Category: travel

Posted on in travel

Sweet serendipity makes for happy travels

Air India Memorial in Sheep's Head, Ireland

It’s January, the month millions of Canadians scour travel sites like Expedia, Travelzoo and Skyscanner looking for the best deals on trips south and overseas.

I’m always of two minds when I travel. Part of me wants to have a wide open itinerary and let faith and sweet serendipity dictate my travels. The other part, the realist in me, recognizes that you’d be crazy if you didn’t at least book accommodations in advance to reduce stress and so you know you have a bed to sleep in at night.

I know someone who has to have every minute detail planned to the last minute when they travel. It’s almost become an obsession. They know what activities they will do, where they will eat and even what they are going to eat based on the restaurants’ online menus.

Personally, I think that takes some of the fun out of travelling.

Some of the most amazing days and experiences on my travels have been a result of sweet serendipity.

I remember when my best friend Leslie and I went to England and Wales for our 40th birthdays. We booked three days in London and one B&B in Bakewell in the north in advance, but that was it. We left the rest up to chance.

One night, as we were driving south through Wales, it seemed our strategy might backfire when we were unable to find accommodation. It was getting late and we finally ended up in this tiny village called Howie where we had the best Thai meal at our B&B followed by a night at the pub drinking with the locals.

The locals in the bar asked us if we had seen the Morris Men dancers in town that day. We hadn’t. Morris dancing is an ancient folk dance in the UK where bands of merry men enter villages and towns with bells and dance for the townsfolk. We drank to our bad luck, then packed our bags and headed south back into England to the tiny town of Arundel.

As we checked into the quaint B&B we were staying for the night, the host asked us if we had come to see the flowers. “What flowers?”, we asked. Once a year for three days in May, Arundel Cathedral is adorned with thousands of flowers along the aisle leading up to the altar. There is a different design each year and people come from hundreds of miles to visit the church.

Counting ourselves lucky to land in the town the exact same day the flowers were on display, we headed to the church. It was stunning. After we left the church, what did we see? The merry Morris dancers, performing in the town square. Pure serendipity.

For our 50th birthdays, we spent two weeks travelling around Ireland. My favourite day by far was the day we ventured off the beaten path to tour around one of the deserted peninsulas, The Sheep’s Head, which juts off south of the town of Bantry into the Atlantic Ocean.

As we traversed the desolate windswept shoreline, we stumbled upon a memorial for the Air India crash in 1985. We hadn’t seen it in any guidebooks (most guidebooks don’t even mention this head), but it was a spectacular, moving stop and one of the highlights of our trip.

Yes, sometimes the best plan is to have no plan at all.

This week’s #HappyAct is to remember to leave some things up to chance as you start making your travel plans in 2025. Happy travels!

flowers in Arundel Church

Above: the Air India Memorial in Sheep’s Head, Ireland and the carpet floral display at Arundel Cathedral in England

Posted on in community, holidays, travel

A jolly junket for the veriest of Grinches

Dave at Riverhill Farm

I love Christmas. Dave hates Christmas. This makes for an interesting dynamic in our household as the holidays become near.

To be fair, Dave doesn’t really hate Christmas. He laments the commercialism of the holiday and despises stores putting decorations out and playing Christmas music in November. But as December creeps upon us, my grinch’s heart warms to holiday traditions and Christmas cheer.

On Friday, I planned the jolliest of jaunts to help my humbugger of a husband get into the holiday spirit.

We drove up to Sharbot Lake for their annual Festival of Trees, a fundraiser for Villages Beautiful, a local organization that raises money for beautification projects in Central Frontenac.

As we walked down the street to the Oso Hall, a nearby church piped cheery Christmas carols that floated through the air like Santa’s sleigh.

We entered the hall where a band and choir were singing Christmas tunes and the smell of hot chocolate and cider permeated the air. We admired the festive trees decorated by local businesses and service organizations and placed our raffle tickets for our chance to win gift baskets, artwork and beautiful prizes.

After a quick visit with friends, we headed to our next destination: Riverhill Farm in Ompah to see North Frontenac’s largest light display.

We had read about this local family who began opening their 20-acre farm to visitors for their light display in 2014, but were still unprepared for the treat that lay before us.

We drove down a long driveway lined by cedar rail posts decorated with Christmas lights to the entrance. A beautiful log cabin surrounded by stately trees laden with lights greeted us, along with an animatronics display of four smiling Christmas trees singing Have a Holly Jolly Christmas.

We first took a drive through the light display (you can drive through it or walk), then parked and walked. A sliver moon peeped out from behind the clouds and we marvelled at the different displays: a small white chapel in a field, a grinch and his sleigh, a white present with red bow on top that was so big you could walk through it, candy canes, Christmas trees and glittering balls.

Sometimes light displays can almost verge on the tacky. Not at Riverhill Farm. My favourite was the beautiful large oaks and maples decorated with ribbon lights along the trunks and different coloured lights in swaths along the branches.

As we wandered around the 200,000 sparkling lights amidst the newfallen snow, my grinch’s hardened heart grew two times that night.

Dave said if he lived near Riverhill Farm, he’d come every night to see the light display.

This week’s #HappyAct is to plan a jolly jaunt to make even the hardened of Grinch’s hearts grow with holiday cheer.

If you plan to visit: The farm is open every night now until December 30. Admission is by donation. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights there are vendors, wagon rides and a concession stand selling hot chocolate, coffee, and our favourite, mini-doughnuts. For a special treat, plan on visiting Saturday, December 14 for the fireworks at 7 pm.

More Christmas light shows: My loyal readers will know I have a thing for Christmas light shows. Read more about the tradition of Christmas lights in “Enjoy the Wizards Light Show”.

Light display
Light display
Light display
Light display
Me and Dave at Riverhill Farm
Posted on in community, science of happiness, travel

Secrets to happiness from around the globe

Sign with definition of Gezellig

Every country has its own unique belief system and language to describe happiness. Let’s take a quick trip around the world to see how other cultures seek and find happiness:

Joyous Icelanders embrace theta reddast, the belief that everything will work out in the end.

Italians believe dolce far niente, the sweetness of doing nothing.

In France, people exude joie de vivre, the joy of living.

Chinese xing fu is the art of finding your purpose.

The Dutch celebrate Gezellig, time spent with loved ones in a convivial and cozy atmosphere.

Germans believe in ruhe, finding peace and quiet.

And then there are the Scandinavians–the Danes known for hygge, the art of creating comfort and coziness and the Finns who value sisu, having the psychological strength to overcome extraordinary challenges.

Some countries have embedded happiness into their political and economic systems. Bhutan measures Gross National Happiness instead of GDP based on four pillars: ecological sustainability, preservation and promotion of a free and resilient culture, good governance and equality before the law, and sustainable and equitable socio-economic development.

I think North Americans could learn much about happiness from these other cultures. The ones that resonated most with me were the sweetness of doing nothing, finding peace and quiet, and believing everything will work out in the end. Which ones resonated most with you?

If you’d like to learn more about happiness around the globe, read The Atlas of Happiness: The Global Secrets of How to be Happy by Helen Russell. The common denominator in all these cultures? The power of positivity goes a long way. Have a happy week.

Posted on in environment, nature, travel

Of caves and caverns

Sea caves in St. Martin's New Brunswick

On our travels through New Brunswick at the end of August, we stumbled across some sea caves in the small oceanside town of St. Martin’s.

We explored them at dusk at low tide, when you could walk on the ocean floor. The light was perfect, and we marvelled at these strange and mystical caves carved into the striking Fundy-red coastline with bright green lines marking where land meets the sea and topped with rugged trees reaching out towards the ocean.

Humans have been fascinated by caves since the beginning of time. For some cultures, caves are where deities or mythical creatures were believed to inhabit. In other cultures, caves are often depicted as entrances to other realms and represent both the depths of the unconscious mind and the mysteries of the unknown.

I’ve always been fascinated by caves. One of the most beautiful caves we visited was Luray Caverns in Virginia, an astonishing underground world. As you descend into the caverns, you enter cathedral-sized rooms with ceilings ten stories high, filled with towering natural stone statues and strange and beautiful geological formations like stalacites and stalagmites*.

Everything is different underground. The light reflects and dances against the patterns in the rock. The air is filled with moisture, and the smell of sulphur and musty dew assail your nasal passages. Sounds resonate and echo eerily as you get lost in the mystical properties of the magical underground world being discovered.

You don’t have to venture as far as Virginia or New Brunswick to explore caves and caverns. Here are two great options in eastern Ontario—both are still open until Thanksgiving weekend:

  • Bonnechere Caves in Eganville, Ontario: Dave and I toured these caves several years ago carved into the Bonnechere River. Today, you must take a guided tour, but they are well worth it with waterfalls and a cool bat cave (with literally, hundreds of bats—optional for the faint of heart!)
  • Tyendinaga Cavens and Caves: These caves are located outside of Belleville and are the largest caves in Ontario. You must take a guided tour to learn about how the caves were formed 450 million years old. One of the most unique features is an underground wishing well.

This week’s #HappyAct is to explore a cave or cavern. Happy spelunking!

*Stalacites grow down from the ceiling of a cave; stalagmites grow from the ground up

Author in front of sea caves
Sea cave
Luray Caverns, Virginia

Some more pictures of the sea caves in St. Martin’s and above, stalacites in Luray Caverns in Virginia

Posted on in entertainment, family, Food and drink, health and wellness, lifestyle, travel

A day at Nordik Spa

Four ladies in spa robes having lunch at Nordik Spa in Chelsea, QC

Last week, Dave’s sister and I took the girls to Nordik Spa in Chelsea Quebec.

It was a combination graduation gift and final girls’ trip before Grace and Clare leave for university this fall.

A day at Nordik is the ultimate in indulgence and relaxation.

As you walk up the several flights of steps to the impressive main lodge with massive wooden beams, you are welcomed by the sound of trickling waterfalls and the smell of burning wood in the fire pit cradled by bright red Adirondack chairs.

I’ve been to Nordik once before with my girlfriends and I remembered it takes an hour or so to fully embrace the spa experience.

The spa is divided into three main sections, Borea, where you can talk in whispers and low tones, Panorama, where you can chat freely and Kaskad, where there is complete silence. Thermal hot pools, some with waterfalls are interspersed with cold pools and saunas. Lounge chairs, hammocks, hammock chairs, and reading pavilions with wood fires are available for those who just want to sit and read and relax or listen to music.

Nordik spa is designed around the ancient Nordic ritual of thermotherapy, a treatment that alternates between hot and cold temperatures, followed by a rest period.

Thermotherapy deeply cleanses the body, eliminates toxins and can help with injury, chronic pain, rheumatism, arthritis, depression and sleeping. To truly embrace the full spa experience, you’re supposed to complete the entire cycle three times.

We started the morning in the social area with its infinity pool and magnificent views of Gatineau Park and the city of Ottawa. It was a cool, cloudy day, so the warm bubbles of the thermal pool felt wonderful as we chatted and caught up with Dave’s sister.

Clare embraced the full spa experience, opting to do a cold plunge next, but I figured I get enough cold water immersion experience swimming in my lake, so I went for a sauna and some hammock time instead.

Grace’s favourite was the heated rock bed sauna. It was so relaxing, a person fell asleep and was snoring!

After a few hours of thermal pools and saunas, we enjoyed a delicious lunch in their Finalandia restaurant. One of the things I love most about Quebec is you never get a bad meal and their restaurant is excellent. We enjoyed a cheese board, roasted red pepper hummous, broccoli soup, brisket sandwich on focaccia bread topped off with a tiramisu cheesecake and warm chocolate brownie with ice cream.

As the afternoon sun finally peeped out, we finished the day where we started, chatting in the thermal pool and looking over the gorgeous views of Gatineau Park.

Grace kept asking me what we should do next, and I would reply, “Whatever you want, that’s the beauty of this place.”

This week’s #HappyAct is to pamper yourself at a spa day. Enjoy!

Four ladies in front of the entrance to Nordik Spa in Chelsea, QC
Posted on in family, holidays, relationships, travel

When your children become your friends

Clare and Grace and their Uncle Don at a local brew pub

There is a time every parent dreams about and longs for–the moment when your child becomes your friend.

In the early days, the dream is a distant mirage, obscured by dirty diapers, sippy cups, jolly jumpers and sleepless nights.

As the years go by, the dream becomes more tangible and in focus. Your children learn to walk and talk, and before you know it, you are watching them march their chubby little legs up the four or five steps of the school bus on their first day of school.

Years pass and you see their unique personalities and independent spirit emerge. They spread their wings until one day, in a heart-wrenching gut punch, you realize they don’t need you anymore.

But then something wonderful happens. You become friends.

Friends who enjoy spending time together, sharing confidences and conversation, laughter and tears. A friend who you know will always love you and who will be there for you no matter what.

The best type of friend possible.

It’s a beautiful thing.

Dedicated to my new best friends and lovely but whacky daughters Grace and Clare. Here are some pictures of all of us from this past weekend on a family trip to Cooperstown, New York with their boyfriends and my brother Don.

My daughters at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown New York

Top: tasting the local wares at Woodland Farm Brewery outside of Utica with their Uncle Don
Above: At the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY

Guy holding plaque that says as far as people know we're just a normal family

Devon holding a plaque that says “Remember as far as anyone knows, we’re a normal family”

Boy and girl on a bridge overlooking a river

Clare and Kaden in Little Falls, New York

Our family at the Baseball Hall of Fame

All of us in front of the Baseball Hall of Fame. We’re already talking about where we’re planning to go next year.

Ed note: For more on Cooperstown, read Ray Dorey’s guest blog, Make a pilgrimage to Cooperstown

Posted on in nature, photography, travel

For the love of tourist traps

Maid of the mist at Niagara Falls

When I travel, I’m always of two minds. A part of me wants to wander off the beaten path, far flung from the sites and attractions where hordes of tourists flock and diminish the experience.

The other part of me thinks there is a reason why a place is a mecca for tourists and I desperately want to see it.

I’ve learned to blend these two desires on my trips, visiting the “must see” attractions in the guide books and making sure I spend a bit of time exploring backroads.

A couple of weeks ago, my girlfriends and I spent a weekend in Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls. On the Saturday, we stopped at Pillitteri Estates Winery for lunch, strolled along the main streets and parks of Niagara-on-the-Lake, saw My Fair Lady at the Shaw Festival and stayed at a lovely bed and breakfast, The Bushey House.

We were debating what to do on the Sunday and I said I’d be up for doing the “Behind the Falls Experience” at Niagara Falls, which I’d never done before.

After a quick stop for a chocolate factory tour at the Chocolate Factory Experience (highly recommended by the way, make sure you pick up their addictive Red Chocolate Cherry Bites), we arrived in Niagara Falls.

It was crawling with tourists. At first we thought it was just the regular throngs that descend on the falls on a Sunday afternoon in June, but we realized after seeing clusters of cyclists that it was the Scotiabank Ride to Conquer Cancer, so it was busier than usual.

We paid our $36 for parking (OMG) and walked across the bridge to the Behind the Falls Experience. While it was cool to get so up close to the falls, I’m not sure I’d include it on the must-see attractions in Niagara Falls.

The “behind the falls” experience consisted of looking at a small opening from a tunnel and a wall of water pouring over it. The observation deck was the real draw, where you could hear the roar of the falls and experience the spray and mist wash over you.

When we emerged from the tunnels, we spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the promenade.

Even though there were thousands of tourists, Niagara Falls never fails to disappoint. There is a reason why some people call it the “eighth wonder of the world”.

The skies that day were an ominous dark steel grey, in stark contrast to the blue swirling waters and white foam of the falls and river. I stood mesmerized, snapping photo after photo, admiring their majestic beauty and watching the cormorants and gulls bouncing and diving in the whirlpools as the tour boats steamed towards the wall of water.

It was worth braving the crowds for.

This week’s #HappyAct is to visit a well-known tourist attraction. You won’t be disappointed.

People on the observation deck at Behind the Falls experience in Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
Daisies along Niagara River

Beautiful daisies grace the gorge

I loved how the mist melded with the sky in this photo

Me and my girlfriends behind the falls
Posted on in entertainment, sports, travel

Catch Canada’s National Game

Forget the Toronto Blue Jays and Maple Leafs. If you want action and excitement, take in a game of Canada’s national sport, lacrosse.

Ontario lacrosse season started May 17. You can see the full schedule here.

I went and saw my first lacrosse game last season between the Owen Sound North Stars and the Clearview Crushers in the Senior B Lacross League in the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre arena in Owen Sound.

Even though it was a sparse crowd that night, the excitement in the building was palatable. Lacrosse fans are diehard and passionate about the sport. They never miss a match and they follow the scores and standings religiously.

We took our seats, the lights dimmed, and the players came running out, as the announcer introduced the night’s starting line up. After the singing of O Canada, it was game on.

The basic rules of lacrosse are similar to hockey, but the face off looks more like a rugby scrum. The players crouch down on their hands and knees with their sticks parallel. As soon as the referee blows their whistle, they joust for possession of the ball.

I was struck immediately by how fast and exciting the game was. Balls whizzed through the air, and when a player took a shot on net, it was like a lightening bolt. I didn’t know how the goalie even saw it.

Of course, it wasn’t a Saturday night lacrosse game until a fight broke out. You haven’t seen a fight until you’ve seen a fight in lacrosse. There’s no bulky pads to protect players from the blows.

The one attackman dropped his stick and just started whaling on the other guy to Pat Benatar’s “Hit me with your best shot”. The guy who started it got 2 minutes for being the aggressor, 5 minutes for fighting and a game misconduct.

The other thing I thought was really cool, was between periods, they allowed all the kids in the stands to come down onto the playing surface and try their hand at the game. Many of the players joined them, lobbing passes and teaching them how to stickhandle. It was a special moment, seeing these kids side by side, playing a game they loved with their heroes.

Even though Owen Sound lost that night, we scored a great night of sport and excitement.

This week’s #HappyAct is to catch a local lacrosse game in a city near you and develop a passion for Canada’s national sport.

Faceoff in a lacrosse game
Action by the net in a lacrosse game
Blog post writer in the Owen Sound helmet
Posted on in environment, nature, travel

The Lost Sun: The solar eclipse on a backcountry spring canoe trip to Frontenac Park

I’m always shocked by how many people in the Kingston region have never been to Frontenac Provincial Park.

Located less than an hour north of Kingston, Frontenac is classified as a semi-wilderness park with more than 160 kms of trails and several canoe routes through the stunning rugged backdrop of the Frontenac Arch Biosphere.

Popular youtube vlogger Canoe the North recently chose Frontenac Provincial Park to explore for his first backcountry canoe trip of the season and to film the April 8th solar eclipse.

The first twenty minutes captures the essence of Frontenac Park: its breathtaking scenery even in early spring with amazing drone footage (one of my favourite shots is the stars twinkling in the night sky), the wildlife, stillness and calm of this special place. The last 10 minutes includes stunning footage of the total solar eclipse.

If it was cloudy in your area and you missed the eclipse, or you just want to see why I love this region so much, you have to watch this video. Enjoy!

Posted on in arts, entertainment, Hobbies, travel

A Shaggin good time

During our recent trip to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Clare and I took shag dancing lessons at Fat Harold’s Beach Club.

Shaggin was born on the beaches of South Carolina and rose in popularity after the second world war as young people returned from the war and found a new outlet and zest for life, stepping and swirling to the boppy beats of beach music. North Myrtle Beach and Fat Harold’s Beach Club became the epicentre for shag.

The dance itself has been called the “swing dance of the south” or a slowed down jitterbug. It’s now the official state dance for North and South Carolina and Myrtle Beach and hosts the national competition every spring.

Lessons are free on Tuesday nights at Fat Harold’s. We pulled into a packed parking lot and sashayed across the dance floor to plant ourselves at a cocktail table at the back of the club on risers. Behind us was a beautiful mural of a sunny day at the beach to get us into the beach music vibe.

Fat Harold’s is “home of the shag” and it felt like we had stepped back fifty years. There was a pool table and burger counter as soon as you walked in (they are known for their cheeseburgers). Inside the main club, a long wooden bar and cocktail tables flanked the wooden dance floor. The walls were covered with funky old beach signs and pictures of celebrities who had visited Fat Harold’s and plaques listing all the shag dance champions over the years.

Dave and Grace sat on the sidelines and ordered a drink, while Clare and I took our places on the dance floor.

They lined us up, women on one side of the floor and men on the other and taught us the basic step of shag which is a six-step choreography, where the partners take three steps towards each other, three steps in the middle, then back two steps so they are constantly moving towards and apart in perfect flow. The goal is to dance as smoothly and synchronized as possible. The instructors took a bit too much time focusing on the basic steps for my liking. I would have liked to learn some of the fancy footwork and spins that shag is known for, but it was still fun.

I assumed most of the people taking the lesson that night came as couples, but it was surprising and fun to see how many singles there were in the crowd when they paired us up. People were laughing and smiling as they counted out the steps with their new dance partner.

We went to sleep that night with the basic steps refrain of “one-and-two, three-and-four, five-six” in our heads. It was a shaggin’ good time.

This week’s #HappyAct is to learn a new dance step. Here’s a throwback. One of the first blog posts I ever wrote was “Busta move” and I shared a link to the shag dancing championships! My friend Dianna who was pictured in that old blog post dancing with me dances four days a week. She was telling me recently that most of the dance classes she goes to are mainly older women, so any guys out there, if you’re interested in meeting women or just finding a good dance partner, go dancing!

Fat Harold's Beach Club in North Myrtle Beach
My family at Fat Harold's with a beautiful beach mural in the background
Fat Harold's dance floor