Four years ago we traveled throughout the Maritime Provinces of Canada and fell in love with Prince Edward Island. We always knew that we would like to spend more time here ~ and the summer of 2026 is the year! We booked an Airbnb for the four weeks we will be here, but other than that, we made no hotel reservations or plans for our travels to PEI. This worked out great from the start - for example: we had originally planned to start our drive early Monday morning, but at the last minute decided to leave on Sunday night - we figured, instead of sitting around at home staring at one another, we could be in the car staring at the road! So we ended up up 180 miles north and stayed in Titusville, FL Sunday night. So how did we find accommodations along the way without reservations? Easy! Once we knew we wanted to only drive about an hour more, Suzanne used AI and posted “Find me a hotel about one hour north of (insert current location), close to the highway, and 4+ star reviews" A few options would come up, Suzanne checked various hotel apps for prices, and booked it!
Day 1: Sunday 7/19 ~ 3 hours; 170 miles
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Day 2, we were on the road by 7:30am. It was a big driving day with lots of fuel stops and a very good lunch at small fried chicken place (welcome to the south!😁) in Hardeeville, SC ~ it doesn't look like much, but the reviews were fabulous and Chickin Lickin did not disappoint!
It is always fun to discover new eating places as we travel. Yep - some are duds, but others are gems. Dinner was leftovers from our fridge at home that we brought along in a cooler and we finally stopped in Lynchburg, VA for the night.
Day 2: Monday 7/20 ~ 11 hours; 700 miles
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Day 3, after a good night's sleep, we on the road by 7:30am again. We stopped for awesome lunch at a place called Cafe Del Sol - the place looked like nothing on the outside - but nice and great food inside.
We hit some serious rain in Pennsylvania while driving and the roads were much more hilly and curvy than yesterday. We had a quick dinner at Panera (meh) and found a hotel along the way in Southingham, CT.
Day 3: Tuesday 7/21 ~ 11 hours; 515 miles
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Day 4, once again, we slept great and were on the road by 7:30am. We were making great mileage and both commented that the drive did not feel long at all. Since we were getting relatively close to PEI, we discussed how to spend the next day (Thursday) as we could not check into our Airbnb until Friday. After checking the weather in the Schoodic Peninsula (part of Acadia National Park), we decided to head there. We were there last year, but the weather was not good, and we knew we wanted to come back at some point. (We talked about stopping here on our drive from PEI, but since we had the time now, and the weather promised sunny, clear skies, we found ourselves once again thrilled that we made no hotel reservations for our drive to PEI.)
Along the way, Brad found himself meeting Smoky Bear.......
...caught in a lobster trap.....
....and making friends with a moose.....
While Brad drove, Suzanne looked for places to stay for the next two nights. Yikes ~ expensive! Mid-range hotels (i.e. Hampton Inn) were getting $400 - $500/night 🤯, so she kept looking (thanks AI!) and found a couple of small inns and bed & breakfast that were feasible options. A few phone calls later, and we ended up staying at Mainstays Cottage and RV Park in Winter Harbor, Maine for $140/night in their Crow's Nest room, which was surprisingly lovely and a quite large room (though the bathroom was tiny) and had wonderful views of the water.
After we checked-in, we went to the Acadia National Park Visitor's Center and got Brad his National Park Senior Lifetime Pass!! 🎉
Here is what happened: we walked in and the ranger on duty looked at Suzanne and she (Suzanne, very excitedly) said that we have been waiting DECADES (which is true) for this day - that Brad turned 62 and was eligible for his LIFETIME National Park Pass. But first, we said that we needed to see the picture on front (since someone put his photo on the annual National Park passes for no other reason than he is an egotistical, small-minded, corrupt, divisive, unqualified narcissist.......) and the ranger knew EXACTLY what we meant. The photo on the Senior National Park Pass is a Bighorn Sheep - perfect! (We asked her if people were always so excited for this day. She said yes, bit not quite as excited as Suzanne was.😂)
We then went for an early dinner in Winter Harbor and had a great meal of Parmesan crusted halibut, green beans, and a baked potato followed by blueberry pie ala mode. It was excellent! 😃 We then went back to our room where we chilled - speaking of chilled- it was low 60s here! Brrrrr ❄ (But exactly why we left FL!)
Day 4: Wednesday 7/22 ~ 6 hours; 400 miles
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