Category: Places We’ve Been Page 3 of 5

A success story; doesn’t everyone love to hear them? What about a Syrian Refugee family who immigrated to Canada and is now giving back to the country that welcomed them in. The Hadhad Family, had a successful chocolate factory in the middle east until a bombing destroyed everything they owned and they were forced to flee their country. They immigrated to a small town in Nova Scotia called Antigonish, which is less than 90 minutes from Jo’s Moms place……DAY TRIP!!

We all piled into the van (Nanny and Gramps in tow) and headed out. Now when we first arrived at the Google address, we were very surprised at how very small the building was, it looked like a quaint shed. But inside this tiny little building was a small room packed with CHOCOLATE!!!!  Everything inside here promoted Peace, – the décor, the apparel, and most of all the chocolate, named for Peace.

Forgive and Forget, Turn the Other Cheek, Bury the Hatchet, One PEACE Won’t Hurt, the Harmony bar, the Resilience bar and sow the peace chocolate bunnies with a packages of flower seeds to plant.

Mr. Hadhad, the master chocolatier, was here today and with the help of his granddaughter shared some samples of his chocolate. Unfortunately, he did not speak any English, so he couldn’t share his story with us; which for my dad and I is the best part of any adventure. However, today we let the chocolate do the talking.  You can check out Peace by Chocolate to learn their story. Where they lost everything, came to Canada and started over, and from this little building now have built and opened a chocolate factory that employs 25 people. Now really, how does it get better than that!

Not quite ready to let the adventure end for today, we tracked down on a brewery in the town of Stellerton, “Backstage Brewing company” (You know us it has been a few days since we found a microbrewery and no trip is complete with out it.) This little brewery was started by a musician who wanted to re-create the backstage feeling. We tried 4 of their own brews. “Hangover Helper”, “Little Sister”, “Stiff Hopper Lip” and the “Coffee Black Dog Stout”. I have always enjoyed the names!!  Even got Nan and Gramps into the action.  We really enjoyed this stop. Definitely a place to try again.

Chocolate, beer, and lastly we topped it all off with wings at The Thistle restaurant in New Glasgow. Notice the Chocolate was first!  Always have dessert first!

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!

Like I said yesterday, one of the deciding factors is are we close to amenities? So today we are going to check this out. Along for the drive (and to give their final approval) are Momma Bear (Nan) and Grampy. We drove them to the last four lots that we considered to check out the location and the view. Then we headed around the area. Our first stop today was the Country Bread Basket Bakery and Coffee Shop “You need the bread, We knead the dough”. Beautiful, fresh-baked goods and bread! YUM! Our table had a view of the field that on first glance looked like canola but it was yellow dandelions. It is funny how these in our lawn in Ottawa would drive Steve crazy, but here they just added to a picturesque view. We tried the fish chowder and the lobster roll on a freshly baked bun with chips. Then for a treat to go we got the brownies! This is a quaint little spot that is only open for breakfast and lunch. The service was good and their food was great and they also have a gift shop that supports all the local artisans in the area. Jo showed great restraint on buying anything. Definitely a place to revisit!

Next, we headed back to Tatamoughe. We have blogged about this town a lot recently. So today (and many times before) we checked out the Appleton Chocolates Company. Jo met the original owners when the chocolate shop was a small cottage in the woods in Wentworth Valley. Actually got a few tutorials way back then on how to temper chocolate. The business is still family operated and all the chocolates are still hand made / dipped. They feature traditional flavors of the Maritimes (Nova Scotia in particular) wild blueberries, cherries, cranberries, lavender and maple syrup. Today we were lucky enough to try out their new creation coffee filled milk chocolate. Chocolatier Michael Foote asked us to try this and give our opinion! Who doesn’t want to give their opinion when free tasting is provided? LOL. Now, as for the shopping – Jo had no restraint. Yep, a bunch went home with us but did not make it back to Ottawa. Hey shop local – and support our community.

Last stop today was back at Tatmagouche Brewery where they now know our name!

We continued on our travel around the Glooscap Trail with no planned overnight rest stop. I guess you could say we were winging it.

We were within a couple of hours of our final destination of Momma Bear’s but with the weather being very summer-like, we weren’t ready to end this little RV experience. We decided to check out iOverlander and found Partridge Island Beach just outside of Parrsboro, NS. Further Googling about Parrsboro found that it also had a brewery and a bakery! Enough said; off we went!

We first checked out the beach and found it a little busy with a number of locals walking the beach so back to Two Islands Brewery for a flight of beers and some brownies from their sister company, Rising Tide Bakery. These establishments only opened in September, 2018 so they are very limited in their selection of beers and baked goods but they were still a nice way to end the day.

Back to the beach we headed; to walk the beach with Max and settle in for the night. We sat and watched the sun go down and chatted with a few locals who indicated staying overnight was no issue but there was at least one bear in the area so not to leave any food outside.

It was a pretty quiet night with an early rise to another gorgeous view from our kitchen window. We arrived at Momma Bear’s by mid-day and Max was very happy to spend the day on a non-vibrating floor!

Steve’s Sidenote : For those that aren’t familiar with iOverlander, it’s a “tool, by and for overlanders, which enables its users to submit, amend and find information and opinions, primarily about places that are essential for the act of overlanding, and secondarily non-essential places that are of interest to a significant group of overlanders“.

Now you may ask, what is overlanding? Well, Overlanding Journal describes it as “self-reliant adventure travel to remote destinations where the journey is the primary goal. … While expedition is defined as a journey with a purpose, overlanding sees the journey as the purpose“.

Essentially, iOverlander is a source of information for travelers allowing one to browse or search for camping areas (both paid & free), tourist attractions, fuel, food, and many other services. We use it and a few other tools to make life on the road a lot simpler.

You must go on an adventure to find out where you truly belong

Susan Fitzmaurice

Well, today’s adventure has us picking up Beck and going on a little road trip to check out a house in Margaretsville – a rural community in Annapolis County, on the bay of Fundy.  Apparently, population 212. This used to be a very busy port during the 1900s, but now very, very quiet.  There is a lighthouse, which was once believed to be on our 5-cent stamp in 1967, a wharf which is no longer deemed a necessity, and apparently a small art store which was closed today (it not yet being tourist season). The house we checked out was amazing with a million-dollar view of the bay and access to the beach with two waterfalls. Of course, we had to explore that!

As you know, adventure is not only about the scenery but about the restaurants you find and the food you can experience. Today’s culinary journey took us back to Port William to a new place “The Noodle Guy” … which was rated number 1 by the Curated Magazine – it serves “Artisanal Pasta for the Valley”. So, pasta and a number 1 rating means we need to check it out! We had the “Shells” – with zippy local sausage in a creamy wine, chipotle & asiago sauce; the “Ravioli of the Day “ which was Mushroom Sage and Sausage & the “Noodle Guy Stir Fry”. All dishes were very reasonable prices and amazing flavors – we wanted to lick the plate; if only we were home!

After a long walk on the dyke path we headed to the Church Brewing Company for a beer.  It is a brewery, a restaurant and a concert venue all in one. Remember “Brew Good, Do Good”! This newly renovated church into a pub has become a great success in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. The place was packed, but we managed to get a chair at the bar. It is really good to see that a beautiful historical church like this one is still a place for people to congregate with friends and family; a place to make great memories. Jenna, the bartender, was fabulous! We wanted to drink Nova Scotia craft beer as we always try and support the local but their own brew was not quite ready yet.  So, we drank the following craft beer – Amarzen Grace from Big Spruce Brewing, the Pineapple Wheat from Heritage Brewing Co, Dekorum from Tatamagouche Brewing Co, and the Que Onda (Tequila Barrel Aged Gose) also from Big Spruce Brewing. All Nova Scotia beer!! We really should get our livers checked after all this beer!

One last stop before heading back to the Gingerbread Inn. La Torta – Woodfired Pizzeria – the Carne Trio (mozzarella, local chorizo, Italian sausage, andouille & fresh parmesan) for Steve and the Tuscan (goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes, artichokes olives and roasted garlic) for Jo. It was great being the only people in the place, as the cook gave Jo a great tutorial on how to make a perfect pizza! And perfect pizza it was!!!

How does it get better that this?