I don't know whether to laugh, cry or scream at this point.
Part of me is more excited than I've ever been in my life. That is because on Friday, Mom and I are going to Prince Edward Island. Why? To follow TRH the Earl and Countess of Wessex around as they make their first official visit to Canada since their marriage last year. We will spend the weekend taking pictures and hopefully meeting Edward and Sophie in person! That is why I want to laugh.
The crying and screaming parts comes in two sections.
Last night I realized that I can't find the $75.00 worth of gas coupons that are supposed to pay the gas expense of the trip--my father is lending me his car (how cool is that?!?) and I have four days to find the coupons or else my vacation pay is going to go towards gas! The thing is, I thought they were in my purse and they're not. I have no clue where they are. I need a miracle...
And finally for this entry, I am starting to doubt the weather. It rained on Saturday and it rained yesterday and now it's raining today. I swear if it rains all weekend, I will scream! It would ruin an otherwise perfect vacation. Of course I'm praying it doesn't rain...it better not!...but will take whatever comes for the chance to see Edward and Sophie.
My friend Brynne has come through for me in the most amazing way! He has done what I could not: found an itineray for the weekend, so we will know what Edward and Sophie will be doing. Mom and I are going to be there in plenty of time, and I am now really excited because I know that I will get to see them on Friday, in 3 DAYS TIME and have plenty of opportunities to take pictures of them and maybe even mingle with them! Woohoo!
Later That Day...
I have managed to find a more detailed itinerary for the weekend. It's not much different from the first, just has more details. Also, we were trying to think of something we could give to Edward and Sophie that they would keep, instead of just the teddy bear, which we don't think they will. I asked my friend Aaron and he suggested a postcard or something from the local area. His logic is that they might keep scrapbooks like normal people do. The teddy bear will likely go to some little kid in a hospital, and that's perfectly okay with us, but we'd like to give them something that they'd keep for themselves.
The most important weekend of my life is 2 days away. And during those two days I am supposed to work two shifts (both tonight and tomorrow night) and get two good nights' sleep. Somehow, I'm doubting it...sleep is not going to be easy. Tonight, it might not be too hard, but tomorrow...I have a feeling I won't be able to sleep and at work I'll be as useless as tits on a bull (to quote my friend Erin). Both Mom and I are amazingly excited about the trip, and I'm sure Mom will have a hard time sleeping too. The time seems to be going so slowly...it's like watching a pot of water boil. It seems to take forever, like it's never going to happen. I stopped watching pots years ago, but waiting for the weekend to finally get here is going to drive me crazy!
On a more panic-driven note, I have searched this apartment high and low for those blasted gas coupons and I can't find them anywhere! Argh!
Oh dear lord...
It's almost 2:30 in the morning and I have not slept yet! Lauchie's been sound asleep for at least an hour and a half. I should be too, I have to pack in the morning, look for those coupons--again--and get my pay check and vacation pay. I need sleep...I'm going to have a long, busy weekend and if I don't sleep first, I'll be dead on my feet by Sunday!
We're leaving in a little less than 30 hours. Mom is so excited she never said a word about the coupons and she can't remember when I'm working! =) Ah well, I'm excited too, but I'm getting to the point where if I say we're excited one more time in this journal, I'll scream!
Okay. I'm checking AGR one more time, eating the rest of the watermelon (well, maybe I'll save a piece for Lauchie!) and then I'm going back to bed. And if I can't sleep after that, I'm a lost cause. LOL...
10 Hours Later
I'm in the process of making a list of what I have to bring so when I pack, I won't forget anything. The problem is, I can't remember if I'm forgetting to put things on the list! Ah well, I'll manage...
4 Hours Later
If there's one good thing about packing, it's that it doesn't take that long once you start. I have 3 pairs of shorts and a flannel shirt (the last clothes I have to take with me) in the washer right now. I know what I'm going to wear in the morning, I don't think I'm forgetting anything. Time to make a list of the things I need to remember tonight or in the morning.
It still seems like it's taking forever. Michael says it's like being a kid and waiting for Christmas Day. Boy is he ever right about that!
This is the last entry before tomorrow, and I'm off to work in a little while. If I am forgetting something, I just hope it's not important!
(7:15 AM) Well I better not have forgotten anything! Lauchie will be up in 20 minutes, and in about half an hour, he'll be taking me to my parents' house. I'd say we're leaving in about an hour from right now.
Personally, I've been up since 5:50 this morning, although excitement is not the reason I'm using! First the cat got me up and a little while later, after trying unsuccessfully to go back to sleep, my body decided it was hungry. So those are my reasons for getting up so early!
All I have left to pack are the drinks and sandwiches. Everything else was taken care of last night.
I wonder what time Mom got up...?
(10:00 AM) Just as I suspected: Mom was up with the birds! I'm writing this on the ferry...we're on our way to the Island! We've already had some excitement: around 8:25, when we'd been on the road for about 20 minutes or so and weren't that far from where my Aunt's cabin is, we saw a bear on the side of the road! Whoa...I had never seen a bear in the wild before, that was amazing! I have a feeling this whole weekend will be a series of firsts...
(8:00 PM) I hardly know where to begin! Mom and I are both so tired we're more giddy and silly than we've ever been in our lives!
We got off the ferry around 11:15 this morning and arrived here in Charlottetown a little after noon. After registering at the bed and breakfast we're staying at (which is absolutely one of the nicest buildings I have ever seen!) and getting ourselves somewhat organized, we decided to walk around, get some lunch and figure out where Province House was.
We ended up getting just a wee bit turned around, even with a map, but we managed to find Province House with very few problems. Lunch was another story. We just wanted something to eat, nothing fancy or foreign or anything. The only choices we found were fancy, foreign...and Subway.
We chose Subway (of course). As someone who works in one, I have this to say: the boards were dirty, the garbages were full to overflowing, whoever did the onions wasn't trained properly. The food was good, though, so I didn't say anything.
After lunch, we had some time on our hands, so we went into the Anne of Green Gables Store, which is a store filled with all things "Anne" and LM Montgomery. It's really a nice store--the staff even dress in clothes from "Anne's" time, which was neat. I got myself a book of LMM's short stories that I didn't have already, and Mom bought me a volume of her journals.
Afterwards, as it was 2 p.m. I decided it would be best to go get our spots outside Province House for the big arrival, so we went there.
On our way to get our spots right up at the cord (yep, right up front!) we passed a woman wearing a large headset, carrying a microphone and with some recording equipment as well. I, in true friendly NS style, gave her a big smile and said hello. That was all the invitation she needed. She turned out to be a reporter for CBC Radio and proceeded to ask me about why I was there, how excited I was, why I liked the Royals, who my favorite was and why, all sorts of things like that. I can't remember her name right now...I forgot it two seconds after she said it if I ever remembered it!...but she was rather shocked when I said my favorite member of the Royal family is Edward. I spoke to her for a few minutes, and I'm really quite excited about being interviewed for national radio! It was awesome!
Anyway, because we got there so early, we scored awesome spots right up at the cord, and that's where we stayed. It was perfect, there was even a tree, so we had some shade. But the wait was unreal, because all the children around us kept asking their parents when...
Mom and I, being giddy and excited, were laughing like fools at everything. People must have thought we were nuts, but we don't care...
After what seemed like an eternity--only really an hour--we were treated to military honours in full splendor, as they got ready for the arrival of Edward and Sophie. Then 21 shots rang out, one at a time, from somewhere. By this time, everyone was standing, cameras ready, waiting as patiently as we could.
Finally, around 3:20, some of the good sized crown began clapping and cheering as the Earl and Countess of Wessex got out of the car. They met the dignitaries and Edward inspected the troops while everyone looked on and the band played. Then the rest of the military salute was done, and Edward and Sophie, along with their security team, did a mini-walkabout on one side of the yard (but not the side we were on).
Edward was wearing a dark grey suit and looked pretty much the way he does in pictures. But more about that later.
After they did the walkabout, they went to the front of Province House, where a podium was set up.
First the Solicitor General of Canada spoke, then the Premier of PEI. Both speeches were rather boring, but neither one of them spoke long, so we didn't have long to wait before Edward spoke! (A ram file of his speech is linked at the bottom of this page if you're interested, but you have to have a real player to view it).
If Edward is as funny, charming and delightful as he seems, then he is someone I would like to be friends with! He had everyone laughing and cheering at his jokes, easy-going manner. He even ad-libbed at one point early in his speech. The wind blew his paper off the podium! He finished the sentence he was saying and then said "Oh dear" as he noticed what happened. Amid our laughter, he went to retrieve his flying speech. Back in place with the paper firmly in hand, he commented "Normally I learn these things by heart but I thought I wouldn't today." which got more laughs from the crowd.
He seems very down-to-earth and normal, calling Sophie "my bride" and joking that people say you shouldn't still be saying that after a year of marriage. He also commented that "time flies when you're having a good time". I get the feeling he and Sophie have a very good, close, loving marriage, especially since Sophie was smiling widely while her husband was talking.
After Edward's speech, which he finished in French, he, Sophie and the Canadian dignitaries went inside Province House. One of the security guys told us that they would be back out in half an hour.
Before I get to that, I want to describe what Sophie was wearing. Later, I'll describe her looks. She had on a light blue two-piece suit that was absolutely gorgeous. She also had on a black wide-rimmed hat with flowers in it. She wore beige coloured shoes on her feet and beige gloves on her hands. And she carried a beige coloured handbag with a black handle. She looked lovely!
After the half hour was up, they came out of Province House and, as was expected, they did a walkabout on our side of the yard! It must be noted that they didn't shake hands on this walkabout, they just stopped every couple of people to chat for a few seconds before moving on.
Sophie came first, before Edward, not sure why. She stopped a couple of people away from Mom and I, and ended up speaking to the whole group of us in general, asking where people were from and things like that. She didn't speak directly to me, but I did make eye contact with her and say "Hi" with a huge grin on my face, which made her smile. Smiling is contageous, I believe. At any rate, Sophie was no more than a foot away from me, even less, really, and I could have touched her if I wanted to (but I didn't really want to...it was enough to see her).
While I was too stunned to say more than hi to her before she moved on, I can give you these facts about her that are the truth, from someone who has seen her up close and personal: Her voice is lovely. She is charming and has a lovely sense of humour. Her eyes are bright and sparkly, like blue diamonds. She has charming freckles on her face and is very natural looking. She is also very down-to-earth and seems to be like the rest of us: just a normal girl. She carries herself very well, and is a lot like she seems in pictures.
The final thing I can tell you about her that only someone who has seen her right up close can say: she does NOT look like Diana in the least! The only things the two women have/had in common are hair and eye colour. No more, no less. Period. In my eyes, there is no comparision, and what I've said here can't be disputed.
Probably my favorite memory of Sophie was just after she left us and moved on down the line of people. There was a small boy who had dropped his bottle of water near her. She bent down, saying she thought he'd want it back, picked it up and gave it back to him!
Edward passed around Sophie to talk to some other people, so he wasn't as close to us as Sophie was. He appears to be every bit as easy-going and natural as he speech implied, and although I have yet to see him really, really up close, like Sophie, he is very handsome (I always knew that!). He carries himself very well, and yes, he really is as going-bald as it looks in pictures! But it just makes him more handsome and distinguished-looking! Aside from the grey suit and black shoes, he had on a light pale blue shirt with a purple tie. I suppose I will have a better idea of him as the weekend goes on.
After it was all over, Mom and I had supper at Smitty's and dessert at the Cows ice cream shop. We then came home after finding out where the mall and the movie theatre are (we're planning on going shopping and to the movies tomorrow) and I've been writing in this journal ever since. It was a very big day and the weekend has only just started!
(NOTE: I wrote this whole entry around midnight on Saturday night, but put it in point form, that's why it's still in chronological order...*grin*)
(8:00 AM) Mom got up a few minutes before I did, but it was still around 8 when I got up as well. Boy, was I ever glad of not having Dax around...he drives Lauchie and I crazy every single night, and it was great to get a little break from him! The b&b serves breakfast from 8-10 each morning, and I think Mom and I were the first. We spent some time talking to one of the owners and her assistant, about shopping and all sorts of things like that. They have the most amazing homemade bread each morning, it's wonderful! They are really great people, I would definitely go there again...
(9:30-11:00 AM) We spent some time shopping at the Charlottetown Mall, checking out the very first Winners store we had ever been in, eating soft pretzels and having a great time. We got special presents for Edward and Sophie too, that was our mail goal for the shopping trip. We wanted to get them something other than the teddy bear, but we really had a hard time finding stuff for them. We ended up buying two of those cool gift bags, one for Edward and one for Sophie. Mom got Sophie's gifts...she got her a jewellry-box type of thing, and a beautiful book of scenic pictures from PEI. Aside from the teddy bear, I got Edward four PEI postcards, a PEI keychain and a PEI fridge magnet. We each put a small card in the bags, telling them how wonderful it was to see them and saying that we hoped they had a good time. And of course we included our names and addresses...who knows? Maybe someone from Buckingham Palace will send us thank you notes even if they don't keep the gifts! You never can tell about those things!
(11:00) We decided to drive to Indian River, which was the next stop for Edward and Sophie on their itinerary. They had already been to Rodd Brudenell River Resort that morning but we decided not to go there, as it was too far to drive. The engagement at Indian River was a concert at St Mary's Church, which is beautiful. We arrived awhile before they were to get there, and ended up not staying because it was in the middle of nowhere and was just so hot....we made sure to take pictures of the Church before we left though.
We had a plan: we went back to Charlottetown, ate lunch at Swiss Chalet (I absolutely LOVE their barbeque ribs...!) and then headed down to Borden-Carleton and the Confederation Bridge. That was the next stop for Edward and Sophie as well.
(2:30 PM) Left Charlottetown for B-C, but again, we didn't stay. We took a little tour around Gateway Villiage and saw where they were going to land the helicopter carrying the Earl and Countess. Mom got a great picture of all the flags flying at Gateway Villiage...the Canadian flag, surrounded by all the flags of the provinces. It was awesome. We did some shopping and spoke to a local entertainment legend...Eric McEwan, who does the weekly celtic music show in the Martimes. We left again before Edward and Sophie got there, though, because we had already decided that Saturday was going to be OUR day, and that we'd have chances to see them tomorrow. Which is true.
(5:00 PM) We arrived back in Charlottetown and had supper at Pizza Hut. We also got Mom's first film developed. She got some nice pictures, but all of her Friday pictures weren't on that roll, so we didn't get to see the good picture of Sophie that she swears she got. We did a little more shopping at that point, but not much.
(7:00 PM) We had planned to go to Brackley Beach, have a little swim, do some miniature golfing, and then head back to Charlottetown to go to a movie. We ended up not going to the beach itself, but we did play mini-golf, on probably the biggest, coolest mini-golf course I have ever seen. It was great! I would definitely play it again. The downside to the mini-golf experience was the fact that we got eaten alive by black flies. Too bad we happen to be the type of people they're attracted to...
(8:15 PM)...Yep, more shopping! Hey, why not? We had time and money. Mom, like always didn't get a single thing for herself, darn it, but what can you do? She never buys things for herself. Ever. Ah well. At least I don't have that problem. =)
(9:25-11:15 PM) We did as planned and saw a movie. Disney's The Kid is a great, heartwarming and funny movie. Bruce Willis is amazing anyway, but he did a wonderful job on this movie. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a good family movie. After all, you shouldn't really take little kids to see X-Men or something like that!
(11:30 PM) We arrived back at the b&b. Tomorrow is going to be an amazing day and we need some sleep. Again, I'm thanking the Lord there isn't a cat here to drive me crazy at four in the morning...!
(9:30 AM) We checked out of the b&b and put all our stuff in the car. Mom had already been up for quite some time, but she let me get some sleep. Couldn't get too much though, as we had to be at St. Peter's Cathedral in plenty of time. The people who run the b&b were awesome...they said we could leave the car parked where it was during the day if everywhere we had to go was within walking distance (which it was) because the lady who was taking over our room didn't have a car. So that was quite the blessing. After getting everything ready (and forgetting sunblock, d'oh!) we headed to the Cathedral. We soon found out that in order to get into the service you had to have a special invite. Drat. Oh well, we got good places out front and it was fun looking at the man on the horse and seeing the security team.
We actually spoke to the security guys. We had decided that running the idea of presents for Edward and Sophie by them first would be the best thing to do, rather than try to give the gifts right to the Earl and Countess. They (the security guys) were really easy to approach and had great senses of humour too. They were very cool and easy to talk to, and they did their job well. They weren't sure what to do about presents, so they found out from the head guy. They told us the gifts would have to be checked (of course...we wouldn't want anyone trying to slip bombs into them!) before they could be given to the Earl and Countess, and that we were the first people to think of doing such a thing. That made us feel quite special.
Shortly before Edward and Sophie arrived for the Church service, one of the security guys called me over to him. I brought the gifts with me, but he just had a message for me. He explained that the guy who would take gifts was the head security guy, but that he might not be coming to the Cathedral. He also told me that he and the other men there couldn't take them, because they just go from event to event and the gifts would probably get lost in the shuffle. And we couldn't have that. He told me that if the head guy showed up, he would get him to pick up the gifts from us, but if he didn't show up, worst case scenerio, for me to take the presents to the Delta (the hotel where they were all staying) and that the presents would get to Edward and Sophie, guaranteed, because there are more on-the-spot security there. I thanked him very much and went back over to report to Mom.
(11:00 AM) Edward and Sophie arrived for the service to the cheers from the crowd that had gathered. They didn't hang around outside for very long, but instead they went into the Cathedral. For the record, as soon as they went inside, Mom and I got a pleasent surprise: a rather tall man with white hair and a light grey suit was suddenly right in front of us. *HE* was the head security guy! He asked if we had presents for Edward and Sophie, which we, of course, replied "Yes". He said he'd make sure they were checked and that Edward and Sophie would get them. It was really great of him! I have a very high opinion of the Royal security team, needless to say. Not only are they really nice and easy to talk to, but they also do their job very well! Can't beat that!
(12:00 PM) Edward and Sophie came out of the Cathedral and do a walkabout while they head to the lieutenant-governors house for lunch. Edward came pretty close to me, speaking to the lady on the other side of Mom...she had two black and white shelty dogs and he admired them. He also said something about Charles, but I didn't hear exactly what he said. Maybe that Charles has some dogs like that? I don't know. Should have asked the woman. We did get to take a few pictures (I got some good ones of Edward) but there were way too many media people around and they kept getting in the way! I was not too thrilled with them. I suppose they're just doing what they're supposed to, but don't they know they're not the only ones who wanted pictures?!?
(12:30-1:45 PM) A lady we were talking to before the church service let out told us that the Dundee Arms Hotel had a great restaurant if we were looking for a place to eat lunch. Well, that's where we ate, and she was right, the food was awesome! And I guess the Royal party had heard of it, because some of the security team ate there as well! Same time we were there! How cool was that?
(2:00 PM) We booted it over to the Confederation Landing Park, where Edward and Sophie were expected to be. They planted a tree, or something, that's what they were doing when we finally showed up. We got our spots picked out, again right at the front of the crowd, what luck, if we had gotten there two minutes later, we wouldn't have gotten that spot. You'll see how lucky we were in a minute. Anyway, they did a huge walkabout around the track. All the crowd was outside the track, and on the inside, there was a fiddler, some gymnasts, a group of actors in Victorian garb, and some kids doing tae kwon do. Edward and Sophie walked around on the track, stopping to talk to the entertainers, but also making a point to speak to some of the normal people too. And what do you know...
WE MET PRINCE EDWARD!!!
The actors in Victorian garb (complete with really bad fake English accents) were right in front of Mom and I. Edward and Sophie both stopped to talk to them for a few minutes, and we got some great pictures of them there. Then Mom ran out of film, so she put her camera away. I got a couple more shots and then did the same. I had been advised to do that, so I wouldn't be seeing them through a camera lens the whole time. I wanted to see THEM, as they are. And boy, did we get to!
When Edward was finished speaking to the actors, he turned around and started walking right towards Mom and I! I made direct eye contact with his sparkly blue eyes (they're like the Queen Mum's eyes) and said, with a huge smile on my face, "Hello". He smiled right back at me and returned the "Hello", then he asked Mom and I the strangest question imagineable: "Do you speak English?". Of course, we do, so we both replied "Yes" and then he gave the punchline of his joke: "Oh good, because I think those people need some serious help!" which got some serious chuckles out of the crowd. Sure the laughs were at the expense of the actors, who really did try hard, but none of us cared: Prince Edward shared a joke with US! That was all that mattered!
After that both Edward and Sophie moved on to the Tae Kwon Do kids, and the media pounced on Mom and I. First we had a camera crew from some TV station asking us what he said, and what we thought of him. Then, when they left, we were stopped by a reporter for a newspaper. She asked us a bunch of questions about what Edward said, and what we thought of both him and Sophie. I did most of the talking, because I was so excited and energized from meeting Edward. Turns out, she wrote down everything we said, and I ended up being quoted in just about every major newspaper in the country the next day! Of course I didn't know that at the time...and I am putting this on the computer a few days later, you know.
Just for the record: I didn't get to see Sophie all that close up on Sunday, but I can tell you what she looked like. She had on a purple dress, that looked really good on her, dark blue shoes and a dark blue hat to match, but by Sunday afternoon, she had taken the hat off, for some reason I have yet to figure out. It was hot out...And she also had a gold necklace on her neck, and carried a black handbag.
Edward, for his part, I can tell you more about: he wore a grey suit, pale blue shirt and a dark blue tie. Like I said before, he is just as handsome as in pictures (if not moreso). He carries himself well, like any Royal should, but is also very easy-going and relaxed. He has a great sense of humour that he lets shine through when he can, and has a ready, charming smile.
(3:15 PM) After the media left us alone, we were able to fully experience what we felt as we walked back to the b&b. We decided that we could leave then, because we had done what we had hoped to get to do: meet Edward. The two of us were pretty much hyperventilating as we headed back to the b&b,and we had to sit in the car to wind down from the natural high we were both on before we left. The whole thing was a dream-come-true for me, a moment in my life I will never forget. It's now almost a week since I met him and I'm still getting chills as I write this out for you, because it was so amazing to me.
(4:35 PM) We boarded the ferry for NS. We're eating supper in New Glasgow and then heading home. And as an afterthought for all of that: we left the leftovers in the restuarant, there was an accident on the highway, so we had to take the long way home, but we finally made it around 8:30 on Sunday night. All in all, it was a great weekend, the most amazing experience of our lives. We both had a wonderful time, and would definitely do it again!
PHOTOGALLERY
