In which we ride the Confederation Trail, and feel the heat.
A little croquet on the lawn while waiting for the departure was pleasant…
We left again on island time, 9:30 with the heat already starting to be felt. It was mildly windy compared to other days here, but forecast to be mostly a cross/tailwind.
very pleasant cycling with some long pulls uphill, and stops for photos and to admire the osprey chicks. There are a number of artifical platforms set up for nest building and so far every one has been used.
After about 20 km we hit the Confederation Trail and were off road from then, apart from a few isolated road crossings. It was well packed small gravel and a joy to ride on, through trees, marshes and open fields.
hardly a soul encountered, but no wildlife apart from chipmunks, rabbits and insects when stopped.
every now and then there was an info stop and often these were accompanied by shelters and picnic tables.
bulrushes galore
happily the shelters provided shade as it was starting to get warm.
this one reminded me of the ladyslippers that are famous on the island, but alas we never saw any (too late in the season I believe)
we rode through all kinds of terrain
most of the road crossings were very quiet
gentle rolling trails unlike the 40 km hills in BC!
we hopped over each other in small groups
I got some good videos riding, practicing picture and video taking while moving but unfortunately the site doesn’t support them
this stop after a hot patch alongside a marsh was particularly appreciated. The ice cream flavour was “wolf pass” which was intriguing and was delicious – peanut butter swirled through with chocolate chunks. Never did find out why it was named “wolf pass”!
some very serene spots. It was quite warm, up to 29C in parts, and fairly humid.
We ended our PEI ride at St. Peter on the Bay, had lunch there (excellent seafood chowder, another tick on the list!) and then were driven to Charlottetown to our lovely downtown hotel. It comprises several historic buildings across from the main church, and only a short walk to the harbour and downtown historical sites. There were actors in period wardrobe wandering around the square when we first arrived. With everything stashed away and a shower to wash off the trail dust, we broke into small groups and wandered around town. We wandered around the downtown area admiring the old buildings and attractive tourist areas (wharf, below)
downtown houses
downtown church
downtown
Our boutique hotel – the whole block of restored houses belongs to the Great George Hotel.
Quite a lovely harbour area, a little like Granville Island. Found a classic beavertail place – another tick off the list! I used to love those from the shacks on the side of the Rideau Canal, but about fainted when I saw the posted calorie count.
lovely street of restored houses behind the hotel
town hall
Main basilica, across from the hotel.
I eventually found a sushi restaurant for some takeout dinner. Later, most of us went to a musical at the nearby Confederation Arts Centre called “Tell tale Harbour” which outlined a small town’s attempt to recruit a doctor so they could be allocated a new factory to sustain the town. Well done, and quite funny, with good voices. The audience was equally as entertaining – they were very supportive/receptive and many carried in cans of beer which were replenished at the break.
And that is the end of PEI as we roll out tomorrow to Nova Scotia by ferry.
highlight of the day: Confederation Trail cycling