As I sit down to chronicle this much-anticipated vacation, I feel a little like Anne Shirley in the above quote. I can't remember how old I was when I saw the 1985 adaptation of Anne of Green Gables for the first time. I must have been young because it seems, as long as I can remember, I have loved Anne.
When I was a teenager, I read the entire Anne series, as well as the first Emily book and a couple of L.M. Montgomery's standalone novels. I distinctly remember driving across Nevada to my uncle's wedding in California while reading one of the Anne books and bemoaning in my journal about there being "no scope for the imagination." L.M. Montgomery's descriptions of Prince Edward Island captured my attention almost as much as her memorable characters, and I longed to go there and see everything with my own eyes.
A couple of years ago, I started casually saying that I was going to visit Prince Edward Island for my fortieth birthday. If there was one place I hoped to travel to before I died, it was PEI, so I didn't want to wait around for age or illness or life circumstances to get in the way. I don't remember Mike and I ever having an actual conversation about whether or not we should go to PEI. It was almost as if I manifested it into happening. I kept talking about it like it was already planned, and then, almost as if by magic (aka, Mike), it actually was: we had plane tickets and an itinerary and travel companions.
We have been friends with James and Kathy for a long time. Although we've done a couple of family trips together, we had yet to do a couples trip. We share a love of good food and seeing new places, and now we also share a love of Anne and Maud Montgomery. Months ago I said that anyone who was coming to PEI had to read at least the first three books of the Anne series. I don't know who gave me permission to make the rules, but Mike and the Gardners were all so agreeable to my request. (And then, I even had the audacity to tack on the fifth book as well.)
Not only did they read the books, but they fell headlong into anticipating and planning the trip as much as I did: Mike started a spreadsheet with quotes and scenes from the book we might want to give a nod to on the trip. Kathy planned and made a Diana outfit to go along with my Anne outfit I was feverishly working on. James took charge of the itinerary and worked and reworked it so we could see and do as much as we could while also relaxing to our heart's content. Kathy read the full Wikipedia article on L.M. Montgomery and acted as our tour guide, sharing interesting facts and answering any questions we had. And I brought the ever-flowing enthusiasm. I had a feeling we would travel well together, and we turned out to be a perfect match, if I do say so myself.
Anne said, "Looking forward to things is half the pleasure of them," and I found this to be true as I anticipated this trip. I had built it up so much in my mind, and I couldn't imagine it actually meeting all my expectations, but I also couldn't help but continue to layer on the hopes and dreams in the weeks leading up to it.
These lofty visions were quickly dashed on our first night in Canada. We landed in Halifax and stayed the night at a bed and breakfast. The next morning, we were talking to the host, Marla. She asked how long we would be visiting. "Almost a week," we said. She asked what our plans were. We said we were headed to Prince Edward Island. "You're staying there the whole time?" The incredulity and disapproval were evident in her voice. "Yes?" we hesitantly responded. "Well, you'll be lucky to find things to do for two days, let along almost a week." She then proceeded to say it was a real shame we weren't planning to spend any time in Nova Scotia since it was much prettier than Prince Edward Island.
I have to admit I felt a bit deflated. I wondered if I had built up this place in my mind so much that there was no possible way it could deliver. I had turned it into an unattainable castle in the sky, and it would soon come crashing down.
But Marla, dear well-meaning Marla . . .
She was wrong.
To be continued . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment