We always look forward to PEC, as it is such a fun place to visit and explore. We camped over the weekend at a private campground near our friends home, then shifted to Sandbanks for the rest of the week.
Got caught up with Lee & Howard while enjoying one of our favourite camp meals, Mexican Street Tacos, which we made for them over at their place. Howard showed me all the projects he has been working on, and as always, they were most interesting and well done.
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| super cute beige squirrels |
The next day we headed out on one of Howard’s fabulous road trips around The County. First stop was a surprise lunch at Wander, a newly built spa resort on the lake at Wellington. A very fancy place with a pool, stylish cabins, a nice restaurant, and a spa centric pool area. The lunch was excellent. I had a very creative Cobb salad, which tasted wonderful.
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| this place was very well planned |
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| an amazing Cobb salad |
From there we drove to West Lake and had a look at a craft brewery, then off to their favourite winery, called Exhaltet.
A small unpretentious winery where the focus is on making excellent small batch wines, from grapes grown right on their own property. Their tasting room is in a nicely converted barn, where we listened as the owner described in detail the wines in their range. She was very knowledgeable, and you could sense her passion for their winery. We bought a couple of bottles which we will store away and let age, as per her recommendation.
From there we stopped at Vickies Veggies, a small self serve farmers market that has evolved over the years to offer many unique and interesting food products, along with fresh produce, meat and baking. Another great tour afternoon, discovering back roads we had never been on before, as well as super interesting stops along the way.
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| tasty local lemonade |
Howard invited me for pickleball the next morning with the group of guys he regularly plays with. Super fun getting back on the courts again, lots of banter and good competition. Afterwards we all grabbed lunch and cold beer at Midtown Brewing in Wellington. Lots more laughs and good conversation. On the way back we stopped at the bike shop in Bloomfield, and Lee had some quick work done on her bike. Then a stop again at Vickie’s Veggies for dinner supplies, and then we spent a couple of hours with Barley before dinner with Lee & Howard. Watched a bit of the hockey game, but headed back to camp when it became clear that the Oilers were not playing well and seemed destined to lose.
Broke camp and moved over to Sandbanks, our site a bit more wooded and mundane than we like, but as they say, beggars can’t be choosers. The shade though is good for Barley as we do not have to worry about him overheating when we are out and about. Helen & Paul arrived at their AirBnB in Picton later in the afternoon, and we got together for dinner and a visit.
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| a rather simple site...with a mud hole |
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| chillin' |
Wandered Main St Picton for a few hours the next morning, Paul and ai test driving the various chairs and benches to be found, while the girls shopped. We then grabbed a light lunch and a cold beer at The Vic.
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| rather interesting Caesar salad presentation |
One thing about Picton in June, it is not near as busy as the summer, and the temps are a lot more pleasant. Later we met Helen & Paul at The Beau Bistro for dinner, and had another nice meal. A great spot with a solid menu and reasonable prices.
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| headed to catch the sunset on the way home |
The next day our friends Laura & Cam, who were in The County for a couple of days of cycling, came over in the afternoon. We headed to Lakeshore Beach for a long walk down the shoreline. When we were here the other night for the sunset, the shoreline was covered in dead sardine like fish. Apparently these are an invasive species, which according to a local, we’re not able to survive the rapid change in water temperature. The Parks people had clearly dressed the beach recently, as there were a lot less dead fish around, which sure helped the smell. The afternoon was heavy with haze and overcast, and it was quite muggy along the shore.
Back at camp we enjoyed the wonderful appetizers that Laura had made, then I cooked up a one skillet dish of penne with sausage, and a side salad. Lots of laughs and good conversation, and the forecasted rain seemed to go right around us.
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| a fine appetizer |
Dale and I cruised around a bit the next day, enjoying lunch at Lilly’s, as we always like to do. In the very good attached bookstore, I treated myself to a fabulous looking hardcover biography on The Tragically Hip. Cannot wait to dig into it. Dinner was a collection of leftovers to clear out the fridge before we head home.
Another big weather system rolled in overnight, and although we seemed to miss much of the rainfall, the gusting winds were unbelievable. The Alto took a couple of good hits from wind blown branches, and I was a tad surprised when I did not find any dents or dings in the morning. Lots of branches and leaves all over the place, but no major damage that we could see.
Took the ferry route home, and this meant we got to stop at the Glenburnie Grocery Store. We always find several items to load into the cart...especially from the bakery section. What a treat. So yet another County trip in the books...can’t wait to get back here in the fall.
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