Our Message Archive
August 2025
Sunday August 31
The Railers on the trail to Morell, PEI
Ann and I have been away for the past two weeks biking with the Railers in PEI and with the Ramblers on the Magdalen Islands. We left a week ago Monday driving to Caribou to catch the ferry to Wood Islands and then driving again to Souris. We had time to unload our stuff in the house that we had rented through AirBnB with Kim and Glen (Kim did all the arranging) before joining a short ride on the Confederation Trail to Harmony Junction (now just a place where two branches of the trail meet).
Over the next week we rode every day mostly on the Confederation Trail but with some short sections on roads as well. We went from St. Peter's to Greenwich Beach and back, then out to Morell; from Cardigan to Georgetown, back to Montague, then back to Cardigan; from St. Peter's to Naufrage; from Souris to Elmira, where we toured the Railway Museum, then a loop through North Lake before returning to Souris; and from Fortune Bridge to Sally's Beach. After the Greenwich Beach ride, we also walked out a trail to Greenwich Dunes (part of PEI National Park). In the evenings there were a couple of group functions: on Tuesday, a meet-and-greet with appetizers at the Lighthouse & Beach Motel where most of the Railers were staying; and, on Thursday, a group dinner, organized by Ann, at The Fiddling Fisherman Lookout. On Wednesday, Kim, Glen, Ann and I went out for dinner at 21 Breakwater Restaurant and on Saturday, the four of us drove to Charlottetown to have dinner with friends of Kim at the Sea Rocket Oyster House followed by the show Becoming Dolly at the Mack Theater (part of the Confederation Centre). The rest of the time we cooked and entertained ourselves at the house, mainly doing a couple of jig-saw puzzles that we had brought with us.
Near Cape Alright on Île du Havre aux Maisons
On Sunday morning, Kim and Glen returned to Halifax but Ann and I packed up and caught the 1pm ferry to the Magdalen Islands arriving just before 6pm. Our hotel, the Chateau Madelinot, was a short distance from the ferry terminal so we had time to check in and meet the rest of the Ramblers for dinner in the hotel restaurant.
On Monday, we were up early enough to make a trip to the bakery in Cap-aux-Meules before the day's ride started at 10pm. We rode around Île du Cap aux Meules stopping in at the marina; La Plage à Fatima, where they were constructing a giant lobster to be burned in a giant bonfire a couple of weeks hence; Belle Anse, where there are dramatic sandstone cliffs; l'Étang-du-Nord, where we dropped in at Le Flâneur, a café with some amazing life-size figurines; and l'Église catholique de Saint-Pierre-de-La-Vernière. After the ride we met Ingrid and Mike at l'Abri du Tempête, the local craft brewery, for dinner before going to a concert with a couple of local musicians in l'Étang-du-Nord.
On Tuesday, the weather looked a bit iffy with some light drizzle in the morning, so the rest day scheduled for Wednesday was moved forward. Ann and I went a for a coffee in l'Étang-du-Nord and then to the Fromagerie du Pied-De-Vent where we bought some cheese. In the afternoon we played pétanque on the grass outside our room with Sylvain, Colette and Barb while nibbling on cheese and crackers, and cucumbers that we had brought from my garden. We ordered a pizza for dinner, then Ann conked out while I went to play cards with Sylvain, Colette, Rita, Ted and Lynn.
On Wednesday, we rode from the hotel to Pointe-aux-Loups stopping at the fromagerie and the lighthouse at Cape Alright. We had a picnic lunch before returning (into the wind). That evening we ate in the hotel restaurant with Sylvain and Colette.
Thursday was the only ride which did not start at the hotel; we began a bit past Pointe-aux-Loups and rode to to Grosse Île and Grand-Entrée for a picnic lunch. That evening we had a group dinner at Le Vieux Couvent.
On Friday, we rode from the hotel to La Grave in Havre-Aubert, a touristy village at the southern end of the islands. After lunch at Chez Théo & Margot – Sandwicherie, Ann shopped in the boutiques while I biked around and took photos. On the way back to the hotel, Ann and I stopped and climbed to the lookout platform overlooking Cap-aux-Meules. That evening we ate, just the two of us, at Maisonée des Îles.
On Saturday, we were up at 4:30am to catch the 7am ferry to Souris which arrived just before noon. As our reservation for the Wood Islands ferry wasn't until 5pm, we drove to Georgetown and had a leisurely lunch at the Wheelhouse sitting outside on the deck overlooking the inlet to the Brudenell and Montague Rivers. We then drove to Wood Islands and were able to get on the 3:15pm ferry so we were home by about 6:30pm.
Although I harvested quite a lot of stuff from my garden before we left, some of which we took with us, it continued to produce prolificly in my absence, so I spent much of today harvesting cucumbers, zucchini, peas, beans, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and eggplants then trying to hack back most of the weeds.
Tuesday August 12
Alex at the Back to the Sea Centre
We have had a busy couple of weeks since I last updated this page starting with the Roadents annual lunchtime barbecue the next Wednesday. We started by riding our usual route from Laurie Park through Enfield and Horne's Settlement though we cut it short a bit by not going out to Monte Vista. When we returned, we all went to Dick's place in Fall River which has frontage on A Lake. A bunch of us, including Ann, went for a swim while the rest of us sat in the shade and ate summer-appropriate nibblies like watermelon slices. Then we moved inside for hamburgers, hot dogs and an assortment of pot-luck salads.
That evening, I dropped Ann at the ferry so she could meet Katy, Mona and one of Mona's friends for dinner at Gahan House followed by Mama Mia at Neptune.
On Thursday, Ann and I went out to dinner at Colette's who has a very nice house overlooking Lake Loon. She is one of our biking buddies who, for about a year now, has hooked up with Sylvain, the president of the Ramblers. He co-hosted the evening. There were about a dozen of us in all, all Ramblers, and we had a very pleasant dinner on the back deck.
On Friday, Lauren arrived from Cape Breton where she has been doing field work for a couple of months. For dinner that evening, we went to Evan's Seafood on the Dartmouth waterfront and stayed to see a couple of Japanese acrobats performing for the Buskers Festival. Lauren stayed overnight and we gave her a ride to the airport on Saturday morning for a flight back to Ontario. That precluded us going on the Rambler ride that day so, when we got back, we rode from Shearwater to Lawrencetown Beach instead.
On Sunday, Katy, Ben, Andrew and Alex decamped from Mona's to our place. The following day, we all walked down to Sullivan's Pond to partake in the Dartmouth Natal Day festivities. Andrew and Alex tried out the bouncy castles and we got some food from the chip trucks. In the evening there were fireworks on Lake Banook which we could see, partially, from our bedroom window.
On Tuesday, while I went to have blood collected for some routine tests, Ann, Katy, Ben, Andrew and Alex went to the Halifax waterfront. Ben and Andrew went to Amos Pewter for a lesson in how to make pewter ornaments while Ann, Katy and Andrew explored. Katy and Andrew then returned on the ferry and went kayaking at the Fairbanks Centre in Shubie Park while Ann, Ben and Andrew went for a ride on a sailing boat in the Halifax harbour. Andrew was allowed to steer for a while and then lost his hat overboard. They took down the sails, turned around and managed to retrieve it.
On Wednesday, Ann, Katy, Andrew, Alex, Valerie and I went to the school playground in the morning then, after lunch, we went, minus Valerie, to the Back to the Sea Centre run by a non-profit society to teach about marine life. They have a touch tank with a variety of sea creatures: crabs, starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and the like.
Blue Rocks
On Thursday, we all packed up and headed down to Lunenburg to stay at Ingrid and Mike's cottage which they kindly let us use while they are in Europe. Ann and I were also there for the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival which we try to attend each year. We stopped in Mahone Bay to explore the Faerie Trails and so I could take my e-bike into Sweet Ride Cycling for some regular maintenance. After an ice cream, we went out to the cottage and got our beds set up before going into Lunenburg for dinner at the Shipwright Brewing Company. Ann and I then went to the evening concert while everyone else went back to the cottage to watch Finding Nemo.
On Friday, we all went to the Fisheries Museum followed by lunch outside at the Fish Shack. Katy and co. then left to return to Mona's for the night before the long drive home on Saturday. Meanwhile, Ann and I went to the Prairie Towns workshop with Red Moon Road, Connie Kaldor and the John Wort Hannam Trio. As soon as that was done, we walked up to Blockhouse Hill to get good seats for the evening concert and got dinner from the sushi food truck. Our friend Jackie joined us for the concert.
On Saturday morning, we rode to Sawpit Park to join the Rambler ride which I had carefully scheduled to start in Lunenburg while we were there. We rode down to Corkum's Island and Mason's Beach, then back past the park and out to Blue Rocks and Stonehurst East. It was a very pretty ride with lots of spectacular ocean views. After the ride, we got cleaned up and then went into Lunenburg for the Trio of Trios workshop with Red Moon Road, The Good Lovelies and The Young'uns. Then it was back up to Blockhouse Hill to get seats, dinner (from the pita truck this time), and the concert (sitting with Jackie, Martine, Pamela and Anne).
On Sunday, Ann got up early to go to the gospel concert with Pamela, Jackie, Anne and Phyllis while I slept in. I rode my bike into Lunenburg around 11 o'clock, got the car, took my bike back to the cottage, then met Ann at the park stage to hear Theresa Malenfant; we couldn't actually see her as we sat on a nice shady bench behind a rhododendron but we could hear her fine. Ann picked us up lunch at Dory Mates on her way to the park from Blockhouse Hill. From there we went to see the end of the Harmonies workshop (The Hello Crows, The Good Lovelies, John Wort Hannam Trio, Quote the Raven) and then the Laughter is the Best Medicine workshop (Connie Kaldor, Terra Spencer, The Young'uns). The latter took a decidedly bizarre turn when they got on the subject of dogs; after Connie Kaldor sang an amusing song about her dog, Terra Spencer sang one about an incompetent cadaver dog (i.e. one that locates murder victims), which was then trumped by David Eagle of the Young'uns with a song about a Satan worshiper sacrificing his pet dog. After the concert it was the usual routine: up to Blockhouse Hill, dinner from the food truck (sushi again), and the evening concert.
On Monday, we packed up and headed home, stopping at No. 9 Café for coffee and cinnamon buns on the way. I arrived to find that my garden had gone wild in our absence. I picked 16 cucumbers, several large zucchinis, snap peas, beans (regular and scarlet runners), beets and cherry tomatoes. There are also a couple of heads of broccoli that I haven't picked yet.
The month of July saw very little rain and the temperatures have been very hot over the past week, so everything is extremely dry. That prompted the provincial government to prohibit any traffic (hiking, biking, ATVs, etc.) through the woods. That has meant that some of the scheduled Ramblers rides, which use the trails, have had to be changed so that they only use roads. As I am the Ride Coordinator, it has been my job to come up with replacement rides. This afternoon we also got an alert on our phones saying that there is an uncontrolled fire in the woods behind the Bayers Lake Industrial Park; although that is on the other side of the harbour from us, it is still worryingly close to the city.