Toronto and The Pinery National Park
When we arrived in Toronto on 17 July, Anita and John were waiting for us at the airport and we all clambered in to their large vehicle for the hour or so trip back to their house in Keswick. It always amazes me that you can be away from old friends for years and when you see them again its just like old times.
Their house while small is sufficient for the 4 (or sometimes 5 ) people, 6 cats and a dog. We stayed in their camper trailer which was actually to become our home for for the next couple of weeks. We enjoyed our first meal that evening and met 'mom' and some of her family who had been waiting in anticipation for our arrival. Most importantly we experienced our first 'Timmies'. Canadians have been hit by the waste society where you go out to get your coffee after a meal (in paper and plastic cups) from Tim Hortons which seems to be a national emblem.
The following evening Anita and John arranged a big dinner for us and a few of their friends - and the neighbours of course. It was a very entertaining evening with much wine and beer consumed - and of course a Timmies to finish it off.
We had two enjoyable days catching up and preparing for the next part of our trip which was to the Pinery which is a national park on the banks of Lake Huron.
We left for the Pinery on 19 July, not too sure what to expect. Anita and John go there every year with their family and usually a couple of extra people. John was in his van pulling the trailer and we were his Jetta. The trip there followed tradition. First stop was (you guessed it!) Timies. Apparently it is tradition not only to buy coffee but also ''Tim Bits' which are little round pieces of dough, deep fried with a sugary coating. The rest of the trip was along the highway until we turned off towards the park. On this road we passed though a number of small towns and farming areas with barns and hay.
The houses in Canada are all made of wood (even those that have a brick or stone exterior) and all look similar with grass in the front garden - which is not fenced - and a neat, usually double storey house. It seems that security is a non-issue and most people don't even bother to lock their front doors - even when they go out for a while. Quite an eye opener for us security minded South Africans.
So traditionally then next stop was McDonalds. As you can imagine, not a popular option with Fiona but tradition is tradition. Guy and I had big Macs and Lauren and Fiona had wraps. I was actually pleasantly surprised how good the burger was - far different from the thin pieces of cardboard that I remember from when the kids were young.
We arrived at the pinery at around luch time. There were two camp sites - adults and youth (can't really call them kids anymor). We had the main one (where all the food was). The camp sites were lovely - particularly considering the number of people that they housed. The Pinery has over a thousand sites but each of them is enclosed within the trees and separate from the one next door with lots of space to camp, a table and benches and a fire place. There is a large central area with a little shop and an ice cream parlour. They also hire out canoes and little boats (although we never tried those).
The river was within walking distance of the site and Anita and Fiona wen to see the sunset and seek out turtles while John and I prepared the evening meal. The guitars came out and when the youth joined us, beers and clamatoes (this is a bloody mary with clam juice- actually dehydrated clam broth- and spices) and of course the wine.
The weather was fairly over cast and over the course of our stay we had a bit of rain. Our days consited of short hikes and just enjoying camping again after so long and the evenings much as described. We saw some wild life. There was a harrier nesting in one of the trees nearby the campsite and Fiona and Anita were lucky enough to see it catching a snake. Racoons were regular evening visitors as well as squirrels and chip monks. There was lots of water about so mosquitoes were a hinderance in the evenings but enough anti-bug spray helped with that.
On our second day we visited Grand Bend which was a nearby tourist town with interesting shops and lots of places to buy tourist stuff and a shopping centre to stock up on ice and anything else missing from our initial shop.There was also a beach there so the youth went ahead of us and enjoyed some time on the beach and we followed later to spend some time in a beach front restaurant.
Most evenings we just chatted, played music and enjoyed the camp fire. We did have one night of bridge and on the final night it rained and we Amita taught us how to play kanaster. Finally we parted ways. Our family heading to Niagra Falls and the Aldriges back to Keswick.
It was a great start to our trip and a fine introduction to Canada.
w
Their house while small is sufficient for the 4 (or sometimes 5 ) people, 6 cats and a dog. We stayed in their camper trailer which was actually to become our home for for the next couple of weeks. We enjoyed our first meal that evening and met 'mom' and some of her family who had been waiting in anticipation for our arrival. Most importantly we experienced our first 'Timmies'. Canadians have been hit by the waste society where you go out to get your coffee after a meal (in paper and plastic cups) from Tim Hortons which seems to be a national emblem.The following evening Anita and John arranged a big dinner for us and a few of their friends - and the neighbours of course. It was a very entertaining evening with much wine and beer consumed - and of course a Timmies to finish it off.
We had two enjoyable days catching up and preparing for the next part of our trip which was to the Pinery which is a national park on the banks of Lake Huron.
We left for the Pinery on 19 July, not too sure what to expect. Anita and John go there every year with their family and usually a couple of extra people. John was in his van pulling the trailer and we were his Jetta. The trip there followed tradition. First stop was (you guessed it!) Timies. Apparently it is tradition not only to buy coffee but also ''Tim Bits' which are little round pieces of dough, deep fried with a sugary coating. The rest of the trip was along the highway until we turned off towards the park. On this road we passed though a number of small towns and farming areas with barns and hay.
The houses in Canada are all made of wood (even those that have a brick or stone exterior) and all look similar with grass in the front garden - which is not fenced - and a neat, usually double storey house. It seems that security is a non-issue and most people don't even bother to lock their front doors - even when they go out for a while. Quite an eye opener for us security minded South Africans.
So traditionally then next stop was McDonalds. As you can imagine, not a popular option with Fiona but tradition is tradition. Guy and I had big Macs and Lauren and Fiona had wraps. I was actually pleasantly surprised how good the burger was - far different from the thin pieces of cardboard that I remember from when the kids were young.We arrived at the pinery at around luch time. There were two camp sites - adults and youth (can't really call them kids anymor). We had the main one (where all the food was). The camp sites were lovely - particularly considering the number of people that they housed. The Pinery has over a thousand sites but each of them is enclosed within the trees and separate from the one next door with lots of space to camp, a table and benches and a fire place. There is a large central area with a little shop and an ice cream parlour. They also hire out canoes and little boats (although we never tried those).
The river was within walking distance of the site and Anita and Fiona wen to see the sunset and seek out turtles while John and I prepared the evening meal. The guitars came out and when the youth joined us, beers and clamatoes (this is a bloody mary with clam juice- actually dehydrated clam broth- and spices) and of course the wine.
The weather was fairly over cast and over the course of our stay we had a bit of rain. Our days consited of short hikes and just enjoying camping again after so long and the evenings much as described. We saw some wild life. There was a harrier nesting in one of the trees nearby the campsite and Fiona and Anita were lucky enough to see it catching a snake. Racoons were regular evening visitors as well as squirrels and chip monks. There was lots of water about so mosquitoes were a hinderance in the evenings but enough anti-bug spray helped with that.
Most evenings we just chatted, played music and enjoyed the camp fire. We did have one night of bridge and on the final night it rained and we Amita taught us how to play kanaster. Finally we parted ways. Our family heading to Niagra Falls and the Aldriges back to Keswick.
It was a great start to our trip and a fine introduction to Canada.
w
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