My mom has a way with words....when she reads aloud, you feel as though you are immersed in the story. As I was a little girl, and on through my teenage years, my mom and I spent quite a bit of time reading together. Though I had (and still have) a love of reading alone, it just wasn't the same as when my mom read to me. She read to me long after I could read.....it's one of my favorite childhood memories....listening to my mom as she read, hearing the story through her scope of imagination. I couldn't bring myself for a long time to read the books we had shared together (Pride and Prejudice for example ~ I didn't read it alone for many years for fear that I wouldn't be able to do it the justice that my mother had when she'd read it aloud.) One summer, when I was about 14, she read the entire series of Anne of Green Gables to me. As the characters came to life through her voice, we also bonded over a love of them, and their setting, Prince Edward Island. This was a place we both hoped we'd one day see, but never thought it was a possibility.......
....until 3 years ago. For my mom's and my birthday, my dad sent us to PEI to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publishing of Anne of Green Gables. We spent 10 days in eastern Canada and had such a fun time together, touring, walking, eating ice cream at Canada's premiere ice cream eatery, COWS, seeing Anne of Green Gables, the musical in Charlottetown, and just relaxing and enjoying one another's company! We started out in Halifax, Nova Scotia. One of the places we toured was the Citadel, a British fortress in Halifax.
It was fascinating....and windy!
We toured the largest grouping of Titanic gravesites. This was a very sobering place. We also visited a Titanic museum with many artifacts brought up from various dives to the crash site.
We drove out to the coastal town of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia.....
I loved all of the provencial lighthouses! This one was at Peggy's Cove. The terrain reminded me very much of the islands in Stockholm's archipelago.
On the third day of our trip, we took a ferry from Nova Scotia out to Prince Edward Island. I recall straining for the first glimpse of PEI. Was it going to live up to our expectations and imaginations? Yes it did! L.M. Montgomery described her beloved island setting as the colors emerald, blue and red....and though that seems to be such a simple definition, it was perfect. The grass was so green, the dirt so red and the sky and water always a beautiful blue! You could almost hear the laughter of Anne and Diana as they ran along the coastline or imagine Marilla staring off into the sunset with Anne at her side. The north shore looks just how you'd imagine!
Getting a peek of the inspiration ~ The actual "Green Gables" house
I loved PEI's lighthouses....I felt like I was right outside of Avonlea!
And the sunsets were incredible!
As we were leaving PEI, we said goodbye to Lorenzo the lobster.
And of course, you couldn't leave PEI without posing as Anne with an E!
At our B&B aptly named Kindred Spirit Inn, we watched Anne of Green Gables.....without doing that, the trip wouldn't have been complete! This was such a fun birthday present from my dad and a fabulous bonding time with my mom! Yesterday was her birthday and rather than post embarrassing pictures from the past, I thought this would be more fun! As we were in Washington to visit Jay's mom who just had surgery (which went well), I was able to wish my mom a Happy Birthday in person. I love you Mom! Thanks for being a kindred spirit! And thank you Dad!
....until 3 years ago. For my mom's and my birthday, my dad sent us to PEI to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the publishing of Anne of Green Gables. We spent 10 days in eastern Canada and had such a fun time together, touring, walking, eating ice cream at Canada's premiere ice cream eatery, COWS, seeing Anne of Green Gables, the musical in Charlottetown, and just relaxing and enjoying one another's company! We started out in Halifax, Nova Scotia. One of the places we toured was the Citadel, a British fortress in Halifax. 
It was fascinating....and windy! 
We toured the largest grouping of Titanic gravesites. This was a very sobering place. We also visited a Titanic museum with many artifacts brought up from various dives to the crash site. 
We drove out to the coastal town of Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia..... 
I loved all of the provencial lighthouses! This one was at Peggy's Cove. The terrain reminded me very much of the islands in Stockholm's archipelago. 
On the third day of our trip, we took a ferry from Nova Scotia out to Prince Edward Island. I recall straining for the first glimpse of PEI. Was it going to live up to our expectations and imaginations? Yes it did! L.M. Montgomery described her beloved island setting as the colors emerald, blue and red....and though that seems to be such a simple definition, it was perfect. The grass was so green, the dirt so red and the sky and water always a beautiful blue! You could almost hear the laughter of Anne and Diana as they ran along the coastline or imagine Marilla staring off into the sunset with Anne at her side. The north shore looks just how you'd imagine! 
Getting a peek of the inspiration ~ The actual "Green Gables" house 
I loved PEI's lighthouses....I felt like I was right outside of Avonlea! 
And the sunsets were incredible! 
As we were leaving PEI, we said goodbye to Lorenzo the lobster. 
And of course, you couldn't leave PEI without posing as Anne with an E! 
At our B&B aptly named Kindred Spirit Inn, we watched Anne of Green Gables.....without doing that, the trip wouldn't have been complete! This was such a fun birthday present from my dad and a fabulous bonding time with my mom! Yesterday was her birthday and rather than post embarrassing pictures from the past, I thought this would be more fun! As we were in Washington to visit Jay's mom who just had surgery (which went well), I was able to wish my mom a Happy Birthday in person. I love you Mom! Thanks for being a kindred spirit! And thank you Dad!
Oh! I loved this. Thank you so much for this amazing tribute to your mother, to the thrill of books and reading together, and to that beautiful place where one of my favorite book series originated. This is wonderful! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI loved Anne as a kid and again last year when I reread the series.
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures! I'd love to visit there too.
Happy birthday to your awesome mom!
That is the coolest gift!!! Your dad rocks!! I love presents that are experiences and that is one awesome experience you two got to do together. So, so, so, SOOOOOOO cool!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your mom!
Thank you, Kim. Not only did you post a great tribute but you included the pictures of our trip to PEI and expressed your memories of it, making it come to life once again. I have to say that reading aloud is my most favorite activity as a teacher. I can't help but get into the books I read and find myself acting them out without even being aware that I'm doing it. Once in a while that works against me, though, as the kids in my class pick up and AMPLIFY my excitement. And one thing I must say about working with bright kids is that most of them are highly melodramatic.
ReplyDeleteThat picture of the cliff is gorgeous. I too loved the books and can't wait to have a girl to pass them on to and (hopefully) read them to.
ReplyDelete