Saturday, July 16th - PEI day 5

 Once again it was a really full day.

After breakfast at the hotel, we ventured out to see some of the sights. I'd been all of these places but they were new to Carle.

First stop was The Bottle houses in Wellington. It's really quite a unique sight to see, buildings made entirely of every imaginable kind of bottle or glass container.

 

The gardens around the glass houses are beautiful.

We left there and headed to Victoria by the sea. My GPS must have thought I meant another Victoria because before I knew it, I was on the road to cross the bridge! Yikes, not my plan.

 A quick U-turn brought us into Gateway Village. I've never actually been there so we took the opportuntity to stop and browse, and grab a bit of lunch.From there, it was once again off to Victoria. I at least know the way there from Borden, so this time I didn't need the GPS. 

We did the usual tour through the village and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't too busy. I fully expected it would be crazy.

By now it was getting later in the day. We had originally thought we might go to the beach but we'll save that for another day. 

A quick stop at the grocery store in Cornwall on our way back and just rest and relaxation (and a little wine) for the rest of the evening!

Friday, July 15th - PEI day 4...

...and what a day it was. 

I received a call on Thursday morning from a number I didn't recognize. I almost didn't answer it, but it was a 902 number. Turns out it was the Inn at Bay Fortune. I had checked with them a while back about the Fire Feast but they were booked up all summer. I put my name on a waiting list and prompty forgot about it.

They were calling to advise they had a cancellation for Friday, and was I still interested? Seriously? What a question! Of course I was interested.

So after breakfast, we toured around the immediate area a little bit - Cows, Meyer, How Bizarre, etc. Then it was over to the Mission Thrift Store and then the mall. 

We needed a photo to share with the store at home

 By this time, we could head up to east point. 

A stop in St. Peter's to poke around the little shops there, and an ice cream of course. Next stop, the East Point light house.

By the time we finished up there, we had just enough time to get back down to The Inn in time for the farm tour, that started at 4:00. It drizzled slightly on our way there and was overcast, but by the time we arrived, the sun was shining and it was a lovely afternoon.

We got a drink and headed out on the tour of the gardens and farm areas. It's expanded quite a bit since I was last there. It really is something to see.

After a very detailed account of what goes on to produce all the ingredients for the kitchen, we headed down what was known as the pot and pan trail, through the woods. The trees are loaded down with old pots and pans, hence the name.

Along the way are piles of oyster shells, some from previous years. They keep track each year of how many oysters get shucked over the summer. This year's total was a little over 19,000 so far and the hope was that we could beat 20,000 before the day was through.

When we came out of the woods, we were taken over to see the resident pigs. What a very happy group they were, just lounging in the mud.

Upon leaving the farm area, we came to a clearing and were greeted by Chef Michael, himself. He spoke about their goals and purpose and acknowledged the hard working staff. 

Our first treat was oysters grilled over hot coals. They were delicious. Then it was up a little hill to the oyster station. This was Carle's first ever raw oyster and Chef shucked it specially for her.  He even gave her a little sticker that dated and signed that it was her first oyster. She liked the oyster and went back for several more.

I, on the other hand, needed no coaxing! I lost track of how many I had but there were other options out there to sample as well.

(apparently, we exceeded the 20,000 mark by the end of the day. 

The goal is 60,000 by the end of the summer)

The next station was maple smoked salmon on a house made cracker.

Following that were grilled chicken livers, in a maple bourbon glaze with chili salt - absolutely delicious.

Next stop was the taco stand. The Inn is experimenting with making various hot sauces with a variety of peppers they produce. It was up to the individual to decide which sauce to try. I confess to trying several and they were all good, some much hotter than others.

From there, it was back out to the front of the Inn, where we all congregated to drink a toast with some bubbly, together. As we waited for everyone to gather, we used that opportunity to get Chef Michael to autograph Carle's cookbook, she had bought inside. 

Once the toast was done, we headed inside.

Our names were on cards on the table and were easy to find.

We were sat across from a really nice couple, celebrating her birthday. Turns out they live in Cambridge and he's a WRPS officer. Small world!

We started out with the Bread tree. A small loaf of bread made with RedFife, Acadian and Spelt flours, was accompanied by 3 spreads: Maple brown butter, Smokehouse pate, featuring last years pigs, and a house made fresh cheese.

Next, Chowder on a beach, crafted with island shellfish - bar clams, lobster, mussels, scallops, and chunks of fresh halibut. Simmered in a halibut broth, then finished with a little cream, and letting the starch from the potatoes thicken it slightly, while a variety of sea vegetables add that brininess. ( which I apparently forgot to take a photo of)  Delicious.

Next: The culinary farm. This was a really interesting presentation . We were each presented with an "Earth Plate" comprised of a  root puree trio - Ash baked beet, smoked parsnip and roasted carrot, lentil sprouts, seedy soil and today's forage.

  Then there was a bowl of greens to share and add to our plate. In this bowl there was herbs, shoots, stocks, stems, leaves, buds, fruits, flowers, and grains, combined with a house made vinegraite. The idea was to take a portion of greens and add them to your plate. The whole thing combined was magic!

.

Following the salad, was the main course, from Land and Sea.

We had both opted for the catch of the day, which was farmed New Brunswick Arctic Char with emulsified lobster essence. It was accompanied with Irish cobbler potato, snap peas, bok choy, radish, kale, garlic scapes, parsnip and tokyo turnip 

The meat option was Smoked island beef brisket and wood grilled flat iron steak. When everyone had been served, there was some of the beef left over so they came around with pieces for anyone who wanted to try it. It was all equally delicious!

Next we had what was called a Harvest Share. Cauliflower, with a blue cheese aioli, leek oil and lilac and elderflower sugar. It was all pretty amazing. Not something you would ever have the opportunity to try somewhere else.

Last but not least was Dessert. A strawberry and rose mousse atop a chiffon cake, garnished with anise hysop mousse, sour strawberry and rose gel, rye cookie, milk meringue and strawberry sorbet. 

During dessert our dining companion was surprised with sparklers to celebrate her birthday. 

All in all it had been quite a wonderful evening. It was even more wonderful when I went to pay the bill and someone, unbeknownst to me, had phoned in and paid a hefty portion of it. I will deal with them later!

After dinner, we were invited outside to the bonfire for homemade marshmallows. We each tried one, and then left as it was getting late. It was almost 9:30 and we had arrived at 4:00. 

A really lovely afternoon/evening, one I won't forget for a very long time and I'm sure Carle won't either. She had no idea what she was in for. She thought we were just going to a restaurant for dinner!

Thursday, July 14th - PEI day 3 - typical tourists!

Our day started out a little slowly as we had no where to be by any specific time. That's what holidays are supposed to be about!

After breakfast, we headed out of Charlottetown and took the scenic route up to Cavendish. We stopped first at one of the locations we were supposed to be staying at and had a chat with the owner. Hopefully the issue of the cancellation fee will get straigtened out. (Long and stupid story). 

Since we were in Cavendish, it only makes sense that we visit Anne of Green Gables. Of course that was our intended destination all along for today.

We chose not to take the hike through the haunted woods. Our footwear just wasn't suitable for such a trek. 

After leaving Cavendish we headed down the road 10 minutes or so to find ourselves at the PEI Preserve Company. It has new owners and I was a little disappointed to find out that they no longer have some of my favorite flavours of preserves. But we did manage to snack on several samples of crackers and sweets!

On the way back to town we stopped in to see my friends Charles and Laura. This is a very busy time of year for them so we only dropped in to say hello and then left them to get back to work. 

Back in town, we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some items for lunch as well as supper, as we were going out after. But first lunch then a swim in the hotel pool. Because it was a beautiful day, all the other hotel guests were at the beach, leaving the pool all for us. 

A little nap, then something to eat for dinner and we were picked up by Brenda, who drove us out to Summerside. We had tickets to see Highland Storm, at the College of Piping.  Covid has not been kind to them. There used to be a beautiful gift shop with some really unique items in it. It's no longer there. They have a few items for sale, but only t-shirts and a couple of sweatshirts. I was so disappointed.

But the show was excellent. We all really enjoyed it. Brenda's nephew, Chris, was a big part of the show and it was nice to see someone I knew performing. 

All in all, another great day. 

Wednesday, July 13th - PEI day 2

We were up early to check out the hotel breakfast. While our room is nice, breakfast left a bit to be desired. But we found enough to get us going.

Our first stop was Sobey's in Stratford. Carle and I had plans to go out to Fort Augustus and have coffee with Bernie and Dave, followed by lunch with Brenda. We picked up some treats to take with us as well as a salad for lunch. I saw my friend Ausia and caught up for a minute.

We dropped the salad off at Brenda's and headed over to the shop. There was only the 4 of us and it was actually very nice. After coffee, I took Carle on a quick scenic tour of all the places I lived while on the island. Then it was back to VanGaals for lunch.

Meghan and baby Theo were there so it was really nice to see them. I had a small gift for the new parents and apparently Meghan quite liked it.

While we were at the shop earlier, Dave was smoking some chicken legs. He had wrapped up three of them and sent them home with Bernie. Fortunately for us, Bernie wasn't going to be home for lunch so we three girls dined on salad, smoked chicken legs and new potatoes, followed with homemade strawberry rhubarb pie and vanille ice cream. A feast fit for a king - too bad he missed it!

Brenda had an appointment in town so Carle and I took a drive out to Lakeside Beach so I could show her where we should have been staying. It had turned into a hot and humid day so a walk on the beach was just what we needed.

As usual, it wasn't very busy. After strolling back to the car, we headed back into town for a bit of a rest and to change before going out for supper.

Brenda, Meghan and Helena had tickets for a play in town and were going for supper first at the yaght club. We met up with Brenda and Meghan at Meghan's and walked over to meet up with Helena. Her son Luke was working and was a server. He's really such a sweet boy.

We had great food, albeit, not necessarily worthy of TOPS. But it was delicious.

Apparently there are sailboat races in the harbour every Monday and Wednesday evening and the breezes blowing were perfect for the boats who were out.

When we finished eating, we all strolled along the waterfront. The others were going off to their play while Carle and I explored the shops along the way, along with an ice cream.(It was a VERY hot day - that's our story and we're sticking to it!)

While making our way back to the car, we walked all along the waterfront. It was such a beautiful night for it and I was reminded of walking those paths so many times in the past.

Once at the car, we started back out to the hotel, with a quick stop at the grocery store for some things we could add to make our breakfast a little more enjoyable - yogurt, fruit, etc.

While we relaxed after a somewhat busy day, we made some tentative plans for the rest of our time here, but of course, those are subject to change. If nothing else, we are flexible and can roll with whatever punches or opportunities come our way. 

A little wine goes along way to making that happen!