Off-season prices make a cottage getaway on Prince Edward Island's north shore more affordable for young family By BILL SPURR THE SMALL playground area at Penderosa Beach, in the middle of an oval of cottages of various sizes, is close enough so you can see your kids, but far enough away that you can't hear them. Just perfect. Kids make friends quickly at Penderosa, where there are no schedules but there always seems to be someone their age to throw a ball with or explore the beach. From the first day of our annual visit, my city dwelling eight-year-old son BJ can immediately forget about traffic and other urban concerns. Each morning, he hurries through breakfast and squirms through an application of sunscreen, only to bolt, returning occasionally for a drink or to exchange sports equipment. What's there to do? Nothing, or everything, depending on your inclination. Next to the cottages is a mowed field where kites are flown and Frisbees are thrown, and where daily pickup games of baseball and soccer are played. Over by the playground are tennis and basketball courts. Depending on the week, one end of the basketball court might have a pre-supper game with former university players involved, while children just learning the game occupy the other hoop. In the early evening, as barbecues are lit or water for lobsters starts to boil, off in the distance you'll hear the sound of a tractor. That's the signal for kids (and some adults) to drop whatever they're doing and marshal for the hayride, which circles the property and then chugs up the lane and across a big hayfield before heading back. But the biggest draw at Penderosa is the wide, sandy beach. With the two- and three-bedroom cottages totalling just 10 units, there are never enough people around to make the beach anything but uncrowded. The shallow water of the Gulf of St. Lawrence warms early and the swimming is great. Each cottage has a deck and a picnic table and though Ethel and Austin Pendergast have been welcoming tourists for four decades, the cottages have recently been modernized. We started going there because of my wife's friendship with one of Austin and Ethel's daughters, and on our last few visits, we've stayed in one of the three-bedroom A-frames. The ground floor consists of a combination living room/dining room/kitchen, as well as a bathroom and bedroom with pine everywhere. Upstairs are two more bedrooms, with a deck off one, a wonderful place to read in the shade and enjoy the ocean breezes. Linens and towels are provided, as is everything you need to set up housekeeping, short of groceries. You can get those in Kensington, about 15 minutes away. From Kensington, it's only a few more minutes to Summerside, the Island's second biggest city. Of course, no two destinations in P.E.I. are very far apart and Penderosa is just an hour from Charlottetown. Also in Kensington is Mary's Bake Shoppe, a bakery that does booming tourist business all summer. Go in the morning for the best selection and to have any chance of getting there before that day's allotment of butterscotch pie is sold out. You can also place a special order for a chocolate pie and pick it up the next day. It might not be worth a trip to P.E.I. just for one of Mary's pies, but it'd be close. On the way back to the cottage, you can stop at Reuben's Fish Market, which is right on the water. If you time it right, you can watch fish being unloaded from a boat, then go inside and buy haddock, cod, oysters or clams. Back at Penderosa, there's entertainment in the recreation hall one evening a week. Almost every night, somewhere on the property, someone is having a campfire and you're welcome to show up with your marshmallows, chocolate chips and graham crackers. There's hardly any artificial light, so on clear nights, before heading to bed, you can lay on the grass and stare at the stars and the lights of planes on their way to Europe. If after a few days of total relaxation, you've read all your books and you feel the need for some aggravation, you're in luck, because if there's one thing P.E.I. has, it's golf courses. Only five minutes from Penderosa is Darnley Greens, a Par 3 course that's perfect for a child just learning the game. Just a short ride in the other direction is French River, a wide open course ideal for golfers who hit the ball long distances with no real idea where it's going. And for the more accomplished, Penderosa is just 20 minutes from Cavendish, home to championship courses like Green Gables and The Eagle's Glen. Some people are lucky enough to be able to stay at Penderosa for two weeks, though the vast majority are there for a week. Some families or groups of friends have been going for more than 20 years and veterans book for the next summer as soon as they arrive. Bruce MacKinnon of Halifax and his family haven't missed a summer at Penderosa in 10 years. "It's a nice package," he said. "It's a gorgeous beach and it's great for families, with the hayrides every night and all the athletic stuff." MacKinnon is well-known for strolling the property, strumming his guitar, and over the years has gotten to know the host family, including Alan Pendergast, who serves as manager. "He sort of casually patrols and makes sure everybody's happy and their needs are taken care of," MacKinnon said. "Late at night, when we're around the campfire, playing a few tunes, Alan often comes by on his bicycle and sits down to join the gang." "That's what has kept us going back, the fact they're such decent people and it was such a down-home kind of place." Vacancies are scarce during the peak season, but there's usually room in June and early July, as well as late August and September, P.E.I.'s "shoulder season," when rates are lower, the weather is often the best and crowds are smaller throughout the Island. Bill spurr is a features writer for these newspapers when he is not on vacation. |
