How to Plan a Trip Worth Remembering (And Why PEI Should Already Be On Your List)
It started the way the best trips usually do, with friends who had been somewhere incredible and could not stop talking about it. They had vacationed in Tofino and loved it so much they stayed an extra couple of days. Not that we needed much convincing, Adam and I had been talking about Vancouver Island for as long as I can remember. His 50th just finally gave us the push we needed.
Usually when we have a trip coming up, Adam books all of it and I, like a queen, just show up. And honestly I love that about us. But big birthdays are my thing. I surprised him with Greece for his 40th, so when his 50th started coming into view I was already plotting. This one needed to be intentional, special, and just the two of us.
I did what any type A planner would do. I dug deep. I Googled, I TripAdvisored, I called friends. And somewhere in the middle of all of it I picked up Carley Fortune’s “Our Perfect Storm.” If you have not read it yet, add it to your list immediately, it is the book of the summer. She sets the whole story in Tofino and she writes about the place so specifically that you feel like you have already been there. A couple of her nods made it onto my itinerary. Mostly though, the book just confirmed I was already thinking about this trip the right way.
The Island That Delivers Every Time
Let’s be honest, PEI has never really needed an introduction. Anne of Green Gables handled that. We are Canada’s Food Island, best beaches, best golf, the whole package. But the people who really plan their time here are the ones who find the magic.
Chef Michael Smith did not choose this Island by accident, and he has been its biggest ambassador for years. PEI has a way of getting into people. The ones who take the time to really explore it never quite get over it.
Planning gets you here. But sometimes the magic is the thing you stumbled into, the unexpected stop, the conversation with a stranger, the place you almost drove past. PEI has a way of delivering both.
And if you are planning time on this Island, there is one place I will always put at the top of the list. Come see what we have been building in New Glasgow. Not because I am biased, okay maybe a little, but because we have built something here that is exactly what PEI promises and then some.
The Preserve Company Is a Full Destination
I say this not just as someone who loves this Island, but as someone who shows up here every single day to help build something: the PEI Preserve Company is not a stop on the way to somewhere else. It is the somewhere else.
Our Gardens of Hope sit on 12 acres along the picturesque River Clyde, and the property has a way of slowing people down the moment they arrive. There is a butterfly house that genuinely delights every single person who walks through it, whether they are five or seventy-five. Our gift shop is stocked with everything we make in small batches, our artisanal preserves, sauces, salsas, tea blends and baking mixes. And yes, we know exactly what the sample table does to people. We are not sorry about it.
Our Dining Room is the kind of space that makes people linger, and the food is rooted in this Island in the best possible way. Afternoon tea is something people plan their whole visit around, and rightfully so. It is unhurried, packed with social media worthy moments, and exactly the kind of experience you think about long after you get home. And our Picnics of Hope, set out on those 12 acres with everything you need to slow down and actually be somewhere, those are the moments people talk about for years.
We create magic in all we do. That is not just a motto. It is the standard we hold ourselves to every single day.
(Photos from left to right: Gardens of Hope, Butterfly House, Afternoon Tea, Picnics of Hope)
Plan Like You Mean It
We did make it to Tofino, and it was everything. Tune into my Substack for the full story on that one. But coming home reminded me of something I already knew and maybe needed to be reminded of. The most intentional travel experience I know is the one I help build every single day right here on this Island.
PEI is worth going to. The Preserve Company is worth planning around. Whether you are coming from across the country or just a few hours down the road, add us to the list. Come for afternoon tea, stay for the gardens, leave with a jar of something that will make you think of this Island every time you open it.
And if you need a great summer read for the trip, Carley Fortune is a really good place to start.
Lots of love,
Marsha
