"On the Trail"
Saturday, August 11, 2001: Body Surfing - Charlottetown to St. Peters, Prince Edward Island, Canada - 53 km
Frank here…
It was a comfortable temperature, a clear blue sky with great tail winds on my way to St. Peters. Louise met me at the eastern tip of St. Peter's Bay and we drove towards the sand dunes of Greenwich National Park. A short bike ride for the both of us took us to the beach where we finally saw some bigger waves. I was quite excited to body surf again. It was so fresh and invigorating. The record high temperatures at the beginning of the week had subsided, so the beach was not too busy.
From there we headed to Cavendish, the sight of the home that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery to write the very famous book, Anne of Green Gables. I wanted to see Anne of Green Gables home so much that I was all tingly inside as we drew nearer to it and walked through the house and down the path called "Lover's Lane". Then we were off to Avonlea village (actually a replica) which represents a small PEI village at the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries. There often are actors walking freely depicting Anne and other characters of the book and movie. Some of the historical buildings were moved to the site such as the Belmont schoolhouse where Montgomery taught and an old church that her cousins once attended. That evening, Louise and I went to that church and were entertained by traditional singing, step dancing and fiddling (even by a cute two year old boy) at what is called a Ceilidh concert. There is a lot of Scottish influence in the culture of this island.
We did not eat for a while in order to leave some room for the all you can eat lobster dinner at North Rustico. One lobster each, endless salad and about 1000 plates of my favorite desserts (fruit pie), left me rolling out of the restaurant. By the door, on the way out of the restaurant was a wig of Anne of Green Gables. A young girl was wearing it and I thought that she was the real Anne, but then she laughed and put the wig back in its place. Well, I could not just let it sit there. I had to try it on too!
-I think that when athletes say that they want to be the best at the sport, they are just telling us half the story. I think that they also want it to be known that they are the best.
-Frank Pollari
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