Friday, July 20
The Confederation Bridge joins Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. It was not here in 1985 when we last visited the Maritimes. The bridge is 12.9 km (8 miles) long and is the longest in the world crossing ice-covered water. Canada considers it one of the top engineering achievements of the 20th century. I have to agree that it is an impressive looking bridge. It is low in the water and curves gracefully from shore to shore.
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No bicycles or pedestrians are allowed on the bridge so the bridge operators offer a free shuttle. It’s a quick trip across in the air conditioned minibus with our bikes securely strapped inside a little compartment in the back. Once we arrive on the island, the first order of business is to try some Cow’s Creamery ice cream. It’s made from P.E.I. cream and the butterfat content is 16%! Every scoop is served in a homemade waffle cone. Um, Ben and Jerry’s, I think Cow’s ice cream has you beat.
The Confederation Trail https://www.tourismpei.com/pei-cycling, which is Prince Edward Island’s leg of the Trans Canada Trail runs end to end on the island. There is a branch line to Borden-Carleton where we get off the bridge, so we take this nice, shady, flat rail trail north and through the tiny towns of Kinkora and Emerald and others. Leaving the trail, we now have to cross the island’s rolling hills to get to Cavendish campground in the national park. The landscape is reminiscent of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with the addition of red dirt roads and lots of spruce and pine trees. Every shade of green appears here. It is another very, very hot day. I wish I was under a tree in some of that leafy shade.
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| Confederation Trail |
When we reach the campground it is full. Completely full. And they have no overflow area and no policy accepting cyclists even when all sites are full. The young women working the desk have been well trained to just repeat, “ I am sorry, we have no campsites available.” They are immovable. Their faces show no emotion.
Plan B: ride through the campground looking for another cyclist or a friendly camper and ask if they are willing to share their campsite with us. Park policy allows for two tents per site and we don’t have an extra vehicle. It is an ethical choice I can live with. We pass a site and a lady gives us a friendly wave. She later tells us she was waving at her young son, but regardless we have a place to sleep and we are very happy about that since the sun feels like it’s burning us up.
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| Philip and Tom enjoy our hammock in the campsite Isabelle graciously shares with us |
Mussels are farmed here on P.E.I. and I rate mussels second only to Maryland blue crab (sorry Atlantic lobster) on the seafood deliciousness scale. I steam two pounds and we eat them for dinner with some corn on the cob. I hope we can have these every night of our island stay. They are only $2/pound which is about 1 1/2 dozen mussels. Because they are farmed, there are super clean and not sandy at all. Fantastic and perfect protein.
The campground beach is uncrowded and lovely and the sunsets are right over the sea. The water is so calm tonight that it reminds me of the great lakes more than the sea. The surface is perfect for skipping some of the red sandstone that is abundant here.
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| Anne works on her stone skipping skillset. Her mom named her for Anne of Green Gables and she visits P.E.I. every summer with her family. Her stone skipping record is 14. |
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| Those kayaks were lightweight corregated plastic and foldable. They didn't look seaworthy to me, but these people were successful at paddling out into the golden sunset. And back to shore. |
Saturday, July 21
Today is a day for beach and dune hikes, visiting Green Gables, and relaxing. I feel like I am on vacation! There are no bugs at the windy seaside or in the campsite. I play some UNO with Isabelle and Anne, read my book, knit, and share knitting patterns with Isabelle. Tom and I ride our bikes a few kilometers to the Green Gables site which is part of Parks Canada. Our parks pass gets us a free self-guided tour of the home and grounds.
This house and its location inspired the setting for the Anne stories. Lucy Maud Montgomery spent her summers here. Parks Canada has furnished the house to accurately reflect the book's descriptions.
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| The sewing room where Marilla made the brown dress for Anne. |
Sunday, July 21
Today we will ride across the island towards the ferry.
It is very hot even though we are getting an early start. Everyone on the island agrees that this is an unusual and long-lasting heat wave for them. Great.
Our ride is very hilly as we are crossing the island. We later learn that the way to avoid the hills is to follow the curvy coastline. This route is beautiful and very, very green.
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| Thanks for sharing your site with us and teaching Tom the solution pattern for the Rubik's Cube! |
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| Every shade of green plus one wily fox |
Monday, July 23
We sleep overnight at Jack's place a.k.a. The Trailside Campground. We feel very cared for and safe there. When we arrived, Jack showed us the "clubhouse" where we could use his kitchen to make dinner. His shower rooms are top notch and as comfortable as my bathroom at home. After such a long ride his welcome feels really wonderful. https://confederationtrailside.com If you are traveling on P.E.I. you should definitely spend a night here.
It is another scorching hot day and the Confederation Trail is nothing but deer flies. We decide to take the hilly road since our blood volume is rapidly dropping from the bites. It's better.
In Mount Stewart there is a little cafe where we stop for second breakfast. Here $4CAD buys you a breakfast sandwich like you would make for yourself at home. There is a heat warning on now and the UV index is 9 (on a scale of 1 - 10) . Our miles are quite low today and we only make it to Brudenell River Provincial Park where we spend the entire afternoon hanging out in the swimming pool.
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| mussel farming at the park - YUM! |
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| Thanks, Jack!
Tuesday, July 24
We wake up at Brudenell and have to get out early to try to beat the heat. We have breakefast at Montague, which is a sizeable town. They serve the best corned beef hash I have had since Bombers in Kent went out of business. Right next to our breakfast place is a barber and a hairdresser so we both get haircuts. Finally! We ride along the ocean shore and the hills are minimal, traffic is non-existent, and there are beautiful views the whole way. I wish we had more time to spend in the eastern part of Prince Edward Island.
 
We reach the ferry just in time for the 2:30 sailing. It is a 75 minute and 18 mile crossing to Pictou Nova Scotia. We plan to stay at the Provincial Park which is just a few kilometers from the ferry landing.
The ferry company has decided to promote local foods and local chefs on certain crossings and today is the day for MUSSELS!
 Chef John is giving away dozens of mussels which he has cooked in a local microbrew beer and then drizzled with P.E.I. maple syrup. They are amazing. And, surprisingly not that many people are lining up to try them. So, I have a couple of dozen. Chef John is happy to share all of his seafood cooking secrets. I tell him I am trying to like the local crab, but I am from Baltimore and he practically starts drooling when remembering his long ago blue crab meal. We have a moment. 
Free seafood? How does this ferry company make a profit?
I am so happy to have my bike packed in between the Harleys and the log trucks. Once we are off the ferry it is time to ride to Caribou Munroe Islands Park. I hope it has less mosquitoes than the last campground.
 
Our maps below reflect total milage, including miles on the van transport across the bridge and the ferry as we left PEI.
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