Charlottetown P.E.I.

Note: Dave has worked his gifting again and we are back up and running on our computer. See yesterday again if you read it without the photos.

Trip Odometer: 110 km

Back in Time
I (Anna-Lee) had so much fun today. I want to go back and see more of it. We did an historical walking tour with actors that appeared throughout the walk dressed and acting the role of someone that would have been around during the Charlottetown Accord in 1864. We were lead by Mr. Tilly who was premier of New Brunswick at the time.

Anna-Lee up front listening to the stories. Charlottetown Harbour in background where the Father's of Confederation sailed into in 1864.

One of the people we met on the way was the town crier. I was given his bell to ring!
 

Tilly and the Town Crier

Great George Street is where most of the historical buildings are located.

There are so many interesting stories along the way. One of them was that there was a fire in Charlottetown back in the late 1800's. It got stopped at one of the few brick homes. The family wet clothing and put it on their wooden roof so sparks wouldn't light it. Because the fire stopped there, the house next to it didn't burn. That is where all the history of P.E.I. was stored. Without that brick home and the wet clothes, almost all the written history of the Island would have been lost.

We also got a history tour aboard The Harbour Hippo.

Dad says it's called an amphibious vehicle because it can go on land or in water. It was really jerky when it went into the water and then as soon as it got in water it just floated.  Neat.

We got into the water and were leaving the dock at exactly the same time as a big cruise ship!

We also went to Peakes Quay which is where the Father's of Confederation including John A. McDonald would have docked their ship. Peakes Quay now has yachts, stores and restaurants. One of the places is COWS ice cream. Apparently it is world famous. None of us had ever heard of it though, but it is yummy. While we ate our ice cream there was live fiddle music in the park.

Music being played in background. Us eating COWS ice cream And stores around that sell "interesting" things such as The P.E.I. Dirt Shirts - shirts that have been dyed with the red soil of P.E.I.

The other really exciting part of the day was going to the "Anne of Green Gables Musical." It was really good. They didn't do everything exactly like the book. Dad says they didn't have time for that and it's called artistic license. I wish it had gone on longer.

The musical was at the Confederation Centre. We weren't allowed to take photos of it though. The set changes were astonishing. Fast, seamless and elaborate.

I (Monica) enjoyed Charlottetown a lot and also want to go back. I was able to manage the Harbour Hippo quite well once Dad got me up there!

Muscles and Coordination make it possible.

Quahaugs for sale! We wondered about that sign yesterday on one of those back roads. Today we found out what it was. They are a type of edible clam. Thick, round and big. We saw them in a restaurant in the tank with the live lobsters! No one ate one though. I did eat lobster although it was in a different kind of sauce. I've never had it in anything other than melted butter before. It was good.

The historical walking tour was fascinating. There were so many stories. I'll share two of them.
The first is a story of miscommunication between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia in the late 1800's. Great George St. when the Father's of Confederation arrived by ship was only a red dirt road and mats laid down along the side for walking. (Although one fo the Father's of Confederation was heard to say he felt like the red carpet had been rolled out for them). One day P.E.I. decided to build sidewalks and as they didn't have the material on P.E.I. to make it, they asked NS to send them slabs of rock. Instead they received huge boulders. Well, the people of P.E.I. had no way to cut them and it would be too expensive to send back - so, they dug 6 foot holes, buried the boulders until only the tops stuck out. That is what remains today along the one side of George St. It is a bit of a bumpy walk.
 

The "Confederation Players Theatre Company" put on this walking historical tour and have many actors along the way in the historical costume. This would be Great George St.

The second story is about the oldest bank in P.E.I. It was run by a delightfully generous man with absolutely NO banking sense. He built a large brick bank on George St. He would loan money just because he was nice and didn't want to deny people. One day one of the Peake sons (the wharf where the ships came in is named after them),  wanted money to build more ships. Unfortunately they wanted to build the wooden ships at a time when metal steam ships were coming in and wooden ships were going out. The banker said "sure" and loaned them money with NO documentation, and P.E.I. ended up in HUGE debt as none of the ships could be sold! The town folks were so upset the banker stole all the remaining money in the bank and ran away to Boston.

I love the music around here. Lively fiddle music, Irish and Scottish. It's so much fun to listen to and it's all over town night and day. 

The Anne Musical was wonderful. It was really funny in places too. One of my favorite parts was the carriage ride back from the train station with Anne and Matthew. The carriage really moved, the song was fun, and the back ground set and scrim were amazing. The whole set was over the top! The dancing throughout was fabulous, and the choreography was fun.
 I had a great day.