Siren’s Beach Motel, the next place I was staying, offer a “walker’s package” that includes accommodation and breakfast at the nearby North Lake Boat House Eatery, and pickup & drop off (additional fee) at several Island Walk sections, which was what I had booked (it’s based on double accommodation). Since I wouldn’t be able to walk the first two of those sections (they were on the closed Confederation Trail) I emailed them to see if I could make a couple of changes to their regular “pick up & drop off” schedule as I’d planned a slightly different route due to the Trail closure. Basically, I asked them if they could pick me up at Saint Peter’s from Points East Coastal Inn, then I wouldn’t need any transfers on Friday and no drop off Saturday morning either, before reverting to the normal schedule starting Saturday afternoon. They agreed which was great and I really appreciated their flexibility. Before I go any further, I want to say I had a fabulous time in North Lake, and both Liz and Sandy from Siren’s and Val from the Boat House were absolutely lovely people and I’d highly recommend both places.
But back to my recap…
Liz arrived Points East Coastal Inn right on time and she was super friendly. We had a lovely chat on the way to North Lake. I’m the only guest staying there and their last guest of the season. We talked about the PEI government’s efforts to expand the tourism season more/later into the shoulder season. She mentioned that the restaurant next door, North Lake Boat House Eatery, was closing that weekend too and that not only did the hurricane do a ton of damage but killed tourism that fall as they had (as did many others) lots of cancellations and therefore, there were more early closures. Although, many places close at the end of September regardless. But our talk illustrated why I didn’t cancel… I figured people would and I didn’t want to hurt the businesses I’d booked with. I knew I would still have a lovely, relaxing time, even if it wasn’t quite what was originally planned but then, vacations often don’t exactly according to schedule.
Anyways, I stayed in “Mermaid Cove”, a cute mermaid-themed room which faced the lake. Rooms at Siren’s either face North Lake, a small lake, or the beach/ocean and all have a fun decor. I then checked in with the Boat House, the restaurant that’s providing my breakfast (and where I’ll be eating dinners too as was the only place open nearby to eat when I was there) to introduce myself before heading down to the beach for a relaxing walk. It was probably my slowest walk yet as I spent it mostly looking for sea glass and watching the plovers. But that’s half the beauty of vacation, time matters less.
North Lake is a working harbour and the tuna capital of the world – there’s a sign! So after my relaxing beach walk, I also wandered around a wee bit watching the boats.
Then it was back to Siren’s to do some laundry. The drawback of packing light (I only brought a 30L backpack) is having to do laundry a couple of times during the trip but I planned on it so no worries. Luckily, Siren’s offers free use of their washer and dryer with the “walker’s package” and they have a really neat high tech washer and dryer which made it easy. And along those lines, TruEarth detergent strips are great for traveling – the strips are light, take up virtually no room in your pack, and work equally well in a sink for handwashing as they do in a washing machine.
While my laundry was washing, I headed over to get dinner at the restaurant and had the most delicious fish tacos. I couldn’t finish the second one as the portion size was quite generous but really wanted to as it was so tasty. I also had a lovely conversation with the owner Val, who I ended up chatting with each day I was in North Lake. I would love to come back sometime when she has a full menu because everything I tried over the next few days was good.
But all good things must come to a close and thankfully, this day did with a gorgeous sunset, which I watched from the little porch in front of my room. I then chilled for the rest of the evening, catching up on some reading. All and all, a quiet, relaxing day where I met some lovely new people.
Rambles and Walks 