Trying to be a tourist.

I have managed to do a little touristy stuff while on this trip, which is a change from my last trip. (I went to Kansas in June and came home with nothing! I am ashamed.) Yesterday after a day at the archives---yay!---I walked next door to Province House to check out the goings-on in there. I discovered that not only is this place a semi-perserved museum of sorts, but houses the provincial legislature. I got to walk into the actual legislative chamber, and see where the MPPs (or are they MLAs?) sit when the legislature is in session. (The members' offices are in the same building as the archive.) PEI's legislature has only 27 representatives, so the chamber was not very big. It was nice, but a little funny looking since I'm used to the size of the House of Commons in Ottawa and Queen's Park in Toronto. Today after I finished up at the archives I went in search of souvenirs to bring home with me. Ok, so you can buy all kinds of stuff that says PEI on it or has a dog/cat/countryside/seaside theme. Not particularly unique. I was comtemplating getting a nice mug with a lobster on it, because, well, another mug is always a good thing, and it was kinda cute. But then I saw the "Decorated in PEI" stamp on the bottom. Somehow this made the mug feel less authentic than what I was looking for. I settled for some postcards, and then headed over to the post office for stamps. Friends: my heart was in the right place, so I hope you aren't too upset when I don't bring you anything! I'm just not good at this sort of thing. I should also confess that I did not venture out to Green Gables.

There are lots of really nice houses around here, and the architecture is quite different from the standard brick you see in older parts of Ottawa and Toronto. Some of the structures here date back to the eighteenth century, and most of the houses have wood siding or wooden shingles, usually painted bright colours. It's really pretty. My parents' house, for example, is bright yellow with navy blue around the windows and doors.

Yesterday after I got home from touring Province House---which, mind you, took only a few minutes---my dad told me that old family friends were coming over. Turns out they had just dropped off their daughter at her university, and were at a nearby camp ground. It was nice to see them again, and then we all went out to dinner in the heart of downtown, which also happens to be just up the street. Literally up the street. It was nice. I had seafood chowder and chocolate cheesecake. Jealous? Tonight the plan is for my dad to treat us all to a home-cooked lobster feast. I've also visited a couple of nice churches in town---this island has a huge number of churches! Today I went into St. Paul's "Anglican" (yes, with the quotation marks), and on the weekend I took in the amazing Trinity United Church.

The last thing I did at the archives today was ask one of the staff members there some questions so I could write up something for Archives Made Easy. HD: Remind me to do this, since I may forget! Oh, and the guy I talked to has the deepest voice I think I've ever heard. It was so weird. (Things I get distracted by when I'm reading about Vladivostok . . . .)

P.S. In case I forget later, let me say "thank you" to jeffclory, Wireless, and Jacob for not having security on your wireless internet connections, thus allowing me to borrow your signals!