Category: Travel

Bears and cars, fear and learning in Muskoka

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15 October 2015

Over a coffee Commando told me about his run all around the streets of Gravenhurst and how he’d found a nice place down by the lake and I told him about my hike on the trail and how I’d got lost, found another amazing fungus and been a bit worried about bears.
“There is a bear in the woods,” Commando said, “didn’t you see it?”
“Seriously?!” I gasped.
“Yes, it’s down by the lake,” he smiled, “I’ll show you if you like.”
“You are kidding me, right? It wouldn’t still be there now anyway would it?”
“This one would, come and see,” and he took my hand and led me outside. Continue reading Bears and cars, fear and learning in Muskoka

The Hahne farm trail, rocks, fallen trees and hidden markers

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15 October 2015

We’d had a great evening with Maggie, Alan and Marina, reminiscing until long after dark. Sadly, Katie wasn’t well enough to join us but we did get a few moments to visit with her. She was frail and tired, so we didn’t stay too long but there were hugs and she seemed in remarkably good spirits, surrounded by beautiful things to make her smile. It seems she’s a girl after my own heart in that respect. The sky was filled with stars when we left and Alan explained Gravenhurst is a dark sky area. The street lights here face downwards, not out or up allowing a fantastic starry view. Continue reading The Hahne farm trail, rocks, fallen trees and hidden markers

A family outing, Port Carling, Huckleberry Rock and Bracebridge

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14 October 2015

When we got back to the chalet we found a note from Alan saying he and Maggie would be round to pick us up in about an hour so we made ourselves a coffee and waited. We had both fallen asleep by the time they arrived. Maybe it was the jet lag catching up with us or all the fresh air.
“We thought we’d take you out to see some trails,” Maggie said.
“Not far, just about an hour’s drive there and back,” Alan added.
This was when I realised that not far has a completely different meaning in Canada. In England, not far means a mile down the road, in Canada, if it’s less than an hour’s drive it’s nearby. Suddenly I began to wonder just how long these trails were. Continue reading A family outing, Port Carling, Huckleberry Rock and Bracebridge

Are there bears in these woods?

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14 October 2015

Now we had some breakfast inside us and supplies in the fridge Commando decided to go for a short run leaving me to my own devices. As I was itching to get out and explore the lake I didn’t mind one bit. Beside the row of chalets, some steep wooden steps led down a grass bank, turned to gold by the covering of pine needles, to the lake shore. At the bottom of the bank, below our balcony window, upturned canoes rested on a rough stone wall and some weathered boards. The tall pines turned the ground to a patchwork of light and shade and the air was clean and fresh. Continue reading Are there bears in these woods?

Foraging in Gravenhurst

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14 October 2015

We reached our motel in Gravenhurst in darkness so it wasn’t until the next morning that we had any idea about the view. At about six thirty I opened my eyes and saw what looked like trees outside the large window. Trying hard not to wake Commando I grabbed my padded jacket, pulled on yesterday’s leggings and jumper and crept out the back door to investigate. What I found was a high balcony looking out onto glimmering water and the tops of trees. The sun was just beginning to come up so I pulled on my hat against the cold and sat watching the light reveal more. Slowly colours began to appear. There was grass far below and blue sky. Then, as it got lighter still, houses on the far shore and trees in colours so bright it brought tears to my eyes. When I got too cold to carry on sitting there Commando was awake, staring out of the window with a look of wonder in his eyes.
“This has to be the best view we have ever had from a hotel room,” he said. Continue reading Foraging in Gravenhurst

Farewell America hello Canada

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13 October 2013

It was almost dark when we got back to Central Park after our New York tour and we still had a way to walk from the Columbus Circle. After we’d packed in preparation for the morning and freshened up we went out for a final meal at Spring Natural Kitchen and an early night. Despite being up at the crack of dawn, our last morning was going to be a short one.  Our transfer was picking us up at ten forty five to get us to the airport by twelve thirty. Commando wanted to fit one last run in and I had somewhere I wanted to see before we left New York. After the debacle getting into America, I have to admit to a few nerves about getting back out again.

Continue reading Farewell America hello Canada

America, the same language, a very different world

From Wikimedia Commons © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons
From Wikimedia Commons © Luigi Novi / Wikimedia Commons

Before I went to America I read an amusing list of differences between our two countries written by an American in the UK. This made me think it would be fun to turn this around and look at the ways America was different to England. Of course we only spent a couple of days in a very small part of this massive country so the differences we noticed might be specific to New York rather than the whole of the United States. Rather then one hundred differences I’ve chosen just fifty, the next fifty will be about Canada.

Continue reading America, the same language, a very different world

Two towers, a sphere, a memorial and a cruise

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12 Octber 2015

With a little getting lost we wound our way through Lower Manhattan past shops bursting with Halloween pumpkins the like of which we never see at home. We were heading for the next item on our must see itinerary, a place that had played a part in both our lives although neither of us had ever been there. Back in 2001, the World Trade Centre was nothing more than two tall office towers in Manhattan. On September 11, that changed and the world and our lives changed with it. Continue reading Two towers, a sphere, a memorial and a cruise

Whistle stop New York tour

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12 Octber 2015

In all honesty, New York has never really been on my top ten list of places to visit. Big cities full of hustle and bustle are not exactly my thing, although CJ says it’s his favourite place on earth. If he could have stowed away in my suitcase he would have. Two full days is just not enough time to see everything in Manhattan but I had a plan to make the most of the time we had. This involved a swift Starbucks breakfast and  a great deal of walking, the best way to explore. When this was in the planning stage I’d been expecting cold weather, maybe even some rain, what we found when we set out just after nine, was blue sky, sunshine and the makings of another beautiful day. Continue reading Whistle stop New York tour

The High Line and the avenue that coffee forgot

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11 October 2015

So far we’d seen the transfer bridge and one of the shunters used by the West Side Line, now we were actually going to walk on an abandoned part of it. We’d reached the High Line, a one and a half mile elevated section of the line which was closed in 1980. As disused railway lines go, this one is pretty special. It was inspired by Promenade plantée, a similar project in Paris, as an aerial greenway, or a park in the sky and the views over Manhattan and the Hudson are breathtaking. Construction of the walkway began in 2006, we were walking from the newest section to the oldest. Continue reading The High Line and the avenue that coffee forgot