One minute we could be meandering down a country lane in Kent – the leaves of lush green trees on either side of the road forming a canopy overhead – and the next we might as well be cruising along the California coast, long white beach stretches out beside the road. In fact we're in Ontario, cruising the back roads of Prince Edward County and we don't know where we're going.
We're not lost, exactly, but we've turned the GPS off and are just leaving the route to chance: Left at the old red barn up ahead, right at the big silver maple. Whatever strikes our fancy. The country back roads and quaint towns of the County lend themselves to wandering.
Inevitably, you'll spot a blue and white sign in a distinct handwritten script letting you know you've come across the Arts Trail, a collection of artist 19 galleries and studios scattered around the island. Follow the signs for a while. They might lead you to Lalaland. The Lalaland Glass Studio transforms molten glass into bright, delicate jewelry and objets d'art. Just down the road, the village of Bloomfield is home to Pottery 31. Inside the charming gray house with the red roof Husband and wife duo, David Scott and Jan Duffy, make beautiful pottery and ceramics. His contemporary designs are geared towards the kitchen while she focusses on unique jewelry and tiles. A little further along the trail, just outside the town of Picton, is Small Ponds Arts. Also run by a husband and wife team, this is where you'll find the paintings of Milé Murtanovski who specializes in the people and places of the county rendered in colours as vibrant as the personalities behind the studio.
The Arts Trail is by no means the only significant route through the county, in fact the entire island is bisected by The Loyalist Parkway, part of a 61 km stretch of highway that commemorates the journey of the United Empire Loyalists to began to arrive in upper Canada in 1784 looking to settle the land.
Today the road runs past some of the county's most renowned attractions including the famous Sandbanks, three vast beaches that form part of the world's largest barrier dune formation. It also intersects with the more recently anointed Taste Trail that leads to some of the County's most delicious discoveries like the washed rind, soft and hard cheeses of Fifth Town Artisan Cheese Co. Try the award-wining Cape Vessey, a Grand Champion Goat Cheese at the 2008 Royal Winter Fair or one of the little cylinders of the zesty sheep's milk cheese known as Lemon Fetish.
For something a little more substantial follow the trail to East and Main where Executive Chef Scott Kapitan turns the bounty of the county into culinary magic. His salad of baby kale with a Hagerman Farm's pickled beet salad and pickled Waupoos pears is as delicious as it is healthy. No trip to the island would be complete without a stop at Slickers County Ice Cream for a scoop of apple pie ice cream, chockablock with apples and pastry or a cone of toasted marshmallow.
Picking a place to sleep off a big day of indulgence has just gotten easier with the opening of the ultra-hip Drake Devonshire, the Prince Edward County outpost of the downtown Toronto hotbed for culture. Decked out in a style reminiscent of rustic Canadiana, with a glassed in ping pong room, an outdoor fireplace and artisan made dolls in every room, the hotel is ground zero for the skinny jean set.
For something a little more intimate, the 13 room Merrill Inn, recently tipped as one of the 25 best small hotels in Canada, offers an elegant taste of the good life with rooms done up in exquisite antiques and original county artwork.
If getting lost is this luxurious, we may never look at a map again.
This content was produced by The Globe and Mail's advertising department, in consultation with Cadillac. The Globe's editorial department was not involved in its creation.