Midland, Ontario

Our next stop after St Jacobs was Owen Sound. This is near the Bruce Peninsula which we explored on Sunday. It is hard to comprehend just how large the Great Lakes system is. On a map this peninsula appears quite small beside Georgian Bay, which in turn is just part of Lake Huron. Not only is the surface area of the lakes huge, but also in places the water close to the shore is nearly 600 feet deep.


We drove to Tobermory, but did not take the glass bottomed boat over the wrecks. Instead we inquired about native orchids as there are supposed to be over 40 species hereabouts. We were directed to the boardwalk at Singing Sands. On the way there, Bill managed to spot Yellow Slipper Orchids from the car - a pretty good effort. At Singing Sands people were retreating from the boardwalk as a rattlesnake had been seen and heard. We saw lots of carnivorous plants (drosera?) in the swampy ground beside the boardwalk and later on another track some pink orchids.

Yellow slipper orchid. The slipper is about 3 or 4 cm across.

Pink slipper orchids. These also are large and showy.

My excuse for the poor focus of the pink slipper orchid photo was the mud and the likelihood of meeting a rattlesnake.

Sauble Beach - one of Canada's top ten beaches! I guess it is all relative,  it would not rate in Western Australia.

The First nation person on the gate, came and invited us Seniors to walk on the beach for free which was very kind.

After leaving Owen Sound we drove to Midland via among other places, Wasauga Beach to which Michelin gives a star, but we did not agree with the rating.

Midland is a very historic area and we went first to Discovery Harbour at Penetanguishene. We had a great guide Jon, around the reconstructed British naval base of 1817 (keeping the Americans away). Apart from the buildings, there are two tall ships (small ones). Kingston was the main naval base and Penetanguishene was never very large and would have been very remote. After the navy closed the base in 1828,the army remained there until the 1850s.

HMS Tecumseth, Discovery Harbour, Penetanguishene

The Quarterman complete with his 19thC woodworking tools, Penetanguishene

On Tuesday,we went to Sainte-Marie among the Hurons just outside Midland. The Jesuits established a mission  here in 1639. It was 1300 km, 30 days by canoe up the St Lawrence and Ottowa Rivers etc. with 50 portages west from Quebec. For a while the settlement thrived, but the warlike Iriquois attacked and two of the Jesuits were murdered. A couple of years later the Jesuits abandoned the site after burning it to the ground. They thought there was a fair chance their murdered companions would later be canonised, so they dug up their bones and took them back to Quebec, so that they would be available as relics. I don't  think this fits with the idea of Rest in Peace which surely they deserved, but different times, different ideas. Incidentally they did become saints in 1930.

Wendat (called Huron by the French) longhouse on the left and a tepee on the right. In the background the chapel built by the Jesuits. The Wendat were an agricultural and matrilineal people who lived communally in palisaded villages.They grew corn, beans and squash.

Using threads of spruce root to sew together sheets of birch bark to repair the wigwam in the photo below. Such a structure would typically last about 5 or 6 years.

At both of these sites, the costumed staff were fabulous, very well informed and friendly and mostly completely bilingual. There were a lot of francophone tourists and they switched seamlessly back and forth between English and French.

St Jacobs, near Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario

Tuesday June 21st.
Gananoque is close to Kingston which was once the capital of Upper Canada. It has an old fort and is the site of the Canadian Military College and Queen's University. After the war of 1812, the settlers were very wary of the Americans and built the Rideau Canal in 1832. It links Kingston and Ottawa via lakes and streams along Indian canoe trails. It is 202 km long with 45 locks. It would have been much easier to defend than the St Lawrence River and although it was never needed militarily it encouraged settlement and today is used for recreational boating. We pottered about along it and stopped for a picnic at one of the lock stations which are all attractively landscaped. In between there are nice old villages with many substantial buildings.

Hand operated lock along the Rideau Canal

Wednesday we had a long drive much of it on motorways around Toronto. The system has core express lanes and collector or feeder lanes and the heavy traffic certainly seemed to flow very well.

As we arrived in Niagara early in the afternoon,we thought it a good opportunity to compare motels. I did get a bit disheartened, but persevered and found one which at $60/night offered cheaper rates for a better room than some of the well known chains.

It was walking distance to the Falls and they are just as spectacular as you would expect. The street I came back along was just like Blackpool and I guess in another month it will be heaving with people.

Two maid of the Mist boats in front of the American Falls

One sunburnt blue penguin.

A flock of blue penguins.

The Maid of the Mist in the thick of things at the foot of the Canadian or Horseshoe Falls.

Thursday morning was bright and sunny and we were at the dock early to do the classic Maid of the Mist boat ride - then another inspection of the Falls before we set off along the Niagara Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake - another very pretty town. After eventually finding a petrol station in Thorold and then our way out of town we went to the viewing platform at No 7 lock on the Welland Canal, but unusually there were no ships at all. The Welland Canal links Lake Erie to Lake Ontario and thus to the St Lawrence Seaway. There is a difference in height of 99 m (326 ft) between the two lakes and so there are 8 locks along its 28 mile length.

Friday we left Niagara and went back to the Welland canal and this time saw a sizeable ship (180 m) go through lock No. 3.

It only takes ten or fifteen minutes for a 180 m ship to negotiate a lock on the Welland Canal.

On then to St Jacobs (just north of Kitchener) where we were in buggy territory - the Old Order Mennonites. St Jacobs is a lovely village (I need more variety of adjectives!) and there are several quilt shops and a good fabric store. We stayed in the Olde Heidelberg Inn, whose restaurant served good hearty German style meals and whose WiFi had an incredibly long password, but didn't work anyway.

Saturday is market day in St Jacobs and we were there by 8 a.m. and the market was already very busy. It is an excellent market. Lots of fruit, flowers, vegetables, bread, pies (sweet ones), cheese, meat, fish, pickles, jams etc. and all sorts of other goods

 Boardwalk in the main street of St Jacobs

 Mennonite lady in her quilt shop in St Jacobs. She is a Pfaff fan, so we had plenty to chat about.

The 1880 West Montrose covered bridge near St Jacobs.

Buggies are surprisingly common around St Jacobs. There are even "Buggy Detour" road signs. I think the reason is buggies and roadworks don't mix.

It is just as well the buggies do display a fluorescent triangle - a modern safety precaution.

 Attractively displayed produce in the St Jacobs Farmers' Market.

Gananoque, Ontario

Friday morning early, New York turned on a spectacular thunderstorm - great sheets of lightning, but fortunately by the time we came to walk to Penn station, the rain had stopped. It was a slow train to Montreal but a pleasant comfortable journey.

Saturday we picked up a Dodge Avenger at Montreal Airport and headed west stopping at a Quebec supermarket to stock up on beer and wine (Quebec has more liberal alcohol rules than Ontario.)

Sunday was a good day to go to Upper Canada Village as there were no school parties. When the St Lawrence Seaway was constructed a large area of settled land was flooded and so many old buildings were moved to this site and a typical 1860s village of 1860 Ontario or Upper Canada as it was then known was created. The staff in period costume were very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. As at all such historic sites it is very quiet - steam and/or water driven machines are so much quieter than petrol or diesel. It is interesting to compare and contrast the different development in Canada and Australia - the climates are so different and we did not have a string of wars.
 
Monday, the weather was still perfect and we came to Gananoque and took a cruise through the Thousand Islands. I forgot the sunscreen again, but it was a good trip although I don't think much has changed since we were last here in 1989.

General view of the sawmill in Upper Canada Village. 

The water driven saw is pretty impressive, although apparently during the spring thaw when there is more water it goes much faster.

 The broom maker is kept busy supplying the village. They are made from sorghum, which came to America with the slaves.

Drunkard's Path in one of the cottages

Note the ornate stove. An enormous quantity of wood was burnt each winter. For example, the Lutheran pastor's stipend included 15 cords of wood. One cord is 4 ft x 4 ft x 8 ft.

The baker hard at work, using flour ground in the village mill.

A 1 HP scow in the canal.

Note the Surrey with the fringe on top in front of the barn.

Very young cabinetmaker!

Not sure how effective the fire engine would be!!

Fancy your own island getaway? There are actually over 1800 islands in the Thousand Islands area, but to be an island it must have a minimum of two trees and an area of ? To build a house now on a Canadian island it must be at least two acres.

 

Out of focus HMV icon in the garden of Irving Berlin's summer house.

Boldt's Castle - the grandest island home.

The world's smallest International bridge.

Eagles do not need a 2 acre island to make a home!

More from New York

Well, New York is supposed to be fast paced and we certainly seemed to have hardly paused for breath.
On Wednesday we set off early and were at Top of the Rock when it opened at 8.30. Top of the Rock is the alternative to the Empire State and although slightly shorter does offer a 360 degree panorama and less crowds. It was a bit hazy, but clear enough to wow me.
 
Our next stop was MOMA - Museum of Modern Art and it did not disappoint. We found all the Michelin 3 star paintings and I really liked the photographs although not the special exhibition - a bit too confronting! It had started raining by the time we emerged, but we ventured back along 5th Ave and then into Grand Central Station - more grand architecture and into the foyer of the 1931? Chrysler building. The detail and finish in the foyer is beautiful.

We then took the subway to Soho to inspect the cast iron facades on some of the buildings which are interesting.

So today is our last day in New York and we started with a cruise around Manhattan Island which gives a different perspective and the guide was very informative. After relaxing on the boat (and getting sunburnt) we got our exercise by walking to the Highline Park an disused elevated railway track now recycled as a park. Our last excursion today was to Franklin St to see where Dominique Strauss Kahn is under house arrest. Tomorrow is another day and we leave for Montreal.

 View of Central Park from Top of the Rock (GE Building, Rockefeller Centre)

Empire State again.

MOMA - Tiger by Morris Hirchfield. I thought he was gorgeous!

This is for Hannah - the lifts in the Chrysler building foyer.

Haughwout Building, Soho.

Detail of Haughwout building cast iron facade

 Another cast iron facade from the 1850s in Soho.

 See what I mean about expensive parking and this is in the open air and stacked up!

A drink would be welcome after a frantic day.

HiLine Park - a recycled elevated railway

Showing the view from the elevated HiLine Park

 New Yorkers relaxing in HiLine Park