Canada Day 2: August 1, 2010

Got up and out the door just after 6am this morning for an early 12 mile bike ride to the lighthouse at MacCallums Point.  It must have been between 50 and 60 degrees when we set off because my hands were freezing on the ride.  The ride was well worth it.  We rode to the one room schoolhouse that Lucy Montgomery (author of Anne of Green Gables) taught at, past several farms, and down a red dirt road to a picturesque lighthouse at the end of a long jetty.  We walked onto the beach for some beautiful pictures.  Can’t believe how red the sand is here.  The dirt roads remind me of Kauai but the red sand beaches are like nothing I’ve ever seen!  Lauren says the green fields, farms and dirt roads remind her of Ireland minus the sheep, stonewalls, and red dirt.  Guess we’ll have to go back and find out for ourselves someday!

Back at the Maplethorpe, we went straight to breakfast cooked fresh by Chef/Owner Diana.  Diana whipped up eggs, homemade cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, and sausages.  Afterwards we drove back to St. Peter’s Church where we saw the saw setting last night.  When we pulled up, people were bringing chairs out to the cemetery behind the Church for what appeared to be an outdoor Mass.  Sure enough, the altar was set up out back, as well as the choir.  It was a beautiful spot for Mass with the Confederation Bridge to our left and farms to our right.  Apparently this was Cemetery Sunday so Mass was a somber occasion as we all prayed for deceased family and friends and sang solemn hymns.  On a lighter note, the priest wore sunglasses for Mass and even tore open a sleeve of Eucharists with his teeth before the Consecration like they were Ritz crackers!  We were very impressed that the priest announced before Communion that low gluten hosts  were available from each EM.  Think they were in a separate pic in each chalice…maybe Lisa should move here!  Chatted with Sister Gertrude after Mass who was so happy to see young people at Church on vacation.

Today we decided to explore the North Shore and Anne Land so we drove towards Cavendish.  Saw Lucy Montgomery’s birthplace and drove by Avonlea and all things Anne of Green Gables.  Having never read the books, I don’t know much about Anne, but from what I gather the books are about life on PEI 100 years ago.  Maybe, just maybe I’ll become a reader this Fall when we’re not out traveling so I can read all the books set in the places we’ve been this year.  Anyway, we stopped at the Visitor’s Center in Cavendish and ate our picnic lunch before biking into Prince Edward Island National Park.  If you bike in, admission is free, and Diana recommended biking on the Homestead Trail so we went to check it out.  The trail was great even though it was only 8.7km! We rode on well-kept gravel and red dirt paths along sand dunes, through the wooded areas, by fields of wild flowers and along the red cliffs on the coast. The scenery was beautiful!

From Cavendish, we drove towards the outskirts of Charlottetown to tour Cows Creamery.  This super-premium ice cream (16% butterfat) was voted “Canada’s Best Ice Cream” and Best in the World by Tauck Travel Company.  Oddly enough, we visited number two on the world list in Florence when we went to Perque No a few weeks ago!  Could have had a visit to a third top ten spot in San Gimignano if we had made it there!  In addition to making ice cream, Cows makes t-shirts with catchy Cow phrases, cheese, and butter.  The T-shirts were pretty funny and included “Hello Cowy,” “Oscow the Grouch,” and “Moomoolemon.” 

The factory tour with way-too-perky Sarah was just fair.  Cows only makes ice cream on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and they don’t make T-shirts on Sundays so we were only able to watch four videos about what we would have seen in the production areas we were standing in front of. Sampled a tiny piece of cheddar, chocolate covered potato chips, and Wowey Cowey ice cream (vanilla with toffee caramel swirl and chocolate covered toffee pieces).  All were good, but they could have been more generous for the portions considering they charge for tours.  Of course we couldn’t leave without ordering our own ice cream.  Tried Oreo and Mud Pie ice cream, and Joe had Brownie Explosion and Birthday Cake.  I decided that the vanilla based ice creams were the way to go…very creamy and very good! 

Our tour of PEI continued as we drove towards the southern coast of PEI in search of lighthouses at Rocky Point and visited the red cliffs and beach at Argyle Shore.  Stopped for many photo-opps and just barely missed the sun setting at Seacow Head.  Like last night, the mosquitoes at Seacow were awful…possibly the worst I’ve ever seen.  They were circling our heads even when we were moving!  The day flew by and somehow it was almost 10pm by the time we went for dinner at The Deckhouse in Summerside.  Chris and Joe made friends with Mark, the bartender, and somehow Chris ended up swapping T-shirts in the bathroom with Mark, who looked ridiculous in Chris’ shirt that was skintight on him!  Chris definitely got the better end of the deal with a Deckhouse shirt.  What a random way to end the night!  Great day in PEI…wish we had more time here, but we’re off to Cape Breton tomorrow.