Prince Edward Island National Park

 Prince Edward Island Pt 3

Perfect Dune, PEI National Park © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

I think my husband and I spent more time at the beaches, despite the cold wind, than anywhere else. The Dunes were a place for buried and burying treasure. There were clam, oyster and crab shells all over the beach. Our being early in the season meant we had our choice of the biggest and most perfect shells. There was an old wharf in the sand, revealed by the winds and the tide once again after having been buried by those same forces when it was no longer needed. Further east in to PEI National Park, even the new boardwalks were being hidden.

Boardwalk, PEI National Park © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

My fondest memories of this trip will be the hours spent walking barefoot in the sand, the discovery of  ‘sea monster skin’, the passing of eagles in flight and watching the seagulls fly up with oyster shells and drop them from 20 feet in the air.

The feeling of the sand between my toes, my thoughts kept light as the wind and my imagination soars, I could stay here forever. I thought I would finish up this series of posts with just photos and quotes from Lucy Maud Montgomery and her beloved Island…

Sea Monster Skin, PEI National Park © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

I had, in my imagination, a passport to the geography of Fairyland. In a twinkling I could – and did – whisk myself into regions of wonderful adventures, unhampered by any restrictions of time or place.

~ L.M. Montgomery, The Alpine Path

Cavendish Beach, PEI National Park © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

And there was the sea. I was not prepared for the flood of emotion which swept over me when I saw it. I was stirred to the very deeps of my being – tears filled my eyes – I trembled!

~ L.M. Montgomery – letter to G.B. MacMillan

Cavendish Beach, PEI National Park © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

Those who can soar to the highest heights can also plunge to the deepest depths, and the natures which enjoy most keenly are those which also suffer most sharply.

~ L.M. Montgomery

Cavendish Beach, PEI National Park © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.”

~ L.M. Montgomery

Cavendish Beach, PEI National Park © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

“That is one good thing about this world. . .there are always sure to be more springs.”

~ from Anne of Avonlea

Cavendish Beach, PEI National Park © 2009 Michelle Basic Hendry

“Isn’t it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive–it’s such an interesting world. It wouldn’t be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There’d be no scope for imagination then, would there?”

~ from Anne of Green Gables

It’s time to get back to the studio…. There will be a few more images sprinkled in posts from the trip here and there and one more short trip coming up. I feel different somehow after this experience. I am anxious to see how it affects what I create…It should be an interesting summer!