Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island

If You'd Prefer a Continuous

Slide Show of all the Pics
(rather than having to click on each image belpow)
Go Here
 

Our arrival in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (or PEI) started out well, with sunny skies. However, the captain announced that due to high winds we would not be able to dock and so would anchor in the bay and take the tenders in to the dock. The young man who drove our tender had problems figuring out where to tie up, even though we could all see the buses lined up for our various tours. The wind had picked up and clouds were coming in during our ride from the ship. Our choice of tour this time was Anne of Green Gables and Island Drive for 3 1/2 hours. "Anne of Green Gables" is a child/girl's book written by Lucy Maud Montgomery in 1908. It made both Maud and PEI objects of interest over a large part of the world. Maud wrote the story of a young orphan girl, Anne Shirley, who was sent by mistake to a brother and sister with a farm who had asked for a boy to help on the farm. The red-headed Anne made PEI and the home called Green Gables famous. Daryl read the books when she was very young as did many of the other women on the tour. On this trip, our guide was Emily, who had herself lived in PEI since she was 5. She had a winning sense of humor and wide knowledge of the island and its attractions. She and the bus driver, an Acadian named Pierre, took us through the middle section of the island, showing us a variety of points of interest including a walk by the sand dunes and a short trip on the beach sand in the bus. We drove through the PEI National Park and then headed to Green Gables, also a National Park. We saw a short film about Maud and the writing of the books, then visited the house which served as the model for the stories. After a brief speed shopping trip through the gift store, we got back on the bus to an accordion serenade from the driver, Pierre. We headed on through the middle of the island and made a stop at the PEI Preserve Co, where we met the owner, who stepped onto the bus, kilt and all, and entertained us with the story of how he and his wife started the business. Then we went inside to taste teas and preserves and do a fair amount of buying as well. We made it to the dock with only minutes to spare. It had rained on and off during our tour, but by the time we got back to the dock it was really raining and the water between the dock and the ship was looking rough. Actually, it was really rough. We were packed into the tender and each time we ploughed through a wave, those of us sitting near the open door were drenched by incoming water. We were glad to be on board and drinking hot cocoa.