Today we bid farewell to Cape Breton and head to Prince Edward Island. PEI is a small island province in Canada but it is also the birthplace of our Confederation. So aside from being a very picturesque island, its also rich in history.
We check out of our AirBnB early in the morning for the three hour drive to the ferry terminal. Because we didn’t want to pay for a reservation on the ferry, we decided to arrive early for the morning ferry. This way if we didn’t make the morning ferry, we would have the chance at the early afternoon ferry. Not knowing how busy these ferries are, we wanted to hedge our bets.
It turns out that going super early just means you wait a little longer. It didn’t seem super busy at all, unlike in BC when there are routinely multiple sailing waits. Perhaps COVID has something to do with the reduced numbers, but we for sure made it in time for the first sailing. In fact we had time to stop by McDonald’s to grab some breakfast too! Soon enough it’s time to drive onto the ferry and set off for the short hour ride to Prince Edward Island.
Thankfully we are blessed with a pretty clear day so we get to spend most of it on deck taking in some of the views.
Entering Prince Edward Island
Upon arriving in Prince Edward Island, everyone is required to go through COVID testing. While it does make it slightly inconvenient to queue right after driving off the ferry, I am impressed at the measures the island is taking to safeguard itself. We were in line for about half an hour. We then drive through a large tent, answer a few questions about our visit and have them administer a test. Because we are all in the same party only one of us is tested, so being the driver I did it.
Delta Hotel Surprise!
After the test, we are told we can continue our journey. We will only get a call if something is wrong and after two hours we can rest easy. We decide to take a leisurely drive into Charlottetown and check in at our hotel. By time we arrive we only have an hour left in our “test time”. So we decide to be safe and hang out. During this time, I wanted to check with the front desk on a few things and am surprised to learn that our stay qualifies for a $100 dollar gift card to many restaurants in Prince Edward Island. Having already found a good deal on the hotel, this really is icing on the cake!
We spend the next half hour exploring where we can use the gift card. In doing so we get hungry, and seeing as no call from the testing came, we set out to walk around Charlottetown. Charlottetown has a neat vibe to it. On the one hand you can tell there is a lot of rich history in this city, with its older buildings. On the other, there are other buildings that pop up that are very modernly designed. It has a small town feel to it, but is also the biggest city on the island. Because we are losing sunlight, we limited our walking to the vicinity of our hotel. It also seems to be the main waterfront area with some cool art.
Dinner at John Brown Grill
Eventually, we decide to find a place for dinner. We wanted to use our $100 gift card right away, but the restaurant we wanted was very full for the evening. So instead a few blocks away we stumble upon a cool side street with live music playing. There is what appears to be a busker on a public stage and a cool patio across from it that belongs to John Brown Grill.
It looks pretty busy so we decide to give it a try. It’s very much a pub type atmosphere, and we end up with a few drinks, and some pretty good food! Lobster roll #2 for me!
After sampling a few beverages and enjoying the evening, we head back to the hotel excited for the next day’s activities. Not before enjoying some of the night vibes Charlottetown has to offer.
Receiver Coffee
Originally, the plan today is to drive into Prince Edward Island and check out a few things. But the weather isn’t cooperating. Since some of the activities would be outdoors, we instead decide to stay in Charlottetown today. With a more relaxed schedule, Mama Minion and I take a short walk to Receiver Coffee, which is coincidentally right beside John Brown Grille from the night before. It’s a cool “hipster” coffee spot and they make some good coffee. Would recommend.
Charlottetown Waterfront
We then link back up with Papa Minion and head back towards the water to see it in the daytime. Sadly because we are at the end of the summer season, many things aren’t open, but the waterfront during the summer must be the place to be for the city. It’s quite nice with plenty of merchants and park space.
Charlottetown Flea Market & Founders Food Hall
Walking along the water, we eventually end up at the Charlottetown Flea Market. I don’t think I’ve been to a flea market for years and its actually quite cool to see. Locals set up their own booths and sell all manner of items. There are crafty things like homemade candles, paintings, cards etc. There are collectibles like old watches, toys, licence plates and what not. Even electronics, like USB chargers are available! It cost us $2 each to get in. But to walk around something that you don’t see too much of in larger cities anymore, I think is worth it.
Not too far from the Flea Market is the Founders Food Hall. This isn’t something we expected to see, but because it’s so close to the flea market we pop in to take a peek. It’s exactly what it says it is, a large building with multiple food stalls serving all manner of cuisine. For us, because its still in the morning, not all are open and we aren’t super hungry either. So we take a few minutes to walk through and decide to move on. I imagine in the afternoon or evening its a far more popular location as some of the food options are intriguing.
Province House
One of the things I really wanted to visit in Charlottetown is Province House. This is the site that Canada’s Confederation is formed. However, they renovating right now and so there isn’t any possibility of a visit. Instead we walk the area around Province House instead. There are some cool churches and monuments to different elements of Canadian history.
Prince Edward Island Marathon
Unbeknownst to us, the Prince Edward Island Marathon is going on today. So we pretty much stumble upon it while walking around. I’ve only ever run a 10K, and I know how much work I needed to put into it. So I have a lot of respect to all the people who participate and complete this feat! Not to mention, in inclement weather. We spend a little time hanging out at the finish line and cheering on some of the finishers.
The Son Restaurant
Eventually the rain starts to come down quite hard, and we start making our way back to our hotel. However, we did want to find a place for lunch. Given the weather, we started looking for something “comforting”. This comes to us in the form of The Son Restaurant. A small Vietnamese noodle shop a block away from our hotel. We all get a big bowl of soup noodles and an interesting platter of deep fried onion rings and chicken tenders. It’s not something you see everyday at an Asian restaurant, so we thought, why not?! Given the the rain, the noodles for sure hit the spot. Though I can’t say the fried platter is something I would go out of my way to get again.
We spent most of the afternoon back at our hotel. The rain really started to fall so the prospect of going out didn’t really appeal to us. Thankfully, I Introduce the Parental Minions to Squid Game and some proper TV binging ensues. I’d like to say we were active and productive this afternoon, but that would be a lie.
Merchant Man
The only other thing on our list today is dinner. We wanted to go to Merchant Man the night before, but it was fully booked. Looking back, I suspect a lot of marathon participants are in town and eating out. But we did manage to secure reservations for tonight, so after our Squid Game session, we head out to Merchant Man and are treated to a pretty good Seafood meal. The food is great, and tastes even better knowing we get it for $100 dollars cheaper too!
All in all, while not a super active day, we did end up enjoying the change of pace. Sometimes a rainy day in is good. I did enjoy spending the lazy afternoon with the parents and I’m sure we all didn’t mind being indoors instead of out on a walk somewhere in the rain. Hopefully the weather clears up tomorrow as we’ll need to do those activities we put off today!
It’s funny you said you didn’t do too much on this day but it felt really full! The flea market and food hall look so cool. Did you buy anything at the flea market? Or try any food at the food hall?