It was my second visit to the island, and I knew three nights wouldn’t be enough but it was all I had to spare on this great adventure leading to Newfoundland.
Because we were here a week or so before “the season” started there weren’t many options available for camping. The national park and provincial parks didn’t open for weeks, so we settled for a KOA in Cavendish. Some people really love the KOA experience. I am not one of those people. Camping in a grassy, treeless where you can see into the tents next to you is not my idea of a good time. The people were nice. The washrooms were clean (though very worn and dated) but I want trees and privacy!!! But it was a place to park Louise for a few nights!
There are so many highlights of my time on the island. The first is probably the people. Everyone we met was nicer than the one before. Beautiful islanders who wanted to share stories of their love of their home. I love the people of the Maritime provinces!
Another highlight was the gorgeous beaches with their red sand and the sunrises and sunsets we experienced there! We spent quite a bit of time on the Cavendish beach.
We visited a few breweries – all filled with awesome people. The first stop was Upstreet Brewing in Charlottetown. They had some solid options, my favorite probably being the Rhuby Social, a strawberry rhubarb witbeee. They also had a blueberry DIPA, Blue Meanie, which was dangerously delicious. The beer was good, and I walked away with a cute hemp bag, but no souvenir beer.
The second stop on the brewery trip was PEI brewing, aka Gahan Brewing.
They had a horrible seasonal – a Haskap Sour. The berry is an odd blueberry/ grape hybrid and the beer tasted like soured manischewitz. I mean, if you enjoy church wine, maybe it’s your thing, but I’d discourage you from that one. They had a really fantastic blueberry beer though – Gahan Blueberry Ale, and a NEIPA called Snow Bird. I grabbed a handful as each for souvenir beer. The beer overall was good, but the best part of this brewery was the people and conversations with the bartenders!
The best beer on the island is found at Moth Lane Brewing, but it’s so good it gets its own blog post. Be patient. It’ll be worth the wait – just like the beer!
Weather was warm most days, with skies that quickly shifted from sun to overcast. Sunrise and sunsets weren’t always photo worthy, but I really don’t mind getting up at 4:30am for a glimpse at that first light!!!
We of course had to visit the Anne of Green Parks Canada site in Cavendish. She’s probably the most famous fictional character to come from the island!!
I can’t imagine what the Cavendish region is like in peak tourist season. The area is overrun with Pigeon Forge style attraction – sketchy amusement parks and roadside attractions. I was perfectly happy they were closed and could focus on the natural sites…. Red sand beaches, potato fields and blue skies.
I got to try a few of the islands delicacies. The oysters of the island are DELICIOUS. I could have easily eaten a full dozen!!
We also had some Cows ice cream. It was good, but didn’t compare to the Mount Desert Ice Cream of Acadia!!!
Gosh I love PEI.
Teardrops & Ales 