Happy Friday!! This summer I’ve decided to take Friday afternoons off (as a ME day) and explore the beautiful Island I call home. Prince Edward Island is paradise and summer never seems to last long enough.

Shortly after lunch I loaded up my car to take off on my Eastern PEI adventure.  Bike, lots of water, bathing suit and sunscreen – I had my adventure covered.  

It was 28 degrees mid afternoon. Sunroof down, Sirius radio tuned up ( I love channels 15, 24,50). 

I landed 40 minutes outside PEI at the Greenwich National Park. Did you know that Saturday July 17th you can visit the PEI National Parks for FREE Help celebrate the 125th National Parks Anniversary by enjoying one of PEIs beautiful parks.

In PEI you’re never more than 20 minutes away from the beach. It’s the benefit of living on an Island.  The north shore is traditionally colder with beautiful sand dunes.  While on the south they catch better shellfish and the water tends to be warmer. Greenwich is on the north shore just outside of St Peters.

Considering the fact it was a beautiful sunny day I expected more beach goers. The parking lot was not even a quarter full.  It takes approximately 4 1/2 minutes to walk from the parking lot, down the long path to the beach.

Hello sunscreen. Good day water, long time no see. I approach the water and dodge the rocks close to the shore.  It’s where the crabs hide.  Its jellyfish season on the north shore right now and I’m a little worried. I’ve same in the ocean each summer my whole life and have never been stun.  If you are stung by one, read this article to learn what to do.

Greenwich had a lifeguard and completely eco friendly washroom. It has solar lighting and recyclable non flushing toilets. I suppose that’s why we pay to go to the national park, the amenities.

The water was lovely and refreshing. An instant cool down on a hot summers day. I swam in the supervised lifeguard area which I shared with 6 other swimmers. It was so much fun and I stayed in the water for ½ hour, spotting 2 jellyfish and meeting a lovely couple from Montreal. 

I decided to go for a walk down the beach and dry off. The sand dunes at Greenich last for miles and miles. It’s a very walkable deserted beach.  You can enjoy beautiful nature trails at the other end of the park as well. 

When I reached complete dryness, I walked back to my car in search of more water.  Success. Perhaps it’s time to leave the beach and take off on another adventure.  My bikes in the car and ready to go. Morell here I come.

They say biking can burn over 500 calories at a moderate pace.  I wonder how many more calories I burned due to extreme heat and my high endurance spin class training?  There are very few things that feel better to me than biking. However swimming in the ocean falls closely behind.

It’s a crime to drive a bike with no helmet in PEI as it is in most provinces.  Mine is white and blue. I wear the largest pair of sunglasses I own underneath it.  Big shades act as a better bug shield. I tend to spend most of my time in 14th gear or higher. Last week I biked from Morell to St Peters in 1 hour (26 km), but today it took an extra 15 minutes. I blame the cell phone call I received, as well as the extreme heat

I actually keep my Schwinn mountain bike in the back seat of my car at all times. The front wheel detaches and I can just fit the body in (helmet and front wheel in the trunk.

Summers are so special but short lived.  It’s my favorite time of year.  Have I told you I’m a Leo?  My birthday's in 2 weeks.  Another reason to love summer much more.  

Not sure what’s on the agenda for my next adventure. Is it Friday yet? To be continued…..

Rachelle Wood, Prince Edward Islander