Day #4: Summerside

Tuesday, July 28

Temperature: High 75°F / Low 63°F

Conditions: Clouds and fog turning to sun.

Distance Walked: 22.9k

Experience of the Day: Gatorade Guy!

We weren't sure how far the trail was today - our walk was from Summerside to Borden-Carleton - and there were two trail options. Leaving early (5:47am) and leaving from Summerside worked out quite well as we missed a lot of the highway traffic that would be on the road in the afternoon.

Advice: Bring earplugs for highway walking as it can be quite noisy at times.

Grabbed coffee and the washroom at the ESSO and before we knew it we were having our "lunch" break in Lower Bedeque - and let me tell you, we sure loved that the museum was closed because we all made good use of the bench outside! Did you know that LM Montgomery taught for a short period of time in Bedeque in the little schoolhouse in 1897-98 that you can tour in Lower Bedeque today?

So far, my favorite part of the walk was the red road just outside of Lower Bedeque. We noticed that there was some asphalt that was used to patch potholes in the road, we haven't seen that before. Two tractors went by and gave us an obligatory coating of red dust; I guess we are now official Island Walkers!

Agriculturally, Kate and Linda were thrilled with the veggie stand and happily carried 5 lbs of beets with them. We are still not sure why some of the barns have rectangular pop outs on the side, but are guessing that it has to do with potato storage(?).

Our trail angel today was Kapiz Dev Chauhau. We finished our walk from Summerside and walked over to Island Pizza (902-855-3000), which is getting ready to open tomorrow (7/29). We were immediately greeted, offered Gatorade and a washroom! Kapiz, a former cancer biologist, and his crew were busy finishing up renovations, but took the time to talk with us and offer support. What a terrific guy...he even held my Gatorade so that I could take the selfie!

We had planned to take the PEI Rural Transit bus back to Summerside, but we arrived so early that we decided to call a taxi. It was nice to have the extra three hours to relax at our Airbnb.

Finished off the night with a trip to Red Shores to see the harness races. Not being familiar with the sport, we talked to Rocky Schurman (a former driver) and took his suggestion of a box bet on #124. This turned out to be a good bet (I wagered $6) with a lousy payout ($5.95). The ladies sitting behind us in the stands were from Ontario and asked about the Island Walk (I had my shirt on...it's my only clean shirt...). One of them had heard of it, but had never seen or known of anyone doing the walk.

Breakfast: Yogurt, blueberries and granola

Trail Snacks: Veggies, nuts, cheese, banana, V8, ADL chocolate milk(!)

Lunch: Egg, cheese and humas pita roll at home

Dinner: Chili Mac, Kale, veggies and hummas

Lodging: Airbnb in Summerside

Day #3: Borden-Carleton

Monday, July 27

Temperature: High 76°F / Low 55°F

Conditions: Sunny with some clouds later in the day.

Distance Walked: 18.7k

Experiences of the Day

We wanted to get an early start, so we left right around 6:30 a.m. and enjoyed the cool morning air. We enjoyed the peaceful countryside, ocean views, and watching the machines harvest potatoes in the fields. 

As we approached the end of the third section, I spotted three gentlemen who appeared to be working on a car in their driveway. Therese and I decided we were going to ask them for a ride to the visitor center in Borden-Carleton while Linda and Kate opted to walk. Fortunately for us, a very nice gentleman named Grant quickly agreed to take us into town. We had a nice visit with him and were very grateful for the ride. Our trip into town did not disappoint: views of the bridge, some fun with Anne, and COWS!

We bought month-long senior passes for the rural transit system and took the bus from the visitor center to Summerside where we are staying in an Airbnb. Tomorrow we will walk from Summerside to Borden and then take the bus back. Our bus driver Steven was amazing! He gave us a nice little tour and told us all about what we were seeing along the way.

Breakfast: Susan at the Oxley House B&B was absolutely amazing and sent us away with a to-go breakfast. Her bread is off the charts amazing!

Lunch: Snacks

Dinner: Veggie burgers, kale, veggies and humus. 

Lodging: Airbnb in Summerside

Day #2: Victoria

Sunday, July 26

Temperature: High 79°F / Low 55°F

Conditions: Sunny

Distance Walked: 25.6k

Evening Walk: 1.9k

Experiences of the Day

We were feeling good, left nice and early and started our walk. In fact, we were feeling so good that we walked an extra half kilometer because we ended up missing the turn off for MacEachern Road! Heather, who did this walk two years ago, told us how she got lost in this general vicinity. I completely get it now. We saw the little hiker sign and in fact I even had my picture taken with it, but there was no Island Walk sign with it and we just kept walking right on by, right up that great big hill! 

Advice: if you see a hiker sign, double check your map because it may be that the Island Walk sign is missing.

Once we got on the correct road, we had a very delightful walk through the trees. The road was quite perfect because it wasn't too dry and it wasn't too wet, making for a nice firm yet comfortable walking surface. 

Very shortly we came upon an adorable little building with a sign, New Argyle School. We saw a gentle man sitting on the front porch and recognized him as the runner we had passed earlier. Believe it or not he was a MacEachern - his grandparents had been students at the school and later his mom had taught there. We had a delightful conversation, he offered us water and presented us with raspberries! What a wonderful treat. Trail Magic!

We knew it was going to be a long walk, with not a lot around. So I had reached out to Bryson to ask him if he knew where we might be able to get water along our way. He directed us to the Free Church of Scotland and Reverend Compton. Being Sunday, we were sure to find people there. 

We arrived to find parishioners inside listening to the service. We took our shoes off and laid on the ground with our feet against the tree for a little bit of relief. Once the service was over, we introduced ourselves and the Reverend Compton invited us in for water, the washroom, and lunch! We took him up on the first two, said our goodbyes and continued on our journey. Trail Angel!

We heard barking and suddenly two Great Pyrenees showed up on the trail. They were the loveliest dogs we have ever met and escorted us for about 2 km. At one point we wondered if they were going to walk us all the way to Victoria! Eventually they disappeared down a small driveway.Trail Guides!

Our host, Susan at the Oxley House B&B told us that we just absolutely must meet Sheldon White, who is one of the people on the Island Walk board. I let him know we were going down to Richard's for some dinner and who walks up but Sheldon himself! He had all kinds of great advice for us and assured us that today's walk was one of the hardest. Phew, were we glad to hear that!

We are all pretty tired - it is our second day, the humidity was 53% (at least that's what the internet tells us), with lots of sun. That said, we met terrific people and are looking forward to continuing our walk tomorrow to Borden-Carleton.

Breakfast: Freeze dried scrambled eggs, and cheesy GF rolls from Mary's Cornwall Baker!

Snacks: Broccoli and humas; cheese

Dinner: Richard’s for fish tacos, including deep-fried haddock, roasted beets and pickled onions. Scrumptious!

Lodging: Oxley House B&B

Day #1: Dunedin

 

Saturday, July 25

Temperature: High 81°F / 61 Low °F

Conditions: Sunny

Distance Walked: 24.2k

Experiences of the Day

After months of anticipation, the day was finally here and our friend Billy led us to the trailhead. After some quick goodbyes and thank you's for hosting us, we made our way to the trail. When it was all said and done we walked for about 6 hours, which does not include the time that we spent at the grocery store, eating lunch, or wine tasting at Matos Winery.

One of the most interesting things we saw was a big stump that was covered with shoes! There was a gentleman doing some work out in the yard so we stopped by to ask him the story. As it turns out, his mother saved shoes of various family members that they had worn on vacations and decided to attach them to the tree as a remembrance of the trips. A walk down memory lane if you will.

The two really fun things that happened along the walk: 

We pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a friendly couple of honks and a wave only to discover that it was Billy who was on his way back from dropping off our friends' packs!

As we were leaving Cornwall, a very nice lady on a bicycle approached us and asked us if we were doing the Island Walk! It turns out it was Verna Lynn Weeks from the tourism association out on a bike ride. People here are so friendly!

We had a really nice time at the winery, where we met the owner. We lounged out front in the shade, fought off a multitude of spiders, and chatted with some people from Montreal. From there, we had just 500m.to go!

Tomorrow we head to Victoria.

Breakfast: Bananas, oranges, apples, yogurt, blueberries, oats, GF muffins and Tim Horton's coffee. Thank you, Billy!

Lunch: Cornwall Independent Grocery.

Dinner: Made dinner at the house. 

Lodging: Airbnb

Charlottetown Here We Come!

 

Friday, July 24

Temperature: High 75°F / Low 60°F

Conditions: Sunny

Distance Walked:  3k

Experiences of the Day: Billy & Brenda

We knew before we ever arrived here that the people of PEI were wonderful based on the interactions we have had with folks both through the Island Walk FB group and by phone. The four of us (two Oregonians, one Californian and one from Thailand) have been planning our trip since last November.

How lucky were we to have Billy host us on our inaugural visit to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. I had posted our trip to the Island Walk FB group and fortunately Billy happened to see it. He reached out and has been a wonderful ambassador - answering questions, making suggestions, picking us up from the airport, helping us with some errands and touring around downtown!

We ordered Island Walk swag from All Star Cresting at the end of June, but shipping to Oregon would mean that we wouldn't receive it prior to departure. Brenda at All Star was so kind - she suggested holding on to the items for us to check out once we arrived. She even sent us her number in case our plane was delayed and we arrived after they closed!

Dinner: Haddock, beet salad and sweet potato and bacon poutine at John Brown.

2026 PEI Grand Adventure: The Big Walk

The countdown is on! 

In 10 days, our little group of 60 somethings will start the big walk around Prince Edward Island on July 25th.

A couple of fun things:

1. We get to travel with our long time travel partners, Linda and Kate! I have known Linda for just over 40 years. 
2. When we arrive in Charlottetown on the 24th, we will be greeted and hosted by a random stranger, Billy. It has been fun having him as a resource as we plan our trip.
3. After the big walk, we will do a driving tour of Nova Scotia for five days.
4. We will finish out the trip with a wedding in Waukesha, WI. Of course, the wedding is the whole reason we are doing the walk.

Here's how the conversation started back in Oregon last fall...

"Let's see, if we have to go to Wisconsin, what else could we do in the area..." and then out comes the maps and on goes the computer we found Bryson Guptill and the Island Walk and somehow this becomes the most expensive wedding we have ever attended! 

Career Change

During a hike at Great Basin National Park, we ran into a gentleman who had retired early. People would ask him what he was going to do with the rest of his life. When he replied that he would be hiking, camping, and being in the outdoors, he said people would just look at him with a blank stare. "Why would you want to do that?" He finally decided to change his answer to something people could understand..."sleep in and go out for coffee."

We talked a bit more about the irony that the word "retire" actually means to go to bed and get some rest when in our reality, to retire means to have unlimited time to adventure. After saying our goodbyes, we continued the discussion ourselves and decided that we would never "retire," but that we would be making a career change to "adventurers @ large." This blog documents our adventures during this new career.

Our strategy for almost every adventure is to find a challenge, learn about what we need to do to prepare, study up on the area we will be visiting, and go for it! That said, it's important for you, the reader, to know that we are middle aged women of average physical ability who have a lot of determination and passion for adventure.

Lynn is a full-time adventurer @ large and recently retired from her gig as a school district administrator overseeing instructional technology and library services.

Therese is a full-time adventurer @ large having transitioned from her most recent career as a massage therapist.

Hot Logic Mini-Mac Personal Portable Oven

When Therese was diagnosed with Celiac, stopping at restaurants while traveling suddenly came to a halt. We needed a strategy in place so that she felt good about her food options, while at the same time, I could stop for a meal...after all, I didn't want to miss out on regional food opportunities!

So we looked around to see how we might heat up a frozen gluten-free meal while driving. We read some crazy things, like people baking potatoes or preparing meals using their car engines while on road trips (Google it, it's fascinating...Car-B-Que). But that wasn't for us. We ended up finding and buying the Hot Logic 16801060003 Mini-Mac Personal Portable Oven, which has worked nicely.

Here are our take aways:

1. We purchased the one version with the AC power cable in the event that we ever wanted to use it when staying overnight in a microwave-less hotel or Airbnb and plug it into our car power inverter.
2. If a meal is frozen solid, plan on 2.5 to 3 hrs. 
3. If a meal is partially frozen, plan on around 2 hours. 
4. Frozen burritos, especially small ones that are partially defrosted should be checked after 1.5 hrs.
5. Do NOT puncture or break the seal of the meal container. We had one experience where the cellophane had come away from the edge of the container...this did not turn out well...

Keep in mind that this is a small unit and is appropriate for heating up one or two meals at a time.

Knox Electric Cooler (and Warmer)

I cannot say enough about this Knox Cooler  (model KN-CCW27QB). It is amazing and does the job.

We needed a cooler for a road trip, and since we were flying in and getting a rental car, our first thought was to get a cheap styrofoam cooler and toss it at the end of the trip. But that was inconsistent with our reuse/recycle beliefs.

After a lot of research, I settled on this cooler. Here's why:

1. It included two power cables: one for the car and one for indoors.
2. We would be able to take it home with us on the airplane as carry on luggage. It measures 13 x 17.2 x 18.4 inches and the airlines carryon limits are 9 inches x 14 inches x 22 inches.
3. The reviews were good. There were some negative, but that most likely had to do with people not reading the directions.
4. We could have it delivered to our hotel and the price was right.

A couple of notes...

• We used this cooler during a 10-day road trip and not once did we did not eat out (pandemic + Celiac = self food prep).
• Food was kept nicely cold. Some of the items we stored included 1/2 gallon of milk, 1/2 gallon of orange juice, a giant tub of yogurt (which we used all 10 days), almond milk, frozen dinners/burritos, bagged salad, boiled eggs, and so forth. For two people, it was the perfect size!
• Before loading it up with food, we would pre-chill it for 20 minutes or so. For example, when staying in a hotel for the night, we would put the food into the refrigerator overnight; the next morning, we turned on the cooler prior to loading up our food. 
• The fan is very quiet. But, I am a person who doesn't like to hear any noise at night, so I opted to use the hotel refrigerator. We did leave the food in the cooler plugged in one night and it worked great.
• Since the cooler shuts off when the car is off, we had brought a quart sized freezer bag, filled it half way up and froze it each night so that we had a little piece of ice for the cooler. I don't know that this was necessary, but I liked not worrying about the food when we stopped to do something for a few hours. We also had one frozen meal in the cooler just about every day (more on this in our "oven" post)
• Our experiences are based on a road trip in mid March, and the high temperatures were in the mid-70s. If it had been summer time, I would have moved the cooler to the trunk when we made stops, just to keep it out of a hot car.
• The lid is heavy, so when it is empty, it is helpful to position it so that the lid is against a wall so that it doesn't accidentally get tipped over. 
• We did not use the warming feature on this cooler.