Category: NationalParks Ontario Parks

Single Older Woman – Canadian Beaches – Sandbanks – Beach #8 Accomplished

July 14, 2023

Another glorious day, hot and blue skies! Not that I really like the heat, but as long as I’ve got an abundance of bottled water, a/c in the car and a pool or lake nearby, I’m good!

As I’ve done on my other summer beach road trips, I chose a local motel in Napanee #FoxMotorInn for my stay. The motel boasted a lovely small kidney shaped outdoor pool in the back and a local family owned restaurant across the street. With only 4 days taken for this short beach vacation, I had a lot of driving to do and a lot of exploring and walking to do…LOL..

With my Ontario Parks Daily Vehicle Permit pass already in the car and with my parking spotty guaranteed, off I went in search of sun, sand and beach. This beach – #SandbanksProvincialPark is VERY VERY busy in the summer. By the time I had arrived, the entrance to the park was 100 cars deep.

I unloaded my stuff from the car and hauled it all, first to the restroom to get changed and then to the beach to get settled. The place was packed! I settled in for a bit and then made my way out to the water. Having accepted that not all beach shorelines are created equal and that Wasaga Beach is one of the few, where one does not have to navigate and tip toe over thousands of tiny stones before one can enter the water, I donned my water shoes and headed in……Glorious!!! to say the least.

I swam for a bit to get a feel for the water and to cool off, most definitely!

I returned to my chair to grab my phone and waterproof phone case and now went in search of someone or a group of swimmers, willing to record my swim.

I came across a group of 5 women, frolicking in the water and who clearly were all best friends. I introduced myself, told them my story and asked for their help.

They were more than happy to oblige. Here we go!!

Sandbanks Beach now complete!

I thanked these lovely ladies and made my way back to my chair. It was now mid afternoon, the sun was blazing, and with not a cloud in the sky, I was feeling the heat. Plus my phone battery was low and I still had to drive back to Napanee, I worried too that having my phone in a dark hot duffle bag, may affect its systems.

I bid adieu to the ladies and made my way to the car. I kept my swimsuit on, with a t-shirt overtop and drove back to the motel.

Once I got changed and freshened up, I went for a drive through town and found a local Tim Horton’s and indulged in a coffee while sitting inside enjoying the view outside.

Tomorrow – a few additional Ontario Parks to explore.

Thank you for reading and letting me share.

Joye

Single Older Woman – Life’s Passion – Canadian Beaches – Sandbanks, Singing Sands and Long Beach

July 2023

With 4 weeks of vacation available to me each year, by the time 2022 wrapped up, I was already planning how and when to complete my final 3 beaches on my list – Sandbanks in Prince Edward County, Singing Sands in Tobermory and Long Beach, on the Pacific Rim, in British Columbia.

The trip to BC would start with Via Rail, a 4 1/2 day trip from Toronto to Vancouver. This vacation would require at least 10 days away from work.

Sandbanks and Tobermory could be done as a long weekend road trip.

My 2022 whirlwind 2 1/2 week East Coast vacation together with the river cruise, put quite a dent in my budget, so a little less extravagance would be necessary in 2023.

At the end of 2022, my boss announced she would be retiring in October 2023 and herself had 4-5 weeks of vacation time to use up. So respectfully I had to alter my desired plans to accommodate her weeks away.

With that being said, next week I head out east to swim at Sandbanks Beach. I’ll embark on a 5 day solo road trip and will do some local sightseeing as well, Brockville Rail Tunnel, Presqu’ile Park ( Ontario Parks), Long Sault Parkway and a few other touristy spots.

In August, I’ll embark on a 4 day road trip to Singing Sands Beach in Tobermory, but with one of my dearest friends along for the ride.

In the summer of 2024, I will head to BC to swim at Long Beach. With that beach complete, my Canadian Beach experiences will come to an end. More on how I feel about this later.

In the fall of 2024, I plan to river cruise along the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland with a return by train to the Netherlands to visit with family.

Thank you for reading.

Stay tuned!

Joye

Single Older Woman – Canadian Vacations- Viola Desmond and Cape Breton Island, Outings #15

July 2023

Today I would travel to New Glasgow and then on to Cape Breton Island.

My initial plan was to take a detour to New Glasgow, before returning to Truro, after the Ferry trip on the Friday. Alas, I spent the day driving, after the Ferry Fire.

New Glasgow is where Viola Desmond made that fateful choice in 1946, to sit in the white section of the movie theatre #Roselandtheatre and was subsequently arrested and spent a night in jail. I learned about her story, when I visited the Museum for Canadian Human Rights in Winnipeg, MB. Part of this vacation would include a trip to this part of Nova Scotia to see where it all began. For me, it was about coming full circle. The theatre is now a landmark site and the street was renamed to Viola’s Way, in her honour.

Footnote: in August 2022, a plaque was erected 2 blocks from this Site, in honour of Ms Desmond. This plaque was done on behalf of Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.

I stopped for a quick snack and water break, then made my way back to the highway for my hours long drive to Cape Breton Island.

By the time I made it to Island, it was already mid afternoon. To say that I did not plan this trip out so well, is an understatement…..So with only a couple of hours to explore, I decided I would only make it one of the places on my list – the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site, in Baddeck #ParksCanada.

It was near closing time for the day, the staff in the Museum were kind enough to grant me free admission. I wandered the displays and galleries and then headed outside, where I could at least stroll the gardens and the lands.

On the Parks Canada website, visitors to their National Parks and Historic Sites are invited to sit on the big red Muskoka chairs and share their photos online.

So I did!

I made my out of the park and headed off the Island, for the return trip to Truro.

Tomorrow, I shall conquer one more beach from my list – Martinque Beach, NS.

Stay tuned.

Thank you for reading and for letting me share.

Joye

Single Older Woman – East Coast, Parks Canada, Outings #13

July 2022

Having discovered from my Parks Canada brochure, that PEI was home to several National Parks, I decided to visit a few of them today. I am blessed with yet another glorious warm, blue sky kinda day, with a slight breeze in the air.

I had lunch booked at #DalvaybytheSea, a National Historic Site. This was a private residence belonging to the MacDonald family and dates back to the late 1890’s

While I sat by a window to enjoy the sunshine and calm waters of the pond, I was impressed by the quality of the wooden beams and stone work surrounding me in the restaurant. I knew I had to take a few pics, if only to show my dad, who would thoroughly enjoy the handiwork and craftsmanship.

After lunch, I took a stroll along the grounds and made my way back to the car, to continue my days long exploration of this part of PEI.

I eventually made my way to PEI National Park, Greenwich Park and walked along a few of the pathways adjacent to St. Peter’s Bay.

The last leg of today’s adventures would take me to the East Point Lighthouse, at the most eastern point of PEI. But first, a quick pit stop, some fruit and nuts to fuel and then on my way.

The drive took about an hour, easy travelling, along 16 east, with the Gulf of St. Lawrence in view on my side of the car. With map in hand, I discovered that at this point, the Gulf of St. Lawrence flows into the Northumberland Strait, which then flows into the Atlantic ocean – a geography lesson for me.

I made my way back to Souris, visited their local lighthouse and went in search of some dinner.

I was able to visit 2 more National Parks and a few more lighthouses. Another glorious day with new memories and adventures to look back on.

Thank you for reading and letting me share.

Stay tuned.

Joye

Single Older Woman – Cdn Vacations – East Coast 2022 – planning, part 2

May 2022

The duration of this adventure would be 17 days – starting on the Sunday with the overnight train ride to Truro, NS and ending in Kingston on Wed. Aug 3 before heading home on the train and the bus. Within the 17 days, I would take a trip on a ferry, that I had never done before, I would get up in the saddle again, after 30 years, I would conquer one more beach and I would explore more of the beauty and natural sites in these 2 provinces. Instead of flying back to Ontario, I once again would board the Via for the return trip to Ottawa.

All in all, these short 8 days would be filled with a host of interesting activities and excursions and swimming, eating, driving, wine consumption and sleeping etc.

Following are some of the activities I planned for, based on the myriad of options from all my travel/tourist brochures:

Day 1 – arrival late afternoon, in Truro, check in at hotel, dinner, swim in the pool,

Day 2 – travel day from one province, Nova Scotia to another, Prince Edward Island, by way of rental car and ferry across the Northumberland Strait (a mere 90 minute sailing ). Then an hours long drive to my motel, Lighthouse Beach and Motel, in Souris. My home for 3 days.

Day 3 – While here, I planned to have lunch at Dalvay by the Sea, a National Historic Site recognized by Parks Canada, perhaps a visit or two to some local Lighthouses, a stroll through Greenwich Park, PEI National Park, #PARKSCANADA,

Day 4 -a local touristy day in Souris and a swim or two, at Sheep Pond Beach, a 5 minute drive from the motel.

Day 5 – travel day back to Nova Scotia by way of Ferry, with a stop in to New Glasgow, NS to check out the Roseland Theatre, #ViolaDesmond.

Day 6 – I booked a horse trail ride in Parrsboro and would stop in to the Fundy Geological Museum, there too.

Day 7 – a day spent on Cape Breton Island, to visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site and maybe a few waterfalls, that I found from my brochure research.

Day 8 – today would be the day to swim at Martinique Beach! Followed by dinner at a local sit down restaurant.

Day 9 – my final day in Nova Scotia – a day to play the local tourist and explore all the beauty and sights in Truro.

Day 10 – cab ride to the train station for the overnight trip to Ottawa and the next part of my adventure- a 6 day river cruise along the St. Lawrence River from Ottawa to Kingston, Ontario.

Thank you for reading and for letting me share.

Come back again, would you? More stories to follow on all my experiences from this fabulous 3 week adventure.

Joye

Single Older Woman – Cdn Vacations – Itinerary planning methods

July 2022

With the River cruise dates booked and secured, my entire vacation itinerary had to be “turned around”. Instead of the cruise being the start of my vacation, it would now be at the end.

My plans had to include a swim at Martinique Beach and a visit to the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, NS – more details to follow.

I ordered travel brochures from both PEI and Nova Scotia and reviewed their online tourism websites. I sourced local restaurants, locally owned wine stores, provincial parks, gift shops, banks and grocery stores, etc. Lets not forget all the Tim Horton’s coffee shops for my driving beverage needs. I thumbed through my Parks Canada brochure for any National Parks I could visit and found “Dalvay by the Sea”. I would book a lunch there one day.

I retrieved all my paper maps of both provinces and used them as guides for potential places to visit and to give me estimates on travel times and distances.

I mapped out the location of the train station in Truro, NS to my desired hotel in Truro, I calculated the distance from Truro to the Ferry Terminal in Caribou, which would take me to Woods Island, PEI. I discovered the rental car agency would be only 10 minutes from my Truro hotel….bonus….

I decided I would visit only the Eastern section of PEI, as my BFF and I had done the central area back in 2018.

I found the ideal motel in Souris, PEI and planned accordingly where I would visit. I mapped out too picturesque Lighthouses to visit and added their locations to my list….

As long as I was in NS, I would make a day trip to Cape Breton Island – there were a few waterfalls that looked nice, so they were added in. The island is also home to the Alexander Graham Bell National Park.

By the time May 2022 rolled around, I was counting down the days to July 17.

One aspect of this vacation, different from all the others, was for 10 days, I would don my comfortable walking, outdoorsy attire – shorts, t-shirts, leggings, sneakers, baseball cap, etc. Then for the next 7 days, I would be more comfortable in dressier shorts, leggings, capri’s, nicer tops and blouses, summer dresses, as I would be a passenger on a river cruise boat. For this special adventure, I bought myself a very pretty hat. All of this additional clothing would require a bigger suitcase and an extra carry on bag…..Oh my….

Then on Friday July 8, a week before my awesome vacation, comes news that the staff at Via Rail Canada were in negotiations with their union for a new contract!!! They were close to going on strike……NO, tell me this is not so……!!!

For 3 agonizing days, I waited for updates on the news…. If they went on strike, I would not be going out east!!! I was quite despondent over this and started to look at my options- how would I get to Ottawa for July 28, so that I can go on my cruise…..

Finally, at the 11th hour on Monday July 11, a deal was struck and all the staff would be at work. I was gonna kiss them all when I got on that train…..no, I did not. I thanked them though for their service.

Away we go!!!!

Thank you for reading and for letting me share.

Joye

Single Older Woman – Canadian Beaches-Sauble Beach – Beach #6- Accomplished

July 2021

For all of us that call this part of Ontario home with Georgian Bay to the north, London to the west, Kingston to the East and Niagara Falls to the south, we are very blessed to have Lake Ontario, Lake Huron. Lake Erie in our backyard.

We also have 4 of the Best Beaches of Canada on our doorstep and a 2 hour drive from home. There is Sandbanks in Prince Edward County, Wasaga Beach in Collingwood, Singing Sands Beach in Tobermory and Sauble Beach in Owen Sound.

As a warm slightly overcast day as today is, the roads leading to Sauble Beach were packed with families, teenagers, friends etc all descending on Lake Huron to enjoy this beach and all of its amenities. We all were just “itching” to get back to normal. I was one of those people too. As I scoured the roads along the beach path, looking for a place to park, I had some concerns and anxiety that maybe I would not be able to accomplish my goal. Everyone in Ontario was here, it seemed!

Finally, I found a spot on the road. I parked my car and purchased a 2 hour digital parking pass. I grabbed my bag and searched out a place to change into my swim suit.

I had to pack light, as there would be no one watching my things while I went into the water. So only the bare minimum…..

I spread out my beach towel and perused the sandy beach looking for someone or a family, that I could approach to help me with my task.

I found such a family and after a few minutes chatting, the mom and I headed out to the water.

My phone was safely stored inside a waterproof phone case and we got ready to film…..In I went!

After a few circles and dunks underneath and some waves out to my photographer, I walked out of the water. Another beach done! I thanked my volunteer and wished her and her family a pleasant day.

I changed back into my driving clothes and gave up my parking spot to someone else eager to enjoy Sauble Beach for the day.

Next stop – Sauble Falls another #ontarioparks location.

I headed home on Tuesday July 20. Once I reached home, I checked the odometer and was surprised to see that I had driven over 1450 kilometres on this 6 day road trip through southwestern Ontario.

Thank you for reading and letting me share.

Stay tuned as I plan for 2 more Canadian beaches in 2022 – Singing Sands in Tobermory and Sandbanks in Prince Edward County.

Joye

Single Older Woman – Ont Road Trips – Outings #12- Harrison Park, Inglis Falls

July 19, 2021

My final full day in Owen Sound and it would be filled with park exploration, water fall sights and lake swims.

As has been my habit for most of my life, I was awake and up early. This would bode well for me today, as I had lots to do – lots of driving, lots of walking, sightseeing and swimming to get done.

I packed some nutritous snacks, stopped in at Tim’s for my favourite breakfast sandwich and coffee and headed to Harrison Park – a recommendation from the owner of my motel.

I discovered within this park a dedication to the Black History of Owen Sound:

After short snack break, I left the park and made my way to #InglisFalls, one of the waterfalls from #waterfallsofontario.

Now time to head to Sauble Beach, to conquer another location from my list!

Lo and behold, as I drove along the road to the Beach, look what I found! I had to stop in of course…..

I bought a coffee and a sandwich, some dutch licorice and mentos, and made my way to Sauble Beach.

Stay tuned.

Thank you for reading and letting me share.

Joye

Single Older Woman – Ontario Road Trips, Outings #11- July 2021

July 18, 2021

This is travel day to Owen Sound.

After stopping in to see the Liberation Monument, in Goderich, I made my way south back towards Grand Bend. I was blessed with another bright, sunny and blue sky day and wanted to soak in as much of the warm weather as possible. I stopped into a small town bakery near Clinton, then drove to the Village of Bayfield for a stroll along their picturesque Main Street.

Back on the road and an opportunity to add another #ontariopark to my list of accomplished sites – this one #macgregorpointprovpark.

The park was very busy – lots of families gathered on the beach. I couldn’t find a quiet spot for myself, so I did a quick walk and headed back to my car.

I stopped into a local tim’s for coffee and some lunch, then onto destination #owensound and my hotel #innon6th.

A quick dip was just what I needed. No one else in the water and I could revel in the quietness and the sounds all around.

Tomorrow I swim at Sauble Beach! Another one off my list.

Stay tuned.

Thank you for reading and for letting me share.

Joye

Single Older Woman- Ontario Road Trips – Pelee Island or Point Pelee Nat’l Park, Part 1

July 2021

As I researched my road trip to Sauble Beach, Owen Sound, I was flipping through the pages of my “110 Nature Hot Spots” book and came across a page for Pelee Island. Well I pondered, why don’t I visit there too this summer?

Heck, I would be driving northwest to Owen Sound, I could easily drive southwest first and visit this beautiful island – it is documented as being the southernmost tip of Canada. To be exact, more on that distinction later.

So that’s how this road trip came to be…..I was surprised to learn that driving south to Leamington from my city was only about 3-4 hours away. Which is about as long a driving trip as I can tolerate…..lol.

Fast forward to June 2021, after booking a spot on the ferry to Pelee Island, do I not get a call from the ferry service to advise me that one of their ferries is non-operational. My spot has been cancelled.

So, what to do…..I’m still making the trip, but I’ll have to find other parks or things to do for those few days.

Hence, on July 16, with rain falling and overcast clouds, I ventured out to #Point PeleeNationalPark – a short 10 minute drive from Talbot Trail Inn.

So, Point Pelee National Park is known as the “southernmost tip of mainland Canada” and I was about to stand at that point and be completely intimidated.

Pelee Island is the southern most tip -on an island.

Stay tuned – more to come on my incredible achievement.

Thank you for reading and letting me share.

Joye