After yesterday’s windy ride, today’s was a welcome reprieve! Though the wind never goes away on Prince Edward Island, it does vary a great deal. Yesterday was brutal with strong headwinds all day. Today was a gentle breeze, just enough to keep us cool while pedaling.
The day started off rainy, and we delayed leaving the B&B for just a bit. Since there wasn’t a breakfast offered at our B&B, we rode our bikes down the street just a few blocks to find breakfast. Something I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post, was that the innkeeper at Prince County Guesthouse offered to wash our biking clothes for us when Jimmy asked if there was a laundromat nearby. He said he’d just throw them in his washer and gave us a bag to collect everything that need washing. We’ve met nice people at every stop!
We easily found the breakfast spot, which didn’t look like much from the outside. There was a small minimal sign on the window but no signage on the road (very common here). I wasn’t even sure it was open, but it was, and we had a delicious breakfast. I have noticed the sliced bread here is much thicker than in the US. The toast that came with our breakfast was homemade bread, cut in thick slabs. It was so good and I ate every bite. No carb watching this week!
Once we finished our breakfast, we took a road directly across from the restaurant to access the Confederation Trail. The light rain had mostly stopped by the time we finished our breakfast and though it remained cloudy most of the day, we stayed dry.
Our route today took us through more large farming operations. Mostly potatoes, but we also noticed fields of mustard, corn and soybeans. The gentleman we met at the potato museum told me that potatoes are only planted in a field once every three years because potatoes deplete the soil more than other crops. Typically a crop of potatoes is followed by a crop that is harvested, then the following year, a crop of mustard or something similar that is tilled under to enrich the soil. The fields were beautiful!
The trail took us through Summerside, which is on the southern coast of the island. We followed the trail along through quiet neighborhoods and had a good view of the water.
As we left Summerside, we continued on seeing more beautiful farmland and scenery.
We arrived in the little town of Kensington just in time for lunch. It’s a cute little town and the trail goes right through the center. The old train depot is still there, having been repurposed into a restaurant (though it wasn’t open today) and other shops are along the old trail. They left a few sections of track in place, with a wooden boardwalk for pedestrians alongside the trail.
There was a couple sitting at a picnic table along the trail and Jimmy asked if they had any recommendations for lunch. They replied they’d just gotten Kentucky Fried Chicken, and pointed in the direction of that restaurant. Jimmy told them we were from Kentucky and had plenty of that back home, lol. We enjoyed talking to them and headed on. We found a great little place right alongside the trail that looked promising. We made a good choice. Jimmy went up to place our order and I was sitting with the bikes when a family walked past, seeing the bikes and stopped to ask all about our trip. They said we’d picked a good spot for lunch, that the Frosty Treat was a Prince Edward Island classic. They had a large menu and I had a hard time deciding. They serve only PEI potatoes, so I had to order something with fries! I went with clams and Jimmy got fish and chips.
We finished our ride, enjoying the sights along the way and made it to Hunter River for the night.
Hunter River is a beautiful little town and the river runs through the middle of town.
Our accommodations tonight are at the Heritage Classic Inn B&B, run by a French woman and her husband. We were greeted by Sylvette and her dog Jack, who is huge but very well behaved.
Jack is not allowed in the guest portion of the home (Sylvette and her husband live in the home too) but as she toured us through the guest quarters, Jack kept sticking his nose out their kitchen door into the hallway to hear what was being said. Though he could easily step over the gate across the doorway, he has never tried.
The house was built in 1930 as a doctor’s office and served that purpose for many years. It was then purchased by a church and served as the parsonage. When Sylvette bought it, no one was living in it and she and her husband remodeled it as a guest house. Our room is on the front of the house and we have part of the front porch included in our room. Guests share a bathroom, but there is only one other guest who is working late each night, so it hasn’t been an issue.
They offered secure storage for our bikes behind the house that our grandsons would love! There’s a big dog bed in the corner so it must be Jack’s house!
Deb Cooks and Bikes 
Leave a comment