Honestly, I thought about including this in my post yesterday about PEI, but it really deserves its own spotlight!!!
The last time I was on Prince Edward Island, I met a couple of locals at a bar. They were delightful – we talked about hockey (there was a guy on the Charlotte Checkers from PEI, so we chatted about him!) and about life on the island. One of them, a potato farmer, raved about the Canadian Potato Museum. Though I didn’t get a chance to visit there in 2017, something about the conversation stuck with me because when Alison and I were planning our travels across the island I mentioned the museum, and off we went.
The museum isn’t particularly central, or in a tourist area, but it was totally worth the drive to get there. Of course, we took a meandering detour to see a lighthouse, and ended up down a winding dirt road past fields of cows. They seemed particularly picturesque, much more so than the lighthouse, to be honest.
Finally, we arrived in O’Leary, and paid our $10 admissions to the Canadian Potato Museum. It’s filled with assorted potato memorabilia like plowing championship trophies, historical farm equipment, and lots and lots of information about potatoes.
By far, my favorite exhibit was the one about all of the things that are deadly to potatoes….. assorted bugs and slugs, molds, and other pests. I never really considered what might kill a potato, but the way these deaths were portrayed was brilliant. Mounted to the wall, there was a life size replica of the potato and it’s ailment – slugs, mold, frostbite – you name it – inside of a tiny coffin, complete with satin lining. I’m not sure who the person was that thought “Hey, let’s make some dead potato props and put them in coffins” but I want to meet that genius and shake their hand.
I was so inspired by the museum display that I’ve added “tiny coffin builder” to the list of jobs I’m considering for my next career. It’s very theatrical, really. I have the skills required from my years of working with props!
I know, I know….. I have a really weird list of future careers.
1. Clock repairperson – My knowledge of electricity would be useful here! A lot of the turn of the century clocks have resistors and batteries in them that I can, in theory, repair safely!)
2. Lighthouse Keeper – A job that would pay me to knit, or paint, or do other artistic things while watching over a delicate Fresnel lens lamphouse is clearly right up my alley!
3. Tiny coffin maker – Because diseased potatoes are cool!
So…. after we visited the gift shop (and spent way too much money!), we went to the cafe for lunch. You’d never guess what was on the menu….. ok, you probably would, but the answer is in fact potatoes.
We couldn’t decide what kind of potato to get, so we got them four ways and split everything.
Loaded baked potato (shhhh…. it had bacon on it, and I ate it)
Homemade potato chips
Poutine
Potato skins (shh….. also had bacon, but they were the best potato skins I’ve ever had!)
I did not get to try the potato soup. I don’t think they had mashed potatoes on the menu. There might have been some other potato dishes. All of it was truly outstanding.
So…. all in all, the Canadian Potato Museum was a HUGE HIT and I can’t recommend it highly enough. Just wait till you see the t-shirts we bought there….. you are in for a treat!
Teardrops & Ales 