--An Excellent Eastern Expedition--
DAY 5
(Previously: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4)
I set my ipod's alarm to go off early enough for me to watch the ship pull into Charlottetown... but alas, the ipod's alarm volume was too quiet. The captain's announcement of our arrival woke me this morn.
For breakfast, I made instant coffee and ate my leftover pastries from the day before.
I left for my Charlottetown horse & trolley tour around 10. At the pier, people in costumes -- Anne Shirley and a mountie -- were there for photo ops.
Now there's a fanfic idea.
There's the horse & trolley! It was nearly full. The seats could hold two people, but not comfortably. Luckily for me, I didn't have a seat partner.
The horses, Max and Frank, pulled us through town. A woman (who also owned the horses and the business) narrated the tour. She gave us lots of info about Charlottetown and her horses.
When we passed the theater where they perform the long-running Anne Of Green Gables play (below), someone asked our guide what she knew about AOGG, and I swear I heard her refer to Anne as a "long-winded orphan."
(Well, she's not wrong...)
My favorite part of the tour was when we rode through Victoria Park.
Like the horse & trolley tour in Halifax, this one was interesting & picturesque & worth the money (about $40), I thought. I wouldn't say one of the horse & trolley tours was better than the other. The weather was certainly better on this day, though. It'd be nice if the seats weren't wooden benches, but that's really my only complaint.
We got back to the ship about 11:15. I went up to deck 11 and ordered another Freestyle Burger. They were out of portobello, they said. I didn't care and ordered the sandwich anyway. Still delicious. But it took them like 15 minutes to make it that day. I got so hungry waiting that I raided the nearby taco bar and made a soft taco. I ate that, and the burger, and some fries. Yep. Go me!
After lunch, I left the ship again and headed toward the Guild Theater, where I'd purchased a ticket for the Anne & Gilbert musical. I saw this show the last time I was in PEI and really enjoyed it, and of all the things to do "again" in PEI, this was at the top of my list.
Before the show, I stopped in this AOGG store, which is across the street from the theater.
The 1985 Anne film was playing on TV:
I bought so much merchandise on my last trip that there really wasn't anything I had to have, here.
Then... onward to the theater!
^This was the stage before the show began.
Even though this venue was a lot smaller than the one I'd seen the musical at 10 years ago (in Summerside, PEI), the show was every bit as good. I had a big grin on my face for most of the performance. My undying crush on Gilbert Blythe continues.
After the show ended, I walked to the nearby Cows ice cream shop and got a double-scoop cone -- blueberry and strawberry.
I also bought a bottle of Raspberry Cordial.
The one on the left is a photo of the bottle I got 10 years ago on my first PEI trip. The photo on the right is of the bottle I got on this trip. I'm pretty sure they've changed the recipe over the years, because the more recent bottle's contents were much paler than I remembered. The "new" recipe tasted good, though, so no complaints from me.
I took some photos as I walked back to the ship...
I returned to the ship just after 4pm. I went out on deck 6 and sat in a lounger. The captain made an announcement that, due to tides & water levels being just right, we would be able to sail east and go under the Confederation Bridge. (The alternative is to go back west and travel up and around the north side of the island, apparently.)
On my first PEI trip, we visited Borden/Carleton, but unfortunately could see nothing of the bridge, as it was so foggy that day. So I was oddly excited about finally getting to see the famous bridge, now!
For whatever reason, I thought it would only take us an hour or two to get to the bridge, but I underestimated how slowly we were going, and it actually took about three hours. For a while I stayed outside taking pictures of the scenery, but it was quite cold out there, around 6:30, I went back inside.
Tonight I may have been overly ambitious with my dinner. For whatever reason, I decided I wanted to eat in my room. So, to accomplish this, I made 3 trips up to Lido to bring back mac & cheese, a salad, a dessert, bread, and a cheese & fruit platter. I didn't eat them all at once, but... yeah.
I kept an eye on things outside using the "bridge cam" TV channel. I could see people standing on this one forward deck, but I could never figure out how to get out there. I finally concluded it was a private deck for concierge guests or something.
When I finally saw the bridge in the distance -- okay, when we got fairly close to it -- I went outside again.
One accessible (to passengers) forward deck is deck 13. Being the highest point on the ship that people can access, it was very exposed to the elements and it was insanely windy. My knit hat blew off once, but luckily it caught on a piece of ship equipment and I was able to retrieve it. I then put the hat on under my jacket hood, and made sure the hood was tied tight. Also, a tissue that had been in my jacket pocket got absolutely whipped out and flew into the ocean. Sorry, Environment. :( That wind -- wow!
Tomorrow would be our first "Sea Day" of the cruise. What kinds of fun & frivolities would it hold? Find out in the next installment!
I set my ipod's alarm to go off early enough for me to watch the ship pull into Charlottetown... but alas, the ipod's alarm volume was too quiet. The captain's announcement of our arrival woke me this morn.
For breakfast, I made instant coffee and ate my leftover pastries from the day before.
I left for my Charlottetown horse & trolley tour around 10. At the pier, people in costumes -- Anne Shirley and a mountie -- were there for photo ops.
Now there's a fanfic idea.
There's the horse & trolley! It was nearly full. The seats could hold two people, but not comfortably. Luckily for me, I didn't have a seat partner.
The horses, Max and Frank, pulled us through town. A woman (who also owned the horses and the business) narrated the tour. She gave us lots of info about Charlottetown and her horses.
When we passed the theater where they perform the long-running Anne Of Green Gables play (below), someone asked our guide what she knew about AOGG, and I swear I heard her refer to Anne as a "long-winded orphan."
(Well, she's not wrong...)
My favorite part of the tour was when we rode through Victoria Park.
Like the horse & trolley tour in Halifax, this one was interesting & picturesque & worth the money (about $40), I thought. I wouldn't say one of the horse & trolley tours was better than the other. The weather was certainly better on this day, though. It'd be nice if the seats weren't wooden benches, but that's really my only complaint.
We got back to the ship about 11:15. I went up to deck 11 and ordered another Freestyle Burger. They were out of portobello, they said. I didn't care and ordered the sandwich anyway. Still delicious. But it took them like 15 minutes to make it that day. I got so hungry waiting that I raided the nearby taco bar and made a soft taco. I ate that, and the burger, and some fries. Yep. Go me!
After lunch, I left the ship again and headed toward the Guild Theater, where I'd purchased a ticket for the Anne & Gilbert musical. I saw this show the last time I was in PEI and really enjoyed it, and of all the things to do "again" in PEI, this was at the top of my list.
Before the show, I stopped in this AOGG store, which is across the street from the theater.
The 1985 Anne film was playing on TV:
I bought so much merchandise on my last trip that there really wasn't anything I had to have, here.
Then... onward to the theater!
^This was the stage before the show began.
Even though this venue was a lot smaller than the one I'd seen the musical at 10 years ago (in Summerside, PEI), the show was every bit as good. I had a big grin on my face for most of the performance. My undying crush on Gilbert Blythe continues.
After the show ended, I walked to the nearby Cows ice cream shop and got a double-scoop cone -- blueberry and strawberry.
I also bought a bottle of Raspberry Cordial.
The one on the left is a photo of the bottle I got 10 years ago on my first PEI trip. The photo on the right is of the bottle I got on this trip. I'm pretty sure they've changed the recipe over the years, because the more recent bottle's contents were much paler than I remembered. The "new" recipe tasted good, though, so no complaints from me.
I took some photos as I walked back to the ship...
I returned to the ship just after 4pm. I went out on deck 6 and sat in a lounger. The captain made an announcement that, due to tides & water levels being just right, we would be able to sail east and go under the Confederation Bridge. (The alternative is to go back west and travel up and around the north side of the island, apparently.)
On my first PEI trip, we visited Borden/Carleton, but unfortunately could see nothing of the bridge, as it was so foggy that day. So I was oddly excited about finally getting to see the famous bridge, now!
For whatever reason, I thought it would only take us an hour or two to get to the bridge, but I underestimated how slowly we were going, and it actually took about three hours. For a while I stayed outside taking pictures of the scenery, but it was quite cold out there, around 6:30, I went back inside.
Tonight I may have been overly ambitious with my dinner. For whatever reason, I decided I wanted to eat in my room. So, to accomplish this, I made 3 trips up to Lido to bring back mac & cheese, a salad, a dessert, bread, and a cheese & fruit platter. I didn't eat them all at once, but... yeah.
I kept an eye on things outside using the "bridge cam" TV channel. I could see people standing on this one forward deck, but I could never figure out how to get out there. I finally concluded it was a private deck for concierge guests or something.
When I finally saw the bridge in the distance -- okay, when we got fairly close to it -- I went outside again.
Anyway, a lot of people had the same idea as I, so while deck 13 wasn't packed or anything, there were a fair number of brave souls up there. As we passed under the bridge, several people made exclamations over how close the ship's mast came to scraping the bridge's underside.
Back indoors, I watched the sun set via the bridge cam on my TV. It was so relaxing, lying on the bed watching that little "window" to the outside. My little "Check And See If It's Worth Going Outside Or Not" channel. Like a window, but without the premium price!
Oooh, pink sunset! Time to go outside!
Tomorrow would be our first "Sea Day" of the cruise. What kinds of fun & frivolities would it hold? Find out in the next installment!
I've been dying to go to PEI ever since I took a trip out to Black Creek Pioneer Village! Your trip looks like so much fun.
ReplyDelete@Mallory, I'd love to visit that village, it sounds cool! I should visit Ontario...
ReplyDeleteI haven't read it, so I don't know if it's any good, but apparently eventually one or more of the kids in this becomes a mountie, so there's your crossover fanfic ;) -
ReplyDeletehttps://archiveofourown.org/works/6369151?view_full_work=true