The Motorcoach picked us up at the Campground at Noon for a
12 hour tour of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. A few of us were excited for the “reasonable”
hour of departure but our wise wagon master reminded us that we would not be
returning to the campground until going on midnight! Oh well --- the pros and cons! Haha.
Despite whatever hour we depart for the day’s events everyone is smiling
and excited to begin a new adventure in this beautiful part of the world!
We celebrated the anniversary of David and Gretta Storrs –
the Wagonmaster and Tailgunner wives make sure everyone is aware when a
birthday or anniversary is on the calendar and make sure we have a chance to
honor them --- it usually involves food!
Happy Anniversary to a sweet couple from Fort Myers, FL.
This is the 3rd or 4th Motorcoach tour
we have had with our own personal guide to explain the area and the
significance of the sites as we pass by --
Now, our first guide in Quebec City, Roger, was over the top
with projection of his voice and enthusiasm for his city and heritage, a very
powerful speaker. Since then we have had
some really nice guides who were very informative, however, their voices did
not project as well and some of group had a chance to catch a few much needed
zzzzz’s while on the bus!
Our first stop was at the Cows Ice Cream Factory.
Now, COWS Ice Cream is the BEST ice cream in Canada – they
will tell you that emphatically. (If you
are ever in Marblehead, OH, let me know I’ll fill you in on Tofts Ice
Cream) And I have to say we have had our
share of ice cream since coming here and they are right! It is very good. The tour began with a short film about their
company and their logo which has turned into a merchandise establishment also
--- especially in the T-shirt area ---
they use today’s pop culture and turn any phrase and current
show, craze, etc using “cow” language!
They are too cute!
We went on to watch them making the T-shirts and saw how the
graphic designers meet with those who come up with the ideas.
Very interesting. Of
course this is an ice cream factory so we also saw those making and mixing the
different flavors of ice cream.
They treated us all to a “taste” of their special “wowie
cowie” flavor which of course just whet our appetite for a “full size” cone, we all lined up to get our own special flavor. Have I mentioned that we eat a lot on this
trip??
After all the smiling and sighs of satisfaction we moved on
to the Province House National Historic
Site of Canada.
This is the birthplace of Confederation
and the seat of Prince Edward Island’s provincial legislature since 1847. Province House Historic Site stands as a
landmark in Charlottetown. Visitors can
learn about the history of the site and the current Legislative Assembly
through guided tours, displays and an audio-visual presentation.
We had a guided tour with the sweetest young
lady. She was enthusiastic, animated and
very knowledgeable. Her mannerisms and
enthusiasm reminded me of a niece of mine, Amy, and made me smile.
She made it all very interesting as she pointed out the
“original” parts of Province House and those that were replicas. Outside on the lawn there are period actors
dressed in the fashion of that day.
I understand that they will interact with you and we plan to
suggest a few minutes be set aside for that in future Adventure Caravan tours
to this area.
Back on the bus, we made a stop at Red Shoes Race Track, Victoria Park, Historic George Street. No need to worry, it was only about a 15
minute stop for pictures and viewing the historic landmarks.
There was no time for anyone to bet their “caravan” trip
money, lose it and have to return home before the end of their tour.
Back on the bus to be dropped off for a Downtown Walking Tour. The
city had many fun shops and restaurants with a live band playing music in the
middle of the square.
Since we had 1-1/2 hrs or so to eat dinner before the show,
most of us spent that time looking at the various restaurants and deciding
where we would eat --- I think I mentioned we don’t go hungry on this
trip!! Some chose Fish and Chips, Some
Nachos (not saying who?) Some chose steak, enough of this lobster and other
seafood stuff!! Haha. We had a great time visiting and enjoying the
ambiance of the city of Charlottetown.
Okay, the grand finale of the day – the “Anne of Green Gables” musical performed at the Confederation Centre of Arts.
This is a musical based on the novel “Anne of Green Gables” by Lucy Maude Montgomery. The playbook is by
Don Harron, the music is by Norman Campbell and the lyrics by Don Harron,
Norman Campbell, Elaine Campbell and Mayor Moore. The musical has been performed continuously
ever since 1965. In March of 2014, the
production was officially recognized as the longest-running annual musical
theatre production in the world by the Guinness World Records.
I’m sure you have read in the previous day’s blogs that
since we came to PEI it has been all about “Anne”. If you have never heard of the book or seen
the movie you are still brought in and are captured by the magic. You too will find it hard to believe she is
just a figment of the author’s imagination and really did not exist. I fell in love with Anne while visiting PEI
and will always remember all the sites, gift shops, chocolate stores and the
drama of “Anne”.
We happened to be there on the 50th anniversary
show – they served birthday cake, ice cream, punch, coffee, etc to everyone in
attendance (here we go eating again!!)
There were green “Anne
of Green Gables” balloons everywhere.
Their were moving speeches before the production from the
daughter of the the Campbells, (who had been in the audience as a child for the
first showing 50 yrs ago) and from Don Harron, now age 90, about the experience
and history and the making of the musical.
It was a wonderful tribute to prepare us for a wonderful performance. I believe we started and ended our day with
the best! Ice cream and a musical!! Wow!!
The hour drive back to the campground on the bus was a quiet
one after everyone had shared their enjoyment of the show and the day. Some were getting a head start on their
“night’s” sleep. However, the day was
not over--- as the bus pulled in to the campground --- there on the edge of the
road sat just as “pretty as you please” a beautiful red fox --- looked like she
was just posing for us!
So neat!! As I always
say, “Sit back and wait for the unexpected!”
We talked to an employee of the KOA the next evening and
found that it returns every night between 9 & 10. Why???
Because, even though it is against all rules, the night security
gentleman of the KOA feeds him. I guess
during the wee hours of the morning you get a little lonely and the company of
a Mama fox and her pups can make your night!
We had to go back the next
evening and watch for him and sure enough there he was.
Submitted by:
#8 Bill and Sheila Martin
