Oh, and we bought a new house and we're dying to spend our first night in it:
It's a very cosy, sleek and modern design. Plus, we can easily relocate anywhere we need to...
Is it us, or does the new house look a bit like a cylon from Battlestar Galactica?
Only a few hours from where we're staying, the drive to the County is straight forward. It gives us some time to share our observations about being home, discuss future plans and reflect on the unfolding process of remaking our life. We decide on some small tweaks and changes. It is good to have time to talk through these things. Often it can feel like we are making no progress, but after talking and reflecting, we note we are indeed making small, incremental progress. We uncover tiny signs, little coincidences that point to a building flow. Patience is required — patience, a little faith and vigilance as we remain alert to opportunities as they may arise.
We jump off the highway at Trenton with military planes zooming above us and take, 33 — Loyalist Parkway south down towards Lake Ontario. It's pretty country — flat, green and vibrant consisting mostly of small farms. We stop in the charmer known as Wellington in hopes of catching lunch at the Main and East Bistro which gets rave reviews. Much to our surprise, it's closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. We wander down main street a little further and uncover The Red Poppy Cafe which has swooped up all the bistro business this day. It's bustling. We are able to snag a table and share a few delicious dishes — watermelon, tomato and mint soup, goat's cheese and sun dried tomato quiche and veggie samosas with home-made peach chutney. While we eat, it starts to rain down buckets outside, but it's sunny again by the time we leave.
We drive on to the main town of Picton, passing through the little village of Bloomington. We make a note to stop off when heading back. Picton hosts the Prince Edward County tourist centre where we pick up information on the art and wine tours. We also ask them about campsites and get a couple of recommendations.
The main draw in Prince Edward County is Sandbanks Provincial Park which sports a very long sandy strip, perfect for summer beach goers. There are also campsites in the park, but we are advised that obtaining one may be tricky in mid summer. We opt to try our luck at a private campsite called Log Cabin Point, about 15 K outside of Picton and just on the outskirts of Sandbanks Park. Fate seems to be smiling on us. They have one site left. It's a small campground, aimed more at the RV and trailer home crowd, but they have a few tent sites and they're right on the East Lake which makes for a nice view.
Our accommodation secured for the evening, we spend the afternoon cruising about the more eastern part of the PEC region. We visit the Long Dog Winery and sample their county grapes Pinot and Chardonnay. We hit the town of Milford and the Milford Bistro and then stop at the Little Bluffs Conservation Area and hike down to the beach and do the top walk along the bluffs. For dinner, we head back to Picton for a veggie Buddha Dog, but it too is closed. We don't have much luck with our chosen restaurants.
We look at the menus of some other places, but overall, Picton leaves us feeling underwhelmed. It seems to be struggling through an identity crisis — set up for the beach crowds who filter in after a day on the water but also trying to accommodate the growing B&B/wine and arts crowd.
After a bit of driving around, we settle for a pint and light dinner at The Barley Room Pub. It's adequate. It leaves us time to head back to our campsite, to set up the new home (in about five minutes) and then stroll over to the beach to catch the sunset.
We have a restful night in our new tent. Being the middle of the week, the campsite is quiet except for a few creatures (or people?) toppling garbage cans in the middle of the night.
The morning is ideal for a quick wake up swim and then we're back on the road. We grab an egg breakfast at Chesterfield's Homegrown Cafe in Picton and then head back to the western part of the county and the small towns of Bloomington and Wellington. We make some stops and browse the shops. Then it's on to the wineries on our list, most of which are located along the Loyalist Parkway. Two of our favourites doing really nice Chardonnays are Rosehill Run and Closson Chase.
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