Lobster, Ceilidhs and Anne with an "e"

The Mr. and I took a trip to Prince Edward Island earlier this month.  LOVED IT!!  Who knew this tiny little province could be so cool?  

This girl from the prairies was amazed at the beauty -- albeit not the smell -- of the ocean.  We visited so many great beaches.  Red sand or white, we definitely had our pick!

I absolutely adore the Anne of Green Gables movie with Megan Follows, so of course we had to tour all of author L.M. Montgomery's historic sites.  I have to admit, I had never read the book, so that's what I'm doing now.  Even bought a copy for my granddaughter's birthday last week.

The Confederation Bridge spans the Northumberland Strait from P.E.I. to New Brunswick.  It's about 13 km long (10 miles)

And in case you can't get a sense of how impressive this bridge is.......

(the professional picture)

Almost every restaurant we ate at was on the wharf, and every menu offered a plethora of fresh fish and seafood.  I was a good sport and tried my first few bites of lobster and mussels.  Not sure I'm the biggest fan, but The Mr. thought he'd died and gone to heaven.   

And speaking of things to eat.......I'm sure there are more ice cream shops per capita on this small island than anywhere else in the world!  And we enjoyed every one of them!   

One of the many t-shirt designs at Cows Ice Cream Factory.  And just for fun, here are a few other of my favourites:

 

Now let's talk about Ceilidhs.  If you can't pronounce it, you wouldn't be the first.  Apparently it's a Gaelic word, and the "d" and "h" are silent so it is pronounced "Kay-lee".   

A ceilidh is a musical concert with a real homey atmosphere -- story and joke telling, dancing, fiddle playing, etc. -- usually held in community halls.  They are pretty much in every little town on Prince Edward Island, and on pretty much every night of the week.  The Mr. and I decided we better go to one since it was such an island staple.  One word:  AMAZING!!

I'm not sure if all the ceilidhs are this entertaining, but this particular group that we saw -- The Ross Family -- was awesome!  So much talent!!

 A few touristy things we did:

 

Our accommodations for the first four nights on the island were so delightful!  We stayed in a historical home that had been turned into suites.  The decor was so charming and it was so spacious and clean. 

The three upstairs windows were all part of our suite, as well as the entire front balcony to the left.  Can you guess what was below the balcony?   A home-made ice cream parlour!   

When we checked in the first night we were surprised to see our good friends were staying in the same place.  They are Daughter #3's in-laws.  So fun!

I would love to be able to say that all our accommodations were as lovely.  Sadly this was not the case.  The second place -- a 100-year-old home turned into a bed and breakfast -- smelled like it was 100 years old.  Not fun.  And the next place after that sported bathroom fixtures in a lovely shade of pink.  But at least it didn't smell like it was 100 years old!

Prince Edward Island was a true gem -- the landscape was beautiful, the people were friendly, and everyone kept their yards so neat and tidy.  During the entire week that we were there, we only came across one home that had a messy front yard.  Impressive!   

Aside from the beautiful scenery, here are three little glimpses that will always stand out in my mind of PEI:

 
Every house had a clothesline.  And every household used it.

Every little church -- and there were lots of them -- had its own cemetery.

Everywhere we looked there were two red adirondack chairs.  

Clotheslines, and graveyards, and chairs.  Oh my!

Dixie

It's Been a Great Summer!

I've said it before, but it bears repeating:  During the times of my life when I'm involved in things that are worthy to post about, I'm just too busy to post.  One of life's ironies, I suppose.  This summer has been a prime example of that.

My last post described our trip to NYC -- that was just the beginning of our fun!!  Since then we have been keeping busy.

• Celebrated Canada Day in Raymond with a whole lot of family.  Yes, it's a small town, but they know how to throw a party.  I love that practically the whole town is dressed in red and white. 

• Travelled to Utah to spend time with Daughter #3 and her family.  Got there in time to celebrate 4th of July.  The fireworks were EVERYWHERE.  We even set some of our own off.

• Attended my college roommates reunion.  We haven't been together in 36 years -- it was so fun to see everyone again!  (Okay, the picture below is not really us, but it's pretty close to what our clothing and hairstyles were like.  Plus I'm sure if we had of thought of taking our picture there, we would have.)

• Spent a short amount of time with my sister.  Love her to pieces!  Wish we lived closer.  (sniff)

• Brought home Daughter #1's 10-year-old son to stay with us for 11 days.  Of course while he was here we tried to do a few fun things:  

• Hosted a Mexican-themed out-door bridal shower for a girl from church who married her fiancé in Mexico a few weeks later.  

(This is NOT her fiancé.)

• Attended a family reunion at Daughter #2's home.  It was the first time all six of our grandchildren were together.

• Hosted an Olympic party consisting of an international potluck supper and ridiculous sporting events.  Everyone was such good sports -- I was so impressed!!

• Ran a children's week-long musical theatre camp in the Crowsnest Pass.  I actually really enjoyed it.  Daughter #2 was a terrific help.  It was so great to be able to have three of my own grandchildren in it, and a fourth one helping me with technical stuff.

So this almost brings us to the end of August.  But is our fun over yet?  No.  The Mr. and I are still looking forward to our trip to Prince Edward Island.  More to come!

Dixie

The Big Apple

Disclaimer:  The cell phone pictures on this blog are pathetic, but unfortunately that's all I've got.

Ten years ago the Mr. and I took our three youngest children to New York City -- we loved every minute of it.  Recently we were lucky enough to experience the sights, sounds and smells of the big apple once again.  This time around we went with his parents, because it was on their bucket list, especially his mom's.

Some of the highlights:

• Three Broadway plays ("Finding Neverland" was my favourite -- loved it!)

• A tribute to Cole Porter at Carnegie Hall (Although the concert was fantastic, it was the clothing choice of one particular man in the audience who held our attention.  He was wearing dress pants, and a suit jacket with nothing under it.  Except a bare, hairy chest.  Oh, and a gold chain.)

• A Yankees Baseball game (This was my first major league baseball game.  I've always wanted to buy peanuts and cracker jacks and sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th Inning Stretch.  It didn't disappoint!)

• Hop On/Hop Off Bus seeing the highlights of Manhatten

• Harbour Cruise to see the Statue of Liberty

• Times Square (So many people and lights everywhere -- crazy, but I kind of like it.  At least for a week.  Even the McDonalds has marquee lights!)

• Riding the Subway (I absolutely love being among the locals.  It feels so real.)

• Eating at fun restaurants.  (The Stardust Diner with the singing wait staff is always a hit!)

• Central Park (Here's The Mr. chillin' in "Strawberry Fields" -- John Lennon and Yoko Ono's favourite part of the park, which was just steps away from their five-story apartment seen in the background.   Several different people with guitars stopped by to sing Beatles songs.  Some were pretty decent entertainers.  Others, not so much.)

The Mr and I had such a great time with his parents.  I'm so glad his mom suggested it.  I only hope we don't have to wait another 10 years before we return.

Dixie