Tag Archives: Cobourg

Posts from Base Camp

Around the world – an update!

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I first announced my around-the-world trip in a November 2025 blog post. I had a flurry of activity after that, with this early January 2026 post explaining that I had decided to buy a round-the-world ticket. And then in a February 2026 post, I talked about some strategies for buying round-the-world tickets.

Northern Thai restaurant – Kitchener, Ontario

It seems that time has accelerated over the past few months, as that big trip is nearly here. Today’s post is about some more ways to prepare for such a long trip, once the flights, accommodation, and ground transportation have been sorted. These are enhancements or additions to some more general travel tips that you can find elsewhere on this blog.

Downtown Bolton, Ontario

Before doing anything else, research the typical weather at your destinations for the exact dates that you’ll be there. While freak weather can take anyone by surprise, it really pays to be prepared for what you are likely to encounter. Not only will you avoid having to buy new, weather-appropriate clothes at your destination, but you will also be able to travel more lightly. And there’s a related point that is just as important…

Newtonville, Ontario – it looks like a 1950s car dealer, but it’s actually an auction house!

There is no way you can travel with 6 weeks’ worth of clothes. You will need to do laundry more than once on your trip. So you will need to pack weather-appropriate clothes that can withstand repeated washing under unfamiliar conditions. And you will need to plan where and when you will be doing that laundry! Don’t assume that every community will have a laundromat. Most hotels will gladly do your laundry…but they may also charge $10 to wash a pair of socks. If there is no local laundry available when you need it, take a day off and visit a nearby town for that purpose. You’ll see a side of your destination that most outsiders never see.

Punkydoodles Corners, Ontario – yes, it’s a real place!

For a long trip, you will likely tire of seeing variations on the same theme over and over again. Make a point of mixing up what you’re seeing. Sure, see the Sistine Chapel when you’re in Rome. But take in a local sporting event or a concert too. On this trip, we were happy to discover that one of our favourite British bands is on a tour of Australia and New Zealand at the same time that we’re there! So we’ve got tickets to see them in an ornate old theatre. We never imagined that we’d see them live, let alone on the other side of the world. But there you go…serendipity is one of the best parts of travel.

My Golden Red Curry at Mango Thai and Pan-Asian Cuisine (Kingston, Ontario, Canada…on the shores of Lake Ontario!)

While you’re figuring out which concerts are on, expand your local research to find local culinary specialities. Nearly six weeks of eating out will wear thin much sooner than you think. But if you can find some special local cuisine, or an unexpected concentration of immigrants in a city, you can break up the monotony. You may not expect to find multiple options for Somalian cuisine in the Northwest Territories or Bosnian food in Arizona…but you will almost certainly be glad you did.

The green at Bobcaygeon Lawn Bowling Club (Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada)

Travelling for such a long time can be an insular experience. Give yourself a break and opt into some group activities rather than doing everything yourself. Most cities have reasonably-priced (or even pay-what-you-want) walking tours conducted by knowledgeable locals. Research that before you go. They’re a great tool for connecting with an unfamiliar place in a different way. And take the opportunity to get your guide’s insights on things like local restaurants, concerts…and even laundromats! They will almost certainly be happy to share their knowledge, especially if they are volunteers.

Mekong Noodles at Craft Food House (Cobourg, Ontario, Canada – also on the shores of Lake Ontario!)

Today’s photos are from various local adventures over the last two months. Stay tuned for the first destination on our world tour!

Posts from the road

From Smiths Falls to Flesherton

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(Ontario, Canada)

For the last two-and-a-half months, I have been criss-crossing Ontario…mostly to play in tournaments. As a result, I haven’t had as much pure “travel” time. Special experiences, sites, and food have been squeezed in when and where possible. Here’s a sampling of what I’ve been up to.

My dinner at “My Place”, in Smiths Falls, Ontario

I like to play early season tournaments on the artificial grass surface in Nepean (Ottawa). At that time of year, most other Ontario clubs (which have natural grass) suffer from damp and very slow greens. As it is a two-hour drive, we often stop in Smiths Falls for dinner on the way home. And our favourite restaurant there is called “My Place.”

Canada geese, also known as cobra chickens, are much less threatening when they are young.

Despite the fairly anonymous name, “My Place” is clearly rooted in the cuisine of Czechia (Czech Republic) and nearby countries. Schnitzel and goulash are very well represented. I’ve never been disappointed with their food. And while dessert would have been too much, their desserts looked home-made and delicious.

The Cobourg Lawn Bowling Club has a beautiful location near Lake Ontario

In June, I went to a provincial championship tournament in Hanover, Ontario. It’s nowhere near Smiths Falls. But we had stopped in Hanover 10 years ago, on our way home from Goderich, so we looked forward to seeing what changes the intervening decade had brought. Sadly, the Dutch store on the main street was no longer there. But the Schultz Home Bakery *was* still there, and I managed to get a photograph this time!

Schultz Home Bakery, in Hanover, Ontario

But we didn’t stay in Hanover. Instead, we went to the nearby town of Flesherton. We found a freshly renovated hotel (Leela’s Villa Inn) offering large rooms and an included breakfast at the adjoining restaurant. The price was right and it was nice to stay in a quiet, small town that we had only passed through before. And apparently Flesherton is the home of former NHL player Chris Neil (for proof – see the photo at the very top of this post!).

The main intersection in downtown Flesherton, Ontario

Once again, the randomness of it all was very appealing. Stay tuned for more Ontario adventures, including a culinary tour of the nation’s capital!

Posts from the road

Various Ontario Adventures

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(Various Ontario Locations)

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
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!

Posts from the road

A special evening in Cobourg

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(Cobourg, Ontario, Canada)

We went for a road trip this weekend and decided to stay overnight in Cobourg, Ontario…a town located almost 100 miles west of Kingston. This is just a bit too far to properly visit on a day-trip, but perhaps not far enough for a weekend trip. Beyond “it seemed like a nice place to explore, the last time we passed through”, not a lot of thought went into our choice.

We arrived to mid-afternoon rain and quickly visited the shops and indoor sights we wanted to see. We took a look at the historic Victoria Hall concert venue, located in a beautiful old stone building on Cobourg’s main street, and decided that it would be nice to attend a concert there some day.

Cobourg's Victoria Hall at night
Cobourg’s Victoria Hall at night

As the drizzly weather continued, we decided to drive on to the nearby town of Port Hope to do some more shopping and indoor sightseeing. Port Hope has a compact but attractive downtown core and we made a point of visiting its restored “golden age of cinema” Capitol Theatre.

Inside the Capitol, we discovered that Port Hope (and Cobourg) were hosting the Vintage Film Festival that very weekend. They were showing some seriously old movies, including one silent movie on Sunday morning from 1917 that would feature a live piano accompanist! We resolved to return in the morning for that unique experience, if at all possible.

Port Hope's historic Capitol Theatre
Port Hope’s historic Capitol Theatre

As we trudged on through the rain, I saw a poster for an upcoming concert:  “Tribute to The Last Waltz”.  I thought this would be interesting, as it featured a large band of well-known professional Canadian musicians recreating The Band’s legendary 1976 farewell concert.  That concert was made into a movie by Martin Scorsese and also received a triple-album release on vinyl.  In addition to music by The Band, that particular concert also featured performances by The Band with Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr and many others.

The Last Waltz in Cobourg
The Last Waltz in Cobourg

Curious, we looked a little closer at the poster.  The concert was going to be in Cobourg’s Victoria Hall!  Tonight!   Should we go?  Yes!  We raced back to Cobourg in search of tickets.  It was a wild goose chase, as stores were closing and the concert appeared to be sold out.  We actually tracked down the promoter himself and found out that two ticketholders *might* not be able to attend.  At one minute before showtime, it was confirmed that there would be exactly two unused tickets.  We were in!  Even better, there were two empty seats in the 3rd row, just a few feet from the stage!

Jerome Levon Avis' drum kit, including a picture of the drummer with Levon Helm
Jerome Levon Avis’ drum kit, including a picture of the drummer with Levon Helm

The concert featured a 9-piece house band (including a 4-piece horn section), plus various special guests…just like the original Last Waltz.  The band’s drummer, Jerome Levon Avis, was the godson of Levon Helm – who was the drummer for The Band!  Other musicians included members of famous bands such as Lighthouse and Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Writing about music is not an easy thing to do.  How do you convey the chill down your spine when a Van Morrison sound-alike has a swinging band and horn section behind him?  When that same band nails a soulful classic by The Band and the whole theatre is singing along like a gospel choir?   It was like that for almost the entire 3-hour concert.  Highlights for us included Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” and “Like A Rolling Stone”, Van Morrison’s “Caravan”, Dr. John’s “Such A Night” and every one of our favourite songs by The Band:  “The Weight”, “Up on Cripple Creek”, and “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down”,  among others.

The Last Waltz in Cobourg
The Last Waltz in Cobourg

As we left the theatre, we had all of these classic songs (and more) replaying themselves over and over in our heads.  It was plainly obvious that we weren’t the only ones.  Thanks to the kindness of strangers in Cobourg, we had a completely unexpected and amazing experience (“Such A Night”, indeed!) on what was otherwise a dreary, rainy evening.

We didn’t make it to the piano-accompanied silent film screening in the morning…but the film festival is an annual event and we made a mental note to visit Port Hope and Cobourg again next fall.