When I started planning my Ontario road trip for the last week of summer, I didn't have a specific destination in mind. My only criteria was that I wanted to go somewhere picturesque and enjoy copious amounts of wine. One of my chicest friends, Vanessa had just returned from Prince Edward County and suggested I stay at The June Motel. I had never been to PEC before, I knew little about the area and nothing about The June. I immediately went to their website and was sold. This place was an Instagram dream world.
My boyfriend, (whose birthday it happened to be) was such a good sport. It was definitely a bit girly for his taste but he told me later that the stay at the hotel was definitely a highlight of the trip. When I first told him of our plan to stay at the motel, he gave me a bit of a shudder. I guess a lot of us have this image of an outdated, rundown and somewhat dodgy roadside accommodation when we think of motels. But I reassured him this place was different. The best way I could think to describe it was vogue magazine and Instagram having a hippie love child. I have to admit, the thought of staying at a roadside motel in the middle of no where was a bit daunting, so, I crossed my fingers and hoped it would live up to my unreasonably high expectations.
We arrived promptly at 3pm, in order to check in, drop off our luggage and go wine tasting. The receptionist was a bit late opening, so we took the opportunity to do an impromptu photo shoot.
When she arrived we were offered a glass of complimentary rose. As I glanced to my right I noticed a pink neon sign that read "Peace Love Wine", that was the moment I knew it was going to be a great stay.
Once we checked into our Rose Suite, I fell in love. My Instagram dream world suddenly became a reality. We popped a bottle of pink bubbly and cheers'd the night away.
Suddenly we realized that hours had past, it was now too late to go wine tasting, not to mention we already had quite a buzz on. So, we decided to reschedule wine tasting for the next day.
As the sun started to set we made our way to the lobby where there was a campfire and s'mores party going on. Province of Canada had a pop up shop in the lobby with some super cute Ontario swag. It was a nice little gathering but our tummy's were starting to rumble so we decided it was time to eat. Picton is only a few short km's from The June but we were advised that walking was a bit out of the question so we should get a taxi. The closest taxi said they were going to be about 40 minutes, which also happened to be the same amount of time it would take us to walk there. We decided to slip on some running shoes and jog there. The walk started with a beautiful view of the sunset over the bay. Our jog started to morph into a full out run as the dusk turned to full darkness. I would recommend the walk or jog for anyone who loves nature and good views but definitely leave before the sun starts to go down for safety reasons.
It was starting to get chilly but we were nice and warm from our jog. We decided to sit on the patio of The County Canteen. We ordered a few glasses of sparkling wine as well as the canteen fries, county mezze platter and the portobello mushroom burger with a salad. We shared everything, family style, as we always do. It was simply delicious! This is one of the only places open late in Picton and boasts a great atmosphere with quite a few vegan options!
The next day was loaded with winery and brewery hopping as well as many visits to local restaurants.
Be sure to check out the following: PILOT COFFEE shop for amazing lattes
The Vic for brunch
Norman Hardie Winery for their delicious woodfire pizza and wine
