Oddities & Musums Galore ~ PEI

We have been at Marco Pololand RV Resort for a week and wanted to extend our stay for another but sadly they were all booked up, so if you come this way be sure to book early and for as long as you want to stay.  Finally we found another park & made, Sun N Shade Campground (click here for review) located on the right on 1 a couple of miles after you get off Confederation Bridge.

These yards had such GREAT stuff decorating them and the view on the last photo was incredible

So we had a few of days of visiting some interesting places ~ first to visit was while we were driving down the road.  We saw some very interesting things on the side of the road.  Love the way the people here get into decorating their yards with whatnots and stuff.  So we ran across this place that said Hannah's Bottle Houses so we had to stop and check it out ~ there was no charge to see them but you could leave a donation if you wanted too.  The houses were made entirely of cement and bottles of all kinds.  Each house was dedicated to one of their grandchildren, a sister, mother and their father.
Each on had a theme ~ there was a house, schoolhouse, tavern, and a lighthouse.  What a fun place to visit and what a gorgeous place to have a house and the small little village. Also all the money collected went to a charity.

What an amazing little village

Another stop we made was to the Canadian Potato Museum which is located in the community of O'Leary. It is surrounded by fertile potato growing fields where the humble potato has played an important role in their economy for many years. The museum depicts an interesting display of the potato industry, and houses a large collection of farm implements and machinery related to the growing and harvesting of potatoes. In fact, this museum contains the largest exhibit of potato artifacts in the world!  There is also a small cafe where you can get ~ wait for it ~ Potatoes in almost any form,,, French fried, baked, soup, cinnamon rolls, fudge, cakes, cookies, etc etc. Collectors of the curious will be pleased to find the giant sculptured potato at the entrance to the museum is made of fiberglass and stands 14 feet high and is 7 feet in diameter.

 The most popular potato on PEI, the Russet Burbank, is for frozen french fries and as a baking potato. Other varieties grown include Shepody, Kennebec, Superior, Yukon Gold, Goldrush, Century Russet, and Chieftain. Currently more than 30 varieties of potatoes are grown to supply customers in North and South America, Europe, the mid-East and Africa.

The complex includes other attractions on site such as the Heritage Chapel, the Log Barn and the Little Red Schoolhouse.

It was a fun day for us and we really learned alot about potatoes... LOL LOL Thanks to my latest followers Leeanne & Gary from The BoonDocks who are fairly new to our fulltiming lifestyle ~ so go on over and pay them a visit.

Have Fun & Travel Safe

 

Driving Around the Island ~ Farmlands and more ♥

PEI Dirt Shirt Factory

We wanted to go exploring so we loaded up in the car and headed out for a day of fun.... Right down the road from us is the PEI Dirt Shirt Factory...So we headed there to see what it was all about ~ it was about washing shirts and stuff in the RED dirt of PEI.  Seriously they put it in a cement mixer with red dirt and water and tumble it ~ then they wash it and dry it ~ then they put it on a hanger for you to buy... Someone was thinking! lol lol
However it does seem to be a great idea and they sell a ton of them all over the Island.



After that we started just driving around with a few things on our list to see ~ I am so overcomed by the beauty of this little Island and can't get over the beautiful views of the Canola fields, Corn fields and Potato fields along with the quaint coastal towns. I wanted to share so many views with you from our drive that I decided a slide show was in order... Sit back and enjoy the beauty of Prince Edward Island.

 

How beautiful was that???  Also I want to mention that the people we have met on this Island are some of the friendliest we have ever seen in all our travels... This is but one story of many while we visited this wonderful Island.  Meet Rolland & Brenda Smith ~ while looking for the Cheese Lady Gouda Farm we kinda got a little lost and they were working on their yard so we stopped and asked for directions.  After a few minutes and a thank you we were on our way to the Gouda Factory ~ sadly it was closed by the time we got there so we turned around... when passing their farm again we stopped and thanked them for the directions.  We also wanted to tell them how beautiful their home and all was.  Well that lead to an invite inside to see the renovations that they were making to the house and how he had taken an antique stove and was converting it into an electric one.  What a wonderful time we had visiting and what gracious people they were.  Also how talented is Roland doing all this woodwork and converting this beautiful antique stove into an electric one including an oven.

All the woodwork was hand done by Roland ~ even the ceilings ~ It was really stunning work

Last but not least I had to share this ~ while driving along we saw a farmer rolling his hay bales. Like a kid it excited me watching him suck up the hay like a vacuum and spit it out all rolled out ☺

Thanks for coming by and letting go on so long

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!

Victoria by the Sea ~ PEI Day 3

Victoria-by-the-Sea is absolutely adorable, if not enchanted little town. It truly is right by the water and even has its own lighthouse. It is a charming village located in central Prince Edward Island, Canada. The historic seaport, tucked neatly on the south shore of the Island, halfway between Charlottetown and Summerside, was founded in 1819. You can get a true sense of the history of the village by viewing the exhibit Keeper’s of the Light at the Victoria Seaport Museum. You can also stroll the tree-lined streets that were laid out in the 1860’s, dine in one of the many little restaurants or sample handmade chocolates in one of the former general stores, attend a play in the historic community hall or watch the lobster fishers land their catch on the wharf.

When we saw the map of the town, we realized that this place is just as small as we thought it was: just four blocks. Yet! The town has so much to offer: cafes', a chocolate shop, restaurants, B&Bs, glass studio, candle shop, yarn shop, antiques shop and even a playhouse.

I loved this area of PEI. I think this little treasure of a spot was one of the highlights of our time here on Prince Edward Island. I love older houses with tons of charm and Victoria-by-the-Sea seems to be designed around my dreams of the kind of place I have always wanted to live. In some ways it felt magical.  We walked all through the town and visited several of the shops.  By far my favorite was the candle shop.  There's not much Ben Smith and his daughter likes more than sharing their passion for candle making with anyone who comes by his Enchanted Candle shop and his candles are definitely one of a kind. Each is hand carved...there are no two ever exactly alike.... Ben describes his process as "a mysterious power of physics" allowing him to create blanks from hot wax fused with red sand from the Victoria shore.  It was a wonderful experience visiting with Ben and his daughter and we did buy several of his beautiful candles.

We also enjoyed the Yarn Shop and Chocolate Factory....

After walking around town we got pretty hungry so we went out to the docks and had lunch at the Lobster Barn ~ It was really good food and our waitress Christa was really fun!  I had the Lobster roll with French Fries and Ralph had a Hamburger with Fries... YUMMO!

It was a great day spent with friends ~ a great little town with a lot to see & do ~ they also boasted having the largest Oak on the Island ~ we highly recommend you visit here and enjoy the quaintness!

Largest Oak Tree on the Island

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!

Prince Edward Island with friends ~ Day 1 & 2

Following Elaine & Rick over Confederation Bridge

Our 4 days at Rick & Elaine's was fabulous ~ we had so much fun with them! Today we caravaned to Prince Edward Island for a 2 week stay.  Our first week we stayed at Marco Pololand RV Park in Cavendish.  It was a fairly nice park and was really super kid friendly.  I was excited because we were right in the heart of Anne of Green Gables... Author L.M.Montgomery was from here and a lot of her books were based on her life and the area she loved so dearly but with the fictional character Anne Shirley.  I read these books when I was young and shared them with my daughters and they with theirs...  We traveled through beautiful countryside and went over a really huge bridge to PEI.  The Confederation Bridge is a bridge spanning the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick,  Canada. It is commonly referred to as the "Fixed Link" by residents of Prince Edward Island prior to its official naming. Construction took place from the autumn of 1993 to the spring of 1997, costing $1.3 billion. The 8 mile long bridge opened on 31 May 1997.  Most of the curved bridge is 131 ft above water, and it contains a 197 ft high navigation span to permit ship traffic. The bridge rests on 62 piers, of which the 44 main piers are 820 ft apart.

We finally arrived at Marco Pololand (click here for our review) and got set up for the week.  We BBQ'd hot dogs and beans and had a lovely night just sitting and chatting... The next day we headed out for Anne of Avonlea park.  A recreation of the town where Anne lived and grew up.  It was as if I had stepped right into the books ~ everyone there was dressed in period costumes and acted totally the part they were portraying.  Throughout the day they had different events and skits that they performed right out of the book.  We even played dress up and dressed in costumes of the time.  But the biggest highlight was the band that played in the Shanty.  They played what I would call Irish Folk tunes... Maybe Arcadian?

A few fun things at Avonlea ~ Donna of Green Gables ~ School time ~ Anne playing jacks and dress up time.

The guys who played at the Shanty in Avonlea ~

we thought the guy on the right looked like George Clooney

After we went to Avonlea we went to L.M.Montgomery's Grave site... I never knew she was married to a Reverend.  Also while there we saw her mothers grave, who died early at age 23 leaving Lucy to be raised by her Maternal Grandparents.  I am sure this is parallel to Anne being an orphan too and raised by and older woman and her brother. I am convince that Lucy and Anne's life intertwined...

Day 2:  We went to visit  Lucy Montgomery's birth house.  I was so glad to have the opportunity to visit it and see the collection of furniture from that time period.  Also there was a ton of information pertaining to Lucy. If you haven't read L.M. Montgomery you should...

On our drive out to visit her Paternal Grandparents house we went by the most intriguing little village with an incredible view.  It was breathtaking to say the least...   Soon we arrived at her Grandfathers house where we were greeted by Robert Montgomery (not the actor) who claimed to be Lucy's 2nd cousin once removed... The house at one time must have been very elegant and still had a lot of charm today but was very run down inside.  Many items that inspired some of Lucy's stories were in the house and to me quite valuable.  Robert took us on a guided tour through the house and told us stories of Lucy's childhood.  He was a character in his own right ~ and very enjoyable to listen too.

After touring the house we went to a light house close by ~ what a surprised I had in store when we headed out this long and bumpy road and it looked like we were going to run right off into the sea.  But we didn't and when we got out to the end there was the Tryon Lighthouse.

Also while there we saw eagles soaring the cliffs ~ they were hard to capture

After we left the lighthouse we all were hungry so we decided to stop at a little cafe we saw on the way.  It was right on the bay and had a great view of the water and fishing boats.

What a GREAT day we had but it didn't end there ~ that night we went to a good old fashion "Ceilidh" at Brackley Beach community hall.  What a great time listening to the fiddle playing and watching the Step Dancers.  They even had Strawberry Shortcake for intermission and all proceeds from that went to the Make a Wish Foundation.  How wonderful was that!  This girl playing had so much energy and never stopped moving while she played. We are having an excellent time ~  "THANKS" Elaine & Rick for showing us a fantastic time....
These beautiful yellow fields are Canola and they were everywhere on the Island.

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!

"Oh Canada" ~ at Long Last ♥

Finally we headed out for Canada ~ going through Canadian customs was a breeze... we have gone through many times so we pretty much have it down pat as to what you can & can not do.  We passed beautiful country on our way to Moncton, New Brunswick.  I even got to see the elusive moose on the way but sadly it was to fast to get a photo.

Canadian Customs at Houlton, Maine

I was very excited since we had never been to New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island or Nova Scotia.  New Brunswick held our friends Elaine &Rick with whom we stayed with, Tassie was parked in their drive way for four days… We had so much fun catching up, playing cards and eating and boy did we eat!  Elaine and Rick are the optimal hosts and go way out for their company ~ she fed us like we were royalty.  We had so much fun with them and I was really excited to be there not only because we got to visit with them but also because they were going to share in part of our adventures while we are visiting this area of Canada.  We were all going down to Cavendish, PEI land of Lucy Maude Montgomery.

A beautiful ride through the countryside arriving in Moncton and finally to our friends Elaine & Rick's house.  Enlarge photo to see where we parked in their driveway on the left hand side of their house.

While at their place they recommended for us to go visit Hopewell Rocks.  Hopewell Rocks is about an hour's drive from Moncton, New Brunswick. The park is well-designed and features an interpretive center, hiking trails and visitor facilities. If you don't want to walk the trail to the Flowerpot Rocks view point, you can take a shuttle for $1.50. The Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick, Canada are gigantic pieces of artwork created by the tidal erosion. These fascinating rocks are covered by water at two different times of the day but when it is low tide you can wander amongst the rocks and explore these natural wonders.  The forces of the tides, which vary 36 to 46 feet or more each day is really amazing. These large rock formations are located at the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada.

The next day we will all head out for Prince Edward Island.  I am excited about Elaine & Rick going with us and spending a week together.  So come on back and here about our adventures.

A photo borrowed from the Internet to show you the extreme tides at Hopewell Rocks

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!

Where am I ~ Not in Bangor Maine...

As you most likely know we are in Prince Edward Islands but I am so far behind in posting I am trying to work my way up to our current date ~ between sightseeing until we drop and bad Internet I just get further behind... So here I go with the last of Bangor Maine. our favorite places to visit as you probably already know is OLD cemeteries... so we headed off for

Mt. Hope Cemetery in Bangor, Maine is the second oldest garden cemetery in the United States. It was designed by architect Charles G. Bryant in 1834, the same year that Bangor was incorporated as a city, and modeled after Mt. Auburn Cemetery (1831) in Boston, Massachusetts. Bangor was at that time a frontier boom-town, and much of its architecture and landscaping exactly mirrored that of Boston. The preferred resting ground for Bangor's 19th and early 20th century elite, the cemetery includes the gravesites of Hannibal Hamin (a U.S. Vice President), two U.S. Senators, eleven U.S. Congressmen, two U.S. Ambassadors, five Governors of Maine, eight Civil War Generals, and numerous "lumber barons" and other local businessmen and politicians. Actors Richard Golden and Ralph Sipperly are also buried there.  The movie Pet Sematary was filmed in Mount Hope.

Mount Hope Cemetery

While out riding around we looked for the Penobscot Narrows Bridge.   It is one of Maine’s newest wonders and quite a sight to see. The bridge opened in May of 2007 and a one minute elevator ride on the fastest elevator in Maine (well—fastest in New Hampshire and Vermont too) will take you to the top of the tallest public bridge-observatory in the world. The 420-foot observatory tower is fashioned after the Washington Monument and offers an awesome, panoramic 360-degree view. The bridge towers forty-two stories high – one of only three such bridge observatories and the only one in the western hemisphere. Wow!!  It was quite a thrill riding up the elevator and enjoying the views....

Penobscot Narrows Bridge

Fort Knox is right next to Penobscot Narrows Bridge and was a very interesting place to visit,  Not only was there a small re-enactment there we also got to see a weeding preformed right in the center of the fort... Boy were they hot sitting outside in the sun!  Also we looked and looked for gold but there wasn't any to be found!

Located on the west bank of the Penobscot River in Prospect, Maine, in an area known as the Penobscot Narrows, Fort Knox is one of the best preserved military fortifications on the New England seacoast. The fort has many unique architectural features, as well as a rich history behind its walls.

During the country’s infancy, Maine was repeatedly involved in northeast border disputes with British Canada. In fact, the area between Castine and the rich lumber city of Bangor was invaded and occupied by the British during the American Revolution and the War of 1812. Fort Knox was established in 1844 to protect the Penobscot River Valley against a possible future British naval incursion.

It was a fun day exploring the Observatory tower and the fort... Now onto another adventure ~

"Oh Canada"

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!

What's BIG & Scary in Bangor Maine

Can you see the face in the tree???

We have arrived in Bangor Maine and staying at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort (Click here for complete review) in Hermon which is right outside of Bangor.  There are several really great things to see and do while in this area and  Stephen King's House is one of them.  In Bangor he is just another great citizen, an ordinary man living in the community but to most people Stephen King is an American author best known for his popular horror novels, many of which have become bestsellers.  As an avid reader I had to go search out his home and stalk it for a few minutes ~ lol. It looks like just another house on the street but on second look you see the things you might expect to see... Like a web on the front gate including bats and gargoyles... A tree with a face on it really got my attention and then a huge leaping frog... It really was an exciting experience for me to visit his house.  If you like scary books you should read Stephen King's books.

Broadway Historic District - Includes Garland, Essex, State, Park and Center Streets

This historic district is protected under local ordinances and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A favorable neighborhood to the lumber barons in the early to late 19th century, this district features Greek Revival, Italianate, Colonial Revival and Second Empire architectural details covering 500 acres and 19 buildings.

The Broadway Historic District is modeled after Boston's Beacon Hill, featuring a green space where the first residences were built, with double rows of elm trees lining the street for the first couple of blocks of the roadway. Broadway Park is the center of the district and is a great place to stop and have a picnic with the family.  The Fire of 1911 destroyed part of the Broadway Historic District, which was mostly rebuilt but as more elite neighborhoods were created, Broadway lost popularity as a residential spot.

Thomas Hill Standpipe, which holds l,750,000 gallons of water, is a riveted wrought iron tank with a wood frame jacket located on Thomas Hill. The tank is 50 feet high and 75 feet in diameter. Built in l897, it is the District's oldest standpipe and has been in use since its construction. Its purpose is the same today: to help regulate Bangor's water pressure in the downtown area and to provide water storage for emergencies. The standpipe is really two structures in one. The standpipe itself consists of steel plates riveted one outside the other. The building which enclosed it is 85 feet in diameter and 110 feet high. The 24 main posts which extend up past the observation deck begin at the base of the structure. Of hard pine, they measure 12x12 inches and are 48 feet long.

The entire structure has a stone foundation 9 feet high and 3 1/2 feet thick at the base. The sill atop the foundation is made of bent pine planks and is 14 inches thick. Along the interior wall of the facade is a winding staircase which leads to the promenade deck encircling the top of the building. The deck is 12 feet wide and 280 feet in circumference. To erect the wooden part of the structure took 42,000 feet of hard pine and 22,000 cedar shingles. When constructed in 1898, the contractor employed 22 men and erected a portable saw mill and blacksmith shop on the site. The entire project took about six months to complete.

We went to the Casino for dinner and to play for a little while when we noticed the statue of Paul Bunyan across the street... It is a symbol of the lumber era where a lot of people made a fortune.

We had a ton of fun exploring Bangor and will be seeing what else we can get into here~

Have Fun, Travel Safe & Stay Healthy!!!