We visit Ann at Green Gables, PEI
Trip Start
Sep 06, 2009
1
6
10
Trip End
Sep 26, 2009
Cavendish,
Prince Edward Island,
Canada
Monday, September 14, 2009
The motor vessel Confederation, or its sister ship, departs from Caribou N.S. seven times a day at this time of the year and we were eager to catch the 12:30pm sailing. Anna is not a boat person, but we boarded easily and plowed across the 20 or so kilometers to Wood Islands PEI without event. Interestingly, it costs nothing to cross over to PEI, either by ferry or by bridge. But they get you when you try to leave.
Linda of Green Gables
Mike has a business connection on PEI who was able to find for us a four bedroom cottage in the town of Cavendish, on the northern shore of central Prince Edward Island. Reassured by Garmi, we skirted to the north of Charlottetown and made our way to The Cavendish Cottages, driving past many fields of hay, potatoes and cows and a few pretty sea-coves and inlets. Our cottage was well equipped and one of what seemed like several thousand that stood hopefully along the Cavendish Road. Mike and I, claiming infirmities that had surfaced in Halifax, established squatters rights on the main-floor bedrooms, while Marlene, not exactly Peter Pan herself, not only had to stagger up and down a long flight of stairs but also had to share a bathroom with Malcolm.
We made a foray back out to North Rustico to pick up groceries, discover the location of a vendor of fermented beverages and then settled in to our new quarters. Dinner that evening was at the Fisherman's Wharf in North Rustico (entrees about $23) that features a sixty foot-long salad bar and is very popular with the tour-bus crowd. We supped on mussels, lobster, snow crab and other more plebeian fare and pronounced it "good".
Tuesday, September 15 – Anne in Cavendish... This morning marked the arrival of Luigi. He was also known as Giuseppe or Antonio, depending on his mood. To explain, Mike awoke today with the urge to express himself as his Italian alter ego. He would go on for extended periods, arms akimbo, palms facing outward, expressing dismay, pleasure, incredulity and sheer joy for life in the idiom of Luigi the paisano standing at the corner of Ontario Street and York Road in Guelph. These routines were always done with the greatest respect, for Liugi was a keen observer and commentator on the human condition. They were also eye-wateringly, hysterically funny, especially when foisted upon some unsuspecting couple waiting to cross a street at a stop light, or in a restaurant where the waitress wasn’t sure whether to call the cops or what. Luigi was to accompany us for the balance of our trip and could often be heard jabbering away about something or other on our radios.
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Not having been blessed with daughters I was not fully up on the Anne of Green Gables legend, although we had seen an inspired musical version featuring niece Clare earlier in the summer. That orientation was fortuitous because Cavendish is the very heart of the Anne story, and some clue of what she was about was necessary to comprehend the area. Anne and L.M. Montgomery were everywhere.
In the morning we drove the short distance to the Prince Edward Island National Park in which is housed the “actual” Green Gables house. For a modest fee one can view a short film about LMM and Anne then tour a period barn and the house and buy things. The site also features the Haunted Woods and Balsam Hollow, which I capitalize because they are virtually sacred ground to the millions of young readers who are enchanted by the story. The entrance fee includes a visit to the site of the farmhouse where Miss Montgomery lived with her grandparents and where she wrote the Anne and other stories. This “National Historic Site” - if you can believe it - features well-tended gardens and signage posted here and there that cite passages from LMM’s writings. Reading these I came to understand why I had never read anything by Miss Montgomery, but it was nice to see our national taxes going to support something that meant so much to others.
Cavendish is to PEI what Clifton Hill is to Niagara Falls. There is a Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum, a place where you can get your picture taken in period costume and various theme and thrill parks, including a “Marco Polo Land” – go figure. There are also at least two very good looking golf courses, including another Stanley Thompson design originating from 1939 (he must have been very busy that year), the Green Gables Golf Club.
That evening we tried to barbeque steaks back at the cottage but Chef Ted was frustrated because the cold on-shore wind kept blowing the barbeque out. He persevered none-the-less and they were delicious with fresh PEI potatoes and green and waxed beans.
