Day 9 up in Prince Edward Island dawned warm and rainy, and that was fine as we were headed out to Dalvay-by-the-Sea aka The White Sands Hotel in Anne of Green Gables for high tea, something I'd wanted to do very badly while we were up there.



It's a beautiful place but the first time I saw it, I could not fit my image of this with The White Sands. They say it was used it the movie though, so I'm going to believe them as the place is not only stately and genteel, but has a pretty amazing history of its own, without Anne.







It was elegant and had the feel of old money, the kind of air that doesn't need to shout to convince you of its worthiness, if you know what I mean. No bling here, just quiet grace. Gorgeous.







They had a photo history of the house and the original family that built it. It's kind of a tragic story, as the gentleman built it for his family (he had amassed a fortune over his lifetime), had two very eligible daughters Helena and Laura and instead of letting them look for husbands locally, decided they should go to Europe and marry gentlemen with titles as befitting their status 



so the girls were both married to princes who, if I'm recalling the details correctly, managed to lose all of their father's fortune after he passed, including this house, then promptly divorced the sisters who were now penniless (boy, this burns me) and Helena, divorced while she was dying of cancer, died at age 38, and Laura took her children, moved to New York and worked to support them until she too dropped dead. I have no idea what happened to the princes. (insert any fate you'd like here.) The house was purchased by the caretaker for back taxes, and then it was sold again later.  

I keep wondering which room was used in the movie.



We had tea here





And despite how empty this tiered tray looks here's the high tea menu we had (and my God, it was good). Tarts and clotted cream and lobster and aspargus sandwiches and scones and everything else on that menu.



It was a place steeped in history, and well worth enjoying.







and then we headed out to one last beach in the rain



grabbed an unbrella and got out there





and said good-bye to PEI because we had to be out of the cabin by ten the next morning, and we had a lot of packing up to do.



Who can resist running around in the rain? I can't. I love summer rain.

We hit the road at 10 the next morning, all packed up and torn between a leisurely, three-day ride home -- which was the original plan -- and just getting home. We decided on 'just getting home' so we drove straight through, a 20-hour shot and it was a killer but somehow the mood stayed happy and I only nodded off once, sitting straight up, for about 30 seconds. (and not while driving, as I didn't take the wheel once on the way home.)

Prince Edward Island is a beautiful place. I'd not only recommend it but I'd go back in a heartbeat.