Long Ago Summer Vacations

Anybody remember this? Back in the day, this was our "Magic Kingdom!!" So many wonderful memories of weekends spent here when our children were little. Move over Walt Disney, with RAINBOW VALLEY, Prince Edward Island had it's own amusement park!

Look at that parking lot!

The big slide!

Here's a great shot of the monorail, what an addition that was!

This was one of our favorite parts of Rainbow Valley, the daily Puppet Show. We were always shocked and amazed by the tricks!! It was also a great chance to get the baby down for a nap, as we all spread out on our quilt in the grass under the shade of the mature trees, just enjoying the break in the action. And speaking of action, does anyone remember the old Roller Coaster down at the back by the trees? "The Bushwhacker?" I distinctly remember Jamie and B.J. being brave enough to take a ride, I could vomit just thinking about it.

I do have fond memories of "The Flying Saucer" gift shop and snacks. What a pile of junk! But kids loved it and I think I remember having some tasty popcorn from there. It was all part of the experience.

And who doesn't remember the paddle boats? The swans, the canoes, the wide dories, all powered by us, as we pumped our little legs like crazy!

Sadly, those days are long gone. My children all remember those lazy summer days as we found so many things to do. They always had a little pocket money to spend on themselves, and it was a great way to learn how to spend. Was that little pocket knife worth it? Those cheap souvenir earrings? Oh well, it was fun. We'd pick a date, the kids would be packing and planning for weeks, even though it was usually just an overnighter for us. More than once our friends Keith and Lorna would join us with their kids, it was a blast!

This family is on the official post card, I'd actually forgotten about the beautiful petting farm. I can still smell the barns, and I remember the year a new barn was built to house the growing herds of animals. We were country kids with country kids, so we didn't spend much time at this part of the fun park, and funnily enough one of the regular things we did was go and talk to "The Wise Owl." It was a long time before the kids figured out how that worked!!! And I have no pictures!

This kid size Green Gables was a fun stop in Rainbow Valley too.

Affordable wholesome family activities can still be had on the Island, not everything has changed, I'm just getting old and cranky. I prefer to hold those memories dear, and hope that families are making new ones.

And what about "Woodleigh Relpicas"? We visited it for the first time on our honeymoon, and fell in love with the place, so many things to see! We even took Momma down to Cavendish and area later that summer to see everything, she loved it. She always loved going for a drive. I even remember the little rest area on the side of the road where we pulled over to have some picnic lunch and for Momma to have a smoke. Didn't everything just taste better at a picnic table in a new place? We always thought so, it was part of the adventure. This photo is from the original post card I bought while there in 1977; I would have made a great scrapbooker, I collected lots of stuff!

The true story of "Mutiny on the Bounty" is one of my all time favorites. There have been several movies made over time, and my favorite is the version starring Sir Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson, seriously, how could you lose?

One summer this tall sailing ship, an exact replica of the original Bounty hove to in Charlottetown, and believe you me, I was one of those 5,000 people who went on board for a tour. It was simply amazing, what they accomplished, and how goods made it all around the world in those early days, before trucks and planes. Don't ever hesitate to gather an experience whenever you can, I have no regrets.

Raise your hands if you know where this is.

The Moon?

Australia?

Downtown St. Catherine's?

Good guesses, all, but of course this is New Brunswick's famous Hopewell Rocks. No need for explanation, most people have been there, but it is a sight to behold.

Famous for the highest tides in the world, they formed these amazing Flower Pot rocks, which again, due to coastal erosion, have formed, broken, washed away and reformed over the years. It was fun to drop by and walk on the ocean's floor, hear your voice echo off the tall cliffs. When we returned later in the day from our excursion, what do we find? Well, nothing really, just a few kayakers skirting around trees in a high tide. Wait a minute. Weren't we just walking around down there at low tide? Jeepers, that's amazing!

Well, I could go on all day, but some pictures make me sad, seeing all those old pictures, how the kids have all grown and moved on.

It's a beautiful day, finally, my lord the fishermen have had a miserable year weather-wise, cold, wet, windy almost the whole season. But this is a lovely morning, and we have plans to attend our first grandchild's graduation in Morell tonight, talk about time flying!

As my cousin signs off, later gator!