Road Trip Family

Singing About Red Roads

I was a bit skeptical when I first heard that someone had turned the classic Lucy Maude Montgomery book into a musical production. But, in every tourist publication that I read as we planned our trip to PEI there was always mention of this musical and that it was a must-see event. And after hearing an endorsement from my parents who had seen it a number of years ago, I decided that our family should check it out.

 

The musical is presented every summer at the Confederation Arts Centre in Charlottetown and is labeled the longest-running musical in Canada. We weren’t sure how the younger ones would do with a late night out or with this production, but we decided that this was based on a story that we were immersing ourselves in during our week at PEI so we should all see it. I was able to procure some decent seats pretty close to the stage, which made it feel like we were a part of the action at times. 

For just over 2 hours, we were thoroughly entertained as Anne sang about the red roads in PEI, about trying ice cream for the first time and about her competition to get better grades than Gilbert Blythe. Everyone from My Chandler to Pumpkin were enthralled. My Chandler had never read the story, so for him it gave him a taste of what the story was about. As for the rest of us, we all loved the music, the dances, the acting… and for Sweet Pea, she enjoyed the actor who played Gilbert!

As we were walking out of the theater, we discovered that we could purchase a CD of the music. That CD has turned into the most used souvenir we’ve ever bought. Even now, almost a year later, the girls will ask us to plug the CD in on drives.

Followed quickly by Pumpkin asking if we can listen to track number 13.

Followed by a sing-along with everyone in the car – except My Chandler, who just shakes his head and chuckles!

 

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My New Favorite Drink

One of the most memorable scenes in the Anne books is when Anne Shirley is allowed to play hostess to her best friend Diana Barry while her guardian, Marilla, is at a meeting. Anne is thrilled to play hostess and be trusted to do this by herself. And best of all, Marilla has given Anne permission to serve raspberry cordial during this tea. Unfortunately, as often happens to Anne, the best of intentions goes wrong, and Anne accidentally serves her best friend red currant wine, causing Diana to become extremely drunk and Diana’s mother to announce that the two girls must not be friends anymore.

No worries, though. Things do have a way of working out in the story.

To my pure delight, we discovered that this famous cordial is now available for purchase at a smattering of stores around PEI. Sure, it’s a great marketing ploy and another way to make some money off the many tourists who visit the island purely because of the Anne stories.

But, hey, I’m proof that their marketing works!

We discovered this delectable drink one night early on in our vacation and purchased a couple of bottles for our family to try.

We were thirsty, really!

For me, I was hooked from that first sip.It was yummy deliciousness wrapped up in a cute little soda bottle with a drawing of Anne Shirley on the label.

It is a bit fizzy like a seltzer or a soda, but with a raspberry juice flavor. I described the taste to friends as being like a raspberry spritzer. I’ve tried other raspberry spritzers since then, though, and it just wasn’t the same.

Maybe you have to add a bit of PEI sunshine?

The fresh sea air floating in off the water?

A little bit of red dirt?

Whatever it was, it was so yummy that I was purchasing a bottle whenever we passed a cooler in a store. And before we left, both My Chandler and I purchased a case each to take home!

A Little Village Called Avonlea

There’s a little village on Prince Edward Island that has dirt roads and horse-drawn carriages. You can stop at the general store or visit the farm animals at the local farm. You can walk on wooden stilts or play in the sandbox outside the little school or participate in a daily potato sack race. You can learn to play the spoons, step dance or catch a little skit.

Okay, this isn’t a real village on Prince Edward Island, but Avonlea Village is a fun little attraction that puts you right into the Anne of Green Gables books. The moment you step through the train station entrance, you are transported back in time to an era that is captured in the Lucy Maude Montgomery books.

Along the block of red dirt roads are both heritage buildings from around PEI which have been moved and restored, as well as some recreations of buildings.

The three girls enjoyed the little wooden school house with the woodstove and old fashioned desks. All of us spent some time playing with outdoor toys that kids during Anne’s time would play with. Even My Chandler tried to walk on stilts!

The two younger girls enjoyed the building that housed tons of dress up clothes and little settings where photos could be taken like:

a dining area,

a clothesline and outhouse,

even a carriage.

My Chandler thought the general store was fun to explore (he fell in love with this hat!).

I enjoyed the church and the horse and buggy ride.

Sweet Pea’s favorite part of the day were the little skits scattered throughout the day. Favorite scenes from the Anne books were reenacted on a little stage set behind a home.

And when the actors were not performing these scenes, they were walking around the town and interacting with the tourists.

It was like an Anne version of Disney World!

Yes, this was a bit of a tourist trap, but it was also a fun way to spend a day on the island.

The House With the Green Gables

When I was younger, I loved reading the Anne of Green Gables books. And when a tv mini-series came out in the 80s, I was especially thrilled to see the books come to life!

Anne’s world was exactly as I had imagined it would be. Anne, with all of her earnestness, would concoct some plan that would inevitably go awry. She was an orphan with a big imagination and even bigger heart who captured the hearts of those who came into her lives.

Prince Edward Island is birthplace of the author, Lucy Maude Montgomery, and is the setting for her Anne books. So, when we put our deposit down on the cottage and started planning this trip, I knew that I wanted to absorb as much about Anne Shirley and Lucy Maude as possible.

And I was going to drag my poor family around as I did it.

Oh, I tried to interest them in the stories beforehand. Sweet Pea did read the first book in the series and all three girls did sit down to watch the movie. And they were curious to see the setting in person. But, it wasn’t quite the same caliber of interest that I had.

They went along for the ride, though, and by the end of the week, Pumpkin had her Anne Shirley doll, Peanut had a hat with braids and declared that she’d be Anne Shirley for Halloween that year and Sweet Pea knew every line to every song on the CD that we bought from the Anne of Green Gables Musical that we had seen.

And My Chandler?  Well, he did get his Tim Horton's coffee!

Perhaps my most favorite spot that we visited in our Anne tour was the actual Anne of Green Gables house. In reality, this house was originally owned by Lucy Maude’s cousins and was a home that she would visit when she was younger. It had very special memories for her, so she based the fictional Green Gables home of Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert on this real-life home.

Most people enter this historical attraction from the main parking lot, through the requisite gift shop, following the paved path to the main house and surrounding farm buildings.

However, we did something a little different.

We started at the Lucy Maude Montgomery homestead in Cavendish. This is the site of the home where Lucy Maude lived with her grandparents and where she would later go on to write the first couple of Anne books.

While the house is no longer standing, we were able to walk around the grounds, taking in the beauty of the fields around us, the beautiful gardens that had been planted and the foundation of the house that used to be there.

And then we walked down a lane that took us to the Haunted Woods. For you Anne fans, this is the woods that Anne and her friends would never dare to enter because they believed it was filled with ghosts. And after walking through this forest, I can understand why Lucy Maude wrote that. It does have a bit of spookiness about it. But, it’s also a very pretty, serene area as well.

When you come out of the woods, you are met by a set of steps and a large hill that says you are now entering the site of the Green Gables home.

At first all you can see is the hill and just a bit of the roof of the house. We started to climb these steps and as we crested the top, we were met with an amazing site.

There was the home in all its glory!

All of my Anne giddiness came out at that point as I giggled and practically skipped to the house. Peanut and Pumpkin ran with me, My Chandler just shook his head and Sweet Pea tried to pretend she was not related to me!

The inside of the house was fascinating to tour because of all the antique furniture. And fans of the books will especially enjoy seeing “Anne’s Room” and see items throughout that have featured roles in the books like Anne’s worn carpetbag with the finicky handles. Or the raspberry cordial that was supposed to be on the second shelf of the pantry.

And outside, you can check out the barns, pose for pictures in the carriage or walk along Lover’s Lane, a beautiful area that was another inspiration in Lucy Maude’s writing.

It may not be quite as fascinating for those not familiar with the literary pieces, but it is a beautiful little home on a beautiful piece of property. And for dorky fans like me, it was a chance to feel like I had stepped into one of my favorite literary pieces!

Travel Books

Just over a year ago, I saw my first Kindle up close and personal. My aunt gave a few of us a brief tour of her electronic “book” and all the positives about it.

Now, I am a huge fan of the paper book. I love the feel of a book in my hands, the crack of the spine as you open a new book, the rustling of the paper as you turn each page, getting a new bookmark to hold your place. And if you are like me, it’s easy to flip to the last page in the book to see how it ends. Yes, I admit it. I’m a last page peeker!

But, after seeing this Kindle, I began to see the benefits of also having an electronic library at my fingertips. With this electronic toy, I’m able to carry a library of books with me where ever I go. If there’s nothing in my collection that interests me, I can download a new book directly from the Kindle. If there’s a particular passage or quote that I want to remember, I can highlight and save it for easy reference. I can also post something to a social network directly from the Kindle.

And as someone who enjoys traveling a lot, I enjoy the fact that this is very portable and easy to pack in a purse or in a carry on bag.

I used my Kindle extensively during a recent trip overseas. Thanks to the 3G, I was able to let family and friends know what Sweet Pea and I were up to throughout the week by posting on Facebook. I was also able to download a Sweden travel book that I could reference throughout our trip.

Unfortunately, the popularity of electronic devices like the Kindle have helped lead to this happening:

 
This was a very sad day for me to see these signs on a building that has held many memories for me. When the first 15 books from my favorite girl detective series (Trixie Belden) were re-released, this was the store I knew would carry them.

And every time we started to plan our next big trip to Disney World, my first order of business would be to stop by the book store and pick up the most recent edition of Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World guide book. I guess the next time we plan a Disney trip, I’ll have to see if there’s an electronic version of the guide book.

While I enjoy the conveniences of the new electronic device, I am saddened to see bookstores around the country closing. I guess we can’t have our cake and eat it, too.