In 1908 the literary world was visited by one of its great soon-to-be successes. That’s when Lucy Maud Montgomery published her classic tale of an orphaned waif named Anne Shirley, who gets relocated to a farm on the north shore of Prince Edward Island at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. The farm is owned by two middle-aged siblings who, as childless and unwed brother and sister, are accidentally chosen to raise Anne in their home that sports a series of green gables sticking out from its roof. Thus began one of the great literary franchises of the Twentieth Century.
The things that make certain stories so compelling to all readers are always hard to pin down much less gather together in one story. There must be just the right blend of familiarity (think in terms of relatability) and wonder/adventure to inspire the readers. An island practically in the North Atlantic is pretty wondrous, but a small farming community is also very familiar to people, especially in 1908. There must also be a blending of pathos and great joy. Orphans have pathos but happy and persevering orphans who make the most of their world are joyous. From that point on, it’s a matter of telling the story so that it goes back and forth between those quadrants.
None of my fellow riders on this trip are orphans to my knowledge, but we all have our versions of pathos mixed with joy and we all yearn for nothing other than a blend of familiarity and adventure. We are out here on the road in unknown (at least to us) lands. But we are doing it in a group that has known one another for 20+ years. We look forward to each new day’s ride and yet we are happy to arrive at the barn where we can catch up on the day’s events in our real world. We push ourselves into discomfort every day as we throw a leg over the bike, but we crave the warmth and camaraderie of the lunch and dinner spots not to mention the hotel rooms that offer the welcome of a place to put up our aching feet. It is unclear why we feel compelled to do this every so often, but the desire for wonder has not yet left us, which I think of as a good thing. Symbolically, we are not too old until we declare ourselves unfit to ride again…and that may or may not coincide with the realities of our abilities.
So far on this trip, we on the bikes, aged 68-74, average age just under 72, all seem fit enough to ride our smaller than normal bikes for up to 250 miles a day. Nevertheless, I suspect we all to varying degrees and in our own unique ways, certainly contemplate the end of our riding life. But then again, here we are facing off against that pathos with the joyous start of each riding day. Our aches and pains have been washed away by a night’s rest and most often a handful of ibuprofen, and we smile into the morning sun. I’m guessing that the joy has about a 4-6 hour half life and by the time we reach the next barn there is more pathos than joy in our hearts.
Our drama this day was about our ferry crossing to PEI. I had reserved our spots on the 1:30pm ferry from Caribou to Woods Landing. That would leave us a few hours to explore the island and perhaps go up to Cavendish, where Green Gables sits to pay homage. But the universe intervened as it often does. When we pulled up to the ferry entrance booth I was asked if I had received the email or text about our ferry being cancelled. It seems one ferry boat was taken out of commission for the day, so we were rebooked on the 4:30pm ferry. That put a knife in our plans for exploring PEI. We spent the time having a leisurely lunch and wandering around in Pictou, the nearest town. I wonder if the Pictou Chamber of Commerce throws wrenches into the ferry’s works to keep its economy turning?
We are on the ferry right now with 4 bikes and the rental car below deck. It’s a 75 minute crossing and that means we will get to our hotel in Charlottetown just in time for dinner. It’s unclear that we will be able to go see Green Gables in the morning since the coast of New Brunswick along the Bay of Fundy beckons. I guess if Green Gables has stood for 125 years, it can wait to be seen by us on another visit. But when will we ever find the adventurous spirit to revisit PEI again? I suspect that I know the answer to that rhetorical question and I suppose I can live without a sighting of this particular landmark. I like that I tried, but I am not upset to have fallen short due to unforeseen circumstances. I view that as just part of the adventure program. Joy in getting to PEI at all and no pathos over missing Green Gables.
As we entered Charlottetown, I was surprised to see it less a city and more a quaint historical town (at least the part we were in). Our hotel, The Great George, is very unique in that it is an entire block of historic buildings all made into one hotel complex. It is at once charming and modernized and very much the sort of place you would willingly come back to visit. Our dinner at a nearby bistro was equally charming. It all served to impress us that Canada’s smallest province may be its best.
We have another three days of touring the Maritimes and the weather looks to be holding up for us. Symbolically speaking, there are many Green Gables for us to see along that path. I find that taking each day at face value and shedding the annoyance of broken plays or missed attractions is the only way to go. We got to ride the ferry to PEI, we got to see the town of Pictou from one end to the next, we got to enjoy Charlottetown for an evening and we will get extra time to enjoy the natural wonders of the Bay of Fundy and the city of Saint John. That’s not such a bad trade off for a few silly Green Gables.