The land of sand, ice cream and lobster suppers

The memory of a two-year-old is sharp. They don't forget and they expect promises to be kept.

Before rolling into Prince Edward Island, we visited the Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy. We had told darling daughter we were going to the beach, which isn't exactly a lie when the tide is low and you can walk on the ocean floor. But the sand is gritty and there is squishy mud, which didn't exactly thrill darling daughter who was under the impression she'd have access not only to good quality sand, but some surf. After a muddy encounter at the Bay of Fundy, we promised her that the first stop we'd make in PEI was at a beach.

Immediately after crossing Confederation Bridge, we stopped at the information centre and got directions to the beach. The directions to Chelton Beach Provincial Park weren't exactly clear, but we were determined to get there. After much backtracking, we finding found this gem of a beach, which has a lovely vista view of the bridge. To say the least, darling daughter had a fantastic time playing along the surf and in the red sand. (And so did I and dear husband).

Prince Edward Island is home to the best beaches in the world. When we were visiting, we took full advantage of the National Park pass that came with our cottage. So here is the lowdown on the beaches we visited.

Chelton Beach Provincial Park. It is a supervised beach located near Borden-Carleton. We found it confusing to get to, so if you can find it on your GPS you should be good to go. My only suggestion to make this beach better is for the province of PEI to erect directional signage to the site. Some of the highlights of our visit was playing in the red sand and admiring the view of Confederation Bridge.

Brackley Beach seems to be a popular beach, but I was a bit disappointed by the garbage on the beach. It also seems to be a rocky beach, riddled with small rocks and broken clam shells, so it is a good idea to bring sandals for yourself as well as water shoes for your little one.

Greenwich Beach is a hidden gem. Not only is it a beautiful beach, it has several amenities catering to young families, including an indoor picnic area and several large change areas, which is perfect when trying to coax your toddler out of their wet swim clothes. The day we went was picture perfect: blue skies, a warm breeze and little crowds. It was well worth the drive.

f you can get through the tourist trap that seems to be Cavendish (sorry Cavendish), Cavendish Beach is a beautiful spot for a day playing on the surf. Unfortunately, it was a blustery day when we visited, but it didn't deter darling daughter and dear husband from getting into their swim wear and build sand castles. If you get a chance, a walk through the Dunelands trail is well worth it.

Although we spent a lot of time on the beach, our taste buds managed to take in some PEI cuisine. Cows ice cream was on the top of my list. I was first introduced to Cows during my visits to Banff. There is no other ice cream like Cows on the market. Unfortunately, if you aren't close to one of the handful of stores the company operates, it is hard to indulge in this divine creamy treat as it isn't sold in stores. However, you can buy the company's whimsical common cow shirts on-line. The three of us paid homage to Cows Creamery, the world headquarters of Cows where we toured the factory and had some ice cream. Yum!

Eating seafood was also on our list. Since we made most of our meals while we were on vacation, we didn't feel once ounce of guilt when dear husband and I shelled out more than $80 on supper one night. We headed to New Glasgow Lobster Suppers for dinner. This family restaurant has been serving lobster and seafood dinners to the masses since 1958. Located near Cavendish, it is open from 4 to 8:30 p.m. You have to pay upfront and while it may be a bit pricey, it was well worth the money in my opinion. Except for your dinner, it is all-you-can-eat mussels, salad, chowder, buns and dessert. I'll be dreaming about those fluffy homemade buns for the rest of my life. Best yet, kids three and under eat free!

So there is my dish on PEI. It is a perfect affordable family getaway and we hope to return soon.

A lesson well learned

I believe there is a moment in every parent's life when they think they are the worst parent in the world. I experienced my worst-parent-in-the-world moment on July 31 at around 9:30 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time while driving on the TransCanada Highway through New Brunswick, destination unknown.

Dear husband and I, along with darling daughter in tow, were on our way for a fun Maritimes vacation. We had booked a cottage in Prince Edward Island, but our reservation wasn't for a few days. We had decided to take our time and explore New Brunswick. When we rolled into Edmundston late afternoon, a city in New Brunswick near the Quebec border, we thought could automatically get a hotel room. We did contemplate reserving a room, however, we didn't know how long darling daughter would stand the car ride or if we'd have to stop somewhere in Quebec. She did better than expected and we decided to stop in Edmundston for the night.

But there was no room at the Inn, or at four inns for the matter of fact. By this time it was 8 p.m. and flickers of panic started to well up in my stomach. We had no choice other than continue on through New Brunswick. After trying a fifth hotel with no luck, I was in full fledged panic mode. There was tears (from both me and darling daughter). Dear husband was trying to maintain is status as peacekeeper. Darling daughter kept on saying, "done, done, done" over and over again. By this time, night had settled in on New Brunswick and dear husband started working his Blackberry, trying to find a hotel in Fredericton as we were coming to the startling conclusion that every hotel, motel and inn room between Edmundston and Fredericton was filled.

Clutching the steering wheel, hoping that dear husband would come up lucky, I continued driving. Then things got worse. Dear daughter started yelling "poopie, poopie, poopie." over and over again. Unfortunately, there was no where to safely stop. There didn't seem to be an exit for miles and there was no way I was going to pull over on the side of the dark highway. So I kept on trucking through, apologizing to dear daughter.

I knew my daughter was poopie. I knew she had reached her limit in terms of traveling time, but there was nothing I could do. I was in a province I had little knowledge about and on a highway I had never driven on. The watch for moose signs weren't doing anything to ease the panic I was feeling. Panic's best friend, guilt, started to settle into my gut. Why didn't we reserve a hotel room? What were we thinking, especially travelling with a two year old? I may be the shittiest mom in the world, I thought as I listened to my daughter cry on and off from her car seat. Finally, dear husband caught a lucky break and found us a room at the Airport Inn in Fredericton. It was the last room available. (A quick shout out to the the Airport Inn: well worth the stay. Clean and cheap as in $70 cheap). After another hour of driving, we pulled into the night and immediately darling daughter got her diaper changed. I'm not too sure what was going on in New Brunswick that night, but after we reserved our hotel room, the hotel room received three separate inquiries if he had any vacancies.

When we woke up the next morning, we immediately reserved a room in Moncton. We weren't taking any more chances. We had learned our lesson.

I'm not too sure if this is a story that we will laugh at come years from now. When dear husband and I talk about it, I still feel like the worst parent in the world. I'm sure there will be more worst-parent-in-the-world experiences to come, but I never want to relive driving on a dark highway with a crying toddler to destination unknown.