Prince Edward Island - Road trip

Today we are planning on exploring the north central coast lines of PEI. The Central Coastal Drive highlights two different touring regions. The Red Sands Shore region (south shore line) is full of culture, outdoor adventure, and small villages. Green Gables Shore (north central shore line) is bursting with beautiful beaches, lots of golf, and of course, Anne of Green Gables and Lucy Maud Montgomery. These two regions gives a person a peak at life on

Prince Edward Island and just how amazing it can be. The majority of the settlement on PEI is in this central region, however, if a person has enough time a trip to either point is also worth a visit.

We did some exploration on the south Red Sands Shore region when we first came into PEI. It has a windy ocean road, with glimpses of red cliffs that stand tall above the ocean. Today we are going to explore a bit of the north shore - Green Gables Shore. Our driving trip was focused on visiting local artists of the area to discover paintings and pottery.

Our first stop was in New London. Unfortunately the pottery shop was closed for the day. Even though the potter was closed for the day, the journey through the hillside of PEI was spectacular.

The region on the north coast is a spectacular piece of Prince Edward Island’s acclaimed scenic landscape composed of red sandstone cliffs, white sand beaches and rolling farm fields. Some of the classic coastline has been protected in PEI National Park, which hugs the north shore in this area. Cavendish Grove is a lovely recent addition to the Park, featuring walking trails, picnic grounds and a stand of sugar maples.

In the early 1900's, Lucy Maud Montgomery was working as an editor for the Halifax Morning Chronicle when she read a newspaper article about a local couple who applied to adopt a boy, but instead was sent a girl. The wheels started turning in Miss Montgomery's head.

In 1905, she wrote a novel about an elderly sister and brother from P.E.I. who apply to adopt a boy, but instead are sent a red-headed,

freckle-faced girl with a wild imagination. Most people would assume that her story was immediately snapped up by a Canadian publisher. But this was not the case. After five rejections, Miss Montgomery put her manuscript in a hat box and tucked it away.

Three years passed. Finally, the author resubmitted her story, this time to an American publisher. It was accepted by L. C. Page of Boston, Massachusetts, the editor unable to resist the feisty freckle faced girl with the fiery red hair. Anne of Green Gables was an immediate success in bookstores, selling more than 19,000 copies in the first five months. It was translated into 20 different languages. Today it has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide.

In 2008, on the centennial of Anne of Green Gables, Canada Post issued a stamp. The design is based on a painting by Ben Stahl, a resident of Prince Edward Island.

We visited the Parks Canada Green Gables Heritage Place while we were up in Cavendish, arguably Canada’s most notable literary landmark. The original green-gabled farmhouse, which inspired author Lucy Maud Montgomery more than a century ago, has been carefully restored to reflect the period, right down to the furnishings in the rooms. Visitors to the National Historic site can tour the house and the outside property and trails like the book’s legendary Lover’s Lane lead into the surrounding woodlands.

After exploring the historical site we headed over to Cavendish beach. In the heart of the island lies Cavendish Beach, inviting white sand, crystal blue water warmed by the Gulf Stream, and red sandstone cliffs that fall from a carpet of green. It is simply breathtaking.

We continued on in our journey across the northern road until we reached Oyster Bed Bridge. Rolling hills are at every turn and farmers fields stretch as far as the eye can see. The north has spectacular beaches, red dirt cliffs, and the ocean road is littered with fishing villages at every cove. PEI has been amazing so far. The island is not very wide and you can drive across it in about 30-45 mins, makes for exploring pretty easy.

Tomorrow we will head out to another part of the island to see what else we an find. No pottery or craft treasures today.. who knows what tomorrow will bring.