Off to Cavendish! This is the beautiful country side that inspired the book Anne of Green Gables. Neither Karen nor I had ever read the book, but we knew that everything in PEI was all about Anne, so we listened to the book on tape in the car. Even though everything was closed (and I mean EVERYTHING) because "the season" doesn't start until May, it was still beautiful country and just what you would expect based on the book. The soil really is that red. It's like the Red River in Texas. The redness of the soil is due to its high iron-oxide (rust) content. It looks brown in this picture but it's a rich red.
The house that inspired the book was actually the author's grandfather's cousin's house. It is now in a national park. And it's only open Sunday through Thursday. Wait, that means it's closed on Friday and Saturday?! What's up with that??? Oh well. We were able to get this close to the house and take pictures. Maybe that's enough.
As we left Cavendish, we put Lee on his "no highways" setting so he would find scenic routes. In Clinton, we found this "panorama park" that was a dirt road circular driveway. But it was a beautiful view.
We've been enjoying the witty language of Lonely Planet. Check out their tongue-in-cheek honesty describing this area:
"Anyone familiar with Anne of Green Gables might have lofty ideas of finding Cavendish as a quaint village bedecked in flowers and country charm; guess again. While the Anne and Lucy Maud Montgomery sites are right out of the imagination-inspiring book pages, Caendish itself is a mishmash of manufactured attractions with no particular town center. The junctions of Rte 6 and Hwy 13 is the tourist center and the area's commercial hub. When you see the service station, wax museum, church, cemetery, and assorted restaurants, you know you're there. This is the most visited community on PEI outside of Charlottetown and, although an eyesore in this scenic region, it is kiddie wonderland."
"If you haven't read the 1908 novel, you really should try while you are on the island -- not just to enjoy it, but to try to understand all the hype."
"If you're traveling with kids or just have a fascination with kitch, you could try some of the many other establishments that cluster around Green Gables on Rte 6. All are open daily form July to Labour Day. Black Magic Indoor Blacklight Mini Golf fulfils lifelong dreams of golfing in the dark while the Fantazmagoric Museum of the Strange & Unusual takes you far from Anne's Land to the sands of fake Egypt and a detailed replica of King Tut's tomb. Kids will love Jurrasic Bart's Dinosaur Museum & Petting Farm to look at dinosaur remains and the highlight: Jurassic poop."
"There are more opportunities than these to explore your inner kid so bust out the credit card and enjoy."
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