Sunday, October 08, 2006

Anne's Land

Day two of our trip started out beautifully, with a delicious breakfast served by our two wonderful hosts at the Elmwood Heritage Inn. This historic bed and breakfast is elegantly decorated and has a warm, cozy atmosphere that feels just like home. Well, not our home, of course, but what our home could be if we hired someone to decorate our home and fix our food. After breakfast, we received some insider tips from our hosts and were off on our first full day of adventuring.

Today's main destination was truly a lifelong dream coming to fulfillment as we made our way through the breathtaking landscape to the Anne of Green Gables Heritage Place, a part of the Canada National Parks system. Here we toured the house that inspired Green Gables, which was actually owned by relatives of the author Lucy Maud Montgomery. The house was restored using the descriptions from the books and items typically used during the late 1800s. We walked through rooms that represented those of Anne, Marilla, and Matthew and I could easily imagine many of the scenes from the treasured story.

Another perfect fall day made walking through the trails surrounding the house a magical experience. These were the woods that L. M. Montgomery traipsed through during her childhood and the woods that Anne, Diana, and Gilbert traveled through in their adventures. Stacy and I marveled at the serenity of Lover's Lane and the creepiness of the Haunted Woods.


Interesting things learned today:

1. L. M. Montgomery was rejected five times for her novel, Anne of Green Gables. Luckily, she and her grandmother ran the post office from their kitchen so no one else ever knew.

2. Cheese sticks here can be ordered with a Donair sauce. It seems that this is a regional specialty made from milk, sugar, and vinegar. Stacy is very brave.

3. A mysterious black fly has been following us all day long. Just the one. It is very odd.

4. Ryann's favorite Stacy quotes of the day:

"I think I've had enough meat for today." - I've never heard him say those words before.

"I have to think that it's just a book." - Good thing we opted for the suite so he'll have somewhere to sleep tonight.

Just kidding, he's a doll and we all know that. Who else would go willingly into the Haunted Woods?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Too exciting!! You're on PEI!! And a picture outside of Green Gables, no less -- take my kindred spirit around with you tomorrow, I want to see everything ;) Seriously, enjoy the trip and I can't wait to hear ALL about it.

Amy

Ryann said...

Your kindred spirit is alive and well with us here Amy! We took 71 pictures yesterday and I can't wait to show them to you. The grounds around GG were so beautiful...so can easily see her inspiration. BTW, I've seen quite a few families here...

Ryann