One day in the long ago, my uncle found himself working next to a new man on a construction job near Boston.
"Where are you from?" my uncle asked the new fellow."The island," he replied.
"What island?" my uncle asked.
"Prince Edward Island!" the new man said indignantly. "What other island is there?!"
When my uncle told (and retold) this story, he would chuckle over the man's limited knowledge of geography. But after spending a few days on this crescent-shaped province in Atlantic Canada, I'm not so sure that man wasn't right. Oh, I know there are islands aplenty. But:
- What other island is so naturally colorful, with red earth, lupines that bloom in glorious colors and grass in dozens of shades of green?
- What other island draws people from all over the world to relive the adventures of a little red-haired girl who never actually existed?
- What other island harvests the sea for lobsters by the thousands and mussels without a speck of sand, then serves them up in church (and other) suppers that have become world-famous?
- What other island, though only 140 miles long, gave birth to a nation that is second only to Russia in size and, according to the United Nations, second to none in the quality of life for its people?
What other island than Prince Edward Island?
It was late June and the sun was shining sweetly. This was no day to waste inside, so almost immediately I was on the road, soaking up the unique scenery. The lupines were in bloom, creating a riot of pinks, purples and whites at nearly every roadside. Occasionally there were fields full of the plants, which bloom most gorgeously in late June through early July and grow so effortlessly that some islanders call them pretty weeds. (They are legumes, actually.) Add to this the green, sometimes gently rolling, land and the rosy earth, along with the horses, cows and sheep that roam the pasturelands, and you've got the kind of serene scene that gets cameras clicking and paintbrushes swishing.
Irrepressible and inescapable
Driving toward the Cavendish area, I soon encountered signs directing me to the home of Prince Edward Island's most famous fictional citizen, Anne of Green Gables. Little could Lucy Maud Montgomery have realized when her first Anne book was published in 1908 that her red-haired, pigtailed heroine would, over the decades, become the subject of symposiums and festivals, and a prime lure for millions of visitors over the years - including thousands of Japanese for whom Anne is a folk hero.
The principal "shrine" to Anne is the Green Gables cottage, which is part of Prince Edward Island National Park. A walk through the house, which in real life was the home of the author's elderly cousins, gives a glimpse into life in the late 19th century, including the clothing, the artifacts, the creature comforne." Also nearby is the grave of Lucy Maud Montgomery, flanked by shrubs and fronted by flowers.
But Green Gables is merely part of the island's Anne-a-mania. Not far away is the site of the home where Montgomery grew up, and never mind that only the stone cellar remains - the faithful still pay homage. There, too, is the Montgomery birthplace in New London, and the Anne of Green Gables Museum in Park Corner and the "Anne of Greene Gables" musical, performed all summer at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown. The musical is well worth seeing, with the role of Anne now being played by a vivacious young actress named Tracy Michailidis. Over the last three decades, this play has entertained 1.2 million people in more than 2,000 performances.
Lobsters and mussels
You will probably become a lobster fan on Prince Edward Island, when you reap the rewards of the hard-working lobstermen who haul in some 20 million pounds a year. Lobster is king at church suppers such as those of St. Ann's near Cavendish and St. Margaret's near Naufrage Harbour or at restaurants such as Fisherman's Wharf in North Rustico, which has a 60-foot salad and dessert bar and a lobster pound that can hold 45,000 pounds of the crustaceans at a time. Add a cold beverage and a baked Prince Edward Island potato and ... ahhhh.
For those who inexplicably may not like lobster, PEI restaurants serve just about every other cuisine, from a pizza to steaks and ethnic food to gourmet dining in the landmark Dalvay by the Sea hotel and inn in Little York, at the east end of the 25-mile-long national park.
But if lobsters are king, Island Blue mussels are rapidly becoming prince. A growing cultured-mussel industry is producing about 10 million pounds a year of these bivalves, all sweet and sand-free. That's because of a happy discovery some years back that the mussels will attach themselves to ropes placed underwater and will thus never touch sand. Nowadays buoys by the hundreds can be seen, with ropes and little nets called socks dangling beneath them in the sea. And that is where the mussels will spend 2-2 1/2 years until ready for harvesting.
The value of the sea to PEI goes beyond lobstering and aquaculture - its worth to tourism is immense. The island is surrounded by the Northumberland Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and you can actually see the waterways meet at the East Point Lighthouse, which I reached via a scenic drive on the island's north shore, along the King's Byway. And when you're done watching the waterways, the 1867 lighthouse, with its spiral stairway, is well worth a tour, if only to ponder the lonely life of a lighthouse keeper before automation. The island has several other lighthouses, including the West Point Lighthouse, with an inn within.
Seals and beaches
Seeing the sea - and on PEI, you're never more than 6 miles from it - can also mean seeing the seals. Seal-watching excursions are a popular Prince Edward Island pastime. My trip was with Capt. Dan Bears, aboard the 45-foot-long Manada, on his Cruise Manada Seal Watching Boat Tours, off Montague. Passengers were well-warned to dress warmly, because it does get cold during the three-hour trip. As happens about 99 percent of the time, we saw seals and were able to get close enough to watch them frolic on the rocks. There was also an abundance of double-crested cormorants, great blue herons and other sea birds. (The island itself is home to 315 species of birds.) In July, there are occasional sightings of whales and porpoises. Another sea sighting: the beginnings of a bridge scheduled to link PEI and New Brunswick in 1997.
Beaches, of course, are a prime summertime attraction, and PEI has miles of them, with warmer water than their New England counterparts. (Remember, though, that as in New England not every day is guaranteed to be a beach day.) Beaches on the north shore have fine white sand, while those on the south shore sport red clay. There are six supervised beaches in Prince Edward Island National Park alone. Other popular sea activities are fishing, canoeing and, most recently, kayaking.
Another thing Prince Edward Island has in quantity is history. Much of that is centered in the capital and largest community, Charlottetown, where in 1864 the founding fathers got out of their boats, walked up the road to Province House and, after much debate and uncertainty, gave birth to the great confederation that is Canada. In tribute to these farsighted men, costumed performers stroll about downtown Charlottetown every summer, greeting visitors and expounding on the politics of the 1860s. Province House itself is worth a tour; much of the original atmosphere of the confederation room is preserved, right up to the brass cuspidors.
Yet another kind of tribute to the founding of Canada is the Confederation Centre of the Arts, designed to be a living memorial, not just a bunch of walls. In addition to "Anne of Green Gables," there are theater, music and visual arts year round. In July and August, free open-air performances are held outside the center of `ses. The newest, and already an award-winner, is The Links at Crowbush Cove on the island's north shore, a course that is both challenging and environmentally correct. With its wild grasses, rolling fairways, seaside location and sand dunes, including one that is 2,000 years old, you might have to remind yourself to keep your eye on the ball instead of the scenery. In any event, if that ball lands too deeply in a protected area, it's bye-bye ball.
For those who like the offbeat and, yes, the touristy, the Woodleigh Replicas and Gardens in Burlington may intrigue you, as they did me. There are 39 attractions, many of them replicas of Britain's architectural masterpieces. These range from the Tower of London, complete with skeleton in dungeon, to Shakespeare's birthplace, with parks and ponds as well. And many of the buildings are big enough walk around in.
Festivals
Summertime is festival time on PEI, and traditional music from the British Isles is often heard. Alerted by the skirl of bagpipes, I ended up spending a few pleasant hours at the Highland Festival in Summerside, where there were Scottish games, dance competitions and crafts. In summer, Irish music is featured every night but Sunday at the Olde Dublin Pub in Charlottetown. At the pub, I found my singing-along getting louder with every sip of Moosehead Light.
Yet despite all the activities - and I've barely touched on the museums and some other attractions - I found much pleasure in doing next to nothing. Just looking at the red earth or the sea, or walking the beaches in the national park, or strolling in Charlottetown's 40-acre Victoria Park, or chatting with a friendly islander - any of those was enough to raise my mood and lower my blood pressure. When it was time to go home, I found myself wishing I could while away many more summer days, or even a summer, on Prince Edward Island. After all, what other island is there?
When to go
Take a tip from the locals and visit in late June or in September, if possible. Most of the attractions are open, the weather is pleasant and the summer crowds are absent. Prince Edward Island has a year-round population of 130,000, but had 750,000 visitors last year, most of them in summer.
The "Anne of Greene Gables" musical runs from June 22 to Sept. 23 at the Confederation Center for the Arts. For more information, call (800) 565-0278. This year's Lucy Maud Montgomery Festival will be held in Cavendish Aug. 18-20. For more information, call (902) 963-2082.
Prince Edward Island has a variety of lodgings, from bed-and-breakfast inns to motels to the elegant Dalvay by the Sea. I have stayed at the centrally located Islander Motor Lodge in Charlottetown and Fitzroy Hall, a nicely renovated bed-and-breakast, also in Charlottetown. If they are typical of PEI accommodations, you should have no problems.
For more information on PEI or to request the 1995 visitors' guide and booklet on value lodging-and-touring packages - many of which are keyed to a theme such as romance, golf or good old Anne - call (800) 463-4PEI.