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Thanksgiving In The County - October 11 - 14, 2019

We had just returned from our trip south when we received a text from our friends Jane and Michel wondering when we would be home and would we be up for a last camping run on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend. We suggested Quinte's Isle Campark in Prince Edward County. In spite of many years camping in Ontario, they had never had a chance to explore "The County".

The discussion continued over the next week. Jane volunteered to cook a small turkey in the little oven in their big Class C motorhome. We said we would contribute some candied yams, parsnips and cranberry-orange sauce.

It was decided that we would take off Friday morning since Jane was able to get the extra day off.

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Contents

Day 1 - October 11, 2019 - Off To The County
Day 2 - October 12, 2019 - Exploring The County
Day 3 - October 13, 2019 - Exploring The County
Day 4 - October 14, 2019 - Heading Home

Day 1 - October 11, 2019 - Off To The County

We took our time getting ready since it was a less than 4 hour run straight through to the park. We left our place about 10:50 and made our way over to Jane & Michel's where they were getting ready to connect the Jeep to their RV. Since we needed propane, we arranged to meet them at the Mallorytown ONroute RV parking.

We hit the road and kept moving steadily past Cornwall forgetting that Power Dam Drive does not have an exit on the west-bound 401. After saying a couple of bad words we made our way to the exit for the Long Sault Parkway and went back to our exit and made our way to P38 Energy where we had our propane tank topped up.

As planned we made our way to Mallorytown ONroute. Jane & Michel were running about 20 minutes behind us due to a fuel stop so we grabbed a quick snack and walked the dogs.

All together again, we hit the road again just before 3 PM. Our next stop was at the 49 Quik Stop on route 49 to fuel up at reservation prices. We also used the time to let the RV park know we might be a bit after 5 PM.

We followed 49 right into Picton then let Google Maps navigate us toward the destination. It asked us to follow a route that save going right through the middle of town. The only problem is that it took us some construction where the single path through was so narrow that Jane & Michel had to hold their breath to squeeze through.

We got to Quinte's Isle Campark at 4:56 PM just before the off-season office closing time of 5 PM. The were hanging open a bit late anyway since it was a fairly busy long weekend. While we would have preferred a couple of spots in the "300's", that area was all booked up by local enjoying a last long weekend. There was plenty of other space but we wanted to check out the lake side site. Jane & Road took a run down in the Roadtrek (it is about 2 KM) and had a look around and picked a couple of nice sites. We went back, booked them, bought some firewood and started setting up camp by 5:30 PM.

It was a bit windy for a fire so we settled into the Class C for some food and a visit.
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Distance:396 KM
Average Fuel:12.9 L/100KM
Time On Road:5:09
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Day 2 - October 12, 2019 - Exploring The County

We woke up to a chill, windy and drizzly morning. Some coffee brough back some semblance of life. We decided to head into Picton and grab some breakfast there.

We left camp about 10 AM and made our way to Gus's Family Restaurant. While enjoying a good basic breakfast, Jane was especially charmed looking out the window along Main Street. It reminded her of English towns from her youth.

After breakfast we set about exploring the area. Of note we popped into Rosehaven Yarn Shop for Lillian to shop and Jane to meet the angora bunny that lives there. Across the street we visited Zest Kitchen Shop and then just wandered up and down the street checking out various shops.

About 1 PM we got in the Jeep and went along to Ralph's Meat Market where we each picked up some peameal bacon and boneless rib steaks. We also made a quick stop at the LCBO for some liquid supplies.

Next we just took a wander west on ON-33 (a.k.a. The Loyalist Parkway) through the towns of Bloomfield and Wellington where we pointed out various landmarks. About 2:15 we arrived at Sandbanks Winery where we stopped to sample some of the latest. Since we were that far west we also dropped into Casa-Dea Estates Winery.

Since it was getting on to 4 PM, we made our way back to Bloomfield where we picked up route 12 to skip through the edge of Sandbanks Provincial Park to make our way back to Quinte's Isle Campark.

Other than the wind, it was a nice evening. We enjoyed some suitable beverages while letting the dogs have some fun. Michel then set about finding a spot for his grill that was sufficiently sheltered to cook some steaks. Jane and Lillian gathered some other bits to go with dinner. Again we were pleased to have the class C with a relatively roomy dining area to gather in. While things came together, Rod exercised his skills in drinking wine and communing with a certain Big Black Briard.

Dinner was excellent! Jane & Michel were very impressed with the meat from Ralph's. We all enjoyed a lovely evening solving the world's problems and sharing stories from the summer past.
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Day 3 - October 13, 2019 - Exploring The County

A little brighter this morning but still a bit breezy. The main objective of the day is the cooking of Fred (name given to turkey who volunteered to be our celebratory dinner). Jane had already started working on him by removing some bones he no longer needed and generally reducing cavity sizes so he would be able to duck into the little oven in the motorhome.

Before getting too far with launching dinner, Rod volunteered to cook up some breakfast. The first item was some of the peameal back bacon from Ralph's which we kept warm while Rod cooked some buckwheat crepes from batter he prepared a couple of days back (it needs to sit overnight at a minimum but improves for several days). Both the bacon and crepes were new to Jane and Michel and they were quite impressed. I promised Jane the recipe so here it is: Rod's Buckwheat Crepes.

While Jane communed with Fred, the rest of us wandered off to replace some of the steak and peameal bacon consumed. On the way into town we stopped at Agrarian Market which is right beside the LCBO. We were delighted to find they carried Covered Bridge Potato Chips from New Brunswick. Jane and Michel camp a lot near St. Andrews By-The-Sea in New Brunswick and we have enountered these chips in our wanders - they are excellent. Jane has subsequently discovered them in the organic section of our local IGA store in Pointe-Claire. We continued on to Ralph's Meat Market as planned.

Since we had some time and in spite of Jane being back tending to Fred, we decided to visit Waupoos Estates Winery and Restaurant, the oldest of the County wineries. We wandered down to the restaurant and picked up some glasses of "grape juice" which we took for a stroll down to the lakefront and around the grounds. After that we stopped back to the shop where we picked up a couple of items (mostly in bottles) before getting back in the Jeep.

As we worked our way back to camp, Michel mentioned he would like to take a look at the Sandbanks Provincial Park so we went over there and had a nice wander along the beach area and around some of the camp grounds. Some of those would be challenging in the Roadtrek never mind their class C. Others had possibilities and even power.

We got back to camp about 4 PM and checked on Fred's progress. As dinner time approached we got our contributions ready which included Candied Yams, Parsnips browned in butter and some Cranberry-Orange relish. Not surprisingly it was a superb feed washed down with some fine wines. Since we were consuming a couple of his favourites, we toasted Rod's uncle who passed away quietly earlier in the day. We remembered a man who lived well. We also toasted Fred - we don't know if he lived well but he tasted great.
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Day 4 - October 14, 2019 - Heading Home

We took our time packing up for the trip home. We finally nosed our way out of the park a bit after 11 AM. Darlin' Debbie's for a late breakfast / early lunch. Another county treat for Jane & Michel.

After that we hit the road for home. We made a brief stop in Lancaster, ON to top up the gas tank before crossing back into Quebec and arrived home about 5:15 PM.
The Numbers For Today Click
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Distance:396 KM
Average Fuel:12.9 L/100KM
Time On Road:5:09
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