Making our Way Back to Maine

The carful of kids trekked through the Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place, transported back in time as described by L. M. Montgomery's famous books. We're on the move again headed back to the US, but first, we want to see some of the stuff that we missed due to Hurricane Arthur.

The carful of kids took a ferry to Prince Edward Island (PEI) from Nova Scotia but now we will take the Confederation Bridge across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait to New Brunswick. Remember it's free to get to PEI but there's a charge to get off--across the bridge or on the ferry; the toll for the bridge is $45.50 CAN.
Ouch, but the ferry is more.

Back on the mainland of New Brunswick, the carful of kids want to see the Reversing Falls of the Saint John River which are effected by the tidal shifts of the Bay of Fundy. If you catch it during high tide the water of the Bay of Fundy goes against the downstream current of the Saint John River. During low tide, the Saint John River rushes into the Bay of Fundy making some intense rapids.

The carful of kids are headed to the Saint Croix International Park next, there is a Canadian park and an American park dedicated to Saint Croix Island. You will not be able to visit the island from either side and the Canadian national park is not staffed so we stop at the American park.

In the winter of 1604-1605, Pierre Dugua's French Expedition spent a hard winter on the island without fresh water or game, half of the men died. During the spring the expedition moved on but this was the beginning of the French presence in North America, especially through the St. Lawrence River region.

After taking the self-guided trail with bronze statues commemorating the expedition, we arrive at an overlook to see Saint Croix Island. The carful of kids fill out their Junior Ranger booklets and the Park Ranger gives us a great history of the area before we take the Junior Ranger Oath and get our patches.

Down the road from the Saint Croix International Park is Roosevelt Campobello International Park, where F. D. R. spent his summers as a child. It is open from sunrise to sunset during the summer.

The carful of kids are in Maine because my oldest son did a school project on Maine and wanted to pick some blueberries. Unfortunately, they had a hard winter so the season is running a little late. The blueberries are not ready.

While researching, I found this roadside stop that we are racing to see before they close in Columbia Falls, Maine. Wild Blueberry Land is a building that is shaped like a giant blueberry and everything is blueberry-themed, but alas it is closed.

Time for a Whoopie Pie instead, the official state treat of Maine.

Up Next: Acadia National Park

Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place

The carful of kids are spending the day immersed in the iconic Prince Edward Island setting of the Anne of Green Gables series by Lucy Maud Montgomery. We are surrounded by red-headed girls, young and old, of every nationality, dressed in green gingham dresses with braids, myself included.

The original book in the beloved series, Anne of Green Gables, was first published in 1908 and has millions of fans worldwide. For those who aren't familiar with the story, it is about Anne Shirley, a red-haired orphan who is mistakenly sent to Prince Edward Island to Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a brother and sister who own a farm, instead of the boy that they request. Through a series of good-hearted mishaps Anne endears herself to the Cuthberts, along with her schoolmates and neighbors of Avonlea.

The Green Gables Heritage Place is a popular national park so the carful of kids arrive when they open at 9 a.m. (family admission $19.60 CAN, or $7.80 adult and $3.90 youth). This includes a tour of the Green Gables house, the barn, the interpretive movie at the visitors center along with two trails--the Haunted Wood Trail and the Balsam Hollow Trail but not the Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish Home that is located nearby.

As we walk through the Green Gables house, the carful of kids look at all the details and I am especially enchanted; it is like being in a life-sized doll house. L.M. Montgomery didn't actually live in the house, it belonged to her grandfather's cousins; she lived nearby.

The carful of kids wander down the Balsam Hollow Trail to Lover's Lane before taking a break to sip on a Raspberry Cordial. Afterwards, we head to the site of Lucy Maud Montgomery's Cavendish Home along the Haunted Wood trail.

As we walk along the woodland trail enjoying the scenery, the carful of kids run into Anne Shirley in the flesh. The kids tell Anne that they live in Texas and try to explain their life to the turn of the century character.

We arrive at the L. M. Montgomery's Cavendish Home ($3.00 CAN adults, $1.00 youth 16 & under) where she lived and wrote the first two books in the Anne of Green Gables series. All that remains is the foundation of the original home; there is a gift shop and artifacts of the Cavendish post office that was in her grandfather's home when L.M. Montgomery lived there.

The town of Cavendish is devoted to Anne of Green Gables, even the working post office has a museum dedicated to the series. After spending the day seeing the historic sites, the carful of kids are ready for some beach time.


Though we are fairly far north, the water at the Prince Edward Island National Park near Cavendish is warmer than I anticipated because of its protected location. In August, it reaches a high temperature of close to 70F, so it's great for splashing and wading.


As we call it a day, the carful of kids spot an actual Canadian Mountie riding around Cavendish.

Up next: Blueberries, Lobster and Acadia National Park

Prince Edward Island Getaway

The carful of kids are on the move again, we have our eyes set on Prince Edward Island for the potatoes, seafood and Anne of Green Gables. I have activities planned for two days that will take us across the majority of the island.

The hull lifts and you drive into the ferry

The carful of kids have to get to Prince Edward Island (PEI) first, we were, most recently, exploring the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia--one of the most scenic drives in Canada. After a quick night at a bed and breakfast in Pictou, the carful of kids are ready to drive the SUV into the hull of the 8 a.m. Northumberland Ferry that departs Caribou, Nova Scotia, to Wood Island, PEI.

We pass another ferry.

The carful of kids have an American-sized SUV so that means we are oversized in Canada and we are directed to the taller of two vehicle levels on the ferry. No one is allowed to stay in their vehicle during the crossing but there is enough to occupy passengers on the 75-minute voyage.

The carful of kids head to the cafeteria for a quick bite before we explore the rest of the ferry. Right on schedule, we arrive at the ferry terminal in PEI.

Our first scheduled stop is Happy Clammers but we have a couple of minutes so we head over to the Point Prim Lighthouse. It was constructed in 1845 of brick and is the oldest lighthouse of the 30 lighthouses on PEI.

They offer a tour and the carful of kids scale a series of ladders to the top of the 60-foot round structure where we find a fabulous view of the Northumberland Strait. The carful of kids walk through the living quarters of the lighthouse keeper--they are spartan and look cold in the winter.

Loaded back in the SUV, we arrive at the home of Goldie and Gilbert Gillis, the Happy Clammers, for our next adventure. The carful of kids want to dig up our lunch and Gilbert is showing us how.

After a quick introduction, Gilbert loads everyone up and heads over to his secret spot for the biggest, juiciest clams at low tide. To find and dig up clams, we start looking for the tiny little bubbles popping up through the red sand that signals a clam underneath. We carefully slide our shovel eight inches into the sand and if we're lucky, we'll find a soft-shelled clam.

And we do, the kids instantly love it and run all over the beach, looking for tiny bubbles. With the guide that Gilbert gives us, we check the size of our clam to see if it's big enough and then throw it into the bucket for lunch.

After our group fills a bucket, we head back to the Gillis' house for lunch. Goldie has clam chowder ready for us with some homemade biscuits--a real treat. The carful of kids top it off with the fresh steamed clams dipped in butter.

At Goldie & Gilbert

Happy Clammers with Goldie and Gilbert is a must for your visit to PEI with or without kids. They are an extremely nice couple and great with families--Goldie will whip up some buttered pasta for a picky eater too! Make reservations ahead of time for this popular activity.

Outside the Province House

After saying good-bye to Goldie and Gilbert, the carful of kids drive on to Charlottetown, the provincial capital of PEI, for some Canadian history. The carful of kids walk around the quaint downtown area filled with interesting shops and sidewalk cafes before arriving at the Province
House.

In 1864, the Charlottetown Conference commenced to debate joining the Maritime Union and the Canadian Confederation. The Province House is open to the public and is a Historic Landmark complete with costumed re-enactors to reinforce the history lesson.

After our history lesson, the carful of kids load up and drive over to the Prince Edward Island National Park. I'm a lover of old historic hotels so we stop at the Dalvay by the Sea. Built in 1895, it's a summer resort tucked in the park and hosted HRH Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, in 2011.

The carful of kids are getting hungry so before calling it a day we head over to the Prince Edward Island Preserve Company, a charming business that makes and sells tea, jams and preserves among other things.

The carful of kids dive into the Lobster Pot Pie and the Seafood Bubbly Bake after sharing some PEI mussels along with PEI potatoes, both of which are island specialities. We eat everything but find room for dessert--Raspberry Pie.

The Prince Edward Island Preserve Company
has a garden of hope filled with butterfly-loving plants and that is where the carful of kids watch the sun set before finding our cottage close to Cavendish.

Up Next: The Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place