NEW LONDON
DALVAY-BY-THE-SEA
& CHARLOTTETOWN
On Wednesday, we had one particular destination in mind: Dalvay-By-The-Sea, a semi-posh, old-fashioned hotel, whose exterior was used in the second AOGG movie and as the "White Sands Hotel" on the TV series Road To Avonlea. During the summer, they have something called the "White Sands Tour and Tea," but they only offer this three days a week -- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We'd be gone by Friday, and we hadn't wanted to schedule anything for Monday, the day we arrived, so Wednesday was our only option. We'd made reservations over a month in advance, but it probably wasn't necessary. That morning at breakfast, we told two of the other B&B-dwellers about it. They decided it sounded like fun, so they drove to Dalvay to see if there was still room on the tour, and there was, so hey.
We drove along Highway 6 to get there, and on our way, we went by the LMM Birthplace again, because I was itching to get a photo of the General Store I'd seen across the street.
But why would I want a photo of this? Look closely...
Megan Follows is painted on the window! There really isn't a lot of AOGG movie stuff on PEI, as far as I saw. Yes, you can buy the DVDs (WAY overpriced, I might add) in most of the shops. And Megan Follows and Jonathan Crombie graced some of the book covers. But otherwise, it's rare to see anything from the movies. So this window made me happy.
Another shot of the LMM Birthplace.
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Finally, here we are at Dalvay. I won't describe every picture. You can probably tell which were taken outside and which were taken in. Prettiness... ensuing... now.
Here's a shot of our goodies at the tea. Little sandwiches, fruit, custard, scones, cream puffs, and lemon cakes. It's enough to make you feel quite grand... annnd full.
I was glad something on the island (this hotel) was related to Road to Avonlea, as I do enjoy watching the series. Really, there is SO much Anne merchandise on PEI, you'll be thrilled if you're an Anne fan. But if you're more a fan of Sara Stanley or Emily Of New Moon, you're out of luck. There's little and/or no merchandise for them. It's like when you go to Disneyland and want a Scrooge McDuck or Beast doll. Forget it. If you want a Mickey doll, congratulations, they've got 212 different ones to choose from!
Wednesday evening we went to the Anne of Green Gables musical in Charlottetown. It's been running for about 40 years, and it kind of shows. I mean, it's basically the AOGG story, but some of the songs and jokes are a bit corny, reminiscent of (hey, let's use Disney metaphors again!) the goofier Disney movies of the 60's and 70's. I get the feeling they're never going to update it, because it's part of a sacred tradition, but there were parts where I just wanted to groan.
One thing that struck me while watching both this musical and the Anne & Gilbert one on Tuesday night was the reactions of people in the audience. The gasps when Anne realizes she gave Diana currant wine instead of raspberry cordial. The gasps when Anne breaks the slate. The laughter when Rachel Lynde says "You're never safe from surprise 'til you're dead!" It was like so many people had never seen the movies or read the books before. Uh... hey guys, welcome to the fandom!
Next Up - Day 4: Morning
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