Books

We were contemplating a horse and carriage ride with ‘Matthew’, when I got a text that brought things to a grinding halt. Our second farm sitter was supposed to be beginning at the house on the 17th, but due to unforeseen circumstances, she would not be able to help us out. This could have been hugely difficult but for the fact that the Framer’s out of town contract that was supposed to begin on August 22nd, did not begin on time, so he was still at home. The very unfortunate thing is that though he is at home, he is struggling because he is not a milker of cows, and not only is he having to milk the early shift before work, he is also having to milk after he returns from working all day. Not to mention having to feed the chickens and dogs, keep an eye on wandering cows, and to make things worse he is allergic to hay. Suffice it say, I felt dreadful at the predicament he was in and made an instant decision to try to tighten up the trip by a bit. First piece, we would leave immediately for Nova Scotia, rather than staying a couple days on Prince Edward Island, as originally planned. 

About fifteen minutes later, while I was hunched over in the back of the van gathering supplies to make lunch, I heard the children speaking to someone, and I soon learned it was a family that were from Kelowna, B.C.. It turned out they were on a cross-country trip, as we were, and quite sadly for them, they had had their motorhome breakdown two weeks prior in Sudbury, Ontario. They had spent the last fourteen days in a rental car and hotel rooms, and they were presently on their way back to Sudbury to pick up their RV and then would be heading for Nova Scotia. They, too, were Christians and totally understood our prayers for our trip, and it was rather nice to run into people who had gone through similar trials, but were relying on the same God to get them through! Ironically, it turned out, after I had mentioned the Framer waiting to go to Kelowna to begin a contract, that Helena turned to Dan, her husband, and suggested he give a business card to me for the Framer. He was the president of a construction company and said he would love to hear from my husband. After wishing each other well, we said good-bye and both carried on our way. Who knows. We may just meet up again in Kelowna one day! I certainly hope the rest of their holiday is less eventful that the beginning!

We crossed the Confederation Bridge once more - with me cringing the entire way - and taking a left we headed for Amherst, where we spent an uneventful night in the Superstore parking lot!

Confederation Bridge

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