Day 3 of 9 in Prince Edward Island

After a great "free day" for our guests yesterday, this morning we would be boarding a bus for some sightseeing for most of the day. We needed to pack a light lunch for the bus ride so I ventured off for an early walk through Charlottetown in search of a deli sandwich. The first place I went into was a little bakery/deli about a block from the hotel, but unfortunately their deli person wasn't in until later. Then I remembered passing the restaurant called "The Merchant Man" last night and that they had a branch of their establishment called "MM Grab 'n Go" so I headed in that direction. I met a lovely young lady and we had a great chat about food as she made me a freshly prepared smoked meat sandwich with sprouts and all the fixings I could want. 

 

 

 

On the way back to the hotel lobby to meet up with the group...

  

...I happen to pass the Anne of Green Gables Store with a Lamborghini parked out front! No, you don't need to earn that much to shop there, I just thought it was cool for 2 reasons: 1, let be honest, I'm a Guy and that's a Lamborghini!; and 2, today was our Anne of Green Gables Tour day.

When I got back to the hotel...

 

...our bus driver Bob was there to greet us and take our group on our next adventure. He turned out to be a lot of fun and has a great sense of humor. See that sliding door - this was particularly funny. Why? Well, closer to our end of the travel day, we had stopped at a local gift shop so we could do some shopping. Afterwards I came out to see Bob with a wire coat hanger trying to unlatch the door lock from his driver's door, so I asked him "what's going on Bob?" He replied "I locked the keys in the bus. They're in the ignition." He was very frustrated with his carelessness. I asked him if he wanted help and he politely declined. I went around to the other side of the bus where our tour guest Patricia was standing and I took both hands and was able to silently open the sliding door. Patricia was very happy with my success, but I told her "shhh, don't say anything." I was able to enter the bus without Bob seeing, and I crawled over to the ignition and removed the keys. He was still struggling, and very focused with getting the wire hooked onto the door latch mechanism, when I stood up INSIDE THE BUS with the keys in my hand and I said "Do you want me to bring these to you!'. The look on his face was priceless! He had no I sea I was able to get in, and it was a hilarious moment as I opened the door and handed him the keys. The great thing is that we have him as our bus guide for the next 2 bus rides and we get to razz him about that... Seriously though, we are happy to have him because he is a good sport.

We left the hotel and did some sightseeing along the way:

 

 

...and then we arrived at the Campbell Home that Lucy Maud Montgomery called the "wonder castle of my childhood".

 

It was built in 1872 by her Uncle John and Aunt Annie Campbell and it is still in the Campbell family to this day. Today we met Pam Campbell and she is a second cousin to L.M. Montgomery. It was here that she visited many times as a child and when it came to her wedding day she was married in this very house.

 

This is the exact organ in the house that was used at her wedding on July 5, 1911.

 

After a look around the house and a house drawn carriage ride around the property we were invited to have tea and cookies with the Campbell's. Then we got to try our hand at planting blue potatoes in the field.

We then departed on a short scenic drive along the north side of the island to Cavendish to the Lucy Maud Montgomery Home which is a Canadian Historical Site and is located within Prince Edward Island National Park. 

 

All that's left of her original home is now just the foundation. We visited the museum & book store on the property and met with David MacNeill who is her first cousin twice removed. He told us of the history of the property before we headed through the Haunted Woods behind what was once was her original home.

 

That trail took us to the Cavendish Cemetery...

 

...and the final resting place of Lucy Maud Montgomery...

 

...and then the trail took us to where other family homes sit.

 

 

...and we got to explore inside these homes that are rich in history and artifacts from a time gone by.

We then met up with our bus driver Bob again and he took us on a tour...

 

Along the north coast of PEI to experience...

 

...the red cliffs and waves of the north shore.

From there we travelled to the dunes:

 

...and after some local shopping...

 

...we made our way back to Charlottetown just in time for the hotel to greet us with a complimentary wine & beer reception.

We met as a group and reminisced about our adventurous day. By this point we needed supper and so we made a reservation at the Gahan House Pub & Brewery and we all ate and drank together there... And below my sign-off is again a random selection of photos of our meals.  Tomorrow we are checking out of the Hotel on Pownal in Charlottetown and making our way (via a great winery and amazing local Chef) to the most well known 5-star property on PEI: The Inn at Bay Fortune and the home of Chef Michael Smith. Stay tuned!

Until next time... Happy Cooking!