By the time we hit Charlottetown we'd spent a week eating our way across Prince Edward Island. We had over-indulged in locally raised beef in Brackley Beach, eggs from free range hens in Bay Fortune and oysters we'd pulled out of Salutation Cove. So you'd think we would pass on ice cream for lunch.... not when confronted with a sign outside Cows claiming the best ice cream in Canada!
We've got pressure in the tires, gas in the tank and, depending on the mood, Chris Smither, Colin Linden or maybe even Candye Kane on the MP3 player. We're off on another Canadian roadtrip. Join us as we scope out the special people and places that make getting off the beaten path a true pleasure.
Sandland, on Charlottetown's historic waterfront is an art gallery of a different sort. Eight artists worked for over a month to transform tons of Prince Edward Island's famous red dirt into an exhibit of the island's history heritage and culture. Using trowels, specially designed plastic tools and (yes really)drinking straws they turned compacted wet sand into boats, bags of potatoes, fiddlers and - of course - Ann of Green Gables.
Most people – the sensible ones among us at any rate – use washing machines for their intended purpose. You put dirty clothes in, run the machine through its cycle and take clean clothes out. On Prince Edward Island Michael Wheeler and his company P.E.I Dirt Shirts reverse that process. Not only do they ADD the island's impossible-to-remove red dirt to wash loads of perfectly clean clothes – but he and his crew of 19 part time workers have built a business out of selling the dirt coloured shirts caps socks and other clothing . We were so intrigued by PEI Dirt Shirts we called Mike to learn more. He met us at his “factory” - an old converted rural church – where, in the course of an afternoon he showed us how he makes “dirt shirts”, shared his thoughts on summer wages and told us a story about one of the more memorable purchases of a PEI Dirt Shirt.
06:08
Everything You Wanted to Know About Oysters in Under 6 Minutes
Thanks to the people at Experience PEI and Tourism PEI my daughter and I had a chance to go out on the waters of Salutation Cove with the men who fish for oysters. Back on land, at Future Seafoods, we graded, cleaned, shucked and (of course!) ate our catch. Although the wind and rain swept across the cove it was one of the highlights of our road trip to Prince Edward Island.
One of the surprising highlights of our road trip to Prince Edward Island, Canada was the evening we spent at the Charlottetown racetrack as "owners" of a race horse. We toured the stables, talked to the drivers, had an amazing meal and perhaps - you'll have to watch to find out - stepped into the winners circle. I even got a chance to sit with the starting judge in the mobile gate.
The partners of Flex Mussels, a restaurant on the waterfront in Charlottetown PEI, demonstrate the proper way to eat mussels. Forget knives and forks and learn how the islanders eat their seafood!
By the time we hit Charlottetown we'd spent a week eating our way across Prince Edward Island. We had over-indulged in locally raised beef in Brackley Beach, eggs from free range hens in Bay Fortune and oysters we'd pulled out of Salutation Cove. So you'd think we would pass on ice cream for lunch.... not when confronted with a sign outside Cows claiming the best ice cream in Canada!
We think the chance to share an artist's passion and creativity in their place of work should be special. For the last few years friends of ours have been urging us to visit Lake Memphremagog, a 90 minute drive from Montreal in the Eastern Townships of Quebec. They claim the local summer studio tour is a one-of-a-kind, can't-be-missed event that more than lives up to our criteria. Based on their recommendation we headed off to Quebec's Eastern Townships to find out what makes CIRCUIT DES ARTS MEMPHREMAGOG such a hot ticket. Watch our video report.
Lancaster Ontario straddles highway 401 between Cornwall and the Quebec border. For years something called a "Perch Roll" - perch fillets, onions and a sweet "secret" sauce cradled in a hot dog bun - has enjoyed a certain amount of local fame. At Canadian Roadflix we're always intrigued by tales of regional road food so we headed off to find out if the Lancaster Perch Rolls served in local restaurants measured up to the legend.
Part antique store, part craft fair, part natural food emporium - and, just for fun, part flea market, Finnegan's has been an institution in Hudson Quebec for 35 years.
Located between Brockville and Gananoque just off the 401, Balleycanoe & Co. creates some fabulous folk art out of bits and pieces salvaged from 19th century Ontario farms. Whether its fence posts transformed into snowmen, tin roofs to bird houses or barnwood into angels the creative whimsy is worth the visit.
Everybody loves a parade and on St Patrick's Day everybody is Irish - especially in Montreal Canada
Since 1906 children in need have found a summer refuge on the shores of a small Laurentian lake. Camp Chapleau is operated by the Old Brewery Mission. Images in this video are primarily from the pre WWII photo archive but the role of the camp remains as vital today as it was then.
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