Traveling Off Season

The biggest advantage to traveling off-season is lack of crowds. We got a taste of what it would be like during tourist season when we visited the Green Gables National Historic Site. This is the real house that inspired the house in the book Anne of Green Gables. Cousins of the author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, lived in the house, and she visited frequently.

We arrived early afternoon at the same time as three tour buses and ended up walking through the house with throngs of people. After walking some of the trails, also described in the book, we walked through the house again when only a few other tourists were there. Much nicer.

The other advantage to traveling here this time of year is that some places, such as our campground, are discounted ($32 per night instead of $37.50). The biggest disadvantage may be the weather, although up until now the weather’s been pleasant if not perfect. It was actually in the 70’s a few days, and we’ve enjoyed the fall colors. It has rained a few times, but mostly it's been sunny. Another disadvantage may be that many places are closed, but most of them we didn’t want to pay admission for anyway. The parks are all closed, but that doesn’t stop people from using them. You just park outside the gate and walk on in. We’ve had some great picnic spots at deserted parks.

Not everything is closed. One day when the forecast was “Windy” (and it was very windy), we drove to the northwest tip of the island to see a wind farm. This is where they test various types of windmills. There was an excellent interpretive center with displays and videos that explained wind, energy, local history and natural history. David seemed to enjoy learning about the windmills and watching them in action. Then later we rode our bikes on another segment of the ubiquitous Confederation Trail. David rode on ahead, as usual, and I was poking along admiring the scenery when it started to rain then pour. By the time we got back to the car, we were drenched and muddy. “But the forecast was 0% chance of rain,” said David. “I shouldn’t have left the hatch open over the bed.” He worried about it the rest of the day, but fortunately the bed was dry.

Party after 1864 Convention

It rained all night and continued into the morning, but it was warm. We got a late start and went to Charlottetown, the biggest town in the province. We visited St Dunstan’s Basilica, an ornate cathedral w/ marble columns, and the Province House National Historic Site, where in 1864 delegates from the Maritimes and Canadian colonies got together to discuss forming a confederation. That explains the “Confederation” bridge, “Confederation” Trail and other “Confederation” places. The PEI legislature still meets in the Province House. We found a 2-for-1 lunch special at a tiny Japanese restaurant. By afternoon it had pretty much stopped raining, and we walked around the historic area. Reminded me a lot of New England but that’s probably because it was built in the same time period.

Potato Field

The next few days we drove and drove and drove, from one end of the island to the other. If you drive straight, it’s not too long, but we took the scenic routes, of course, and  so it really was a lot of driving. We drove a few more heritage roads. “What if we meet someone,” said David on a particularly narrow one. “There’s nowhere to pull over.” Shortly after, we came face to face with a two-horse-drawn piece of farm machinery. They stopped and pulled as far as possible into the woods while we inched by. The next road was hard to find, long and hilly. After a couple miles, it started ascending a steep hill. It got narrower and muddier and then looked like no one was really using it. “This looks like a trail,” said David. “We can’t go any farther.” Fortunately we were able to turn around and find another way out.

On this day we had a hard time finding a place to picnic. Each time we stopped  and started to walk over to a picnic table, we got swarmed by mosquitoes. So we kept driving and driving. Finally at 2:00 we found a beach park with no mosquitoes. We sat at a picnic table on the edge of a low red cliff with a perfect view of the ocean and a red sand beach.
I saw a large bird flying. “That’s a bald eagle!” I said. It alighted at a distance on top of the tallest tree. I got out the binocs and yes, it really was a bald eagle. As we ate I heard baying in the distance. I looked through the binoculars at some grey and brown rocks offshore. They were seals. Later we stopped at Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Birthplace. It was a small house on a corner. There were three or four other tourists milling about. A tour guide started talking to David and told him a month ago the place would have been mobbed. For diehard Anne of Green Gables fans, there are many sites to visit relating to the author, including a recreated village of Avonlea with people dressed up as characters in the book and acting out various scenes. All of these sites were closed for the season.

When all is said and done, we’re glad we’re here now. Then again, it’s only October 6. Next week in Nova Scotia, will we still feel the same?