Ellen is a longtime, active member of the Rhode Island Geography Education Alliance and a seasoned veteran of the 4th grade classroom. She has enjoyed incredible study tours to New Zealand, China, Japan, England and British Columbia on Fulbright and other grants and loves sharing these experiences with kids and colleagues. Presently she volunteers at Roger Williams Park Zoo and gives classes on English Afternoon Teas. Her whole family has a love of New Brunswick, Canada, having summered there for decades.

This past summer we vacationed on Grand Manan Island, a day’s drive from our home in New England.  As we were making our preparations to take off on vacation I had occasion to be asked where we were going. When I answered “Grand Manan Island”, off the coast of New Brunswick, Canada, the reply every time was “Where is THAT?” After what I thought was a great geographic description just about everyone said, “Oh yeah. You mean Prince Edward Island”.

In one sense this is fine with me – next to nobody will discover this beautiful place and we can enjoy its uncrowded charms at will. On the other hand it drives me crazy that such nearby geography apparently is completely unnoticed.

So here is a short primer on how to find your way to Grand Manan Island from the New England area:

1. Have a look at a map of eastern Canada. You will notice three provinces that either border the ocean or are surrounded by it. These are the Maritime Provinces. They are: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

2. Zero in on New Brunswick. It borders the state of Maine. Travel to eastern Maine through Bangor; continue east and cross into Canada at Calais/St. Stephen.

Want to find the rest of the way to Grand Manan Island? Keep reading Ellen’s full post on her blog!
http://bluewillowjournal.typepad.com/blog/2009/11/grandmananisland.html