Day 4: Prince Edward Island & Halifax

From: Summerside, PE
To: Halifax, NS
Total KMs:
Sim's Iced Cap Tally: 4

We survived the night, so in terms of accomplishments we started the day absolute winners.  There was a free buffet breakfast in the main building, so that was alright.  We headed straight to Simona's friend's parents' farm, just 15 minutes down the way.  They welcomed us with open arms and gave us a tour of the barn and the fields where their exclusive Wagyu cows are raised.  He said we could actually climb into their pasture area and they wouldn't charge.  We did join them, and they didn't charge, but they were not overly thrilled to have two unknown visitors invading their space.  They were such lovely people, it was just a real pleasure getting to speak with them.  Afterwards they gave us keys to their cottage, and carte blanche to go spend the day there.  Sim's friends had already offered this up, but it was nice to have it come from the parents as well.  

We stopped into a PEI Liquor Store (LCBP?) to see if we could grab some local brews and headed to the cottage.  Just about 10 minutes further out of town and we were at the cottage and at the Northern coast of PEI.  The cottage was an absolute dream.  It smelled like a cedar cabinet inside.  We popped the caps to our beers and brought out a newly purchased backgammon board, and took in the warm PEI breeze.  A breeze we had been told that is missed if you ever leave the island.  After a set of BG and much rumination on which route to take, we headed down to the sand dune filled beach.  The view from the top of the dune was breath-taking.  We decided to head back to the cottage and get changed and come back for a dip.  A turn in the weather on the short walk back made us delay the plans.  We heard it was going to dump but possibly not for too long.  We changed into our suits and decided it was time to face the ocean.  Towels in tow, and crocs on feet we set back out for the beach.  Sim took some nice scenic shots, and then we set up the Go Pro to capture our inaugural Ocean Polar Dip.  And yes, I'm calling the body of water North of PEI the Ocean, and YES it was a polar dip!!!!  There was no ice but there might as well have been.  I almost turned around and ran straight out of the water when Sim reminded me, "We have to dip first!"  As we ran back to the towel and the camera, the rain started.  A spit at first and then a pour.  By the time we walked back across the field to the cottage it was a full on dump.  We changed back, left our host a small note & present, and departed.



Just down the road in a small area called Malpeque.  Originally pronounced in our car was Maple-Que until we opened our eyes fully and un-inverted the L and the P.  Mal-peque.  Sim's friend had recommended a small café for lunch.  And we were not disappointed.  We sat on a quiet patio while the resident artist painted.  The food was absolutely delicious.  Sim had a Lobster roll and I had a pound of mussels and a salad.  The ciabatta bun that came with my meal was heavenly.  We took a pass on the Land & Sea museum next door because really, that's just offensive to leave Air out.

For once we were having such a super chill day, we didn't want it to end.  But alas, we had one last push to get to Halifax.  Before we left, we rather expertly located a public shore location where we could take a snap of the Confederation Bridge.  I hate to be a broken record but it really is a masterpiece.  I joked to Sim that I was surprised we were alone, but two more cars showed up before we left.  If you look closely you can see the bridge in the background of our picture.  Faint, but it's there.  It was a rather uneventful drive.  Last time I was driving to Halifax I ended up unintentionally detouring through Tatamagouche, so I skipped a highway road toll altogether.  I didn't realize the booth operator was only there to make change and we had to throw our payment into the payment funnel.  I tried to drive away (blocked by the still lowered bar) when I heard "Excuse me miss, you have to pay the loonie."  Fail.  The main bridge into Halifax was closed, apparently, so we made some hasty decisions and ended up taking a secondary route.  We ended up on this rather tight traffic circle and I couldn't take my eyes off the road long enough to read the navigation instructions.  I was frozen stiff.  "Help me Sim, help me, I can't decide where to turn off.  We're going to be stuck on this forever!"  We did take about 5 or 6 rotations before we ended up on the best possible route.  Double Fail.  We ended up being really close and arrived at the hotel not too long after.

I had a quick shower and we headed down to Barrington St to get a bite to eat at The Press Gang.  And a bite to eat is extremely understated because it was an extremely fancy restaurant.  Sim had the most amazing seared scallops.  I had the lamb which was ok.   I don't order fancy food enough to know how to do it properly.  And being a little brain numb from a day of activity and driving I kind of blanked when it came to finishing my order.  "How would you like the lamb?"  ".............ummmm, mild?"  "Well we would suggest medium rare."  It was near 10:30pm by the time we finished so decided to call it a night and come back home to finish our report.  It has been a long day, so we might make slight adjustments later.

Hello Halifax.  Nice to see you again.  Be seeing you tomorrow ;)