Chris and I had booked a couple of bicycles through Travelzoo back around Memorial Day weekend, and only just this weekend got the chance to use them. So we picked up some coffees, took the 2.5-mile walk through the park to Broadway Bicycle and cashed in our vouchers.
The park was bumpin’ on Saturday! Despite the heat and humidity, people were out in spades. They were running, walking, biking, roller blading, playing instruments and singing. Here’s a bit of what we saw:
^^ Who knew there was a 6 1/2 Ave?!
^^ I seriously forgot how many hills there are in Central Park. I had to take a break about 3/4 of the way through.
^^ Chris climbed the Harlem hills twice. I only had the stamina to go at them once. So instead I cut them off the second time round and waited for him at the bottom to take photos.
After our 13-mile ride (for Chris…mine was about 12 miles since I cut off the hills at the end), we headed over to Luke’s Bar & Grill on 3rd Ave. to load up on their super scrumptious Maine Lobster rolls.
Bis bald, friends! Hope your Saturday was as lovely as ours was!
Cath and I sat down last night so we could go over all her notes from our trip to Prince Edward Island (a trip she’s been wanting to take for quite a while now). So without further ado, now that I’m fairly certain all of my details are accurate, here’s a rundown of our trip to Canada….
After a two-hour delay out of JFK into Charlottetown (in which we flew in what is seriously the tiniest plane I have ever been on), we didn’t end up arriving at our bed and breakfast—The Sonata Inn on Grafton Street—until after 11 p.m. We were starving, but Charlottetown reminded me a bit of Salzburg in the fact that no restaurant would be open at such a late hour.
Luckily for us, though, Dale, the lovely owner of our B&B, took our delay and late arrival into account, and upon letting us in and giving us a tour, he also informed us that he had left a small basket of food in the room just in case we were hungry. This, my friends, is one of the benefits of staying in a friendly little B&B.
Thanks for the chips, fruit cups, and granola bars Dale!Our cute little room, which happened to have a large, walk-in closet that was haunted by a light ghost. That’s right, a ghost who kept turning the lights on and off.
After a restful night on the comfy beds at the B&B, we all headed down to the breakfast on Friday morning before we started our day. As this was my first B&B experience, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew some socializing would be on the agenda, and that we would most likely be sitting with other groups of people at the table.
Turns out it wasn’t half bad! That morning we ended up sitting with three couples—one of which happened to be the two most adventurous 80-year-old people I have ever met in my entire life (seriously, they’ve been skydiving and zip lining and para-sailing…they really live it up!)—while we chowed down on muffins, fruit, yogurt, and homemade eggs and ham (I skipped out on that brekkie, as you could probably have guessed). It was actually kind of nice to get a chance to meet some other travelers, to hear about what they had already done on the island, and to get some pointers on things we should check out.
After breakfast, and after Chris had picked up our rental car…
Then we hit the open road. We took a scenic drive along the coast, stopping to have lunch at a fantastic little place on Brackley Beach called The Dunes, overlooking the Green Gables Shore. The cafe sold food and drinks, sure, but it also was an artsy venue, as well as a flower garden and pottery studio.
It cost us $20 to get onto the beach, which is a bit much. But it definitely was pretty
Eclectic artwork at The Dunes CafeThe gardens at the CafeCrab cakes….oh my!My delicious Pho soup with the famous PEI musclesThere was awesome furniture in the outdoor area that had all been carved out of driftwood
After our fabulous lunch, we all loaded back into the car and drove up the coast to North Rustico, this adorable tiny little fishing village.
Then it was on to the famous Cavendish to partake in the history of Anne of Green Gables, which included seeing the house where L.M. Montgomery’s cousins lived, which is believed to have been the inspiration for her stories, as well as the site of where the home of her grandparents used to be, which is where L.M. herself grew up. We walked the trails surrounding the little green Anne house, read some of the history of the place, and took lots of photos.
Full disclaimer: I’ve never actually read the books. Oops. But don’t fret, friends. I purchased my very own copy of Anne of Green Gables directly from Prince Edward Island, so it will be the very next thing I read.
The famous green house of Anne of Green GablesAnne’s roomOn the trails behind the Anne house
After we’d had our fill of Anne, we tried to check out Avonlea, as well, but there was a big music festival happening the same weekend, so unfortunately it was closed off. So instead, we headed over to Cows Ice Cream (seriously some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had) in Bay View for a treat and a bit of a rest before hitting up our final destination of the day—New Glasgow for The Toy Factory, where Cath picked up some cute things for the kids in her classroom and her granddaughter.
New Glasgow scenery
After a full day of driving and site seeing, we were definitely starved. So after New Glasgow we headed back to our hotel to freshen up for our dinner at Lobster on the Wharf, where Chris and I would eat our first of three lobster rolls on this trip (Lobster Roll Rating No. 1: 3.5 for good lobster, but not enough of it, and the roll was just a bit hard (hey, we wait a long time for lobster rolls, we deserve to rate them! The potato salad was homemade and delicious, though, as was my Bloody Caesar drink (the Canadian version of a Bloody Mary, made with clam juice, so says Chris).
We ate out on the deck, which was beautiful, until I got so cold I couldn’t feel my right hand anymore and I had to ask if we could please move this party inside. Cath and Chris happily obliged.
Sunset at Lobster on the WharfCalamari and scallop appetizers…yum!Lobster roll No. 1Enjoying a little lobster
So it was a busy day, my friends. But even so, when we arrived back at the hotel after dinner we borrowed London Suite from the B&B video library to watch.
And I promptly fell asleep.
I’m told I didn’t miss much.
Bis bald, friends! Stay tuned tomorrow for an update on Saturday’s adventures…
