My East Coast Summer Vacation Pt. 2 (New Brunswick to PEI)

Welcome to part 2 of my East Coast Summer Vacation segment following my travels through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. My first post of the series talked about our first day driving and our night in Edmundston New Brunswick.

Our second day of driving wasn't nearly as long as the first. We left our hotel in Edmundston and reached The Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island in the afternoon.

The Confederation Bridge from Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick to PEI

The Confederation Bridge is the longest in the world at 8 miles long. Driving up to it was kind of scary, seeing how high the arch goes up. However the crossing was really quite nice as it was a clear day with little wind.

Driving up to the bride. Look how high up it goes!

It took my breath away when I got my first glimpse of the red shores of Prince Edward Island. Pictures just don't do this island justice. Ever since I first saw the television show Road to Avonlea as a little girl, it has been my dream to someday go to PEI. So needless to say I was so excited about this trip. I may have even squealed a little, ha. 

Check out this video from the Tourism PEI, Youtube Channel:

Our hotel was in the capitol city of Charlottetown, so we had some more diving do to once we got off the bridge, but this was ok with us because there was so much to see. I was so in awe of all the beautiful gardens and farm fields. The people of this province certainly take pride in their homes and land.

Once again we stayed at The Best Western, this time in downtown Charlottetown. Unfortunately this location wasn't as nice as the hotel we stayed at in New Brunswick. However its location was only a 5 minute walk to the harbor front which was great.

Best Western Charlottetown

 The amenities at this hotel include: fitness center and indoor pool. I found the decor to be a bit outdated, but the beds were comfortable. It did feel a bit damp in our room though and our remote for the TV didn't work. On the bright side we did receive prompt service from the staff when we called the front desk. Still I think I will try to stay in a different hotel if I'm ever in that city again.

After checking in we walked down to the waterfront. We did some shopping and had a yummy feed of potato skins and mussels.

Harbor front, Charlottetown PEI

While down at the waterfront there were some young kids singing and playing some traditional music. This was a perfect accompaniment to our traditional PEI meals. We liked this spot so much we went back later that night for dessert, drinks and more live music.

Another traditional feed: PEI lobster

Walking around downtown Charlottetown felt so safe. It felt more like being in a small town, than a city. The people we met were all so nice, especially the locals who would wave and say hello as you walk by. I just love that east coast hospitality.

That concludes our first day on Prince Edward Island. Stay tuned for my next post where we take in the sights and all things L.M. Montgomery.

Source:
http://confederationbridge.com/
http://www.tourismpei.com/index.php3

My East Coast Summer Vacation Pt. 1 (Quebec to New Brunswick)

This has been a post I've been meaning to make since last month, however I was swamped with reviews, tags, memes and Bout of Books, so I kept putting it off. So tonight I finally decided to take some time to begin telling you all about my summer vacation.

Our journey included stops in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and our final destination Newfoundland.

We left home (Ontario) long before the sun began to rise on the morning of July 12. Because we were driving we wanted to make the most of our time. Hoping to reach Montreal Quebec before the lunch time traffic got too bad. Really, who am I kidding? Traffic in Montreal is always bad.

Map of the Trans Canada through Quebec and New Brunswick

It had been around 13 years since I drove out east with my family. The past couple of trips I took out there was by plane. I enjoy the drive mostly because of the scenery. Unfortunately I had forgotten how uncomfortable it is to be crunched up in the back seat of a vehicle for several days in a row, ha. I'm not as young as I once was. :)

Thankfully there is a new route through Montreal that goes around the city. This route was beautiful as the highway winds through a lot of farm area. I wish I had gotten some pictures. I would have loved to stop and spend some time in Montreal and Quebec City, however that wasn't on our agenda this trip. Hopefully I will get a chance to do this another time though. Perhaps it would be a nice honeymoon spot.. I'm getting off track here ha.

Our stop for the first night of our drive was in Edmundston New Brunswick. We arrived at our hotel around dinner time. We stayed at the Best Western for the night.

Not the best picture, but this is the Best Western, Edmundston

The amenities included: a pool, hot tub, fitness center, high-speed internet and continental breakfast.

Inside the beautiful lobby at the Best Western Edmundston

Inside the hotel was just even more beautiful than the outside. It was decorated with lovely antique furniture and paintings in all of the common areas. The second floor had a nice setting area, with a two level fireplace. There was also a beautiful oak staircase leading up from the lobby.

I wish I could have taken more time to explore the hotel, but after many hours traveling we were all exhausted. We were all sound asleep in our comfy beds before the sun set for the day.

The next morning we were early to rise as we had to get back on the road again. The continental breakfast was decent and had several options to offer guests. Other than a broken hair dryer, we all enjoyed our stay here. I would recommend the Best Western Edmundston to others and would stay there again.

Our next stop was Prince Edward Island! Stay tuned for my next post where I will continue on to share our adventures there.


 Sources:
http://transcanadahighway.com/quebec/map.html 

Where Trust Lies by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan

Image from Goodreads

Title: Where Trust Lies
Author: Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan
First Published: Jan 2015
Published By: Bethany House
Format Read: ARC Ebook, Kobo
Genre: Christian/Inspirational Fiction, Historical Fiction, Canadian Fiction
Read: Feb 5 2015
Rating: 4/5

I received an eBook ARC of Where Trust Lies by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan, from the publisher Bethany House, in return for an honest review.

Where Trust Lies is the second book in the Return to the Canadian West series. The first book (which I have yet to read) follows a young Ontario woman named Elizabeth who travels to a small mining town in Alberta, to teach. This second book in the series begins at the end of her teaching year, as she returns home to her family in Toronto for the summer. Her departure from Coal Valley was very bitter sweet as she had to leave behind a Mountie named Jarrick who she has begun a relationship with. Upon returning home Elizabeth learns that she is about to embark on a cruise on the St. Lawrence with her Mother, two sisters, nephew and family friends, thus putting even more miles in between her and Jarrick. While on the cruise Elizabeth juggles trying to understand her overprotective mother, while trying to reign in her spirited younger sister Julie, who has befriended some questionable shipmates.

I knew that I would like this story once I learned that it not only is it historical fiction, but it is set in Canada. It is my goal this year to read more books set in Canada and by Canadian authors. Where Trust Lies takes its readers on a cross country journey beginning in Alberta to Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. The cruise also brings the Thatcher and Montclair families to a few states in the US as well. I enjoyed this part of the book very much. The descriptions of each port they stopped in was beautiful. I learned of several places I hadn’t heard of before and it made me long to take a cruise or vacation of my own. As a result this lead me to do some research into the places the characters in this book visited. This also helped me to paint a picture of the setting in my head, so to speak. My one problem, however was the lack of description of the brief time spend in Toronto. While on their stop in Halifax, Elizabeth is surprised as to how short the tress were in that city. This was due to the Halifax explosion that happened several years before the novel took place. I was surprised that the characters didn’t know much about this disaster. Especially considering that Elizabeth was an educated teacher. I wondered if this was due to their select sheltering of their wealthy standing. Another point this brought up was the way technology has advanced the way we receive information now as compared to that of the time this book was set it. This would make for a great book club discussion.  

Where Trust Lies, at its heart is about the relationships between mothers and daughters and sisters. What makes it even more special is that this book is written by a mother and daughter writing duo: Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan. Elizabeth wants her mother to understand and support her relationship with Jarrick and she seeks to understand better why she is as overprotective as she is. Although some differences, the woman are more similar than she realizes. Set in a time when women are starting to take their own paths in life and dismiss the old fashioned rules of their elders, younger sister Julie longs for independence. An example of the changing of times that stayed with me, was that a woman couldn’t even cut their own hair without the authorization of their family, more specifically their father. However this I attribute to the fact that they come from a wealthy and religious family. Elizabeth takes it upon herself to chaperone Julie as she befriends two flapper sisters: Janis and Penny and a young man named Nick. There were times when I felt as if the older sister was a bit of a wet blanket, so to speak. Or as Nick puts it “a flat tire”. It would have been interesting (in my opinion) to have seen things more from Julie’s perspective. Although I foreshadowed that her new friends would lead Julie into trouble, I didn’t think that it would go exactly in the direction it did. The reason I thought this was because the majority of the book was very light hearted and although the faith was still evident near the end, it did take a darker turn.

As I mentioned I have yet to read the first book in the series, however after really enjoying this second book, I can’t wait to purchase a copy for myself. I also plan to purchase a physical copy of this book as well. In the GoodReads description of the first book in the series I learned that When Calls the Heart was turned into a Hallmark Channel series by the same name. Hopefully I will be able to find the first season on DVD, as I’d like to purchase it as well.

In conclusion I would recommend this book to those who enjoy Christian/Inspirational fiction and historical fiction. This would also make a great mother-daughter book club read. I’m looking forward to reading more by Janette Oke in the near future.  

Additional thoughts:

Upon discovering that the the first book was turned into a television show I needed to know more. I went to the Hallmark Channel's website, hoping that I would be able to watch episodes there but unfortunately I can't. So I will just have to find it on DVD.

Image Source: http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/when-calls-the-heart

Here is a picture of the cast from When Calls the Heart. Yes that is Lori Loughlin, Aunt Becky from Full House. So excited to watch this show. Although I've heard that there are quite a few differences from the book, but thats typical right?




For more information visit the website:
http://www.hallmarkchannel.com/when-calls-the-heart


Also, how awesome would it be to go on a cruise along the St. Lawrence? Just another trip that I've discovered from a book. Added that to my bucket list for sure!


Check out these websites for more information:
http://www.cruisesaintlawrence.com/EN/index.aspx
 http://www.stlawrencerivercruise.com/index.cfm


Wow, just beautiful! One day, one day!