Ontario

3 August – We left Michigan where we had been for 29 days and crossed the Canadian border with no hassles. At the Canadian Welcome centre we stopped to publish the last blog which was a bit of a problem as we had internet issues. Managed to do the blog but could not get onto our email. Very strange! We drove 40 miles north to a provincial park at the Pinery. This is a huge camp with about 1200 sites however they could only book us in for 1 night. We walked down to Lake Huron and a beach with a heavy “sea” bounding in. The swimming was great though. Later in the day we cycled thru this huge camp for about 10 miles.

4 August – After breakfast we hopped on the bikes and cycled back to see if we could stay for another night. They gave us a site but we have to change sites. Not a problem for us however. The forecast for this afternoon is not great so we went to this wild beach for a swim and a sunbathe. Back for lunch and as the weather is still warm we returned to the beach but after a swim the clouds rolled in and we returned to our site just as the rain started. It did not rain for long.

5 August - A strong cold wind off the lake for our drive north along the Lake Huron coast mostly thru farming country and small towns. We are now at another provincial park at Inverhuron. This park is situated on a small peninsula and we walked to a nice sheltered beach. After Val had done the laundry, we walked a trail around the park out of the shelter of the bay and with a strong wind whipping up a bit of surf. It’s really is like the ocean! The temperature has dropped and we are in our track pants and jerseys outside for dinner.

6 August – A very short drive today so we stopped for a shop. Alcohol can only be bought from the LCBO shop (licensing control board of Ontario). Overall we were pleasantly surprised at the prices. Not much dearer than USA. We camped at a provincial park at Sauble Falls. Off to the beach which is reputed to be one of Canada’s top 10. We are now getting very good at biking with our chairs balanced across the handle bars and our towels around our necks. The beach was ok but there was a cool wind and we have seen a lot better. The water was refreshing! Back to “Ernie” and a walk to the Sauble Falls. It is a series of small leaps with many kids enjoying the pools etc.

7 August – A 50 mile drive up the large Bruce Peninsula which sticks out into Lake Huron forming the Georgian Bay on one side. We booked a camping ground for the weekend which is only 1 ½ miles from the tourist town of Tobermory and at the very end of the peninsula. Again the bikes are great to get us into the town. There are two harbours and the smaller one (Little Tub) is where the shops and restaurants are situated. We wandered the town and had a beer overlooking the harbour before going to the National Park visitors centre. Our hope was to stay a night in the park and walk some of the Bruce Trail which goes all the way to Niagara but the camp was full. Change of plans! Instead we booked a boat trip to Flowerpot Island for tomorrow. Back at the camp we enjoyed a refreshing swim in the camp pool and a skyping session to catch up with the family.

8 August – It rained in the night and continued raining thru breakfast. Fortunately just as we hopped on the bikes for our ride to the boat trip the rain stopped. It is only 6 kms to the Flowerpot Island but we diverted into the other harbour (Big Tub) where there are a couple of shipwrecks just below the surface. Being fresh water they are perfectly presevered and with the clear water very easily seen. At the island we left the boat for 3 ½ hours. There are many boats coming and going so the main attractions are very crowded.

We chose to take a short hike thru the island’s interior. This is in the National Park and the bush was different from what we had seen so far. Eventually we caught up with the crowds at a lighthouse where the original lighthouse keepers house has been restored to when it was abandoned in the early 1960’s. It reminded us of our childhood. We sat on a rocky beach for lunch before going to the main attraction of the island, the two flowerpots. These are stone columns on the waters edge.

The stones are like the pancake rocks at Punakaiki and the water is very much like the Able Tasman. It was a great trip which we really enjoyed. A last look at Tobermory and an ice-cream before we cycled back to the camp.

9 August – We drove back down the Bruce Peninsula thru Owen Sound and around the bottom of the beautiful Georgian Bay. We took a site for two nights at Craigleith Provincial. Park The beach was quite different to anything we had experienced. The shore consisted of large flat rocks which gradually stepped down into the luke warm water. It was like swimming in a pool with waves. We had many swims and enjoyed drying off in the sun between them.

10 August – The forecast is for rain this afternoon. We cycled 10 miles along a rail trail into the town of Collingwood with its great historical murals. After cycling back to the beach at Craigleith we went for a swim just before it started to rain. It rained off and on for the rest of the day. Val managed to break her Kobo e-reader. Disaster!!

11 August – The weather was cool as we drove into Collingwood and managed to buy a replacement Kobo before continuing on to a Provincial Park on Lake Simcoe, a large lake not far from Uxbridge where we are headed to tomorrow.

 

12 August – It was a late start today as we only have a short drive to Uxbridge where Craig and Kathy Seddon live. (Paul’s brother) On the way we shopped in the small town of Beaverton. We are parked up Craig and Kathy’s drive and will spend 2 nights here. Holly and her partner, Joe came around and we had a nice meal catching up on all the news. Val managed get her new e-reader going thank god!

13 August – Craig and Kathy went to work leaving us in charge of the cats. Val did a wash and we rode our bikes thru the lovely town of Uxbridge to the supermarket. Uxbridge is an historic town and was settled in 1806 by the Quakers from Pennsylvania. We relaxed in the afternoon out in their beautiful garden. Craig and Kathy’s friends, Muff and Gary came around for a barbeque dinner.

14 August – It has been raining so we spent time on the internet booking accommodation for the next few weekends. This afternoon we will drive up to the Burstow cottage (David and Chrissie, Kathy’s parents) at Muldrew Lake in the Muskoka area where will spend the weekend with the Seddons, their family and friends.