Chicago...

We've been home since late Wednesday night. Since then, it's been a bit of transition getting used to being home.

Our bodies aren't sure whether we should be used to Alaska time, Eastern Canadian time or Chicago time.

Also, our bed is so comfortable that it's impossible to get out of.

It's great being home. We've been busy ever since we got back.

Thursday I went to the dentist and had an appointment in Lincoln Square. Friday I taught a workshop and then we went to 3 shows at Second City. Saturday we took the whole day off to rest and unpack. Sunday, we went to the Renaissance Fair.



Matt and Brynne asked us if we wanted to go and since neither of us had ever been to one before, we jumped at the opportunity.

When Brett heard we were going he responded by saying, "Having you spent enough time with people in costumes this week?"

We had a great time with Matt and Brynne.



So many funny things to see.



























It rained so we didn't get to see the final joust, but we did at least get to go to Steak n' Shake!

Last night we finally got to see our friends Becca and Guillermo. Here's Jeannie waiting for them to knock on our door.


Things are starting to get back to normal.


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Green Gables...

Today was our last day in Prince Edward Island.

After a Tim Horton breakfast, we headed to the Mecca of Anne Shirley sites, Green Gables.



It's really a beautiful, whimsical park property.



Designed to look exactly how it was described in the book, it's a fully functional house.

Lucy Maude Montgomery based Green Gables on the house where her grandfather's cousin lived. It sat on this spot and looked similar to the this house.

The Canadian Preservation Society renovated the property to look like the descriptions from the books.

Next to the house are the Lover's Lane and Haunted Forrest.






The authors former childhood home is through the Haunted Forrest and we walked through it to see the foundation of the house. While we were there we met a lovely lady whose husband was Lucy Maude Montgomery's cousin.


She told Jeannie a lot about the history of the area and personal stories about the author.

After that, we walked over to Lucy Maude Montgomery's gravesite.

We then walked back to Green Gables and Jeannie took a last few looks at the house.






To Jeannie, this was the best part of the trip. She really loved seeing the house and walking through the rooms and hallways of the special place she had been imagining about ever since she was 8 years old.

We then went to the gift shop and that's where my fun started.

Look at all the things you can sell as Anne Of Green Gables paraphernalia.


Chocolate suckers.


Wind chimes.


Tiny Spoons. (These are not functioning spoons)


Letter openers.


Napkins. Seriously, there were napkins everywhere. One packet of 8 cost $6.99. Apparently you're kinda not supposed to use these napkins either. They're decorative (paper) napkins.


Weeds. You can grow your own Anne inspired weeds.


Toenail clippers. Really.

This wasn't in the gift shop, but I'm scared of what they are asking for in this sign.



Jeannie said it was a magical day and I enjoyed walking around and seeing everything with her.



She really enjoyed her birthday and said the whole trip was very special to her.


That's all that matters. I'm so glad she had such a good time.

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Avonlea...

Today, Jeannie's birthday, we woke up and had breakfast at our inn.

They had blueberry and cream cheese pancakes.

After breakfast, we drove over to Avonlea Village.

Jeannie was really looking forward to Avonlea Village. It's kind of an amusement park set up like the town from the Anne of Green Gables books.



As you wander through town, characters from the book reenact scenes from Anne of Green Gables.


Some of the reenactments take place on a stage.



Jeannie liked to be in the front row. I thought we might be blocking the view for some of the kids, but Jeannie said, "They had their chance! I shouldn't be punished because they had poor planning."


Thus, I was in the first row surrounded by Jeannie and tons of little girls.



By the afternoon, the kids outfoxed her and placed their Anne of Green Gables Dolls on their seats to save their places. Jeannie was not happy.



A lot of the reenactments take place all around you in the streets of the town.



Jeannie was so excited she was freaking out.


Watching the scene where Diana and Anne become "bosom friends" almost caused her head to explode.






I do not know the books and only saw the movie once a few years ago when Jeannie asked me to watch it with her. Still, the whole day was very fun. The actors were really great at the reenactments and stayed in character all day long. They came up and discussed things with you and did a great job of improvising.



Jeannie and Josie Pye had a rivalry all day long. They pretended to give each other fake compliments and then Josie yelled in the street gossip that Jeannie had told her. She yelled, "Jeannie from Chicago told me that Diana Barry got drunk at Anne Shirley's house. Spread the word!"


We had a great lunch at Moo Moo and then Jeannie found the Dress Up Like Anne house.









I even got corralled for a photo.


We had a great time at Avonlea Village.


















For the second part of Jeannie's birthday, we went to the famous Dalvay By The Sea Hotel for High Tea.






It's known as the inspiration for the White Sands Hotel in the book and it's where several scenes in the movie were filmed. Also, it's where Kate Middleton and Prince William stayed when they visited Prince Edward Island last year. Anne of Green Gable's is Kate Middleton's favorite book too.









After that, we drove to Charlottetown to watch the Anne of Green Gables Musical.



Yes, there's a full musical.

It was really great.

I asked Jeannie if she had overloaded on Green Gables yet. Not yet, she proclaimed.



That's good. Because we're headed to Green Gables tomorrow.


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