P.E.I. Here we come!!!

Green Gables!

Gazing into L.M. Montgomery's mirror!

     I attended college at Concordia in Moorhead, MN with some wonderful people - including my dear friend, Amy.  The two of us could make each other laugh so easily!  At times we could finish each other's sentences.  We were together so much that one of our friends would say, "There goes "AmyJen" when he'd see us walk by.  We were hard workers in college, but also took time to be "rebels on a school night" by taking the occasional study break at the college snack shop hangout.  We had lots in common, particularly our love for music and our devotion to God, but especially our obsession with Anne of Green Gables!!!!  We loved the books, the movies, the characters, the time period, the clothing, the scenery, everything!!!
      So, we began planning our trip.  We planned that trip for about six years!  Then, in July of 2002 we were on our way!  Our friend Jess joined us.  We took my parents' 1987 Chevy Caprice Classic (otherwise known as "the boat") and set out on our three week trip across Canada to Prince Edward Island and then over to Nova Scotia, taking a ferry to Maine and then crossing the U.S. back to Minnesota.  What a blast!  We camped in tents some and stayed in Bed and Breakfast homes.  It was quite the adventure and it was also everything we hoped it would be!
     Prince Edward Island is beautiful!!!!  The blues were bluer, the greens were greener, and the whites were whiter!  The countryside was lovely.  The music is fun (lots of Scottish and Irish heritage).  The red dirt is enchanting!  The people were friendly.  And, the Anne of Green Gables lore is EVERYWHERE!  You can see many of the sights mentioned in the book such as:  "The Lake of Shining Waters,"  "The Haunted Forest,"  "Lover's Lane," and   

A beautiful beach on P.E.I.

Jen enjoyed P.E.I.

"The Hope Chest."   You can see L.M. Montgomery's birthplace, the actual school where L.M. Montgomery taught, lighthouses, beaches, bluffs, cliffs, and more.  We ate delicious sea food, and visited the village of Avonlea.  We had "high tea for three" at the Dalvay by the Sea Hotel, which is the White Sands Hotel in the "Road to Avonlea" series.  We attended church with some local Presbyterians.  We attended an excellent musical production of "Anne of Green Gables:  The Musical" in Charlottetown.  We biked along the Confederation Trail near Summerside.  We drove up to the northern part of the island to find the best beach!  We drove through cornfields to find a 40 foot cliff.  We took so many pictures of Prince Edward Island!  It was all such a dream!   I put my pictures into a photo album that I still love to look at.
     Now, nine years later I enjoy telling my husband about our road trip.  He listens appreciatively.  Last summer we went to the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming.  That place is very special to him.   He was so excited to show it to me!  It's like the Big Horn Mountains are a part of him.  As we were driving home from Wyoming/Montana, we talked about where else we'd like to travel to together.  Todd said he'd like to see this Prince Edward Island that I gush about so much!  It was HIS idea!  So, summer of 2012 we're

Dalvay By the Sea (a.k.a The White Sands)

My "kindred spirit" friend Amy and I

 going to take the camper and go!  I'm already planning the trip.  I know what new things I want to see (more of Nova Scotia!) and what "must see" things we'll experience together.  I can hardly wait!  It's fun to have things to look forward to.... especially in the thick of Februaryin Minnesota when things can be a bit dreary! 
       Part of the fun of the road trip with Amy and Jess was seeing other parts of Canada and the U.S. that I wasn't familiar with.  Quebec City, for example.... what a wonderful city!  It's like stepping into France.  There are cobblestone streets and French restaurants that sell delicous Crepes.  We stayed at a ski chalet there. 
    We stopped at Saint Jean Port Joli and saw an amazing museum of wooden sculptures hand made by local artists.  We watched trains travel through Ontario, and met up with a friend in Montreal.  We saw some amazing gardens in Halifax, Nova Scotia and took a foggy tour south to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  In Maine we drove up Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park and ate lobster in Bar Harbor.  We took a Boston Duck Tour in Boston and a barge ride down the Erie 

Lover's Lane!

 Canal in New York State.  We visited Louis May Alcott's Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts (what a thrill!), and saw Niagara Falls from both the Canadian and American sides.  We spent a day on Mackinac Island in Michigan and were amazed by the power of Lake Huron.  After three weeks, we were three exhausted travelers!  I'm very grateful we took this trip together.  Amy and Jess are still two of my dearest friends.  God has been good to me!
    One of the souvenirs I bought in Prince Edward Island was piano sheet music to the "Anne of Green Gables" theme song.  Amy later created a violin part to the piece and it was played during my wedding prelude!  Sweet!
    Another souvenir I got was a Anne of Green Gables Chocolates apron.  I had it hanging downstairs in our "Anne of Green Gabes" themed guest room, but one day I needed an apron and decided it was "time" to use it.  I'm enjoying using it as I bake at home now.
     I have a book of quotes by L.M. Montgomery of Anne sayings and I'm going to close this blog with some of my favorites:
"It's nicer to think dear, pretty thoughts and keep them in one's heart, like treasures."

Annes of Green Gables

The bluffs of P.E.I.

"What a splendid day!...I pity people who aren't born yet for missing it.  They may have good days, of course, but they can never have this one."

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.  It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it?"

"Dear old world....you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you."

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

"There are some people...that you can love right off....and there are others....that you have to try very hard to love."

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think.  It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world."

"The world looks like something God has just imagined for His own pleasure, doesn't it?"

"Oh, it's delightful to have ambitions.  Just as soon as you attain to one ambition you see another one glittering higher up still."

"That is the first time I was ever called 'Miss.'  Such a thrill as it gave me!  I shall cherish it forever among my choicest treasures."

"It's been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will."