Summerside Fun

Sumerside fun

The place to be on Saturday at 9 AM is the Farmer’s Market – us and a huge crowd pressed into the basement venue for this market treat.  Breakfast was two options – one stall with exotic crepes and one with exotic waffles – both hot off the griddle.  However, rushing for the breakfast choices meant missing the produce, meats and dairy options.  We wisely waited in lines for the fresh goodies before standing on lines for the prepared food.  By the time we had finished our brunch the produce stands were empty, the meat man gone and even the egg lady was down to slims.  Maybe it is the limited space in the basement or the quality and good prices, but this was a feeding or buying frenzy where we were happy to score some eats for the coming week – baby carrots and beets with greens, new beans and, of course, PEI new potatoes. Then, Steve snagged a strawberry rhubarb pie while I got the almond Portuguese cake.  The cheese stall had local and regional cheeses, the pork man free range pig and the egg lady jumbo free range eggs. Sorry – almost no pics – too busy stocking up on the good stuff!

The Wyatt House Museum

With thanks to Wanda Wyatt who donated and funded the foundation which bears her name, we toured her home.  Wanda lived in the 1867 house for 102 years and with the exception of the kitchen and two bathrooms which she and her sister updated in the 1950s the house is original.  The home was not built by her family but acquired by her grandfather as a wedding gift to her mother and father.  It is conveniently located next door to her grandfather’s home now also maintained by the Wyatt Foundation.  Rare is the opportunity to tour a house basically intact and furnished as it was at the turn of the century.  Treasures included antiques collected by her parents and finds from her own world tour. With two visitors from Europe we were escorted through the mansion which although plain on the outside is packed with art and historic treasures showing the family’s taste and wealth.  Our guide, Griffen, explained many customs and beliefs of the Victorians such as the tiny shoes representing their preference for binding women’s feet and the corset worn by Wanda’s mother from a young age.  This torture device which she chose for fashion ended up causing internal damage which may have contributed to her poor health and early death. Also, family portraits lined the walls of the dining room so that they would feel the comfort of relatives while they dined. Thanks to Wanda’s diaries many family stories about the objects populating her home have been preserved for visitors like us to enjoy and give us a glimpse of life in Summerside’s heyday.

Touring wore Steve out so we retreated to our floating home for oysters off the grill!