Prince Edward County Fibrefest 2017

In the deep of Winter, on our time off between Christmas and New Year's, Mr. A and I decided to book a Bed & Breakfast and actually commit to taking a 'holiday'. This is a big deal for us as we frequently talk about going away, taking a trip, enjoying a holiday...but we never actually do it.

We decided to go to Prince Edward County, a beautiful part of the province two hours south and west of us, commonly called 'Wine Country'. The thing about PEC is that they are a unique little pocket of ideal weather and geography just different enough from the surrounding countryside so as to be perfectly suited to grape growing. And therefore, wine! However, that was not our primary purpose for choosing this particular destination. 

The First Annual Prince Edward County Fibrefest was scheduled for this past weekend (May 27, 2017). So Mr. A and I decided to make a weekend of it and treat ourselves to a weekend away. Not that we're counting, but it was our first weekend away as a married couple without kids in 18 years. (18 years ago we were married and 'enjoyed' 20ish hours away...the kids were 19mths and 2mths old...but that's a story for another time.) I had a sudden rush of anticipatory excitement and crammed in a nail appointment at the spa just before we left town.

 

 

 

Our B&B was amazing. We were a bit nervous never having stayed at one before. Breakfast with strangers was not nearly as nerve wracking as we thought is was going to be. We may have been distracted by the food. We commonly are. 

 

I have no pictures of the Fibrefest. I was distracted by yarn. Oh, that's a lie! I have pics:

 

 

 

So cute. I may need an alpaca. For fibre purposes. And they could help with the grounds keeping. It's a future project I have in mind.

The remainder of our time in PEC was spent trying out local pubs, beer and cider. We also visited a distillery and a winery, never having experienced wine- or spirits-tasting at the source before. I made sure to visit a cafe because Mr. A and I love our coffee dates. We enjoyed being 'kidless' and not having a schedule. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We meandered home taking a route that I had never taken, but that Mr. A had spent quite a bit of time on before I met him. There's a ferry and it was a beautiful drive home.

 

I'm sure it's not international news, but locally, there's a very serious water level problem going on. Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River are at record level highs. Much of the riverbanks and lake shares are flooded and there is a lot of water damage. Driving through a couple of the villages in the County was a pretty serious affair. 

On the ferry, a third of the spaces for vehicles was taken up by a huge dump truck with trailer. Both were filled with cement to make the ferry as heavy as possible. The lake levels are so high that it is nearly impossible to dock the boat. In the photo above, you can see temporary raised bumpers made of cement blocks and wooden logs. 

I think we'll definitely go back...especially if there's a 2nd annual PEC Fibrefest. I started out our weekend begin concerned with fitting it all in. But I quickly came around to Mr. A's way of thinking: we can come back. I was much more relaxed and enjoyed our time after that realization. 

Stash enhancement:

 

 

 

So this trip was our practice run, in a way. We got a nice surprise halfway through our weekend - The Boy Child texted that he had made a decision as to which university to attend in the Fall. As we had been waiting on his decision for months, this was very welcome news. Come September 2017, Mr. A and I will officially be Empty Nesters. Crazy. We will distract ourselves with little weekends away, I think.

~Bonni