Monday, July 31, 2017. More Pretty Places and Lots of Eating.

We get breakfast at a coffee shop called Beanz Cafe in downtown Charlottetown. Then we’re supposed to hike at the Winter Trail, but the trail isn’t marked clearly. We hike a bit, but decide to turn around before we get lost and no one can find our bodies. O_O

Instead, we venture to North Rustico harbor, where we walk along the pier and see all the dead jellyfish that have washed up on the shore with the tide. It’s still pretty, nevertheless.

Blue Mussel Café is just down the road. We arrive before the lunch crowd and manage to get a table. This place is one of my favorites during this vacation. I order a Seafood Bubbly Bake, and Travel Buddy gets oysters and mussels. For dessert, I get the chocolate potato cake. This should definitely be on your restaurant list if you decide to visit.

We drive through the PEI National Park and pass the Covehead Harbor Lighthouse.

We visit the famous hotel, Dalvay by the Sea, where they filmed the scene in Anne of Green Gables when Anne recites a poetry reading.

Then we drive to New Glasgow and wait in line for the famous New Glasgow Lobster Suppers. We’re seated at the window, overlooking a beautiful lake.

The food comes. It’s all you can eat bread rolls, green salad, potato salad, steamed mussels, and chowder. Then the main lobster course, and finally all you can eat dessert, which is three kinds of pie.

Definitely worth eating here, though the mussels are not as flavorful as the other places where we have eaten, and the lobster is a little overcooked and rubbery, but this is due to it being a huge 3.5 pounder.

At this point, Travel Buddy and I are so full, we feel sick. Travel Buddy has eaten a hell of a lot more food than me, though. In addition to the pot of mussels from lunch, she’s cleaned out 1.5 buckets of mussels during dinner. I kid you not. My friend can eat, and she’s still so skinny. So unfair. But I digress.

I walk along the lake outside the restaurant and take a few pictures.

If I could do this day over, I would have starved myself before eating here and eaten at Blue Mussel Café another day. I would also have hiked along the trail in the National Park, a paved path with tons of bikers and hikers and a lot safer than the unmarked trail we tried earlier today.

Lesson learned. There’s always next time.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017: Flying Solo

I wake up to the sound of groaning and puking. Travel Buddy stumbles back from the bathroom and collapses on the bed. Hmm…probably wasn’t wise to eat that much yesterday, especially all those mussels.

I get up and decide to wait a few hours to see if my friend will feel well enough to go out. I haven’t spent much time at the Airbnb or made use of the facilities, so I decide to explore the kitchen. A lady is making tea for herself. She introduces herself, offers me tea, and we start a conversation. As we sip on chai tea, I learn that she grew up in the same city where I’m from in LA. What are the odds? Her husband comes to the kitchen, and the woman makes him breakfast. Indian pancakes and apricots. They are kind enough to feed me.

It’s enough fuel for me to decide to go for a run downtown. When I return, Travel Buddy is still unconscious.

All this time, she’s been driving us places. I’ve been scared of getting behind the wheel. Always hated driving, and the thought of now driving in a foreign land (even Canada, and even when the speed limit is barely faster than running) scares the **** out of me. But I decide to suck it up.

Once I actually start driving, the butterflies disappear. I make the 30-minute drive to Lakeside Beach, recommended to me by the man I met on the plane because it’s more private than other beaches. I park on the side of the road, near some beach houses, and then I follow the trail, climbing a sand dune.

What meets me on the other side is a sight to behold. The water is so clear, the sands so white and pure. It’s like a secret alcove. There are people here, but it’s nowhere near as crowded as Cavendish Beach.

I walk along the shore and take in the ocean breeze. The solitude is therapeutic. I see a sandpiper gliding just above the waves.

And then I get a text. “Where are you?” Seems that Travel Buddy has gotten up and feels a little better. I slowly walk back to the car. The flowers and trees are so beautiful. The people who live here are so lucky.

I head back to join my friend for an early dinner.

Back in Charlottetown, we dine at Churchill and Arms, which serves, if it isn’t already obvious, British pub food. I order a Chicken Curry dish with naan bread, rice pilaf, and fries. I love curry, and this doesn’t disappoint.

After dinner, we head to the Confederation Center of the Arts, where Anne of Green Gables: The Musical is playing.

We have tickets for the show tonight. It’s in a larger theater, a full-scale production, much larger than the other musical. Our seats are center orchestra and close to the front. We can pretty much see the actors’ sweat and spit. It’s great. The show is magical, and all the actors are superb. This is a must see if you vacation here.