Our alarms went off at 7am, which is the earliest I’ve been awake all week. It’s still dark at 7am. When did that happen? Bleary-eyed and in need of more sleep, we rose, showered, ate breakfast and wheeled our little carry-on suitcases out of the condo. I had a bit of to-and-fro trying to decide if I should bring a more rain-resistant jacket (I was wearing my fluffy one), particularly as it was raining lightly outside. In the end I put on my new ski jacket, packed my fluffy one, and then Glen made fun of me for packing so many for three days away.

We made it to Toronto Pearson Airport with plenty of time to spare. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s so much easier to not have to check your luggage. We’d checked-in online yesterday so we could go straight through to security, where there were no queues, and then waited at the gate to board.

For some bizarre reason, even though I booked both of us on the same booking, we weren’t sitting together, and when I checked us in, there were no two seats next to each other either. So Glen was sitting two seats ahead of me by the window, while I was in the very last seat on the aisle.

Somewhere between getting on the plane and shoving my hand luggage in the overhead cabins, I lost my phone. A frantic search ensued, checking my hand luggage, my messenger bag with my camera and wallet, and my jacket. Nothing. Eventually, after I mentioned it to the flight attendant, I got down on hands and knees to check if it had fallen on the floor. The guy sitting in front of me picked it up from under his seat and the panic subsided.

I was sitting next to a young girl with a nut allergy (the flight attendant asked everyone in a three row radius not to eat nuts) and she slept the whole two hour flight, curled up and resting against the window. Perfect flying partner, though of course she wasn’t Glen.

I read Anne of Green Gables throughout the flight. I started reading it on Tuesday after I finished Bridget Jones’s Diary. I would have preferred to have watched the movie I remember watching with mum but I couldn’t get it on iTunes or Netflix. It didn’t matter though because while I was reading the book I could remember bits and pieces from the film. In spite of myself, I found I was chuckling away at parts throughout the book and happily churned my way through. Because you can’t go to Prince Edward Island without reading Anne of Green Gables.

We landed a little early and then had to put the clocks forward an hour. The airport was tiny. I collected the car and we got out into the biting cold, climbed in the car and drove the ten minutes to our accommodation at the Cranford Inn B&B.

The owners weren’t there when we arrived so we walked into a bit of Charlottetown and had lunch at a fish and chip place. We had four types of fish (and some chips): haddock, halibut (can’t think of this word without thinking of Eric the Fish from Monty Python…”he is an halibut”), sole and cod. Unfortunately, two of the pieces of fish were way undercooked. We asked for them to be cooked a bit more and the waitress was so mortified that she got us two freshly cooked pieces of fish and gave us a discount (so we gave her a big tip).

When we got back to the B&B, Vicki was there and welcomed us. She asked if we were from Halifax. We said we were from Toronto and then she said she’d upgraded our room. We joked that if we’d said Halifax we wouldn’t have gotten it. Vicki said breakfast is served at 8 and 9 and Glen was overjoyed at the possibility of two breakfasts until Vicki said we had to choose one.

We’ve got a lovely room (the Emerald Room) and the house is cozy, done up well and there is a grand piano in the guest sitting room downstairs (as well as free homemade cookies…). We unpacked a bit, then went for a walk around the rest of Charlottetown. Glen decided it was bitingly cold and put on his ski pants, as well as gloves and ear muffs and ski jacket. I wasn’t much better. We looked like tourists, especially when there were people walking around in t-shirts!

We walked past Province House and a few churches, down to the wharf, along there for a bit, then got a coffee and a green tea at a hipster coffee shop (who knew they had hipsters on PEI?) before taking the long way back to the B&B. Thus, we have done Charlottetown. Tomorrow we’ll do the central part of the island (including Green Gables) and then the east part of the island (as much as we can) on Monday before flying home. I’m sure it’s doable.

Having come at the end of October, quite a lot is closed, including a few restaurants we thought we might try (we have to have lobster while here). It means there aren’t many people but also limits the options for activities. However, we’ve got a car and the island looks pretty from what we’ve seen so far, and as long as I can see Green Gables, I’ll be happy. Everything else is a bonus.

Back in the B&B, I continued to read Anne of Green Gables and finished it. And Glen had a nap. We now need to find somewhere for dinner. Might have to ask Vicki or Martha (the other owner) what’s good around here. There’s a lot of live music happening in pubs and the like, but I’m not sure we’re really up for that. We’ll see where the night takes us though.

Memorial fountain

Torch

Glen claiming PEI

Glen doing a handstand…I don’t know why.

One of many churches in the town. This was one of the nicest.

I’ve realised there aren’t many photos of me.

Looking like a tourist.