Monday, June 30, 2008
Canada: Day 4
We started off day four with a breakfast buffet at the motel and then headed out to catch a ferry ride to Prince Edward Island. The ferry was huge! So big we drove our entire b
us on it. There were other large vehicles that came aboard as well. We then walked up to the top deck and enjoyed the hour and a half ride over to the island. It was rather cold and overcast that day, but it was still pretty and a fun experience.Once we departed the ferry, we drove over to Charlottetown, the capital of PEI, a
nd had lunch at a little Café. We soon found out our American dollar is not worth as much as it used to be. Our $20 is only worth $19 in Canadian money. It’s rather unfortunate.After lunch we took a tour through Founders Hall. We heard the story of Canada from its inception in 1864 up until modern day. We walked through “The Time Travel Tunnel” to learn all about the history of Canada. Their use of multi-media and modern day technology helped engage us and find the experience quite interesting. They used beautiful artistic displays, on-screen trivia games, drawers, cupboards, and other media to present their story. We each had a headset that narrated our passage through the tunnel. The whole experience
was quite unique and made me think I’d enjoy learning about more history if I could learn in this kind of setting all the time.Two of the Founders Hall Confederation Players came on board our bus after our little history lesson and gave us a driving tour of Charlottetown. It was absolutely beautiful by the shore. The houses were gorgeous as well. I was sad we couldn’t take the walking tour or at least stay a little longer to take a walk along the boardwalk. I enjoyed the sites via the bus none-the-less.
After our driving tour we drove to Cavendish, home of Anne of Green Gables, and checked into Kindred Spirits Country Inn. This place was amazing! It’s family-owned and operated and had all the amenities one could hope for. It had a wraparound porch, simply lovely! And our room was huge. Leandra and I got lost in a king size bed. After sleeping right next to her on the bus, I hardly knew she was in the same bed here. Her Aunt Susan slept on the hideaway sofa. The bathroom had a
Jacuzzi and a shower. It reminded me of a master bath. I’ve never seen anything like this in an Inn. Not only that, but the Inn had a pool and hot tub. There was also this huge chess set you could play with. It felt like I was in Alice and Wonderland when I was standing amidst the chess set. Sadly, I didn’t have enough time to engage in a game since they kept us so busy site seeing.
Our Inn was within walking distance of the Atlantic Ocean so we decided to take a leisurely stroll down a beautiful lane to the ocean front and spent over an hour soaking in the sand dunes, crashing waves, and rocky shore. The water was too cold for swimming but we stuck our toes in until they turned red from the cold. I collected several rocks and a few sea shells while I was there and have made a lovely candle holder out of them. I just dropped them in the bottom of a round glass globe and placed a tea light on top. After our visit to the ocean, I sunk into our king size bed and enjoyed a long night’s sleep.
Jamie at 9:56 PM
Canada: Day 5
The next morning we woke up to a homemade country style breakfast buffet. There were eigh
t different juices to choose from, coffee, yogurt, fruit, and hot food served on glassware. I sat outside on the porch and felt like a princess. I’ll tell you what, I certainly ate well on this trip.After b
reakfast we headed over to Green Gables. We toured the house…it was so quaint. I loved these geraniums in the window. The sunlight made them look so happy. And Anne’s room was quite pretty as well. We walked through the barn and I “milked” the fiberglass cow. Then Leandra and I braved the haunted woods. As you can see we got a little scared…it is the haunted woods after all!
After we got “frightened” in the haunted woods we decided to take a walk down lover’s lane. There
were beautiful bridges all along the trail. The greenery and flowers were enough to do any heart good. I could have spent a lot more time walking those trails…but as usual on this trip, we simply ran out of time.
The next stop was the Lucy Maud
Montgomery homestead. There we saw a group of people gathered under a big white tent celebrating the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables. We didn’t plan to be in Cavendish on the 100th anniversary of Anne, but it sure did work out nicely. They issued stamps in honor of Anne on this day and had pictures of the new stamps on the cookies and cake they served at the party. Several in our group crashed the party and enjoyed a cookie, including Leandra and me.
We grabbed lunch at a place called the Boardwalk. There were several stores
there along with a few restaurants. We opted for Subway and then indulged in some Cow’s ice cream. Cow’s is a very popular ice cream shop on PEI…and it’s very tasty. The ice cream is made from an old family recipe that originated in Cavendish. I had Raspberry chip...yum, yum!
We headed over to Avonlea Village after lunch and enjoyed a live concert. Gilbert played the base guitar and Anne tapped danced. All the characters from Green Gables were at the village interacting with us. They did a little play for us…the scene where Anne breaks the slate of Gilbert’s head
in the school room after he called her carrots because of her red hair. They also had a portrait studio where you could choose all kinds of old fashioned clothing, dress up, and they’d take your picture for free. Leandra and Mickey decided to dress up as Anne. I opted for some general clothing…but with puffed sleeves of course! We also took a little buggy ride while we were there. I enjoyed some Raspberry Cordial on the ride….no, not Red Current Wine…it really was Raspberry Cordial.
The entire group hadn’t been to the ocean yet, so that was o
ur next stop. I enjoyed walking the shores again in a different location than we’d been the night before. I picked up a few more rocks and shells but decided to keep my feet out of the water this time. We had devotions overlooking the ocean that day…simply stunning. We parked on the cliff which was quite scary. We all envisioned the cliff caving in and the bus rolling into the ocean. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. I must say, our bus drivers really knew how to drive and get in and out of small parking lots. We joked it was one of their favorite things to do…driving into small areas just to show us how skilled they 
were. Really, I think they just couldn’t help the situation at times. It made for an adventurous ride, that’s for sure. Kudos to Mike, Buck, and Rich!
That evening Leandra and I enjoyed soaking in the hot tub…until our skin started looking like prunes. It was so relaxing and a perfect activity to do before boarding the bus the next day for our long journey home. Each evening the Inn has cookies and tea at 9 p.m. in the foyer. We decided to participate on this particular night and I’m so glad we did. I tried Mango Passion Fruit tea…it was scrumptious. It was fun to visit with my new friends over tea. As Claire says, tea makes everything better. I have to agree.
reakfast we headed over to Green Gables. We toured the house…it was so quaint. I loved these geraniums in the window. The sunlight made them look so happy. And Anne’s room was quite pretty as well. We walked through the barn and I “milked” the fiberglass cow. Then Leandra and I braved the haunted woods. As you can see we got a little scared…it is the haunted woods after all!After we got “frightened” in the haunted woods we decided to take a walk down lover’s lane. There
were beautiful bridges all along the trail. The greenery and flowers were enough to do any heart good. I could have spent a lot more time walking those trails…but as usual on this trip, we simply ran out of time.The next stop was the Lucy Maud
Montgomery homestead. There we saw a group of people gathered under a big white tent celebrating the 100th anniversary of Anne of Green Gables. We didn’t plan to be in Cavendish on the 100th anniversary of Anne, but it sure did work out nicely. They issued stamps in honor of Anne on this day and had pictures of the new stamps on the cookies and cake they served at the party. Several in our group crashed the party and enjoyed a cookie, including Leandra and me.We grabbed lunch at a place called the Boardwalk. There were several stores
there along with a few restaurants. We opted for Subway and then indulged in some Cow’s ice cream. Cow’s is a very popular ice cream shop on PEI…and it’s very tasty. The ice cream is made from an old family recipe that originated in Cavendish. I had Raspberry chip...yum, yum!We headed over to Avonlea Village after lunch and enjoyed a live concert. Gilbert played the base guitar and Anne tapped danced. All the characters from Green Gables were at the village interacting with us. They did a little play for us…the scene where Anne breaks the slate of Gilbert’s head
in the school room after he called her carrots because of her red hair. They also had a portrait studio where you could choose all kinds of old fashioned clothing, dress up, and they’d take your picture for free. Leandra and Mickey decided to dress up as Anne. I opted for some general clothing…but with puffed sleeves of course! We also took a little buggy ride while we were there. I enjoyed some Raspberry Cordial on the ride….no, not Red Current Wine…it really was Raspberry Cordial.The entire group hadn’t been to the ocean yet, so that was o
ur next stop. I enjoyed walking the shores again in a different location than we’d been the night before. I picked up a few more rocks and shells but decided to keep my feet out of the water this time. We had devotions overlooking the ocean that day…simply stunning. We parked on the cliff which was quite scary. We all envisioned the cliff caving in and the bus rolling into the ocean. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. I must say, our bus drivers really knew how to drive and get in and out of small parking lots. We joked it was one of their favorite things to do…driving into small areas just to show us how skilled they 
were. Really, I think they just couldn’t help the situation at times. It made for an adventurous ride, that’s for sure. Kudos to Mike, Buck, and Rich!That evening Leandra and I enjoyed soaking in the hot tub…until our skin started looking like prunes. It was so relaxing and a perfect activity to do before boarding the bus the next day for our long journey home. Each evening the Inn has cookies and tea at 9 p.m. in the foyer. We decided to participate on this particular night and I’m so glad we did. I tried Mango Passion Fruit tea…it was scrumptious. It was fun to visit with my new friends over tea. As Claire says, tea makes everything better. I have to agree.
Jamie at 9:02 PM
Canada: Day 6
I star
ted the day off with Blueberry pancakes, a scone, bacon, a plum and coffee. I also tried blueberry pomegranate juice and grapefruit juice. My preferred choice of juice was still grape though. Our first stop of the day was Lucy Maud Montgomery’s home where she got married. Apparently people from all over the world come there to get married. The Japanese culture loves Anne of Green Gables. In fact, the books were translated into Japanese because they look up to her character so much.
All the furniture in the house was the original furniture when Lucy lived there. There were guest books everywhere we visited, so we made it a point to sign our names wherever we went. They served us tea and cookies after we toured the home and then we took another carriage ride…this time by the Lake of Shining Waters.
We drove to the L.M. Montgomery school at Lower Bedeque where Lucy taught for about a year in 1898. She had 14 students and taught until March of that year when her Grandfather died and she went back to Cavendish to care for her Grandmother. This
school was used up until 1963 and then closed. The property continued decaying until the middle 1980’s when they decided to restore the school. It’s kept open today for tourists by the Friends of Lucy Maud Montgomery Inc. It runs completely on donations.
We enjoyed some more sea food for lunch at Gateway Village. I had the best Clam
Chowder ever. We did a little more shopping here as well. We soon found out if you’d been to one gift shop, you’d been to them all. The good news was if you couldn’t decide if you wanted to purchase something at one of them, you just had to wait until the next gift
shop and you’d pretty much be guaranteed to find the same thing there.
We had devotions overlooking the Confederation Bridge…it’s a nine mile bridge over a 7 mile bay. We took this bridge back to Nova Scotia rather than riding the ferry again. But not until after we traveled back to Charlottetown and saw the Anne of Green Gable’s Musical. It was quite an entertaining musical although a bit different than the movie, book, or play. I enjoyed it non-the-less. We hopped on the bus after enjoying the show and started to head for home.
ted the day off with Blueberry pancakes, a scone, bacon, a plum and coffee. I also tried blueberry pomegranate juice and grapefruit juice. My preferred choice of juice was still grape though. Our first stop of the day was Lucy Maud Montgomery’s home where she got married. Apparently people from all over the world come there to get married. The Japanese culture loves Anne of Green Gables. In fact, the books were translated into Japanese because they look up to her character so much.
All the furniture in the house was the original furniture when Lucy lived there. There were guest books everywhere we visited, so we made it a point to sign our names wherever we went. They served us tea and cookies after we toured the home and then we took another carriage ride…this time by the Lake of Shining Waters.
We drove to the L.M. Montgomery school at Lower Bedeque where Lucy taught for about a year in 1898. She had 14 students and taught until March of that year when her Grandfather died and she went back to Cavendish to care for her Grandmother. This
school was used up until 1963 and then closed. The property continued decaying until the middle 1980’s when they decided to restore the school. It’s kept open today for tourists by the Friends of Lucy Maud Montgomery Inc. It runs completely on donations.We enjoyed some more sea food for lunch at Gateway Village. I had the best Clam
Chowder ever. We did a little more shopping here as well. We soon found out if you’d been to one gift shop, you’d been to them all. The good news was if you couldn’t decide if you wanted to purchase something at one of them, you just had to wait until the next gift
shop and you’d pretty much be guaranteed to find the same thing there.We had devotions overlooking the Confederation Bridge…it’s a nine mile bridge over a 7 mile bay. We took this bridge back to Nova Scotia rather than riding the ferry again. But not until after we traveled back to Charlottetown and saw the Anne of Green Gable’s Musical. It was quite an entertaining musical although a bit different than the movie, book, or play. I enjoyed it non-the-less. We hopped on the bus after enjoying the show and started to head for home.
Jamie at 8:47 PM
Canada: Day 7
This time we traveled west across Canada instead of going south through the New England states. So, we got to see more of Canada this way including all kinds of French signs. Our waitress at breakfast did a great job of speaking English, but you could tell it wasn’t her first language. We stopped for a few hours in the old walled in city of Quebec and had lunch there. Before we ate lunch we decided to walk around the city and take in the sites. Everywhere you looked, it was beautiful. It was as if everything was calling out, “take my picture!” The old buildings were three or more stories high and simply stunning.It was a rainy and overcast day but we were still surprised to be caught in the middle of a downpour. There were a few thunder claps and strikes of lightening, but the
rain left the biggest imprint on my memory. The roads became a river before our very eyes. We eventually found a tunnel to duck into and shortly after that the water began backing into the tunnel. Our feet were soaked and our pants were drenched half way up to our chins. Poor Leandra was just soaked clear through everywhere because she didn’t have an umbrella. She did have a rain jacket, but alas, it didn’t serve the very purpose of its existence. I offered to share my umbrella, but she didn’t think it necessary at the time. And then the downpour was on us too quickly to react in time. The city was celebrating their 400th anniversary. It seems we had a knack for joining in on anniversary celebrations unintentionally.
After our three hour stay in the Old City of Quebec, we hit the road again and popped in Anne of Avonlea. I’ve seen it several times, but it’s still just as good as it always was. I came to the conclusion that Megan Follows plays Anne better than anyone else. It just comes naturally to her.
That night we went to bed knowing it would be a bright and early morning as we were due to cross the U.S. border at 4:30 a.m. And cross at 4:30 a.m. we did. Of course, getting into the U.S. was much more difficult than getting into Canada. They asked us to get off the bus in a single file line with our passports in hand. So, all 35 of us dragged our greasy selves out of bed and traipsed into the building in our PJs. I’m sure it was quite an entertaining site, although I find it hard to believe the security guards had a humorous bone in their bodies at all. The only facial expression they wore was a solemn look of intimidation. Thankfully we all made it through without any complications. We were scared for Leandra for a few minutes as we watched the security personnel take her passport and walk it way back into another part of the building. Apparently she had asked if they had stamps there. His response was only a grim look until he walked away and then came back with her passport stamped. She was a little nervous there for a bit as were we all. But dog gone it she got her stamp! We were thankful for the bathroom break as well…any bathroom other than the one on the bus was wonderful.
rain left the biggest imprint on my memory. The roads became a river before our very eyes. We eventually found a tunnel to duck into and shortly after that the water began backing into the tunnel. Our feet were soaked and our pants were drenched half way up to our chins. Poor Leandra was just soaked clear through everywhere because she didn’t have an umbrella. She did have a rain jacket, but alas, it didn’t serve the very purpose of its existence. I offered to share my umbrella, but she didn’t think it necessary at the time. And then the downpour was on us too quickly to react in time. The city was celebrating their 400th anniversary. It seems we had a knack for joining in on anniversary celebrations unintentionally.After our three hour stay in the Old City of Quebec, we hit the road again and popped in Anne of Avonlea. I’ve seen it several times, but it’s still just as good as it always was. I came to the conclusion that Megan Follows plays Anne better than anyone else. It just comes naturally to her.
That night we went to bed knowing it would be a bright and early morning as we were due to cross the U.S. border at 4:30 a.m. And cross at 4:30 a.m. we did. Of course, getting into the U.S. was much more difficult than getting into Canada. They asked us to get off the bus in a single file line with our passports in hand. So, all 35 of us dragged our greasy selves out of bed and traipsed into the building in our PJs. I’m sure it was quite an entertaining site, although I find it hard to believe the security guards had a humorous bone in their bodies at all. The only facial expression they wore was a solemn look of intimidation. Thankfully we all made it through without any complications. We were scared for Leandra for a few minutes as we watched the security personnel take her passport and walk it way back into another part of the building. Apparently she had asked if they had stamps there. His response was only a grim look until he walked away and then came back with her passport stamped. She was a little nervous there for a bit as were we all. But dog gone it she got her stamp! We were thankful for the bathroom break as well…any bathroom other than the one on the bus was wonderful.
Jamie at 8:18 PM
Canada: Day 8
We stopped at the Auburn Cracker Barrel and enjoyed some breakfast. I had French toast. We arrived in Upland at 11:30 a.m. and I made it to Fort Wayne at 12:40 p.m. I cannot tell you how excited I was to take a shower and flop on my comfy bed for a nap. As I said before, leaving is great, but so is coming home.So was it worth it? Absolutely! Would I do it again? I think I would. Leandra proved to be a great traveling companion. I imagine we’ll venture out on another road trip sometime soon. Well, not for a while since she’s off to England for a month to work at a camp. But we’ll fit one in sometime after we replenish our vacation funds.
I’m so thankful for this trip. The timing of it was impeccable. How often does someone get an opportunity to do something they’ve desired to do for a long time just plopped in their lap? I see God’s hand all over this. A verse that has come to mean a lot to me over the last couple of months is Psalm 103:1-5
“Praise the Lord, O my Soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.”
In my pain and struggles over the last several weeks, I’ve made it a practice to “forget not all his benefits” by daily taking inventory of everything I’m grateful for and praising God for those things. I’m so amazed that even in pain and suffering, the Lord “satisfies your desires with good things”. My trip to Canada is proof of that. I’m praising the Lord for this and am celebrating his love and compassion.
Jamie at 8:15 PM
Monday, June 09, 2008
Storms, Sleep Over, and a Surprise!
It seems the storm from a week ago has brought a rush of storms into the area. Crazy! I've enjoyed them. Although I imagine everyone whose dealing with flooding in the middle of the state isn't enjoying this so much. Today I was at Dick's Sporting Goods when a storm hit...I looked outside and the rain was flying sideways. The lightening looked wicked...the kind that comes straight down. The electricity actually went out in the store...there weren't many people there so it wasn't that big of a deal. It was kind of fun. I was actually really glad I was there instead of in my apartment on the second floo
r. There's just something about tornadoes and storms on the second floor that doesn't bode well. But I like the second floor on all other accounts...well...perhaps the grocery lugging is a bit challenging at times...but I'm always up for a good challenge.Speaking of storms, Friday night we had a doozy. There were tornadoes in the area. Our small group had hoped to go camping Friday night but took one look at the forecast and thought better of it. Instead all the girls came over here for a good ole sleep over. We had homemade pizza, homemade caramel corn, and lots of other yummy food. One thing is for sure...we never go hungry when we get together. These girls know how to throw a party! We stayed up late
into the night watching a movie and talking. Anyway, at one point we looked outside and the sky was yellow...so we turned on the TV and realized the gravity of the situation. The severe storms were to our east, but there was a chance of tornadoes in our area nonetheless. After about 15 minutes of watching the weather man on the TV we stepped outside on the balcony and beheld a beautiful double rainbo
w. I savored the moment, thinking of God's promises and how He's so good.
into the night watching a movie and talking. Anyway, at one point we looked outside and the sky was yellow...so we turned on the TV and realized the gravity of the situation. The severe storms were to our east, but there was a chance of tornadoes in our area nonetheless. After about 15 minutes of watching the weather man on the TV we stepped outside on the balcony and beheld a beautiful double rainbo
w. I savored the moment, thinking of God's promises and how He's so good.Earlier in the day, I got a phone call from my friend Leandra asking me if I wanted to join her on a bus trip to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. It was quite out of the blue, so after she explained that her sister was unable to go and there was an open spot on the bus I understood a little more of why she was asking me to join her for a road trip to Canada. The crazy thing is it's scheduled for next week! I have always wanted to go there and could hardly believe the opportunity was at my front door. So after the initial shock, I managed to rearrange my schedule, get time off of work, and said a resounding YES! The timing of it couldn't be more perfect. I'd been thinking it would be really nice to take a vacation about now, but had no idea of where to go or what to do. And then, plop, God placed this in my lap. Another moment to look up to the heavens and say, "God, you certainly know better than I...thank you for caring so much".
So, next time I write on here, I'll most likely be sharing beautiful pictures from my road trip. Canada, here I come!
Jamie at 8:55 PM
