Ottawa to PEI

Planning for PEI 2016: Why we love the Points East Coastal Drive region

10 January 2016 Ottawa to PEI 2016

Yay! It’s time to start thinking about our next summer vacation on Prince Edward Island! This will be our third trip to PEI. In 2014, we spent a week near Murray Harbour, and in 2015 we spent a generally wet and rainy but still happy two weeks near St Peters Bay. We’ve criss-crossed and explored […]

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Revisiting Thunder Cove

6 August 2015 Ottawa to PEI 2015

Although we’d had a loose idea of what we planned to do pretty much every day of our epic PEI trip, we awoke the morning of the final day with no clear plan. We chatted as a family to make sure we’d done just about everything we’d wanted to do, and discussed how we wanted […]

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A PEI tradition: a night at the ceilidh

5 August 2015 Ah, me boys

We’d been at the ceilidh for about 10 minutes when I leaned forward and whispered in Beloved’s ear: “Okay, so maybe not ALL my ideas are good ones.” A ceilidh, pronounced “kay-lee”, is part dance, part social gathering, part kitchen party, and PEI takes its ceilidhs seriously. On any given night during the tourist season, […]

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Our amazing dinner at the Inn at Bay Fortune

3 August 2015 Ottawa to PEI 2015

Three rowdy boys, one fine dining experience – what could possibly go wrong? Absolutely nothing, in fact. Everything was perfect! You might have heard that earlier this summer, my culinary hero Chef Michael Smith announced that he and his wife Chastity had purchased the Inn at Bay Fortune, the very same place that had launched […]

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Sandcastles, a kite and fun at Orwell Corner

30 July 2015 Ottawa to PEI 2015

Since our sandcastle building workshop on the weekend, Lucas has been asking for the tools and the time to go back to the beach and put his skills to work. Despite the fact that the weather forecast said no precipitation for the next three hours, once again we arrived at the beach to drizzle that […]

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Exploring the tide pools at Argyle Shore

29 July 2015 Ottawa to PEI 2015

One of the things that most amazes me about the beaches on PEI is not the sheer abundance of them, nor their beauty (both of which are, indeed, amazing) but the vast differences in the character of various beaches. Each one we’ve attended (Brackley, Basin Head, Thunder Cove, St Peter’s Harbour, Covehead Harbour, Greenwich, and […]

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In which Sandspit is not a corny tourist trap, much to her surprise

29 July 2015 Ottawa to PEI 2015

Last year, we drove past Sandspit Amusement Park on our way home from Green Gables and Cavendish. Lucas saw it, begged to go and and being more than a little tired, cried fat tears of dismay when we said no. We did promise him we’d go during the trip we were already anticipating for this […]

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Sandcastles and SUNSHINE in PEI National Park

27 July 2015 Ottawa to PEI 2015

It was a celebrity sighting of the highest order. A whisper rippled up and down the beach as the crowd peered up in wonder. “Is that what I think it is?” “Oh my goodness, do you see what I see?” “Holy crap, THE SUN IS SHINING!” My mom left a comment on yesterday’s post saying […]

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Sea glass, wild roses and a boardwalk through the dunes

26 July 2015 Ottawa to PEI 2015

We’ve had an amazing first week in PEI, but I have to tell you that it’s been a bit of an uphill struggle to be cheerful about the relentlessly awful weather. We’ve been here seven days, and it’s rained for seven days. Every single day, the forecast calls for showers for that day, and the […]

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In which they survive Summerside AND the cliffs of despair, and discover Link’s sword in New Glasgow

25 July 2015 Ottawa to PEI 2015

The young woman at the cash register of the gift shop regards me blankly. Then her nose crinkles, as if I’d asked her where one might go to see the lobster fights instead of a suggestion for family activities in Summerside and she shrugs. “There’s not much to do here.” So we’ve discovered. It took […]

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