#LLSTORY - Laura Woodworth

LLSTORY -

#LLSTORY - Laura Woodworth

Time for this week's edition of#LocalLegendsStories! The New HOT 105.5 'sLaura Woodworth shares her journey to PEI, and it could easily be a Tourism PEI advertisement - Thanks Laura!

"I'm originally from Newfoundland, and I first came to PEI back in 2010 to study nutrition at UPEI. I didn't really get the proper PEI experience the first time around. I loved UPEI - it's a great school with a beautiful campus - but I didn't venture very far beyond the school grounds or explore anything else that the island has to offer. 

I have been back and forth between PEI and Newfoundland since then, spent more time exploring and getting to know the island, and PEI has captured my heart and become my home! The New Hot 105.5 had just started up around the first time I left PEI, but I kept following along with them after I moved back to Newfoundland. Right around the time that I was getting tired of living in St. John's, I saw a job posting for the morning show on Hot! Within a month I was back in Charlottetown and this time I decided that I was going to put more effort into exploring what PEI has to offer. 

I moved here (for the second time) in November 2014 - right before that awful winter - but I didn't let that scare me off! I love the outdoors and spent a lot of time snowshoeing that winter (including the one morning that I literally had to snowshoe to work because the plows couldn't get out on the roads). My favourite thing to do in the winter is to go for a walk or snowshoe on the beautiful Island trails. Gairloch is my favourite. My puppy (Moose) loves to go with me and keep me company too! In the summer I can't get enough of the sand bars around the Argyle Shore; looking for clams never gets old, it makes me feel like a big kid and that's always fun. 

If the beautiful scenery is what lured me to PEI, the food is what keeps me here. Weekends are for heading to a new part of the island, finding a new beach and a new restaurant! Right now I'm all about Point Prim Chowder House - so delicious. I swear there is something magical about Barnone Brewery - when you visit their gorgeous location in Rose Valley, you'll understand what I mean. HopYard is such a cool place to try a new beer you've never heard of before and the food is actually unbelievable. 

Once I've eaten delicious food from one of the awesome restaurants on PEI, I love to go to the farmers market on Saturday mornings, pick up the local island ingredients and try to recreate it myself at home! I think a lot of people take for granted that living on PEI means you can have this close connection with your food. Being able to grab your meat or produce right from the hands on the farmer who grew it is an amazing thing.

The best part about PEI is how close you are at any given moment to a new adventure. There is always a beautiful part of the island to discover - maybe a beach that you haven't been to before or a farm that's so idyllic you have to pull over the car and take a picture - and there are always people around who are happy to share their insights and island knowledge with you. And, since you can get pretty much anywhere on a single tank of gas, there's really no excuse not to go for a drive and see what you can discover right in your own backyard. Thanks, PEI, for being such a beautiful place to call home!"

Laura Woodworth // Morning Co-Host on The New HOT 105.5

Have a fun story about PEI you'd like to share? Send us a Facebook message or email hollah@locallegends.ca. We'd love to hear from you!