I just got back from a work trip to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on Sunday 2/15/09. This post was originally posted on 2/10/09 in my see_brownie_run livejournal, but it has been revised for my new blog.
My coworker Joe and I hit up trivia night at the Smuggler’s Jug on Friday night, a little pub down the street from our hotel, and it proved to be an excellent decision.
Turns out we made it just in time to play bingo with a riled up group of locals. While hilarious, neither of us walked away with any loonies or toonies jingling in our pockets. After bingo was over, they busted out the trivia. Joe and I called our team “The Americans” and we got second place the first round…which was actually pretty awesome considering we were the only 2 person team competing against teams with 5-10 people on them. The second round we didn’t fair so hot but were amused at the random questions thrown out that cost patrons a quarter a guess. We quickly blew through the few quarters I dug out of my purse and Joe had to run out to the car for some change after he yelled out (wrong) answers he was “sure of”.
Saturday we drove around the island and saw Green Gables of the infamous Anne of Green Gables, Confederation Bridge, a lighthouse, and a bunch of other stuff that is closed. Apparently February is not the touristy time to be on the island.
Standing in front of the infamous Green Gables house from Anne of Green Gables.
After getting back into Charlottetown we went into this music store called Back Alley Music and bought a compilation cd called Well-Oiled consisting of 17 local bands from around Prince Edward Island in 2007. The guy working at the music store gave us a tip to check out Baba’s Lounge that night if we like live music. It was a nifty little pub that was long and narrow, but we grabbed a seat at the bar and personally I enjoyed the band but they didn’t so much suit Joe’s taste. I just have a special place in my heart for hippy jam bands, though for the venue it was a bit loud.
I spent Sunday being lazy and listening to the rain outside of my hotel room window and didn’t do anything of real excitement during the rest of the work week. The highlight once again was Friday evening when we made our return appearance at The Smuggler’s Jug. Joe was a bit luckier as he hit the jackpot and filled his bingo card on the last game to pocket $30 in colorful (or is that colourful?) Canadian money and then correctly answered a quarter question for a free beer. The only thing I won was a nasty hangover that I didn’t collect until Saturday morning.
Luckily we knew just where to go to replenish nutrients on Saturday morning and headed downtown to Cora’s, a restaurant chain in Canada that NEEDS to make the jump to the US. We had dined there the previous weekend after adventuring and I looked forward to coming back all week. Most dishes come with a generous helping of fresh fruit, their crunchy crepes have been haunting my dreams and the waitstaff was so chipper you wanted to order whatever they were on. If you see one while traveling through Canada, I recommend you stop in!
Saturday continued into awesomeness as Joe and I sat at a diner in the Ottawa airport awaiting one of our connecting flights (of many). A couple of blonde twenty-something girls came up to the server at bar and asked if they could pay in American dollars. Without missing a beat the bartender replied, “You can pay in American dollars but you will get Canadian change.” Maybe the week was just too long for me, that put a smile on my face.
Overall, not a bad trip to Prince Edward Island. While the snow-covered, sparkling views were incredible, it still would have been nice to see some of the lush, green rolling hills that are plastered all over google images. Or at least a seal.
