Sunday, August 2
Temperature: High 77°F / Low 63°F
Conditions: A few high clouds; breezy with some gusts
Distance Walked: 17.2k
Experiences of the Day
We have been spoiled by our hosts at the Thistlebloom B&B: hot coffee on our deck at 6:15 this morning, a scrumptious breakfast, and a delightful dinner with our hosts Todd and Heather. They can accommodate a wide variety of dietary needs — it was just so safe and reassuring to be able to indulge in all they had to offer. After breakfast, we saw our island walking partners walk by so we called them over for a cup of coffee.
Todd shuttled us to Christopher Cross, and we started our reverse Island Walk back to the B&B. We are so glad we decided to stay at Thistlebloom for two nights because it is incredible. Truly a must do if you are planning to walk the trail.
We enjoyed the scenery along the way and broke our walk up into two parts with a break at the Stompin' Tom Centre. Being from the United States, I had never heard of Stompin' Tom. The little museum was quite well done and we enjoyed listening to the musical performance at 1:00 p.m. (free show daily). You could also tour the original schoolhouse, where I invited Lisa from New Brunswick to sing with us. As it turns out her Dad had been a friend of Stompin' Tom and apparently they would hang out at the Horseshoe Tavern in Toronto.
We headed back to the B&B and along the way we saw a herd of cows. It was the strangest thing: as we walked along the side of the road the cows all lined up to look at us. We stopped and looked at them. We would walk some more, they would walk some more. We would stop and look at them and they would stare at us. All lined up. It was something for sure.
Todd and Heather joined us for dinner at our request and we had delightful conversation. For dessert there was Irish Moss pudding. My immediate response was that it tasted like the ocean, but I think our host Todd described it better: it tastes like the ocean smells. Having grown up and near the ocean in California, I think that he has described the pudding perfectly because when I ate the dessert it reminded me of being at the beach.
After dinner, we took a walk down to the beach where many members of the family had their summer cottages.
 |
| Our favorite stay of the trip! |
 |
| Therese enjoying an Island Walk bench. |
 |
 |
 |
| Stompin' Tom Museum |
 |
| It was a great performance! |
 |
| We are watching you. |
 |
| Irish Moss pudding! |
 |
| Summer cottages at the beach. |
 |
| Day 9: Christopher Cross to St. Louis, 17.2k |
Meals & Accommodation
- Breakfast: Western omelette (Lynn); scrambled eggs, yogurt with berries and nuts (Therese)
- Lunch: Mountain House
- Dinner: Baked haddock, roasted carrots, beet greens, and potatoes.
- Dessert: Avocado chocolate pudding (Therese) and Irish Moss pudding (Lynn)
Lodging: Thistlebloom B&B