The Perfect Storm

Rainy, windy chilly morning and hello cooler weather, it's 16 degrees, don't worry it's Celsius not Farenheit (61).  The waves are the biggest I have ever seen!  A perfect morning to stay in and turn on the fireplace!  "I will make the coffee, could you go get fresh croissants?" I turn around and little Buddy is already snuggled up on the couch.  Within minutes, I look out at the lake and in the distance I see clearing.  "I knew it"  Usually the weather fronts in this area of Ontario move very fast. 

I am kicking myself, for not bringing my camera battery charger!  Yes, believe it or not, I left it at home and the battery is dead! The closest place where I can get one is in London and they want double the price for one. Ugh! "I am tempted to go and buy it, but then I refuse to pay that much." If there is one thing I don't like about Canada, it's their prices.  Everything cost more, except for water!! That is why a lot of Canadians cross the border all the time to do their groceries and shop in the U.S.!

A new set of visitors arrived last night, and most of them are Americans!  We met a couple from Kentucky, a couple from Michigan and there is a car with plates from Arkansas! 

Well, it's time for me to venture out and have some time for myself shopping in the Village. Au Revoir!

 After a huge down-pour that only lasted 10 minutes, lots of people started coming out and shop in the Village.  

Today really feels like a beautiful fall day, then, an hour later feels like summer again and back and forth! The colors are starting to change already and as I mentioned earlier I could just kick myself for not having my camera battery charger.




Puffy clouds, rain, sun and a very rough lake with high waves, this was the most perfect day to shoot some beautiful pictures! "Wait, have I said this already?"

As we walk on the beach toward the village we see that there are many kids trying to catch the waves on the surfing boards!   I never thought you could do that on a lake!

Buddy meets a doggy friend and they run and chase each other.  "Catch me if you can!" I can just hear little Buddy saying to the Golden Poodle.  Both ran back to us with a big smile on their faces and tongue hanging out.  I am sure Buddy was also thinking "Life is good!"

CHEERS!

Thank you Buddy!

"Honey, should we try going to the Black Dog Pub with Buddy tonight?"  "Sure, let's give it a shot, unless we try we will never know if he will behave."  As we approach the restaurant, I see that there are a lot of people eating on the patio, I quickly scan the whole patio and see that there is a table at the far end.  Great, perfect spot for us.  The waitress comes over to order our drinks and brings Buddy a big bucket of water.  Wow, they don't call it the Black Dog Pub for nothing! Buddy was so well behaved, that we decided after dinner to stay longer and order coffee and dessert.  Of course, dessert included some ice cream for Buddy too!  He surely deserved it!  Wow, Buddy has come such a log way in the past 9 months, we never thought when we first got him that we would be able to vacation and eat at a restaurant with him so soon. 

We were so impressed with him that we decided to stop by ArtSee Cafe & Bistro and ask if we could have lunch tomorrow on the patio with Buddy.  "But of course" the waitress says.  Bayfield reminds me of Carmel in California, where dogs are aloud to go everywhere with their owners, stores, pubs, restaurants, grocery stores and of course the beach!   In fact, every store in Bayfield has a bowl of water and a bowl of dog treats outside.  What a treat that is for every dog owner!

We ended the evening with another sunset walk, and capped the evening off with a bon-fire with some new friends!

I have to say Buddy was so good that we forgot we had him with us.  So, this post is to thank my little Buddy for allowing us to have a great evening!

Down-time

How wonderful is to be able to get up in the morning and not feel rushed to go anywhere.  10 am and still in our PJs, relaxing, making breakfast and the only sound we hear is the sound of rain.  How peaceful that sound is.  Perhaps, this time the sound of rain its so soothing because we don't have any thing that occupies our mind, like work, doing the laundry, or figuring out what to cook for dinner.  We truly take for granted some of the simplest things in life that make us feel good, just because we all live a busy life.

I have forgotten that in Canada, like anywhere in the world other then the U.S., the stores are closed during a holiday.  Yes, even the local LCBO (Liquor store) was closed.  We have been waiting since May for our next chance to drink some Okanagan beer, but it was closed, and all the stores stayed closed the day after Labor day too!! We decide to drive to Grand Bend, a bigger village and see if the LCBO store has our favorite Okanagan, "No, sorry, but we don't carry it, but try the BEER STORE just down the street, " "For sure the BEER STORE will carry it"  John says. "No sir, we are too small, you might need to drive to London" "What??!!?!  "How about Mill St"  "Yes, we sure do!"  Off we went with out 2nd favorite Canadian beer.  The plan, go to the beach after dinner, relax, have a drink of Mill St. while waiting for the sunset.  PRICELESS!

Took a nice walk downtown Main St. in Bayfield, and grabbed a home made ice cream! YUM. Buddy gulped his cup of frozen vanilla yogurt in 4 seconds! "Jeez, Buddy, take your time, and enjoy it"  Hmm, what am I saying?  I have never seen a dog eat something slowly, perhaps they eat fast because they are afraid that someone else might take it?   I guess that is it!

Well, Bayfield wasn't even the usual touristy busy village, because most of the stores were also closed, even the Black Dog Village Pub & Bistro!  We found out we can eat on the patio with Buddy!  So, for sure we will go one day:-)

If there was something I wanted to have while here in Ontario, is their famous peaches! YES, the peaches in Ontario are out of this world!! AND, I am not kidding! "John, look right there on the right, there is a farm that sells peaches, stop please!"  I come back to the car with a smile on my face and bushel of peaches that look like large apples!  These are the larges peaches I have ever seen!  Yes, they were yummy and flavorful!

15 kilometers north off Route 21 is Goderich.  A nice gentleman from Stratford told us that a tornado hit Goderich last summer and destroyed much of the historic town and all the old beautiful trees.  I had also heard from others that Goderich has a nice harbor and an old port, so we took off to see it for ourselves.  Yes, the main historic plaza (Round-about) had no trees, but we did find the harbor and the port, and it was beautiful.  There is a nice boardwalk all along the lake and to see the lighthouse one must clime up to the top of the hill.

After a beautiful morning relaxing on the beach we went to Bayfield Berry Farm.  Ordered some home made soup, a sandwich and homemade apple strudel to have with our cappucino!  Yes, people, I can't live home without my espresso coffee maker!  After all, I am Italian!!

Someone made an Inukshuk on the beach.  I accidentally knocked it over, and had to rebuild it!  As of late tonight, it was still standing!!

Every night we end our evenings on the beach catching the sunset!

CHEERS!

Arrival

All aboard, and ready to go!  Buddy settles down on top of a pile of pillows and blankets with a happy look to his face and thrilled that he wasn't left behind.  Since Buddy at times gets sick in the car, I decided not to feed him breakfast.  Well, that didn't work either, 30 minutes later, in Delaware we had to stop and clean up the mess he made!  Thankfully, that was it for the rest of the trip.

The drive was uneventful and to our surprise we didn't find any traffic.  Sure enough, we made it to the border in 5 hours!  Twenty miles before the boarder, at my usual stop, we fill up the tank, and decide to put Buddy's seat belt, just in case the Canadian border petrol wouldn't give us a hard time that Buddy was loose in the car. Within 2 minutes, Buddy figured out how to get out of the seat belt. "Buddy how did you do that? Please sit down, and behave!" 



No matter how many times I have been through this border, I start getting anxious.   Yep, heart started beating faster, and all kinds of thoughts starting popping up in my head. It sure didn't help that on the radio they had just announced that in the past six months there was 1,100 complaints from people that were harassed by the Canadian Boarder Patrol.

I pay my toll and start going over the bridge, coasting down slowly and trying to figure out quickly which lane would bring me better luck this time.  Yes, lane 9 will be.  I proceed to the window, hand in the passports, and the lady asks "Why are you here?"  "Going on vacation", "Where?"  "Bayfield,"  "Where are you staying? Do you have any weapons? "No mam" "Enjoy"  What? She didn't even ask to see Buddy's international health certificate? Who cares, let's go baby!!


After an hour and 20 minutes later we finally arrive at our destination, Deer Park Lodge.   Our cottage is cute, simple and quaint.  Hmm, I see a few spider webs...ugh! Definitely a cottage and not a hotel/condo we are used to staying on vacations.  Well, we wanted to experience "Cottage Country" in Canada, so get used to it!  We are definitely city folks, and decided that this will be good for us!  From our little deck we have a view of Lake Ontario!

The lake as usual is beautiful, the beach grand and the most fantastic thing is that we are the only one out there!  We relax on our Adirondack chairs with a book, and the only sound we hear is the splashing of the waves.   

Life is good!!

O CANADA!

O Canada! I am so glad to visit you again!  This time, instead of running around like a crazy tourist, we are going to be relaxing on the beautiful shores of Lake Huron, in Bayfield.  http://www.villageofbayfield.com/
Trust me, this is a well deserved vacation.

I have visited the picturesque village of Bayfield many times, but never really stayed long enough to fully experience and absorb it's culture, food, art galleries, and most importantly the local people.  It struck me last time I was in Bayfield how dog friendly it was!  Of course, you know me, being such a dog lover, I thought my little Buddy would love to get to know you as well.

O Canada, you are so grand and beautiful and perfect for Buddy to enjoy his first vacation! Yes, Buddy can't wait for tomorrow, because he heard that there will be several other dogs staying at Deer Park Lodge.  http://deerparklodge.com/

"Mommy told me we will be taking lots of long walks on the beach, playing ball and swimming with other dogs.  Best of all, mommy says we might go hiking on the Bruce Peninsula! http://www.thebrucepeninsula.com/And, if I am good, she is going to take me in the Village for ice cream!"

O Canada, I know that there is a beautiful Inukshuk in Collingwood, Ontario, http://www.inukshukgallery.com/inukshuk.html on Giaorgian Bay, and I do hope to see it this time, if not, next time! You know, I have a little Inukshuk on my desk at work.  When I look at it, I think of its meaning, and every time, it makes me feel better.  I think of the Inuits that build these beautiful monuments, of their heritage, wisdom and their artistic ability. 


Well, I could sit here all day writing about all the things I would love to explore, but now, it's time I get busy and start packing.

A presto, or should I say CHEERS!