Nothing lasts forever but at least we got these memories.
J cole
One wonders if the Lake Huron sunrise would be as spectacular as the sunset but we can’t tell you today, as we slept right through it. No, tractors, no 407-road noise nor any roosters to wake us this morning. The treat of the morning was a basket of local freshly picked Ontario Strawberries – Our first of the season. We purchased them from a small market farm on the side of the road; Joyce Farm Market. Man, o man they were tasty! I have always loved that first basket of local strawberries of the season! Remember we love to support local!
Today’s adventure takes us to our first stop at Sauble Falls – this very lovely area is a provincial park and a very popular tourist spot. So, patience is sometimes required to get the right picture. There is a small coin operated parking meter at the top of the parking lot. We didn’t have enough coins so we took turns going down to see the falls. Oh Well!
Next stop the town of Sauble Beach. This was a lovely spot; the beach seemed endless and oh, so soft sand. The waters were warm and it seemed to be a beautiful spot to spend the day. However, you know us, we aren’t really all day beach type people. So off we go with our end goal today to make it to Collingwood.
On our drive today we saw a huge billboard for Dairy Queen “BOOM”. Not sure what was actually on the sign other than the fact that the “O” letters were Blizzard treats. We never thought anything of it until our next stop, which was Meaford. Here we took a break and actually sat down and watched all the activity in the bay. While we were here, we noticed everyone with these awesome looking ice-cream treats so we asked where they came from and “BOOM” it was a Dairy Queen. Yep, we did – Ice Cream!!
Next, we stopped in Thornbury; on the foot of the Blue Mountains – you know where blue mountain pottery came from. We went for a walk on the walking/biking trail and checked out the Thornbury Dam and Fish Way. Yep, a fish way. What the heck is a fishway?, you ask. When they built the dam, they built a curved, cement river with rocks etc. to mimic the natural river so when the fish have to swim up river to spawn, they can – AKA a Fish WAY.
Final stop for the day; Collingwood and of course, Collingwood Brewery – on the advice of a stranger! Lovely stop as they had a great selection of beer, a fantastic patio where you can relax and enjoy various games such as Ginat Jenga that you can play and interact with others. While in Collignwoood, we reached out to a couple that we met on a cruise a couple years back, and they were home! We met up with Ron & Pat and on their recommendation we went out to their favorite restaurant; The Alphorn. The decor is quite eclectic and very “Swiss-alpish” (is that even a word?). The place was very busy but apparently for them it was a slower time. The schnitzel was excellent and it was great to catch up with our friends and reminisce about the cruise. Their driveway was too small for Winnie, so we came with plan B – we asked the owner if we could stay in his parking lot for the night. His response was “sure, just don’t pee on the grass”. Given we no longer had Max, that wasn’t going to be an issue!