Roadtrip: Charlottetown to Halifax

Sunday, August 30

Experiences of the Day

Today was our last day on PEI. It has been such a magical place that it was hard to leave. We had our final breakfast at Leonhard's and then walked to the bus station. Our driver was new and undergoing training by a fellow with an extremely nice voice. As it turned out, the trainer was Mitch Cormier the CBC PEI radio personality. He told us that he had just received word that his schedule was changing from early morning to afternoon. We weren't sure about what he was referring to, but after the fact realized that he was talking about his radio work and moving from CBC's Island Morning to Mainstreet P.E.I. For the next four hours, we listened to his smooth voice as he coached, informed and otherwise talked to the driver. Mitch is a wealth of information for sure.

Across the Confederation Bridge and on to Nova Scotia, we eventually transferred to a different bus in Amherst. Just under 5 hours and 190 miles from Charlottetown, we exited the bus and picked up a rental car at the Halifax Airport. After a quick stop at Sobey's on Wyse Road, we headed for an evening of rest and relaxation in our little Airbnb. After 41 days away from home, and a really long walk, we are tired and it felt good to do nothing.

PEI to Halifax, Nova Scotia by bus and rental car, 190 miles.

Meals & Accommodation

• Breakfast: Leonard's
• Lunch: Snacks on the bus
• Dinner: Chili Mac, salad, and other stuff.

Lodging: Halifax Airbnb

Recovery Day: Charlottetown

Saturday, Aug 29

Temperature: High 68°F / Low 62°F

Conditions: Clouds and sprinkles early changing to sun

Distance Walked: 12k

Experiences of the Day

Wandered around Charlottetown today, had a wonderful lunch at Farmacy and Fementary. We were in a bit of a hurry but they made the gluten-free thing happen in a wonderful way. 

As it turned out we squeezed in one more show and went to see Come From Away, which was the best choice we ever made. What a wonderful show. I'm sure there are walking trails New Foundland. 

Bought yet another pair of shoes at Hashem's Variety and met Hashem, who is still around to oversee the store, but his nephew is the real shoe whisperer. People come from all over to buy their shoes here; we met some people there from New Brunswick. 

Had a nice afternoon, picked up some dinner and ate on a little bench near a place where some people were playing music on our way to see Ann and Gilbert the Musical. We were both tired and the musical seemed to go on for much too long. It was true to the book I have listened to earlier on the island and the young actors did a great job.

We were so tired that I thought about calling a taxi to come pick us up, but we figured it would take as long for the taxi to find us as it would for us to just walk back to our place. So we walked back and enjoyed the evening air and said good night to Charlottetown.

Owner and a patron of Farmacy and Fermentary.

Server and cook took good care of Therese at Farmacy and Fementary.

Cast of Come from Away

The shoe whisperer is inside.

Statuary at the FD

Meals & Accommodation

Breakfast: Yogurt, milk, coffee, freeze dried chicken and Mexican rice

Lunch @ Farmacy and Fementary

Dinner: Fish and a burger.

Day 31: Mt Albion to Charlottetown

Friday, August 28

Temperature: High 78°F / Low 65°F

Conditions: Sunny

Distance Walked: 15.4k

Experiences of the Day

It was a quiet night on the farm...I fell asleep to the sound of the wind in the trees. But on the other side of the house, a little calf was welcomed into the world and we were fortunate to see the mother licking her baby clean. 

We packed up our things, had breakfast, and Jo-Anne returned us to the trailhead and we started the final walk. Along the way, we met GailI Quinn who had read about our experiemces on the Island Walk FB group. We had a nice visit with her, said goodbye, and continued along. About 7k into the walk, we see Billy Buell walking toward us! It was absolutely wonderful to have him walk us in, especially since he had led us to the trail back on July 25. We stopped into the Stratford Discounters for a pit stop. Billy told the clerk about our walk...she had seen the paintings! We had a nice visit and headed back out. Next thing you know our three companions walk up behind us! We walked across the bridge and into Ghiz Park and finished the walk at the same place we started. We met up with Hannah from the Island Walk at Billy's house and talked with her about our experiences. What a terrific walk.

We wandered around a bit (another 3.2k) and ended up having a delicious lunch at Leonhard's, met up with Jo-anne for ice cream and happened to see the March of Crows! Our walking companions met us at The Mack where we saw C'mon In, which was a really fun and, big bonus: I got to see Cynthia MacLeod again! She is an amazing fiddle player. Somehow we ended up on stage as participants in their trivia game and we had to guess what three PEI phrases meant. It was hilarious! What an end to a great day.

Newborn calf...things happen when no one is looking!

Jo-anne dropped us back at the trailhead.

Headed for Charlottetown!

Confederation Trail at Jones Road

We met up with Gail Quinn on the trail. 

46°13'12.2"N 63°01'00.7"W

Mt Herbert extension of the Confederation Trail

Beautiful walk

Fullerton's Creek

Confederation Trail into Charlottetown through a very large park.

Crow at Fullerton's Creek Conservation Park

I loved my umbrella!

View from the bridge.

Back where we started.

#120 and 121

Hannah was so great — she came over to bring us our patches and certificates!

Dinner at Leonhard's was so good!

March of the Crows!

Delightful show with terrific music — and Cynthia MacLeod!

Can we stump the Americans?

Day 31: Mt Albion to Charlottetown, 15.4k

Meals & Accommodation

• Breakfast: Yogurt, English muffins, toast with scrambled eggs, coffee
• Lunch: Banana, peanut butter sandwich, grapes
• Dinner @ Leonhard's: Buddha Bowls with local greens, quinoa tabbouleh, cucumber, tomato, pickled onion, smashed avocado, coconut "bacon", oven roasted veggies & alfalfa with tofu dressing with marinated tofu (Lynn) and with salmon (Therese). So good!

Lodging: Charlottetown Airbnb

Day 30: Fodhla to Mt Albion

Thursday, August 27

Temperature: High 78°F / Low 62°F

Conditions: Sunny

Distance Walked: 28.7k

Experiences of the Day

Up early, I walked a kilometer to the Red and White hoping to find a ride to the trailhead. Trail magic. I hopped in the van with Terry, a construction worker who worked for a potato company. He does everything for them from bathroom remodels to farm buildings. They also have a full time plumber and electrician. He apologized for having such a dirty van. I just looked at him and said I'd been wearing the same clothes for 35 days. We both laughed. 

Back at Rachel's Cottages, trail angel Judy picked Therese up and reunited her with her bike at the Charlie's place. And she gifted her a garden fresh cucumber!

It's been interesting to see the season start to change: the apples are bigger, leaves are starting to fall, berries have been harvested...

At about 7k in, I saw our companions up ahead as they left the shaded picnic table. My feet were wet and I had to eat so I took a break there as well. It's funny how sometimes your body is just screaming for food. Walking takes a lot of out of you. Twenty minutes later I resumed my walk thinking I would catch them...but I never did. What I did find was a gigantic culvert at one part of the trail and I had to wonder how much water actually flows through. It was located on a section of trail that has steep drops on both sides and the culvert was way above the river. The other thing that I saw, which I have never seen before, was an underpass for the cows to go through! That made me very happy.

Our friend Jo-anne picked us up at the end of the day and took us to her brother's DAIRY FARM — what a way to wrap up our trip! We met both brothers (Ian and Paul), nephew (Collin), and Skippy the farm dog. She also took us out to see the VERY BIG cows being milked (the cows were getting some delicious looking oats as a part of the process). An Amish man and Ian did the milking while Paul was out on the combine. Collin was up on top of the silo, which was being filled with barley. The cows looked pretty happy — there was a herd out in the pasture and after milking, the heiffers went out as well. These cows get to live outside and roam around in the pastures. It looked like a nice life. The dairy farm down the way has robotic milking. Those cows never see the light of day. 

Clean at last, we tossed our dirty clothes in the wash, and headed out for dinner with Anne on the bike rack. Dinner was nice and we met several people...one of whom turned out to be Pauline's sister! Therese said goodbye to Anne, thanked her for the memories, and gave her one last hug. Jo-anne will find a good home for her.

One day left to walk...

So far: 714.9k on the walk and another 21.1 or so puttering around. 

Most days I walked alone and listened to nature, my footsteps and the sounds of life. It is safe here and the people are amazing. As someone said the other day, it is a magical place. 

Six days the walks were between 17.2 and 19.6k

Nine days were over 25k, two of which were just over 30k. 

On the 8th day I was sad because we were already 20% done.

Three days ago, I thought let's be done already. 

Today I was excited. It was my last day! 

Yes, my feet are tired and my legs look good. 😁

Terry gave me a ride back to the trail.

Potato harvesting time.

So many potatoes1

Ripened apples along the trail.

The Confederation Trail at E Ulgg Road

Wildflowers along the trail.

46°13'31.2"N 62°54'20.0"W

Cow underpass under the Confederation Trail!

Reward for a long day of hiking at the Mt Albion ESSO...almost done!

Therese and her beloved Anne.

Amish buggy at the dairy.

Happy cows at the dairy.

After diner field trip to Mooney Pond.

Goodbye Anne, you were such a grand adventure buddy!

Day 30: Fodhla to Mt Albion, 28.7k

Meals & Accommodation

• Breakfast: Bean and hummus burrito, yogurt, blueberries
• Lunch: Bean and hummus burritos, apple
• Dinner @ Peakes Tee: Fish sandwich and poutine (Lynn), cheeseburger and baked potato (Therese)

Lodging: Dairy farm stay at MacSlopes!

Day 29: Murray River to Fodhla

Wednesday, August 26

Temperature: High 74°F / Low 64°F

Conditions: Sun, clouds and light breeze

Distance Walked: 29.3k

Experiences of the Day

Woke up this morning nicely rested after spending the night in the barrel. Since I was awake and I didn't have food for breakfast with me, I decided I was going to hitch a ride down to the so and get something to eat. Therese was going to be riding her bike, but she was going to leave in a couple hours, and the other ladies had food with them for breakfast. I figured I'd get my breakfast and then I would see them on the trail because it always takes me a while to get rolling.

A couple of cars passed me by, but the third one was a nice guy in a pickup truck who was headed off to a construction job in Nova Scotia. After a few minutes of chit chat he dropped me off at the ESSO in Murray River. I took my time looking at everything in the store to determine what I was going to get for breakfast and lunch. While I was perusing the shelves, I heard the people visiting at a table while they had their morning coffee. So I picked up my items, paid my bill and asked if I could sit and eat my breakfast with them. Of course they said yes. People here are nice. We chit-chatted a bit and one of the ladies asked me what my biggest surprise was about my time here on the island. I said I was surprised by how many Irish people were here because I had not expected that and how everybody knows each other. Then I started listing a few people I had met. Sure enough, she knew the very first person I mentioned: Jo-anne! 

When I asked one of the gentlemen who was looking at the paper if there was any news, good news, as I only wanted to hear good news. He told me that there really isn't any bad news in the paper. I thought about that and then I told him I'd been reading the Island news for 8 months and sure enough he was right. I really had not seen any bad news. There were two sad things that happened, but there was nothing bad. This island really is positive and amazing.

I started my walk thinking that I'd see our walking companions at any moment, but I never did. So I walked the trail on my own and didn't see anyone until Therese rode up on her bike a few hours later. As for this part of the trail, it was different than anywhere else we have been: 

• It was more open than other rail trails;
• There was more damage from the wind storms; 
• I really enjoyed walking past the vast blueberry fields.

Partway into the walk, looked up and saw big clouds. The kind that make me think thunder. I heard thunder, but the rain never came. 

I met Judy back at Roe's by Dalvay when she dropped my pack off for me. She had said she lived in Belfast...so when we ended up staying in the area, I asked her if she would be willing to give us a ride from the church to our lodging. She was all in! As for the Anne, I had called the church in advance about leaving the bike at the church over night. Somehow, I got the church wrong and Therese ended up meeting Charlie who lives adjacent to the trail and who was happy to have Anne stay for the night! As for the walk, I was doing ok and decided to push on to Fodhla. Judy was our awesome trail angel and toured us around Lord Selkirk Park and made a stop for us as the Red & White for groceries. Checked into our cute little cabin and we all took a look around. Judy gave it her approval and we settled in for a relaxing evening.

Nellie's Landing at 7:12am

Working on the boat.

Ride up to the ESSO.

Blueberry fields.

Orange Birch Bolete

A more remote part of the Confederation Trail near Garfield Road.

Those look like thunder clouds...

It never did rain.

Day 29: Murray River to Fodhla, 29.3k

Meals & Accommodation

• Breakfast: Chicken salad sandwich, carrot zucchini muffin, coffee
• Lunch: Apple, banana, pepperoni/cheese stick, chicken salad sandwich 
• Dinner: Bell peppers, blueberries, black beans, hummus, chips, peanut butter, tortillas, milk, pistachio nuts, yogurt.

Lodging: Rachel's Motel and Cottages