Cobourg, ON May 23 - 25 2012

Loved Cobourg, ON.  Not only did we get to see old friends Mike and Moira, but this had to be one of the friendliest, cleanest and prettiest town we've seen.  Our campsite was right on the waterfront and we loved walking the boardwalk in the early a.m.







This was an interesting lighthouse and the gulls seemed to love it as well.

This modern paddlewheeler dragged this 1/4 mile long pipe out into the harbour, connected it to a long hose on the pier which ended on the beach, sucked up sand from the bottom and recycled it to the beach.  Fascinating.









Had a tour of the City Hall built in 1850 and refurbished in the 80's.  A building which deserved to be saved from the wrecking ball. 

The ballroom which is rented for weddings, etc.  Was being set up for high school graduation ceremonies.

Victoria Hall, Cobourg, ON

The beach in front and down from our site.

Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa, ON

 Anyone interested in cars should visit this amazing museum in Oshawa.  It's located in an old, quite large 1920's GM dealership building.  At the time, the repair garage was on the main floor, but the new cars were in the show room on the spacious second floor.  The old elevator that lifts vehicles to that floor still works.  Now, there are cars everwhere with a huge section of Canadian made cars.  It's disappointing that our government contributes nothing to assist with costs and should assist with finding a larger facility.  This one is crammed.

There were a surprising number of British cars as well, owned or donated by wealthy Canadians to the museum.
We've never seen so many Rolls Royces in one spot!  The displays were well done, although it wasn't easy to see the cars at the back.


This moped is a relative of Gord's 1928 Raleigh bicycle.

There were 2 Silver Ghosts!

Alpha Romeo

A 1918 snowmobile that was made from a 1918 Chev 490.

Gord and I had never seen these signal lights before!

The washrooms were quite amazing.  You entered the ladies washroom through a room that had mirrors and benches and chairs for resting while waiting for your auto to be repaired downstairs.  Fairly comfortable looking and still quite usable.

The taps from the men's washroom.  Yes, I went in.
 The Amphicar was based on a Triumph Herold running gear and when I was growing up on Kal Lake someone in the Coldstream used to drive into the lake in one of these quite often.  Very funny to see.  Wasn't exactly a speedboat, but they had fun.

Two fun filled days in Toronto

 Drove into Toronto (aka Tronah) on Sunday of the long weekend.  Great choice as most of Toronto was already in Gravenhurst.  Also good choice as Abby, our Garmin, decided we needed a tour of the downtown core before she took us to Chantel's home.  Chantel is our nephew James' fiance. 

We loved the city and once James took us on our first subway ride we were off exploring.  Great city to wander in and we visited Kensington Market and the waterfront.  Our $10.50 day pass for two gave us unlimited subway and streetcar rides.  Very hot days and we were glad we had left Saba and Pogo in the capable hands of Linda and family.

A very large, old distillary area of Tronah with amazing brick buildings and history turned out to be another market area.  Enjoyed wandering with Chantel and going into the shops where the inside walls still had old signs or old bricks or old walkways etc left over.  Fascinating.









The view was spectacular and James can see planes, trains, automobiles and boat traffic from his condo.  The view constantly moves.  A great place.  Union Station is where all the trains come and go.












Loved the architecture of the new and old buildings in Tronah. 

This bridge has a rather unique saying and we're not really sure what it means.  Can anyone interpret? 

"This river I step in is not the river I stand in"









As we walked the old distillary district we came upon this sculpture from the rear.  What a surprise when we came to the front.  Although obviously super strong, the metal mesh is quite lacy.  No idea what this represents, but loved it!

A very old flatiron building on a busy corner.  I have forgotten the history.

We enjoyed walking the waterfront as the breeze was a bit cooler.  Circus-type buskers were enthralling the crowds of people.  We saw Charlie Chaplin, clowns, flame eaters, etc.  Way too busy there so continued walking the waterfront. 


We had a great time in Tronah with Chantel and James as terrific hosts.  We dined in fine style complete with pear martinis with Titanic and iceberg shaped cubes!  Wine and champagne info flowed.  Thanks you two.

Gravenhurst and family

 Arrived in Gravenhurst late afternoon on May 17th, 2012.  Apparently being in Muskoka for the long weekend is the thing to do.  Had a great time with niece Linda, husband Mark and Sarah, Emily and Dylan.  Assisted in cleaning up the waterfront of branches, moss, etc.  Hard work, but fun working with the family.  Dylan and Emily often took breaks to jump into the channel - cold!


Our hike and view from Blackberry hill where blueberries grow!


We've seen cell towers disguised as palm trees in the States, but this is the first cell fir tree we've seen.  Looked quite good. 

Reflections in the channel  very near their home on the water.

We cleaned this area of lots of branches by dragging them UP the hillside to one of two areas that needed some fill.  The swamp is desperate for fill as the mosquitoes and the extremely tiny, but nasty black flies love the location.  Our first introduction to blackflies - they are small, come in silently to drink your blood and leave just as quietly.  You notice after the fact when someone sees the blood.  Later the bite becomes itchy!  Dylan lent me a bug jacket with long sleeves and full face coverage.  Thanks Dyl.

A sunset cruise with family on Silver Lake.  We had a great few days with everyone before travelling to Toronto on Sunday of the long weekend. 

Manitoulin Island, ON

This swinging bridge connects mainland Ontario with Manitoulin Island.  We spent three nights here and did a lot of touring in our Fit.  The island sits between Georgian Bay and Lake Huron.  Quite windy, but mostly sunny days.  Batman's Campground was 74 acres of lake, beach, fishermen, trees! and pathways.

Touring the island I spotted this very sad barn with a couple of tractors sitting inside. 

We hiked the Cup and Saucer trail and found this funny, but quite disgusting stump.  Obviously, it's a well known stump and everyone, but us, comes prepared.

This was a very pretty falls, although not terribly tall.  We hiked along one side of the river, across the bridge about 1 km away and back up the path on the opposite side.  Only, we lost the path on the return trip and wound up walking along the edge of the creek back to the falls.  The dogs seemed to enjoy the adventure!  Not an easy walk.

An unbelievable sunset straight across from our waterfront campsite.

My cute husband!

My cute dog!

Came across this group of about 16 sandhill cranes.  Quite the noise they make and they are very tall.  They apparently hang out in groups.

These two were hanging out by the ferry we took from Manitoulin Island to Tobermory.  Happy duo.

The Che Cheewan (sp) which means Big Canoe was our transportation.   A 2 hour ferry ride across Georgian Bay and Lake Huron.  People were catching large (10 pounds) rainbow trout off the dock while waiting for the ferry.








Unusual rock formation as we left the dock.

Lake Superior, Wawa, Lake Manitoulin, ON

The shores of Lake Superior.  Few sandy beaches, but the rock is amazing.  Cold wind blowing off the water, but the drive here was stunning.  An inland sea without the salt.  The views through the trees were impressive.  Lake Superior goes on and on and on.

The original Canada Goose in Wawa, ON.  She stands 27' tall and weighs in at 150,000 pounds.  She's made of concrete.  There are about 4 others in the town, but made from lighter substances.  One is standing on the roof of a building about to take off.  Definitely not concrete.  Enjoyed a great Mother's Day dinner in Wawa at the Viking Restaurant.  Delicious homecooked buffet with perogies, cabbage rolls, roast beef, homestyle salads and desserts.  Mmm.


A very unusual plane at the small Wawa airport.

Saw 5 moose in the area of this campground.  Unfortunately, none of them posed for a picture.  Surprisingly beautiful animals with a deep warm brown coat.  Huge creatures!  We were so glad this campground was open as Gord fought the wind all day and we were having difficult finding a place open.  Most Provincial Parks open after the May long weekend.  Put on over 500 kms today and were exhausted.




Our first trillium sitting was at Batman's Campground on Manitoulin Island.  Very pretty and larger than I realized.  They grow in large masses, but were just starting to bloom.













A walk through the trees and flowers at Batman's.  The resort is owned by Lisa (from Vancouver) and Andre (from Espanola, ON).  They have two daughters 8 and 10 and have 74 acres near the town of Sheguindah.  We stayed 3 nights and enjoyed driving around the island in our wonderful Honda Fit.  The day before we left was very cold, overcast and windy.  The day we left was sunny, little if any wind and warm.  Glad we stayed the extra day.


 Sunset from campsite #8, the best at Batman's Resort.  Don't tell anyone!