Prince Edward Island
 

We then had another 45 minute drive to get to The Inn at Bay Fortune where the Fireworks feast would take place. While driving we kept seeing horse and cart signs and I guessed there must be an Amish community nearby. Vanessa was not so sure and didn’t really believe me when I said I saw some women who looked Amish. It was confirmed to us later that indeed there is an Amish community on PEI and we probably did see them.

The fireworks feast is something that whenever we spoke to anyone and mentioned it, they knew of it, and it also books out months in advance. So, we were looking forward to this. It is a full farm to table experience and we arrived at 3:45pm and didn’t leave until 9:33pm (which was still before many of the other guests left). Upon arrival we took a cocktail and relaxed in the sun on the deck chairs in the front garden. Once the rest of the guests arrived they did a presentation in the front garden explaining about the restaurant, how it works and what most of the plants in the front garden were. We were then taken on a tour of the rest of the farm and further explanations were given about their growing practices as well as the kitchen experimentation process and the close working of the farm and the kitchen. We even got to see the pigs that were roaming around that would be part of next season’s feasts (we didn’t get to meet the pigs who made our dinner that night).
  

After the tour they then had an outdoor serving that was lots of little stalls with different dishes at each. Many people were focused on the Oyster stand. They were good, but the other BBQ stands they had were also serving up some very good dishes. We ate our fill here, mingling with the other guests, enjoying the great food and soaking up the late sunshine.
       

A couple more cocktails and plenty of food already eaten it was now time to go to the main dining hall for dinner. Within this dining hall there are a number of large tables set up and an open kitchen so you can see all the cooking going on for the next few courses. Unfortunately we were not sat very close to the open kitchen, but we could see and smell it without having to move too far. You are seated at tables with other groups, so there were 4 couples at our table varying in age and from where they were from. It was nice to meet new people and it was refreshing to meet the older American couple sat at our table because they straight away made me feel better about going to America, that I was not going to hate everyone there ????.
 

The first course came out and it was a bread tree with a very nice maple brown butter, a pork pate and on farm made cheese. This would have been a sufficient meal in itself and Vanessa and I love breads a little too much. We did hold back and refuse a second serving of the bread to make sure we could still fit the rest of the meal in. We also at this time decided we would take wine paring with the meal. The wine for this course was a Pale Fox Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCC from Italy.

Next course was an Iron Chowder. This chowder used all locally caught fish and shellfish species and was cooked and served in an iron dish to each person. A very easy to eat soup full of flavours.

The next course was Today’s Catch which was served with a MacMurry Pinot Noir from the US. The fish was cooked so well and served in a very pretty arrangement of edible flowers. It was a real pleasure to eat and left us highly anticipating the next courses.

The next two courses were the Culinary Farm, which is just their term for a salad course using all the produce from their farm. They also have a local forager and so there is also a wild foraging dish. Both of these were served with a Guy Saget Vouvray from France. It was a nice interlude but we could really smell the meat cooking for the next course so I could not be done with the salad fast enough and was patiently waiting for the meat.
 

And I was not disappointed. The meat was served with a nice portion for all. So well cooked and so much flavour. The potatoes and veggies were even good too. Although I had certainly eaten enough the first time round, it was so good that it would have been rude not to take seconds when it came back around. I rather enjoyed this course with the Chateau Muscar Gaton Hocher from Lebanon that was served with it.
 

The last dish to be served was the Sweets & Treats. Can never go wrong when there is ice cream on the plate and like all the other dishes it was packed full of flavour. The Trius Vidal Icewine from Canada was also very tasty and rounded off the meal very well.

We chatted with people for a while but we were also conscious that we had not actually checked into our hotel yet and would need to head off to find it and to get settled in for the night. We were staying at the McLean House Inn. A nice looking inn that were very friendly about proving late check in details. The room looked really nice when we went in and the bed was soft and seemed like it would be great. But it actually was too soft for me and it gave me a bad neck after sleeping in it that would plague me for the rest of the trip. Oh, and Vanessa loves to make fun of me when I have a bad neck and have to turn my whole body to talk to her or to look out the mirrors or behind me.

We were up early the next morning as we had heard (maybe we just thought) that the sunrise at the most eastern point of PEI was pretty amazing. So we headed to the East Point Lighthouse. While it was an interesting lighthouse and the sun did rise, it wasn’t a very spectacular sunrise and the mosquitos were out in full force. Mosquitos love Vanessa, so I was able to make a little bit of fun at her expense in retaliation for her laughing at my neck.

On the way back we stopped at the Basin Head Fisheries Museum which looked interesting from google and reviews, but it was 7am and it was not going to open for a while. We decided not to wait for that and headed back to the hotel to grab some breakfast. On the way back we stopped at another lighthouse near the hotel and managed to see some seals in the bay.
 

We then headed off towards Charlottetown because Vanessa needs to see all the “cities” she can on the way and because she wanted to try a restaurant she had read about for the lobster. On the way we found a local brewery, having seen signs for it and plenty of people wearing the breweries logos we thought it would be nice to stop and have a drink at the brewery, but it was also closed. Just around the corner was a small dam and waterfalls. This was not closed so we had a little wander around and took some photos. The little zig zag stream it had built in to also fish to swim up the dam was pretty cool. Also while we were here, Vanessa managed to slip and cut her arm on a sign (she was still sporting the scar from it months later).
  

Next stop was a little farmers market. Mostly selling pumpkins, but some other produce as well. Vanessa can not go past one of these type of stalls without either stopping or winging about me not stopping for too long. So we stopped. They also had a corn maze but we decided we did not have time to go through it.

We eventually made it to Charlottetown at about 11am, too early for lunch, but just the right time to allow a walk before lunch. We at first were going to do the touristy thing and sit on the huge cart that was drawn by horses. But we had just missed it and the next one would not be for about an hour. So we set off walking. It is not a very big town and the streets were very quiet. When we got up to the main street we found there was a full on market happening. We wandered up and down looking at everything and buying some of the local produce. We also went to Cows, which we had heard was the best icecream shop around. I love icecream and will eat it anywhere anytime. So I was happy with this stop. We also bought some really nice artisan ciders to drink.

It was now time to head back to the Water Prince Corner Shop to get our lobster fix on. The food was really good, Vanessa again had food envy and didn’t like something about her meal. The guy working in the shop was also super friendly and chatty and was quite a laugh. It helped make the meal even more enjoyable. He was particularly harsh on the type of tourist that comes by cruise ship (one arrived just after we sat down for out meal). It was a rather enjoyable meal that set us in good spirits for the next drive. But before we could leave Charlottetown we had to go to the superstore and do some shopping for foods to bring home, foods to eat in the car, and just foods because we are greedy.
  

As I was driving across PEI, with Vanessa in a food coma after lunch, I took a minor detour to take us by the waterfront and came across this little beach on Causeway Rd. It was a nice long stretch of beach with a parking area and we spent a little time here walking on the beach, looking in the rock pools and just enjoying a break from the car.
  

New Brunswick

Now, whenever we asked anyone what we should do in New Brunswick, everyone pretty much said the same thing, “Drive straight through it and don’t stop”. But that only made us want to stop even more. So we had a look at the map to see what was nearby and we found that there was this little beach and beach café in L’Aboiteau. As it was only approaching 4:30pm, we decided it was worth heading there and having a sit down in the afternoon sun and getting some drinks. Vanessa ordered a Seafood Caesars (claws and all) and again, because we are greedy, we ordered some fried food to go with our drinks. Now, while it was nice sitting in the sun with some food and drink, we got one of our funniest experiences from the trip here. Listening to the people speak. They spoke a mixture of really really bad French with a mixture of pretty bad English. And both languages were just fully mixed up in the same sentence all the time. We could not stop laughing to ourselves while we were sitting there and had to look up after if it was a common thing or not. Seems that in that part of Canada (Eastern New Brunswick), it is indeed common. We enjoyed the drinks and the food that we got here and made the most of our time sitting in the sun.
  

After about an hour of sitting in the sun we went back to the car and look to see what the next thing we could see was. We found that nearby there was a giant lobster. There were other little stalls there that Vanessa did some shopping at and then we stood up on the giant lobster to take a photo. This was a fun little stop to break up the journey.
 

Lastly for the day, Vanessa had said that we should head towards the Fundy Rocks which was something that she really wanted to see. It was getting late, so we were keeping an eye out for a motel and we ended up stopping at the Fundy rocks motel. There was nothing special about this motel and it wasn't particularly great, but it was a room for the night. After checking in we went to see if there was anything open in the nearby towns to eat, and we quickly found out that there wasn't. So we went back to the motel and we had dinner at the motel. This was also overcooked chicken and chips that were meh.

The next morning, having been disappointed by the dinner, we decided that we would eat breakfast somewhere else. We headed down to the Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park, set along the Bay of Fundy known for the world's highest tides, showcase spectacular geological formations like the towering Hopewell Rocks, carved by millennia of tidal erosion. This area, rich in biodiversity and geological history, offers a unique blend of natural wonders, from fossil-rich cliffs and diverse marine life to thrilling outdoor activities and rich cultural heritage. The cafe on site had excellent breakfast combinations that more than made up for the previous night of meh, and Vanessa and I had pancakes and Maple syrup and bacon and potatoes and a fryup. Delicious.

We were there just as the tide was at its highest. So we didn't get to see the full experience of what the rocks look like at low tide. However, there were plenty of pictures up showing what it looked like in low tide as well as what we saw at high tide.
 

We then took a walk along some of the footpaths within the National Park. There were plenty of mushrooms And the natural mud flats. We spent about 3 hours in the National Park before we left for the next leg of our journey.
      

We headed South along the road following the coast and the next site we came across was the Old Bank of New Brunswick. Founded in 1820, the Bank of New Brunswick was the province's first bank, pivotal in supporting its burgeoning shipbuilding and timber trade. Its neoclassical headquarters in Saint John, now a historical landmark, symbolize the bank's significant role in the economic development of New Brunswick until its merger with Scotiabank in 1918. The bank was supposed to hold a museum, but it looked like it hadn't been open for a long time. It looked like it would have been pretty easy to break in, and that maybe some other people already had done that, but we decided to leave it and to just take photos from the outside.
  

Next stop was the Anderson Hollow Lighthouse. Another cute little lighthouse, but in the same style as all the other ones we had already seen. However, I like light houses, so we would definitely stop more of them, even if they all look the same.
  

We then went to another little nature reserve called the Fundy Albert. We thought that we might stop here at this nature reserve and do some of the walks here. But very quickly after getting out of the car, we were attacked by mosquitoes and we decided that we didn't really want to go for a walk that badly.
  

Continuing our drive, the next thing we came across was the Water Side Farms Cottage Winery. We like going to wineries and trying new things, so we went in to see what they had to offer. It turns out that they had fruit wines as opposed to grape wines. We tried the blueberry wine and we also tried the rhubarb wine. We like both of these and bought a couple of bottles to bring home.

Now Vanessa had felt like she hadn't stopped in enough towns that day. So the next time we came to we stopped out and we had a walk around and look in all the shops. Vanessa did some more shopping for all the people at home. And we met some really friendly locals who made sure we got a discount on all the stuff we bought. Unfortunately, despite it being close to lunchtime, it wasn't the right food and so Vanessa didn't want to get anything from there.
 

Next up on the map I had found a covered bridge that looked really interesting to go and see. So we stuck it into Google map and we started heading off to see if we could find it. The road was a little bit more off road than we would have liked. And in the end we came to a sign that said it was fully impossible. So we turned around and went back the way we came.

Continuing along the road, we came to the Fundy Trail Parkway. The Fundy Trail Parkway is a spectacular coastal drive located in southern New Brunswick, offering breathtaking views of the Bay of Fundy, known for having the highest tides in the world. This scenic parkway provides visitors with a unique opportunity to explore the rugged coastline through a series of lookouts, hiking trails, suspension bridges, and pristine beaches, allowing for an immersive experience in one of Canada's most stunning natural landscapes. Whether you're looking to hike, cycle, or simply enjoy a leisurely drive, the Fundy Trail Parkway is a must-visit destination that showcases the raw beauty and ecological diversity of the Bay of Fundy region. All of that said, it would have been much better if the weather wasn't so shit while we were there. The rain was on and off, the clouds were sitting low so you couldn't see much from the lookouts. We managed to get the occasional glimpse of the ocean and the road was really pretty to drive along. I also found a little trail that went to a hidden cemetery. Vanessa and I really like visiting cemeteries, so this was a highlight. We also stopped at a large suspension bridge and had a walk across that and look down at the water flowing underneath.
     

At the end of the drive, we came to the Saint Maarten Sea caves. The tide was out and so we walked out along the tidal flats. We could kind of see the sea caves at the side. We enjoyed just wandering around on the flats looking at the rocks and into the tidal pools.
  

Not far from here Vanessa saw a sign for Kolody’s Perogies. We were on the lookout for something else to eat (I can’t remember what, but it wasn’t this) but Vanessa really wanted to eat them. It turns out the place was run by a guy with Ukrainian heritage and he said he could barely keep up with the demand for his Perogies. We ordered a bunch and ate them in the car as we headed off.

We continue driving and as we didn't have anything booked for accommodation, we were just looking for a motel at the side of the road. We were driving along a really nice section of coastline, with a few motels and we stopped at a couple of them to see if they had any vacancies. Most of them didn't, but then we did find one that had some vacancy left. We checked into the room, had a little argument about food, and then headed out to get something to eat. Before we got into the car we managed see some dolphins from our room. The only thing we found that was open to have for dinner at this time in the area was a Subway.
 

Read the other posts in from this holiday
Part 1 - Journey to Halifax and Halifax area
Part 2 - Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick
Part 3 - US Road Trip - Main to Niagra Falls
Part 4 - Toronto and New York City