A TRULY VIBRANT AND MAGICAL WONDER

Vibrant, friendly, simplistic, peaceful, refreshing, calming, clean, and inviting are just a few words that instantly entered my mind while visiting the natural wonder of Prince Edward Island. PEI is one of the four Atlantic Provinces located on the east coast of Canada, between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and is the setting for the well-known novel “Anne of Green Gables,” penned 100 years ago by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery, in 1908.

The book and island are positively recognized around the world, bringing hopeful inspiration and imagination, to people of all ages and backgrounds, much like that held by its title character, Anne Shirley. In fact, one of its biggest draws is with the Japanese. More than 10,000 a year venture to the small island of 138,000 people to visit all the places mentioned in the widely celebrated book.

I was unaware of PEI, Anne, and Green Gables until friends of mine introduced me to the “Anne of Green Gables” movie, based on the book, starring the perfectly cast Megan Follows. It was huge while they were growing up, but I spent a lot of my childhood overseas, something I wouldn’t change for the world, and, therefore, was not familiar with it. So, while being an old discovery for my friends, it was a new one for me, and one reason for our most recent travel destination.

We just spent a very memorable and relaxing week there, renting a beautiful home by the water in Valley Victoria, a remote area about 30 minutes outside of the city of Summerside, and an hour and half from the island’s biggest city, Charlottetown. There we found ourselves amongst some of the nicest and most patient people I have come across since San Francisco. It seems they all wear a welcoming smile daily, which made me happily fit right in.

Our adventure began at LAX where we caught the red-eye that took us to Halifax via Dulles before hopping in our rent-a-car for an hour and a half drive to Caribou, where we boarded the ferry for the hour trip to Woods Island, PEI. The ferry was, until 10 years ago, the only way to get to the island, aside from flying in a small plane, but you can now take the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge across, as well, which we did when leaving the island to head back to LAX via Newark.

During our time there, we were off exploring all that this quiet island has to offer, including seeing the musical “Anne and Gilbert” at the Harbourfront Jubilee Theatre. We wanted to see what acting opportunities and actors exist in the area, since those on the trip were all in the entertainment industry in some form, be it acting or casting.

The weather was simply beautiful, with crisp, breezy and cooler temperatures at night and later in the week, giving it the fall feel we were looking forward to. In LA things stay relatively the same with few clouds and an often barely visible skyline, clouded over by the thicker, gray air called the “marine layer.” Plus, there are no seasons, so our taking in the fresh, clean, wide-open landscape and varying nature PEI has to offer was a true sight to see. Our bonus was that it was also the start of autumn, with the leaves changing.

Speaking of sights, Prince Edward Island has some of the most vibrant colors I have ever seen! These varied from the apricot oranges and rusty, terra cotta reds of the roads and sands to the bright, emerald, forest green trees and lime, harlequin green grass, stretching all the way out to the shining cobalt waters, covered with crystal clear, azure blue skies.

Unique to the area is what is referred to as “magic hour,” adored by filmmakers on the island, which is a small time frame where the light is truly magical, hence magic hour, and beyond picture perfect. The sun reflects golden beams of light off the water, down onto the trees and across the endless fields, leading into the most gorgeous sunsets of periwinkle, coral, amethyst and persimmon!

It was all refreshing, to say the least, and sometimes a get-away with friends is what one needs to recharge oneself, which is exactly what this trip did. I truly enjoyed my mini-beak from cell phones, the Internet, traffic, and smog, among others things. I did not miss any of it, in fact, it slightly pained me to have to turn my cell phone back on, check e-mail, and get back to the reality of LA, when I returned.

All in all, if you have not gotten a chance to visit the area, I highly recommend it and believe you will not be disappointed, but inspired. Those who know me know that I take lots and lots of pictures and like to document my adventures, big or small. This outing was no exception, so, there was no lack of picture taking and I have what I refer to as a picture explosion, with over a 1,000 taken on this trip alone.

My multitude of pictures now can instantly transport us to tranquil Prince Edward Island anytime. They allow me to visually go back to PEI, until I get the chance to drop in again in person. ‘Till then, and until you get the opportunity to visit the island and experience it yourself, I shall leave you will a few of the pictures I took, including some from “magic hour,” which were captured surprisingly well on my new, oh so fabulous Cannon PowerShot SD 1100 Digital Elph.

I hope you too will one day be able enjoy Prince Edward Island…a truly vibrant and magical wonder!

“You never know what peace is until you walk on the shores or in the fields or along the winding red roads of Prince Edward Island in a summer twilight when the dew is falling and the old stars are peeping out and the sea keeps its mighty tryst with the little land it loves. You find your soul then. You realize that youth is not a vanished thing but something that dwells forever in the heart.” - Lucy Maud Montgomery