There is so much fun to be had right here in the campground that the kids had no trouble staying entertained. In addition to a jump pad, playground, and pool, they have a climb on play boat, a petting zoo, bike track, and staff led activities at various times.
The KOA check-in girl pointed out several paths right from the campground to attractions that we can walk or ride bikes on, so we were hoping we wouldn't even need the Jeep. Today we rode our bike across the street to the path past the "Lake of Shining Waters" and down to the Cavendish beach. There was a little dune to walk past and it was all beautiful. Just past the sandy beach the land became red cliffs. The girls were collecting red rocks (which we did not keep). Riding bikes uphill back from the beach was a little harder, but we took our time and walked them when needed. We even stopped to smell the flowers.
We went out to dinner in Avonlea. We were lucky to get there before they closed--everything closes early around here. Darn, the kids wanted to stop and buy ice cream and souvenirs after dinner but the shop is closed (*snicker*). We had plenty of time to enjoy an evening campfire and roast s'mores. A nice relaxing evening, since we haven't had a lot of time for that simple pleasure.
We are about halfway through the book Anne of Green Gables and are looking forward to seeing the real place for the fictional story. We want to see the beautiful nature that inspired her "scope of imagination", and intensity for love and grudges.
We started by visiting the home of Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author, and coincidentally the post office she worked at--we bought some Canadian postage to send letters home from Canada just for the fun of it (we seem to have found our groove again and the kids are re-inspired to write postcards again)--and the kids learned how international postage works.Then we went over to the National site of the Anne of Green Gables house, and now we can visualize Anne climbing up the steep stairs to her room or sewing in the parlor room downstairs sewing. They had a scavenger hunt provided by the Canadian version of Jr. Rangers "Xplorers" and found fun things like the oil lamps, raspberry cordial, and a bed pan. I also spotted the fruit picker and pointed it out because I recognized it because I used one at my Great Grandparent Sabia's house years ago. The last find took more effort but we enjoyed the walk down the creek to find the milk bottle in the water like the school children would do to keep their lunch milk cold. We even learned what a gable is.
We actually started in the museum about the author and learned how Montgomery created her characters in the setting of the nature she lived in and how she was genuinely surprised when she realized other people wanted to read her book. The quote about the story as an opportunity for family bonding touched me since that is how I feel while reading with the kids at night. I had braided the girls' hair in double french braids in Anne's honor. We didn't know Anne would be home today, but we ran into her right before we left (but she was not as talkative as we would expect).
We tidied up the motorhome and enjoyed the campground in the afternoon. Marissa swam in the pool with her clothes on--she didn't initially want to swim, content with riding her bike, but after waiting for me and her sisters on the pool deck she wanted to be in there too. I did my best to keep the kids outside or quiet while Chris had school 7-10pm. I sent Addisyn and Piper in to shower quietly one at a time, and they all discovered the bubble machine. We were even able to read another half-hour (1 1/2 chapters) of Anne of Green Gables.
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