The first time I have eaten at a place called “La Cucaracha” (13th Avenue, Cathedral Village, Regina, Saskatchewan)
Looking back, it is even more interesting to see where I thought about going (to the point of checking airfares and flight schedules)…but ultimately didn’t visit then. Those countries were: Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Fiji, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Namibia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, Serbia, (North) Macedonia, Russia, Ukraine, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Bermuda, Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates and Greenland. Oh yes, I also wanted to visit Saskatchewan!
A Christmas market in downtown Copenhagen, Denmark, with Christiansborg in the background
Even in 2014, real-life events took some of these countries off the list. And obviously a lot has happened since then. But have I made it to any of those places in the intervening 10 years?
Absolutely stunning view just below Sunset Point (Bryce Canyon, Utah)
The answer is…yes! Most notable was a couple of weeks in South America, where I managed to visit both Chile and Argentina. I also finally made it to Saskatchewan! That was important to me because it was the only Canadian province or territory that I had never visited. Alas, I haven’t yet made it to any of those other countries…before or after 2014. In a way, I suppose that I have been to Slovenia, although it was still part of Yugoslavia at the time.
At the top of Horseshoe Bend (near Page, Arizona)
A lot of my travel since 2014 has been to previously visited countries, provinces, and states. However, I have visited a couple of completely new entities since then: Denmark and St. Pierre & Miquelon, which is a “self-governing territorial overseas collectivity” of France. I certainly hadn’t foreseen those destinations in 2014. And while there aren’t any remaining Canadian provinces or territories to see for the first time, I have since made it to several “new” American states: Nevada, Utah (see photo at the very top of this post), Arizona, and Pennsylvania.
Bastille Day – St. Pierre & Miquelon
Looking ahead, I know I’ll be taking at least two international trips in the next 12 months. Stay tuned to find out if those trips include any of the “2014 wish list” destinations!
We decided to take a road trip to the Gatineau region of Québec last weekend. There were multiple reasons, with more reasons appearing as the trip progressed!
The Nepean Lawn Bowls clubhouse on Woodroffe Avenue in Ottawa, Ontario.
Our first stop was the Nepean Lawn Bowls Club in suburban Ottawa, where I could do some early-season practicing on their artificial surface. And I could also finally try out my new bowls for the first time, as they had been patiently waiting since arriving from Australia three months ago. (I borrowed some bowls when I played in Switzerland in February). My club in Kingston has a natural grass surface and it won’t be available for at least another week.
King’s Day Celebrations outside the Dutch Groceries store on Clyde Avenue in Ottawa, Ontario.
I was excited to play outdoors again, so I stayed for a long time and worked up quite an appetite. Accordingly, our next stop was the nearby Dutch Groceries deli/shop. And what a coincidence: it was King’s Day (Koningsdag) in the Netherlands, so the shop was selling fresh treats such as bitterballen and poffertjes on the sidewalk outside the shop! Of course, we had to have some. With lots of Dutch-Canadians wearing orange, and some special promotions inside the shop, it was a very festive occasion. Among other things, I picked up some Cantenaar and Parrano cheeses, two specialized kinds of sambal (sambal manis and surinaamse sambal), and a whole lot of dropjes.
The Meule & Caquelon restaurant on Boul. Gréber in Gatineau, Québec,
By dinnertime, we had crossed the Ottawa River into Québec and decided to try something that you can’t find in Kingston: a Swiss restaurant (although we have Amadeus, which is an excellent Austrian/Bavarian restaurant). Meule & Caquelon has an unassuming location in a Gatineau strip mall but it is a cozy place specializing in fondue andraclette. We had a modified raclette; we grilled our own food and then melted raclette cheese over it.
The Auberge de Mon Petit Chum B&B in Wakefield, Québec. We stayed here for a night.
That night, we stayed in the rustic Québec village of Wakefield (see the covered bridge at the very top of this post). Wakefield is in the Gatineau River valley about 35 km north of Ottawa and, unlike other places near the nation’s capital, it has seen relatively little development. With almost no lighting on the side streets, it almost seemed like the village was in a previous century. While we chose this village because it was fairly close to Ottawa, Wakefield has some other special significance for me.
View of the lower part of the very first ski lift I ever took: the beginner area at Vorlage (Wakefield, Québec), with the base lodge on the right
The Vorlage ski area was just a block away from our B&B. While Vorlage is quite small, with a vertical drop of just 140 metres (about 460 feet), it will always hold a special place in my heart. It was here, in early 1983, that I went downhill skiing for the very first time. My Grade 10 friends convinced me to go on a school-organized ski trip. They also convinced me to just follow them rather than take lessons. While it wasn’t elegant (I was skiing like a hockey player), the trial by fire gave me the skiing bug. Regular readers of this blog know how much skiing has meant to me and my travel plans ever since.
View of the Gatineau River, taken from the middle of Wakefield’s covered bridge.
Anyway, Wakefield seems to be very quiet in the spring. This is probably because its outdoor activities attract more visitors in the summer and winter months. (In addition to Vorlage, the slightly larger Edelweiss ski area is also in Wakefield.) There was absolutely nobody else on the village’s picturesque covered bridge when I used it to cross the Gatineau River. On the way back, a couple of local children rode their bikes across but otherwise…silence.
The Northfolk Cafe in Perth, Ontario. The gelato was very good.
I spent a few more hours practicing bowls in Nepean the next day, and then continued home to Kingston via the “scenic route”. To break up the drive a bit, we stopped in the historic town of Perth for a beverage and some gelato. The skies were very gray by this point, with some intermittent rain, so the gray stone buildings in the downtown area made everything feel very gray indeed. But a tart lemon gelato can help overcome that.
A very gray day in Perth, Ontario.
This was the first, but certainly not the last, road trip of 2024. Watch this space for all the details!
Well, if you’ve been reading this blog, you know that my Fours team qualified for the Nationals this year. This time, however, the event wasn’t being held in Ontario. No, I would have to travel 4500 km in order to play! I decided to arrive early, so that I could practice and also see a bit of Vancouver Island.
The clubhouse at the Juan de Fuca Lawn Bowling Club
The 2023 Nationals were held at the Juan de Fuca Lawn Bowling Club in Colwood, B.C. Colwood is essentially a suburb of Victoria, and it has a vast sports complex with a spectacular collection of facilities. This extended to the lawn bowling club, which had 4 full greens. Even the biggest club in Ontario has only 2 full greens.
The officials (in red) and the participating provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia) at the Opening Ceremonies
I understand that the Juan de Fuca greens were built to accommodate the Commonwealth Games. Whatever the reason, it is a great facility. That is, if you can disregard the sudden blood-curdling screams every few minutes from the neighbouring zipline!
Team Ontario poses together before competition begins
Just like in 2022, there were some ups and downs…especially in the early going. We lost 3 of our first 4 games. The weather started off cool (note how bundled up I am in the photo at the very top of this post), but warmed as the week went along. And as the week progressed, the playing conditions changed too. The greens were markedly less “green” by the end, as you can see in some of the photos here. And as the greens dried out, the speed increased significantly. Fortunately, we were up to the challenge!
Ontario B and Alberta B deep in thought on the final day of round-robin play
By the last round-robin match, we faced a huge range of possible outcomes. We could win the game and still finish completely out of the medals. We could win and make it to the bronze medal match. Or, if things fell into place just right, we could even make it to the gold medal match! We did our part by winning our game. Finally, after an excruciating wait until the other games finished, we learned our fate…we were playing against British Columbia A for bronze!
I’m very focused here, delivering a bowl during the bronze medal match
The bronze medal match was like no other game I’ve ever played. Our rink was so fast, it exceeded the speed of the indoor surface I played on in Vancouver last fall. And it got even faster as the game went on. It took a remarkable amount of concentration and energy to deal with the challenging (and changing) conditions. We fell behind early, but we pulled together as a team to find a winning strategy. And it worked! We eventually prevailed by a score of 18-10, and took home the National bronze medal.
The happy medalists in the Men’s Fours competition: Ontario B, Saskatchewan, and Alberta A
I’m so fortunate to have found a sport that challenges on so many levels but also brings so much enjoyment. And like I said last year – those are exactly the words that I would use to describe the best kind of travel.
The requisite pipes and drums at the Nationals
And speaking of travel – I’ve got some news coming soon! Yes, there is finally a full-fledged international trip on the horizon, and I’ve already bought the plane tickets. Stay tuned for the big reveal!
Victoria has a very busy downtown area. In many ways, it reminds me of downtown Kingston: a very large legislative building overlooking the harbour, and a relatively “British” feel to city. However, there are some key differences.
Victoria’s harbour, with the provincial legislature building in the background
Kingston does not have a huge and venerable hotel in its downtown core. While there are some smaller old hotels with a great deal of character, there is nothing as imposing as the Empress Hotel in downtown Victoria. The Empress is another one of the grand old railway hotels that were built across Canada over a century ago…and still retains its ancient traditions such as afternoon high tea.
Victoria’s Empress Hotel
Kingston also doesn’t have a distinct “Chinatown” district like Victoria does. Nor does it have a street as narrow as Fan Tan Alley, which is just 3 feet across at its narrowest.
Fan Tan Alley, from the north end
Fan Tan Alley used to be somewhat rougher than it is now. The opium and gambling (“Fan-Tan” is a Chinese gambling game) of the past has been replaced by very tourist-friendly businesses.
Fan Tan Alley, from the south end
We also spent some time visiting a friend in one of Victoria’s elegant neighbourhoods. And what made the biggest impression on us was something you don’t typically associate with a provincial capital city: deer.
The deer are everywhere. They have become part of the urban environment. There are signs warning motorists of the large animals in their midst. And there are even local tensions about the best way to deal with the increasing number of deer.
The deer pictures here were all taken in our friend’s backyard. As you can see, the deer is quite young. There are many more like this one, everywhere you go. And they are particularly fond of the fig trees that are scattered throughout the neighbourhood.
We have about 200 pictures of this deer. I might use some more of them in a future post, if I don’t have any other photos to accompany the text. But I think you get the idea: Victoria = deer.
Stay tuned for a post about the real reason I was in Victoria!
During our visit to Victoria, we stayed in the suburban community of Langford. While parts of it had a few too many chain businesses and big box stores for my liking, there were still some interesting pockets. There’s no question that it is a very prosperous community, and some of the “corporate creep” was redeemed by having a solid Thai restaurant.
Yes, this is indeed “Cashew Chicken” at Sabhai Thai Restaurant in Langford, B.C.
I can’t help thinking that Sabhai Thai is not the first tenant in this building. The decor seemed more “Steakhouse” than “Southeast Asian”. But we enjoyed our meals and would have returned for a second time if the need arose.
Sabhai Thai Restaurant
The next day saw us journey into Victoria itself. Because of our distance from downtown, we had a rental car for the period before my competition began. Downtown parking was potentially an expensive proposition. But some timely research revealed that the city’s parking garages were free on Sundays. We took advantage of that and enjoyed a leisurely ramble through downtown.
The Provincial Legislature Building in Victoria, B.C.
Our first stop was the Provincial Legislature in the heart of Victoria’s downtown. The (free) tour of this impressive building was brief but easily booked at the last minute (even on a summer weekend) just outside the building itself.
Looking straight up at the Provincial Legislature building
While obviously not identical to the various other provincial legislatures, the home of the B.C. government certainly shared a lot of “traditional” characteristics with those other buildings. But it was also very different from the much newer territorial legislative buildings in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.
One of the opulent spaces we saw on our tour.
There are countless places to eat in the touristy downtown core. However, rather than visit one of those places for lunch, we walked south from the Provincial Legislature building to a community called James Bay. Despite being only a couple of minutes by foot, the vibe here was quite different.
This is where the business of governing actually takes place
In short, James Bay seemed to be a real neighbourhood. Many of the shops were clearly oriented towards serving the local residents. We opted for a quirky restaurant called The Bent Mast, where we enjoyed an al fresco lunch in the shade.
My lunch at the Bent Mast in the James Bay neighbourhood
Given the previous evening’s Thai meal, it really wasn’t necessary to have a Thai-inspired lunch plate the next day. But I really like the freshness, colour, and diverse flavours of Thai cuisine, and it just felt like the right thing to do on this pleasant day in Victoria. And like many other independent restaurants we’ve enjoyed on this trip, they had a lot of unique local beverages that you probably aren’t able to enjoy outside of B.C.
We’re having a splendid time exploring our home for the next ten days. Today, we focused more on the natural side of things by taking a road trip along the southern coast of Vancouver Island.
The Sooke Tourist Office (and the Sooke Region Museum) – Sooke, B.C.
We started off our day at the Tourist Office in Sooke, about 45 minutes west of Victoria on the Juan de Fuca Strait. This is always a good idea, especially to get up-to-date maps and to ensure our carefully researched plans actually make sense in reality. The advice was superb, and so was the attached museum and shop (with very reasonable prices). And the Spirit Bear out front was great too.
Entrance to the Whiffin Spit – Sooke, B.C.
To prepare ourselves for the big walk that would come later, we started by hiking the “Whiffen Spit” on the Sooke waterfront. This is a very narrow finger of land that extends quite some distance into the bay. And, as we’ve noticed at every outdoor site we visited today, you have to be mindful of the bears!
The Shirley Delicious restaurant in Shirley, B.C.
For lunch, we drove west to the “community” of Shirley. Their renowned restaurant is called simply “Shirley Delicious”, and it is hard to imagine how the food could be any fresher. The paninis are justly famous. They also have a lot of vegan offerings.
The Sheringham Point Lighthouse – Shirley, B.C.
From Shirley Delicious, a short drive downhill takes you to the Sheringham Point Lighthouse trail. The lighthouse is no longer in service, but it is now being maintained as a National Heritage Site. As you can see from the photos, it has a splendid location overlooking the Strait. But our most vivid memory of the day is what happened offshore…
Approach to Sheringham Point Lighthouse (Shirley, B.C.) – home of a major wildlife sighting!
From the lighthouse, we were treated to a spectacular display of…whales! We believe we saw humpback whales as well as killer whales (orcas). I have seen some whales in Newfoundland before, but never this close and this impressive. They were HUGE! We lost track of how many we saw, but agreed that the emergence of a whale’s entire tail was probably the most stunning. Seeing these incredible creatures also makes you feel very…small.
Start of the Juan de Fuca Trail (Jordan River, BC) – and our hike to Mystic Beach
But we weren’t done yet. We drove even further west, just past the community of Jordan River, to the trailhead of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. Our goal: the alluringly-named Mystic Beach, with its own waterfall!
Typical terrain on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail
While only about 2km away, the hike to the beach is not easy. The trail is a minefield of stones, exposed roots, steep drops, and slippery surfaces. The only factor in our favour was that the very dry summer has eliminated the muddy parts. There was even a suspension bridge, which swings somewhat alarmingly when you start walking on it. Especially with the rainforest environment, this really reminded me of Costa Rica.
Mystic Beach! (Waterfall just out of sight)
Finally, we heard the roar of the ocean. And then our final descent found us right in the middle of a beautiful rocky beach (with a sandy portion just to the east). It was quite the payoff after a difficult trek. It was also cool to see the waterfall cascading into the ocean, although at this time of year there wasn’t much more than a trickle.
Looking in the other direction at Mystic Beach
Even more than at Sooke or Shirley, the roar of the waves was much louder than we expected. While we didn’t see whales here, the choppy waves would have made them difficult to see in any event. But we weren’t disappointed…we had already had a pretty special whale experience already!
We had to cross this suspension bridge on the way to/from Mystic Beach. It moved a *lot* when you walked on it. The photo doesn’t capture how high above the ground it really was.
After chilling under a shady tree for a while, we headed back up the same trail. Interestingly, even though the return trip was much more uphill than downhill, we completed the return portion faster than the initial descent. I think this was because there were a lot of dodgy downhill parts on the way down, and it is much easier to fall when going down a trail like that.
Looking up, near the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail trailhead
The last photo valiantly tries to convey how impressive the trail surroundings were. We tended to focus on our footing, but every once in a while we’d stop and look up at the ridiculously tall trees (including Douglas firs) that completely surrounded us.
Despite the busy day of hikes, I managed to get some lawn bowling practice in too. That’s why I’m here, after all! Stay tuned for some more pre-competition sights!
As with last summer, my summer travel (so far) has been following the competitive lawn bowling circuit in Ontario. This blog post brings things up to date, in advance of a bigger adventure later this month!
My dinner special at Baan Thai in Nepean, Ontario
My early season focus was on the Ottawa suburb of Nepean. Nepean’s lawn bowling club has an artificial surface, which means that it is in playing condition much earlier than clubs with a natural grass surface. We took the opportunity to revisit an old favourite: the Baan Thai restaurant. We first ate here about 10 years ago when we saw Johnny Clegg in concert at the nearby Centrepointe Theatre.
Delivering the jack at the Provincial Men’s Fours championship in Windsor, Ontario
Distances in Ontario are vast. From Ottawa, my next major destination was Windsor…750 km to the southwest. I was playing in the Provincial Men’s Fours playdowns there, and I posted about Windsor’s special Ukrainian restaurant (and an Ethiopian restaurant too) in my previous blog entry.
Delivering a bowl in the rain at the Provincial Men’s Fours championship in Windsor, Ontario
As my team managed to claim the silver medal in rainy Windsor, we will be attending the National championships later this month…in Victoria, British Columbia! There’s more to come in this blog on that prestigious event.
My delicious platter (foreground) at Lalibela Restaurant in East York, Ontario
I spent a couple of weekends in Kitchener too, but unfortunately I don’t have any photographs to share from those adventures. But I also played at a few tournaments in East York, at the Cosburn Park club. And one of the great things about this club is its proximity to “the Danforth”.
Another view of our food at Lalibela Restaurant – love the plates!
The Danforth, or more recently “the Danny”, is a portion of Danforth Avenue historically associated with Toronto’s large Greek community. Part of it is still known as Greektown, and Greek restaurants abound. However, much of more recent immigration to this part of Toronto has been from Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. In fact, a portion of it is now known as “Little Ethiopia”. There are about a dozen Ethiopian restaurants within walking distance of each other. So, of course, I had to try one…
Lalibela Restaurant on Danforth Avenue in East York, Ontario
We ended up at a restaurant called Lalibela, and I was very happy with my platter. The spicy chicken and the salad (or rather the salad dressing) were particular highlights. I don’t know why, but eating Ethiopian style just feels so right after a long day of physical activity in the sun.
The beach in downtown Cobourg, Ontario
A little closer to home, I often find myself in the lakeside town of Cobourg. Their lawn bowling club has a great location near the beach, and it is just close enough to Kingston to be feasible for one-day tournaments without a hotel stay. And it also makes a good stopover on the way back from events in Toronto and points west.
A narrow alley leads to the Oasis in Cobourg, Ontario
I’ve been travelling to Cobourg for sports since I was 10 years old. But somehow I had never noticed a place called the Oasis on Cobourg’s main street. You get to it by following an alley (the end of it is shown above) from the street. I was very impressed by the fact that they carry Blanche de Chambly – a very refreshing summer beverage from Quebec.
Another view of Cobourg’s beach
I don’t think I had ever fully appreciated Cobourg’s beach. It is right downtown, and seems to retain a small-Ontario-town feel despite the new development (condos, etc.) just a couple of blocks away. It isn’t as vast as the beach in ‘s-Gravenzande, for example, but there is nothing like it in the other nearby towns.
A more modern development in downtown Cobourg, Ontario
East York isn’t the only part of Toronto that I’ve gotten to know through sports. On a couple of occasions this summer, I’ve been in the suburban neighbourhood of Agincourt (itself part of Scarborough). This area is known for its East Asian restaurants, and we found a very interesting one on our last visit.
Graceful Vegetarian Restaurant – a surprising find in Scarborough, Ontario
I haven’t had dim sum very often, but it is something I am going to try again in the future. It lets you sample many different dishes without committing to a lot of something unfamiliar. And the “Graceful Vegetarian Restaurant” obviously takes the dim sum concept one step beyond: everything is vegetarian or vegan!
Like nowhere else I have eaten!
I don’t know if I would have tried “real” barbecued eel. But I certainly didn’t mind trying the vegetarian version, with the (presumably soy-based) mock eel being very similar in texture to what I think eel would be like. It ended up being my favourite part of the meal.
Stay tuned for my upcoming British Columbia adventure!
I was recently in Windsor, Ontario, for the Open Fours Provincial Lawn Bowling Championships. I’ve written about Windsor before (click here for details). But for today’s post, I’d like to talk about some unique dining experiences that we had on this trip.
Interior of “Ukrainian Restaurant” in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor’s oldest Ukrainian restaurant opened on a quiet residential street in 1929. It was called simply “Ukrainian Restaurant“. The first owner was Pearl Hawrylak. She ran it until 1967. In 1968, it was purchased by Anna Momcilovic…who continues to run it today!
Our meals at the “Ukrainian Restaurant” in Windsor, Ontario
Anna is now 88 years old, and is still the chef, server, manager, dishwasher, and sole employee. And it is still called “Ukrainian Restaurant”. To save time, you need to place your order through the window to the kitchen and grab your own drink from the fridge.
“Ukrainian Restaurant” on Marion Avenue in Windsor
It is incredible to have 94 years of service under one name, in one off-the-beaten-path location, and under just two owners. It’s not fancy, but it is definitely authentic and a most welcome throwback to another time. We opted for combination plates of perogies, cabbage rolls and sauerkraut. And I had to have borscht as my soup selection. It came with cream, which Anna told me was the proper Ukrainian way to eat it.
Detroit, Michigan, as seen from Windsor, Ontario
“Ukrainian Restaurant” was unique. But my team and I had also a very enjoyable meal in an Ethiopian restaurant called “World Marathon Ethiopian Restaurant“. I’ve written about Ethiopian restaurants in the past: see here, here and here. Eating with one’s hands is something most people have gotten away from in “sit-down” restaurants, but I still find it a lot of fun. According to Ethiopian folklore, people who share meals in this way will never betray each other.
Caesar’s Casino in Windsor, Ontario
World Marathon offers alternatives for those who aren’t quite ready for the “hands-on” authentic experience, but I dove right in. Almost all of my teammates ate that way too. They watched me briefly demonstrate the proper technique (scooping assorted sauces and specialties with pieces of my injera “crepe”), and then followed suit.
Our lunches at Sushi Cove in Woodstock, Ontario
Sadly, I was so enthusiastic that I forgot to take pictures before digging in. But I did remember to take some pictures when we stopped in Woodstock, Ontario, on the way home after the tournament. We went to Sushi Cove, where I ate Korean food in 2021 and had a good experience. I went for the bulgogi this time, while my wife went for the bibimbap (in foreground).
Sushi Cove restaurant in Woodstock, Ontario
I also picked up a couple of special vinyl records in Woodstock, before making the long drive back to Kingston. I’ve lost track of the number of records in my collection, but I can remember where I picked up each one. For me, it’s another way to commemorate some of the special travel experiences I’ve had. Just like this blog.
You are now entering Dorking, Ontario
And then there are the random places you stumble upon. Dorking (pictured above) wasn’t much more than a crossroads. It is in a very traditional part of the province. It’s so traditional that several horses (with buggies) were “parked” outside the general store.
Stay tuned for more on my local summer travels…and an upcoming trip requiring a couple of flights each way!
I recently had a day-long curling bonspiel in Belleville. I accidentally left some of my curling equipment behind, and made arrangements to pick it up the following weekend. It was on this skimpy premise that a spontaneous yet long-planned road trip took place.
Murray Canal at Carrying Place, Ontario
In the darkest days of the pandemic, the only real “travel” options were for essentials. This included food. We repeatedly made plans for a trip to Trenton, a town about 100km of Kingston. The purpose was to stock up on my favourite Dutch food products from the Trenton Delicatessen. But like many things during the pandemic, our trip was repeatedly postponed. And once travel started to happen again, I somehow was never in Trenton during their business hours. Or if I was nearby, I didn’t have the time to stop in.
Old-school tattoo parlour in Trenton
Finally, this weekend, I found myself in Belleville (18km from Trenton) with a full day ahead of me and no deadlines to meet!
Sam the Record Man, in Belleville’s Quinte Mall
We started off with a visit to the only remaining “Sam the Record Man” store in Canada. The flagship “Sam’s” location was on Yonge Street in Toronto, but the chain was everywhere…even Kingston had multiple locations. It now consists of just the one store in Belleville’s Quinte Mall. Nothing replaces my favourite record shop in Kingston, but it was still fun to check out this throwback from the past.
Thai Sushi in downtown Trenton
After picking up some (non-perishable) groceries, we made our way to Trenton for lunch. Sadly, our first choice (Korean) was closed for lunch on Saturdays. As were many of our other choices. We then saw a sign for the “Thai Sushi” restaurant, and figured we might as well give it a try. Ordinarily, I am wary of restaurants that “specialize” in completely different cuisines. And I am even more wary of restaurants that have an “all you can eat” focus. But it had been many hours since breakfast, and I ignored the yellow flags.
Part of our lunch at “Thai Sushi” in Trenton
I focused on trying some new dishes, and ended up enjoying the experience. It’s always good to try salads and soups on such occasions, as they sometimes get overlooked (especially with take-out). And it was clear that many of our selections from the more obscure parts of the menu were being made to order.
Trenton Deli (Trenton, Ontario)
Anyway, we *finally* made it to the Trenton Delicatessen with absolutely no residual hunger. We could focus on what we needed for the long haul. I had fun assembling my own mixed bag of Dutch licorice (“drop“), with a nice range of sweet and/or salty selections. I even picked up a few “Hopjes“: coffee candies from Den Haag (The Hague). I don’t drink coffee but I have a soft spot for these treats that were often in the kitchen cupboard at my parents’ house. I also bought a bag of honing drop (honey licorice).
Murray Canal (Carrying Place, Ontario)
Then it was time for the kaas (cheese)! They had some fun varieties of gouda (pronounced gow-da with a gutteral “g”…NOT goo-da!), such as black lemon. Yes, it’s jet black, and tastes like lemon! But in the end, I went for a couple of cheeses that I haven’t had in a very long time: maasdam and cantenaar. The maasdam is quite mild, but the cantenaar is like a very old gouda (albeit healthier) and wins the prize as my favourite for the day. Sadly, the cheese is now gone. I’ll have to make another return trip soon.
Lots of warnings at Northport, Ontario
We decided to drive home via the northern part of Prince Edward County. There aren’t too many communities here, but it was a nice change from the busy highway between Trenton and Belleville. After brief stops at Carrying Place and Northport (see photo at the very top of this post), we took the Bay of Quinte Skyway Bridge back to the mainland near Deseronto.
Harrowing construction work on the Bay of Quinte Skyway Bridge (as seen from Deseronto, Ontario)
What I had forgotten was that this very steep bridge was being “rehabilitated”. Maybe even worse: half of it was down to one lane. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t enjoy being parked near the top of a steep bridge waiting for the traffic from the other side to cross. And when the one open lane appears to be the only intact portion of the bridge…let’s just say that I was very glad to be done with the bridge part of our journey.
Market Simeon (Napanee, Ontario)
Our last stop of the day was in Napanee. I’ve featured pictures from Napanee on this blog before: here’s a post from 2015, and here’s one from 2020. As we had fresh cheese in the cooler, we couldn’t stay long this time. But we did stop in at “Market Simeon” on Napanee’s historic main street. And what did I find there? Snert!
Snert (also known as Erwtensoep) is another name for Dutch split pea soup. And I have to say that this version tasted just right. It had some very tasty sausage and correctly omitted garlic (which doesn’t belong in Dutch cooking). It was a nice finish to a mostly Dutch early spring day. All we were missing were the tulips!
I’ve been travelling independently for a long time. But it was still a bit of a shock to realize that my first independent trip was 40 years ago!
Surprisingly, this was the Edmonton Youth Hostel
When I was attending Bayridge Secondary School in Kingston (Ontario), my geography teacher enrolled our school in a program called “Open House Canada”. In short: for the princely sum of $10.00, you could go on an exchange with 40 of your schoolmates to another part of Canada. And then, a couple of months later (in early 1984), your new friends would visit Kingston. Having already been to Europe twice with my parents, I thought this would be great.
Wildlife on the side of the Icefields Parkway
Our school was matched with a similarly sized school in Hinton, Alberta. But our communities didn’t seem to have too much in common. Kingston was much larger and older than Hinton: Kingston was Canada’s capital many decades before Hinton even existed. Hinton’s economy was resource-based (I especially remember the smell of the paper mill), while Kingston has long been known as a government town. And Hinton was in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, while Kingston’s geography was…a little less spectacular.
Rescuing a classmate who slipped on the Athabasca Glacier
And yet, despite all the differences, there ended up being quite a bit of common ground. We played lots of volleyball. We seemed to listen to much of the same music: Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock and Roll” and Van Halen’s “Jump” seemed to be mutual favourites. And I think almost everyone appreciated the opportunity to see a completely different way of life, if only for a week or two.
My first ever visit to British Columbia (October 1983)
About half of the trip was spent living in your billet’s home (and going to school with them each day). My billet’s father was a park ranger, so I got to live in a remote village called “Old Entrance”. It apparently used to be the entrance to Jasper National Park. There were only three or four other houses in the village. Each morning, we had to hike up a very steep and winding gravel road for 15 minutes just to get to the school bus stop (which still had to travel some distance to get to Hinton). This was quite different from my leisurely 10-minute suburban walk to school in Kingston.
My billet, in his backyard
Once we were at school, we did day trips to notable area landmarks. Such local trips included a huge coal mine, a tract of commercially-harvested forest and the Cadomin Caves. Other destinations on the trip included Sunwapta Falls, the Athabasca Glacier, the summit of “The Whistlers” (high above Jasper), Mount Robson (see photo at the top of this post)…and the West Edmonton Mall!
Nearing the summit of “The Whistlers”, high above Jasper
Looking back on it now, it’s hard to believe that there was actually some peer pressure to *not* go on the exchange. While some parts were challenging (I vaguely remember some issue with the Jasper hostel, but the details are now lost in the mists of time), I don’t think anyone regretted their participation. I suspect that, for many of us, it was only the beginning of an appreciation for travel and for discovering places that were different from home.
The path down from the summit of The Whistlers
This reminds me of a famous Mark Twain quote, from his book The Innocents Abroad. It might be a little harsh, but I think there is some underlying truth to it:
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime.”
Jasper as seen from The Whistlers
I hope you enjoy some of these ancient photographs…all were taken by me using a very rectangular (and very non-digital) Vivitar camera. These are the original prints!
