Anne and Red Dirt

Judy. I’m not sure what exactly I expected on Prince Edward Island, but what I got was the neatest, cleanest place I think I’ve ever been. Farms, which are everywhere,

Ever-present fields and sea

are well tended and bordered by trees to break the wind. Harbors are charming and colorful, and beaches boast red sand the color of Georgia clay. In fact, all the dirt looks like Georgia clay. I felt right at home.  

We arrived via ferry and drove through the countryside to Charlottetown, the capitol,

Lunchtime concert at the harbor

which was remarkably busy. There were tons of tourists at the harbor area, which could have been as easily in Halifax or the Jersey shore, but a walk around town proved it to be charming and busy. After a lovely lunch—lobster, of course—we drove through the island to New Glasgow, to the Lookout Inn, where we spent three nights.

As we approached the door, it opened, and a 5-year-old girl bowed gracefully and said, “Welcome!” Behind her, her mom, Nicole, echoed the sentiment and ushered us into the B&B. It was a good omen.

Lookout Inn

Nicole and her husband James are a young couple in their thirties. They have seven kids, four of whom are still at home. When Nicole started the business, she told us she was a 25-year-old single mom. She met James shortly after, and they gradually expanded the B&B from two rooms to eight while they raised their kids, who are not shy and will play the piano or do flips on the trampoline at the slightest request. The whole family is delightful, and made us feel at home right away. Nicole has an efficient way of doing breakfast: upon your arrival, you choose where you want to eat breakfast (in your room or in the breakfast room or to go), and get a choice of several main meals with side items to go with. It has saved them from running out of one choice or having to toss another, and gives them a good start in the morning. Nicole cooks, and James serves, jokes, and teases.

Nicole and James

Despite the fact that they do their own cleaning and laundry and repairs, Nicole offered her washer and dryer for us to do our laundry. She also got me an appointment with a chiropractor and served as a reader when Ted taped me for an audition. Obviously, I can’t say enough good things about them. If you go to PEI, check out the Lookout Inn in New Glasgow.

The island is so small that in the three days we were in New Glasgow, we visited several beaches and numerous Anne of Green Gables locations—and there were a bunch!  Lucy Maud Montgomery’s birthplace, Lucy Maud Montgomery’s later home, the Green Gables National Park, the Anne of Green Gables Museum. Frankly, we did drive-

LMM's birthplace

bys, partially because it was a rainy day and partially because of the crowds and tour buses. I didn’t even get a photo of anything except the birthplace!

There are two main “highways”—the Green Gables Trail and the Red Sands Trail. Sometimes they intersect. On sunny days the beaches, and we visited several, were packed with people having a great time.

Hills and the sea at Singing Sands

Linda, Chris, and Django

When we left New Glasgow, we drove to the eastern part of the Island and had a Servas visit in the tiny hamlet of Launching with Chris and Linda. Both are retired, and in the winter live in Charlottetown, where they are active with the arts communities and the immigrant communities. In the summer they move to a lovely beach cottage and spend most days kayaking, swimming, biking and reading. Linda often drives the hour or so back to Charlottetown to rehearse with a choir, but mostly they enjoy the outdoors. They took us on a clam dig for an addition to the fantastic seafood stew Chris made, and introduced us to their neighbors, who are from Macon, GA, and spend their summers on PEI!

In search of clams

James's fish stew

One afternoon Ted and I drove into Montague, a small town nearby. After a picnic lunch, we walked a small part of the Confederation Trail, a network of walking/biking trails built on old railroad lines that runs the entire island. Ted’s a great fan of craft beers, and has had a ball trying different ones on our visit, so we wandered into one where there was a crowd of folks waiting in line. It seems a law firm in Charlottetown, Stuart McKelvey, was treating its employees to a bus trip around parts of the island, including the brewery. We chatted with some of them in line, and when Ted stepped up for a beer, he was told his was paid for. What a lovely surprise!

Confederation Trail

Before you ask, yes, I did eat lots of PEI mussels, and they are delicious.

And on the day we left, we went across on the Confederation Bridge, an architectural marvel linking PEI to New Brunswick.

So it’s time to move on to Ontario. We did one last drive through New Brunswick, but never saw moose, or, for that matter, much of the Bay of Fundy. In Halifax, where we returned the rental car, we stopped by St. Mark’s one more time to donate the last of our bus passes and give one more hug to John and to Vivien. It was hard to say goodbye, but we headed to the airport. Ottawa, here we come!

Prince Edward Island or Georgia?

The famous Confederation Bridge