The summer of 2014 we rode our motorcycle from NH to cape Breton Nova Scotia stayed there for a few days then via the ferry we proceeded to Cornell PEI we only spent 2 days there only seeing half the island. From that point on we wanted to return and spend some more time there as it is a beautiful Provence.
This Time we brought our camper a Forest River Vengeance, and our gold wing staying at the Charlottetown/Cornwall KOA! We got to see a good portion of the island via motorcycle and spent some evenings walking around Charlottetown checking out the pubs and breweries.
If you have ever been to PEI you know it is divided into three sections. On our first day we explored the center. My best memory of PEI were the farm fields and in particular the canola fields. They are the most beautiful shade of yellow but to make it more appealing is the mixture of greens and even browns from other crops. As you drive down the road depending the way the field is planted they look as though they are moving especially the potato fields that are planted in mounds so you see the red dirt as you go by. So now you see yellows, light green, dark green, red, and brown over the rolling hills and I almost forgot on one side of the road these fields meet the ocean! For lunch we stopped at a place called Sou’ West Bar and Grill, nice outside seating, good food, good beverages and we were even blessed with a bald eagle flying overhead. In the water of the marina off the parking lot we saw some Man of War Jelly fish, I didn’t realize they were so colorful! Pictures don’t really do them justice! We ended our first day by taking a taxi to Charlottetown to check out a brewery and visit a great Irish pub we found 3 years ago!
Day 2 we headed to the east side of the island, part of our plan for this day was to find a person whose plane Bill used t work on! They now own an air strip where he keeps his push pull (skymaster) airplane. We found their house but it appeared no one was home as we were a bit early! We walked around and found we were in the right place when we found the plane! A few minutes later Jean appeared out of the field and behind her was her husband Jimbo they were out mowing the airstrip with some pretty large tractors. Yes I did say mowing, this is a grass airfield. After reminiscing a bit he took us for a ride, the plane is a four seater including the pilot so one of us had to stay behind. The decision was easy because Laura said there was no way she was going up in that plane! Jimbo gave us a nice tour of his area telling us all about the different sights! After our flight we went to a local burger place with Jimbo and Jean and enjoyed a good meal and more reminiscing. We proceeded to the rest of the east island but apparently I was not paying enough attention to the direction because we took a wrong turn and ended up cutting back west through the center of the island back towards camp. This side of the island is apparently my nemesis because last time we were here we kept getting lost, then it rained and we ended up missing a good chunk of the east island.
On day 3 we walked around Charlottetown, visited a few breweries and brew pubs and listened to good Irish Music. The weather was not the greatest for riding! On day 4 we toured the west side of the island, this time our friends lead us. Except for a few wrong turns we managed to travel most of the scenic route. We even fit in one brewery. The west side has more farm land, two windmill farms and some gorgeous old churches.
Day 5 we had hoped t do some kayaking but the weather, mostly wind did not cooperate so we did the next best thing, went for another ride. This time back to the east island to see some more of the scenic route we missed. There was more farm land, more ocean and more beautiful sites. All in all we road just under 800 miles on the bike and 1300 round trip in the truck.
I learned some neat facts about PEI; first the bridge was built in 1997 and is the longest bridge that traverses waters that can freeze. It is about he size of Delaware with a population just under 250,000 people. They have no fresh water lakes, ponds or rivers. The people are super nice, and the island is super clean. It is the cleanest place I have ever seen and one of the most beautiful. If you follow their maps for the scenic drives you will see just about everything and if you don’t have a lot of time I would start with the center, the west section next then the east.
Vagabond2019 