Our full day in PEI was to be spent along the Confederation trail. This is an old railway that has been taken out and made into a biking path all the way along the island of PEI. We were not completing the 270 or so kilometers but doing only the section that ran along the ocean.
So we went out to rent our bikes and usually they rent out simple hybrids but Paul asked if they had any cyclocross bikes that we could rent instead. So this was the bike we got, a Specialized Crux. It was pretty awesome and took nearly no energy to pedal. So we spent the time trading off bikes. The cyclocross bike was great and easy on the legs but was quite hard on the seat, so when our rears were really sore we could trade over, until our legs got really sore.
It was such a beautiful amazing path and so much fun to get out and do something that we love together on a holiday! Biking is such a fun way to see sights, slow enough to see and enjoy but can get you someplace further than walking. I see many more biking trips in our future!
We rode up to the small town of St. Peters, I think and ate at a little fish and chips restaurant that had been hosted on the show "You gotta eat here!" Along our trip we ate at 3 or 4 restaurants featured on that show. It was really fun to sample some of the best that the Maritimes had to offer! I had the lobster roll and Paul had the fish and chips. It was yummy and a good halfway point along our journey!
We continued from there along the other side of the peninsula to the end which was Greenwich national park. We had a break here and enjoyed the beach and walking around with the little plovers all over the shallow water, having their meal. It was beautiful and quiet there for us to enjoy some time at the ocean.
I love the ocean and loved every second of being here listening to the waves crash!
This was the view along where we walked out to get to the beach.
Our ride back was rather exhausting. When we planned this route there were different lengths posted for how long each of the parts of the route were. So they were conflicting and we were not quite sure how long it would be. All of the calculations were off. I took my phone with an app that tracked our ride and we ended up riding 45 km this day! We were estimating from our sources about 30. So it was quite long and exhausting. We were definitely tired and sore when we reached the car again. We were happy though as it felt like we accomplished something great! It was a fun and beautiful day!
We stopped by a beach to see a really red sandy beach. Our bike trip was along the other side of the island and it was not quite as red over there.
We ate one of our best meals at this tiny cafe in the tiny town of, Victoria by the Sea. It was definitely tied for the best chowder that we had and the meal was yummy but after all of the exercise we had that day I bet any meal would have satisfied!
We hurried to make it to see the Confederation bridge before the sun set. The sight did not disappoint! It was amazing to see the bridge stretch farther than the eye can see. And very interesting to drive across it as all of the last of the light faded. We could only see the blackness of the ocean all around us.
A couple times while in PEI we were able to enjoy some Cow's ice cream. It really was probably the best ice cream that I have ever had! I love fruit flavors and this is the strawberry and blueberry, made with fresh berries grown in PEI and fresh cream also from PEI, it was heavenly!
We traveled next into New Brunswick and stayed in Moncton in preparation for our next adventure at the Bay of Fundy!
This was low tide at the Flower Pots Rocks on the Bay of Fundy. It has the worlds highest tides and this day was one of its highest of the year at 46 feet. We explored the ocean floor for a very long ways. wandering through the rocks and mud.
Here is Paul beneath the huge arch that is an iconic picture of the Bay of Fundy. I recognized this place from pictures before we were going to come here.
Paul wanted to walk down to the waters edge. This was more of an adventure as there was more mud to navigate to get there, otherwise there were mostly rocks that kept our feet out of the squishy mud. But venturing down to the water had us jumping from rock to rock and looking for the best way out, navigating different routes, to stay clean. It was funny to see us, I'm sure.
After we saw the low tides we had lunch and walked around some more before our next adventure was going to begin! We went with Baymount Outdoor Adventures to 'Kayak the Rocks!' I was beyond excited about doing this! Paul was a little more unsure if sea kayaking would be a safe activity but once he tried it he was convinced! Here we are above getting on our skirts and getting instructions before heading down to the water.
Here we are getting settled into our kayaks. We walked down toward the bay and there was a line of 20 or so double sea kayaks.The water was probably 20-30 feet away from us. We climbed in and got ourselves settled and then there was a couple of minutes of safety instructions. By that time the water had crept all the way up to our kayaks and they just pushed us into it. It was surprising to see how fast it was coming in toward us.
Here we are in front of the same arch that Paul was standing beneath. It looks very different now and the tide is still rising!
One of the coolest parts of this adventure was that we were navigating through these tunnels and arches made by the tides. We stayed close by one of the guides of our group and he took us personally through many more tunnels and arches then the rest of the group because of a few reasons, we were eager, we were physically capable and the tides were especially high. He said that we went through more than he had taken any group all year. That was pretty awesome!!
Some of these tunnels were more challenging and small. One we had to turn sideways in the middle to get to the exit. The water was coming and pushing on that side of our kayak so it was hard to turn and we had to back up and try again a couple times. It was so much fun and a great challenge. I think I even had my paddle put away and pushed against the walls of the tunnel to try and guide us out, while Paul worked the back end with his paddle.
These rocks all had different names. Some of them you could see a pictures in and it made sense for what they named it, others not so much!
It was a little nerve racking having my cell phone out over the water to get pictures. We had a waterproof bag for them to go in. So I held it tight, took a few pictures and quickly got it back into its safe bag.
All filled up with water! Such an amazing transformation! It seemed like you would see water rushing in but it did not come in with big rushing waves but was amazing to see that it did come quickly and subtly.
This behind us was a huge section of mud flats that was mud and little rivers of retreating water and then it was all covered again.
We had such an amazing trip with great fun experiences. We had this picture for the kids as we got to ride home to Calgary on Westjets Disney plane. What a great time we had and I cannot wait to go back and take the kids next time.
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