We awoke to a rather drizzly morning. But, we had all slept well - Samuel slept the entire night in his own bed - Yaaay!! We had a delicious breakfast in the main house of the B&B with beautiful views of the harbour despite of, or maybe because of, the drizzle.
When I looked up Pictou on the internet, one of the main attractions listed was the Grohmann Knives manufacturer. I thought that would have been a fun thing to check out, for me anyway!! I have been longing for a nice knife set for a while. My choppers aren't all that crash hot chopping anymore! But, I knew time wasn't on my side, so scratched it off the list.As we headed off to the ferry however, I spied, to my dismay, a Grohmann Knives's outlet just a block from our B&B. Uuugghhhh!
So, if anyone is interested, here is the link. I may have had some trouble getting them through airport security, so maybe it was for the best!!
The ferry for Prince Edward Island (PEI) left from Caribou, just a short distance from Pictou. The following photos are from the docks as we were waiting for the ferry or from the ferry as we sailed along. The ferries are considered ice-breakers and are supposed to be able to break through the ice during the winter months. Our tour guide, Joshua, told us that sometimes they do need to be broken out of the ice because they become stuck.
It costs $61 round trip to go across of the ferry. The interesting thing is that you don't pay when you leave to go to PEI, they collect the fare when you come back. They figure you have to leave sometime I guess! It doesn't cost as much to leave by the bridge, which is our intended departure spot, so we will come out of the whole thing with a few extra dollars -yeah right!!
They had a play area for the children - thank goodness - Samuel particularly enjoyed this wagon. He was most perturbed however, because he couldn't get it to budge from its spot in the corner. It was bolted to the wall and floor. 
LAND AHOY!!!
Prince Edward Island has been sighted!!
The ferry docked at a place called Wood Islands. From there we drove to Charlottetown. This was Joshua's very first area when he arrived on his mission. We drove around the town for a bit, Joshua showed where his flat (apartment) had been, and then we decided to look for somewhere to eat.
This was the place that Jim chose.
Very interesting place.
Very interesting place.The waitress acted like we were really putting her out by wanting to eat lunch at their establishment.
Not sure if it was because Jim was American, if it was because I was Australian, or that Joshua was a Mormon missionary.
Maybe it was Jessica's and Sam's fault???
I don't know.
I do know that we waited a very long time for food that wasn't all that good.
One thing I do know is, I like Canadian ketchup. Yum, Yum.
As we left and went to our car. Jim kept saying, rather loudly I might add, "Heeeellllloooooo!" All Purdys in the immediate family of Rick & Carolyn may understand this bizarre behaviour. I'm not going to touch it with a ten foot pole...........
I was really looking forward to coming to PEI. I have been a fan of "Anne of Green Gables" for a very long time and never thought I would visit where the novels are set or where the author lived. No-one else in the family shares my enthusiasm, but graciously joined me on one of my childhood dreams. I used to think that it would be so wonderful to be Anne Shirley!
The following web sites tell more about the Green Gables site, and other sites nearby, such as the author's childhood home. There is nothing left there now except the foundations of the home, but at the bookstore close-by, you can get a very interesting tour by one of her descendants. I think many people forget that the Green Gables series was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery and not actually be Anne Shirley!
Samuel loved the barn. It is amazing what holds the rapt attention of one child and not another. Sam would have stayed and tossed hay all day if we had let him. Joshua and Jessica?? Walked right past, no interest whatsoever in a bit of hay throwing. That's all right, Sam through some extra bunches up in the air just for them.....OK, I'm being silly.
Moments before I took this shot, Sam had been sitting on a stool trying to milk this pretend cow. But, instead we have a shot of Sam and Dad. Sam is thinking, "Where did all my hay go and why doesn't this cow say 'MOOOO'?"
GREEN GABLES!
The kitchen at Green Gables
"Anne's" bedroom
Rhubarb. Why you may ask? My Mum always had a rhubarb patch in our garden when I was growing up. I love rhubarb & apple pie. I think I need to try and grow a rhubarb patch in Florida.
This shot was taken after tramping back through the "haunted woods". We had taken a path to the author's childhood home - what was left of it anyway. I know I took photos of it and the pretty gardens, the apple tree, etc., but they are not on my camera - sigh....We finished our trip to the Green Gables site with a trip to the gift store. I had visions of browsing through all the delights that would be found there. No, not this time. Sam is probably our most dramatic child. He chose then and there to throw a temper tantrum that hit fairly highly on the rector scale. What caused such a outburst you may ask? Probably a mixture of sitting in a car seat for to long and being napless. But the true reason in my opinion is doors. Yep, doors. This kids wants to open and shut doors ALL the time. Dad dared tell him that he couldn't stand in the entrance of the gift shop, blocking the entrance for everyone from the tour buses and rental cars. The true reason for such a blood curdling series of screams and cries, was in deed doors - with a healthy helping of that vulgar word - NO!
After making a speedy get-a-way from the Green Gables gift shop, we headed back to our cottage. We stayed two nights in Cavendish. We stayed at Cavendish Bosom Buddies Cottages http://www.cavendishbosombuddies.com/ We realized when we were planning our trip, that it would be right at the beginning of the "off" season. Most places we were pretty lucky and everything was still up and running. Not at Cavendish. To make it worse, it was also Thanksgiving Day for Canada. If we had realized, we would have picked up supplies and gassed up the car while we were in Charlottetown, but we didn't........
Jim and I drove around for quite a while with the car running on petrol fumes. We found 2 little supermarkets, but they were both closed until the next day. There was a restaurant that was just packed, and I mean people lined up out the door - with reservations. We finally drove back towards the cottages and found one place, one very nice place......
Rachael's
Ristorante
Fabulous Food and
Great Gatherings
They were also only seating people with reservations, but, they had the "take-out" option. HALLELUJAH The only thing on the menu was traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but that sounded pretty good to us! We ordered the take-out, sold a child to pay for it, sooooooo........
HAPPY THANKSGIVING CANADA!It may not look very appetizing in a styrofoam box, but it was wonderful. We went to bed full and happy after a rousing game of spades and delicious pie! Unfortunately, the car's gas tank was still pretty empty.
Sally-Ann
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment