remember that scene from anne of green gables, when anne and diana are standing on the red cliffs of prince edward island, looking off into the distance with their hair blowing in the wind? been there, done that. (!!)

in case you haven’t seen it already, here’s the “trailer” version of our trip.

[ day 1 ]
[ washington d.c.   >   detroit, mi   >   boston, ma   >   fredericton, canada ]
thanks to my generous uncle’s wedding present of 2 delta buddy passes, and obliging in-laws who rose at 3 am to convey us to the airport, our trip began.
when we reached our layover in detroit (because for one member of our party, anything that happens before 8am is a blur), we proceeded to ride a little red bullet train back and forth through the terminal, use a coupon for a free oatmeal, and share our faith with a friendly lady in the comfy waiting area.

welcome to boston! it’s hot and a muggy here, but they have a pretty sweet subway system. from the airport, we made our way to the other side of town, where we met our little charcoal sedan. poor thing. little did it know it’d chug over 2000 miles this week.
a little clip of the traveling…please enjoy the cheesy music. :)

[ day 2 ]
[ fredericton, canada  >  shediac, new brunswick  >  prince edward island ]
it’s our first time in canada! and everything is very…canadian.
which basically means, there’s a french translation on everything, a tim horton’s coffee shop on every corner, and guys in kilts playing bagpipes in the town square.
yepppp, our trip to canada would not be complete without this.

there was no question. we had to stop in shediac, canada.
really, how often do you get to see the WORLD’S LARGEST LOBSTER?!!!!!
(aaand, i needed the bathroom, or as they call it, the “washroom”)

our first stop in prince edward island is the little town of victoria. for the first seafood meal of the trip, we’re eating flounder at a quaint restaurant on the dock, and watching a storm come in over the water. 

[ day 3 ]
[ prince edward island ]
in planning this trip, we each jotted down 3 personal desires for our idea of a fun vacation. our conclusion:
he likes venturing off to new places, exploring towns and cities, and finding good food! she loves finding pretty (& romantic!) spots, soaking up the atmosphere, and all things natural.
one desire was identical though – quality time with their best friend.
needless to say, today is her idea of a perfect day… :)

“they walked out of the prettiest little inn, sauntered through the tall grasses, climbed down a steep red cliff to a soft sandy shore, soaked up the loveliest fresh air, lounged on the warm rocks, sang worship hymns in harmony, collected the smoothest stones as souvenirs, and tasted cool pure water from a natural spring.
can you say, perfection?”  (end lucy maud montgomery impersonation)

this afternoon, we visited east point lighthouse. i’m convinced the folks who actually used to live in lighthouses had the most toned calves in the world.

[ day 4 ]
[ prince edward island ]
welcome to our little home in prince edward island, johnson shore inn.
sunrise photos courtesy of me, on 4.5 hours of sleep.
thankful no one caught me in my checkered pj pants, hooded jacket tackily zipped up all the way, and untied tennis shoes.
i did go back to bed.

but reeeeally, it was SO BEAUTIFUL!!!


and of course, because the real reason you go to prince edward island, is to vist green gables, right?! and least us and all the asian tourists thought so.

“lovers lane.”  *cue sappy music*
yeah, maybe more people would be able to write like lucy maud montgomery if they roamed this kind of land all the time…

behold, the stomach-hurting-back-pain-feelin’-weak-gotta-eat-headache look. unfortunately your chronic issues don’t get the memo to take a vacation for the week, but hey, what better place to feel lousy than prince edward island, lol.
seriously though, i’m convinced that pain is a part of life. for every person. whether physical, emotional, circumstantial, financial…  it’s what brings us to dependency on a Savior. it’s what makes His love so evident. i guess choosing to find the beauty through the pain of life is the challenge for me…
a family’s home during the winter – turned into a restaurant during the summer! i think we dined upstairs in the master bedroom and ate one of the chickens from the backyard. absolutely delicious and so awfully cute.

sometime a wrong turn leads you down a little dirt road covered with the loveliest queen anne’s lace…where of course you must get out and revel for a moment…

[ day 5 & 6]
[ prince edward island  >  st. john, canada  > st. stephen, canada ]
goodbye little pei. it was heavenly, but we shall probably never see you again…
mostly because your confederation bridge toll was a whoppin’ $41. seriously?
today is a good day though. because somehow we randomly stopped in the little town of st. stephen…on the last day of their annual chocolate festival…10 minutes before the parade started! so we joined in the festivities, eating thai food and sipping lemonade.


we also stumbled upon the coolest antique/junk shop in belfast, maine.
it was the most. random. place. I’ve. ever. seen. and utterly overwhelming…
i wanted it all…but i restrained myself. all i came away with was a vintage shovel handle, ha.

[ day 7 ]
[ freeport, me  >  portland, me  >  providence, ri ]
today we did a little more dignified shopping at the cool outlets in freeport, maine.
did you know that’s where L.L.Bean originated?

hands down, portland headlight is the most picturesque lighthouse in all of maine.
and apparently i was really obsessed with the rocks.

don’t worry, the famous lobster roll did make an appearance while we were in maine.

we even got to see our adorable little nephew who was on vacation in rhode island! and his most amazing parents, of course. 

we even got to go kayaking the morning we were there…and had a most random encounter with a couple of feisty goats!


[ day 8 ]
[ providence, ri  >  boston, ma ]
back to boston today, home of the famous mike’s pastry!

thanks to elementary poetry memory, we broke out in unison with, “listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…” when we arrived at the old north church.

and we laughed when we saw this. it just sounds slightly familiar…


piers park is a little trek, but oh, that skyline. just sit and soak it up.
couldn’t have been a prettier sunset tonight, either..



[ day 9 ]
[ boston, ma  >  cincinnati, oh  >  fredericksburg, va ]
it’s the final day on our trip. the city is so sad we must leave, it’s crying.
we have no umbrella and are too proud to wear a poncho.
but we both want to ride on the ferry to see the famous ship, the constitution…
we are officially drenched.

there you have it, our trip in a nutshell. it really was a blessing to be able to go.
i think our desire to travel is satisfied, for a bit. :)
and maybe it’s the whole spending all day, every day with a person, but somehow we came back more in love than when we left.