More Trip Report from PEI
 

When we got to Prince Edward Island it was a bit foggy around the seaside, but we pushed on thru the lovely green fields to Dalvay, our home for three nights in one of their cottages. CMCFong, you'll be glad to know we really loved it. We got there just as "Tea Service" was ended, but they graciously agreed to serve us on the wide porch. a nice way to end the day. We all four loved our little cottage at Dalvay, and the weather turned out to be super for the three whole days we were there.
We found the food at Dalvay to be less than super however. To each his own, I guess.-- but the best places we found in all of PEI were Flex Mussels, right on the Pier in Charlottetown, a super great food venue, and also Dayboat which is up in Rustico, not far from Dalvay, where the food and the views were terrific, as well as the staff (ditto great staff at Flex)
We also hoped to get a chance to eat at The Dunes, that super wonderful gift shop and restaurant, but it just didn't work out. Take my word for it, The Dunes is well worth the time spent there. It makes most other gift shops a joke. I am not a gift shop lover, and I don't buy souvenirs usually, but this place was great. A big bonus is a fascinating large garden out back. The place has jewelry, (different, and expensive,)furniture, art, and of course, food. I wish we could have tried it. menu looked super; table settings were all different and extremely imaginative.
The other wonderful thing for us was the Museum in Charlottetown. This was a huge performing arts center, complete with restaurant (which may also be very good, by the way,) in downtown Charlottetown, which happened to have a marvelous Charles Comfort exhibit (one of Canada's famous artists, and well worth the time, sadly, closed now.) We also had a meal at the Inn at Spry Point, which is a lovely place, right on the sea, (what isn't in PEI?) but we found the food ordinary, and no body was there.
However, that is one of the wonderful things about going to PEI on Labor Day weekend, not many people, easy driving around these lovely roads, seeing all the lighthouses, taking in the fresh sea air, walking the wide empty beaches. It was most relaxing. We took someone's advice and stayed clear of the Cavendish (Anne of Green Gables) area, though I must confess, I read it as a kid and loved it. (I even had red hair, freckles and braids!! Thanks for all the help I got on this forum before we left.
One more chapter will be coming about our drive home, back through New Brunswick to Campobello and south.

Welcome home, Betsy. I am so sorry to hear that the food at Dalvay was a disappointment; but, thrilled you loved your cottage. I enjoyed your report!

The Dayboat comes highly recommended - will be going there soon. Any suggestions on what to order?
Enjoyed your report as well.

Isle lass: Sure, I even saved the check from Dayboat - so I'd remember what we ate: We all had Malpeque oysters, which were great, I had a great guacamole dish, which was really a green salad with avocado and toasted pine nuts, while DH had scallops and mussel chowder (superb, I tasted) Then I had a napoleon of smoked salmon, lobster, mango, with an avocado and shrimp salad - it looked and tasted divine! DH couldn't resist fried clams, which he said were also great, (and he is fussy about his fried clams), and my friend had cioppino, the Italian fish stew, which she loved. We all shared one fabulous dessert, which I can't remember, but it was called "mezzacorona" - probably something chocolate. I know we all liked it a lot. We drank a Muscadet, called Sablette, which also went over well, and is probably why I can't exactly remember the dessert.
Try to get our waiter, "Tony" who is from way up in northern Quebec, and was extremely entertaining.
dinner was not cheap, and the taxes added in Canada are steep, but that was an evening to remember.
By the way, our other best meal was at Flex Mussels in Charlottetown, which is apparently under the same ownership- if you want reservations call 902-569-0200. I'm glad I saved the bill. Enjoy it and let us know how it was.

Also I mean to write more about PEI and our trip home thru New Brunswick - but a few more observations this evening: We never had any passport problems, we offered our passports as we came thru St. Stephen, and they hardly looked at us, just asked where we were from, (New York and maine) and it was a ho-hum - same thing coming back from Campobello (Yeah, Campobello is in Canada, but you have to go back into the US to get there!!)

Also no one on the forum has mentioned the Rodd Golf courses/condominiums rentals on PEI, of which we saw three. For a certain type of person, who might like a round of golf and would love a "newish " condo for a week, this would be a very good choice. You would miss the B & B experience, which some people don't much like, and you'd miss the charming places with better views, but these places - eg. on the Brudenell River, and the Crowbush development were beautiful and so very well kept and managed. Has anyone experienced that kind of living on the island.? I'd be curious to hear your experience.