Tag: LEAMINGTON

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

Single Older Woman – Life’s Passion – Ontario Touring by car

July 2021

While in the process of planning this summer’s road trip, I purchased an annual Park Pass for the 90+ parks that are all within Ontario, #ONTARIOPARKS. The pass gives me complete access to these parks, Monday to Sunday, for swimming, exploring, trail walking, cycling etc. Together with some of the locales from the “110 Nature Hot Spots in Ontario” book , it was time to explore!

The duration for this trip would be a short 5 days from Thursday to Tuesday.

That morning the sun shone bright, a slight wind coming through the open windows, the clouds were non existent and the skies were lake water blue….

After about 2 hours on the road and one coffee/leg stretch break, I arrived at my first park – Long Point Provincial Park. I stopped for a few minutes, took a few pictures and got back on the road.

I arrived in Aylmer, Ontario and stopped for lunch. By this time, the clouds were forming overhead and I still had another 2 hours of driving. My paper road map did not disappoint – the route I chose was along highway 3 and adjacent to the water of Lake Erie and it was an effortless drive. I could drive through all of the quaint and quiet towns and did not have to fight highway traffic, congestion, slowdowns, large transport trucks etc.

As rain started to pitter patter on my car, I arrived in Leamington shortly after 5 pm. I checked into my hotel – #TalbotTrailInn and took a stroll to find dinner for the evening.

Tomorrow – my day trip to Point Pelee National Park.

Thank you for reading and for letting me share.

Joye

Single Older Woman – solo traveler – anxieties, concerns and fears

April 2022

Most, if not all of my posts have been uplifting, encouraging, positive, funny and interesting. This one though will take a turn to the dark and scary side of being an older single woman and travelling by oneself.

I won’t mince words over my personal experience and feelings from my road trip in July 2021. For me, it is as important to share all the positive aspects of being single, as well as those instances where it can be scary, very scary…..

All the planning involved to do a Ontario Beach road trip was completed by mid June 2021. Hotels booked, local restaurants sourced, the #CAA road maps were all highlighted with my potential routes, cat care was arranged with my neighbours, bills were paid and itineraries were sent to various family members. The day before, the car was taken to the mechanic for a last minute emergency window repair and an oil change.

All was good, and then a severe panic and anxiety attack……I would be driving on several major highways the next morning, during rush hour and with hundreds of transport trucks in the lanes next to me…..The weather forecast called for sunshine, blue skies…Yet I could not shake the feeling – that I was going to be in a car accident and I would not be going home………Only a few weeks ago, a person lost his life, when the steel overhead sign on a highway, was bumped by a rig, the sign fell on top of this man’s SUV and killed him instantly.

I would be driving past/underneath that very sign…….

In my panic, anxiety and nightmares, I had convinced myself that I did not see the end of this wonderful trip….All sorts of worries and fears haunted me for DAYS……..I came so close to cancelling this trip, I couldn’t do it……This was my WORST FEAR – how would my kids and my parents be contacted, would the police/paramedics/firefighters know who to contact, would my sister know where my Will was, would she know how to access my bank accounts to pay my bills, what would happen to my cats…????. My poor dad at 87, would lose his eldest daughter….. I could not put them through all of this…..

Then, I had to put a stop to this irrational fear… I prayed and prayed hard….. asking my Heavenly Father to protect me and bring me safely to all the places I was going and to bring me safely home again…..

If this trip was going to be my end, then so be it…..my time had come…..With that sobering thought in the back of my mind, I prepared my car for the trip…..copies of the Hotel confirmations were in my purse and in the car, the maps were laid out in the car, I printed out an ICE ( In case of Emergency) document, one was posted on my fridge at home, one was emailed to my sister, one was in my purse and one was placed on the passenger seat of my car….just in case…..

I altered the start route just slightly, so that I would not be driving all major highways and stopped for a drink when my anxiety levels got the best of me…my sister tracked my phone while I drove, so that she could track my location….but after about an hour, I knew I had to stop, this was not fair to her…

I started my vacation at about 9:15 that first morning and made a few stops along the way before reaching my first destination – Leamington, ON. I arrived at the hotel at approx 5 pm that day…a brief but heavy downpour escorted me along the country roads….lol….

I continued with my nightly and morning prayers every day of that road trip. Asking for safety on the roads, in my car, on foot and in the water and to keep me free from evil, harm, injury and tragedy….

When I returned home the following week, I had driven 1445 kilometres, with no incidents.

Thank you for reading and for letting me share.

Joye