Canadian Welcome

This weekend marks one of the final long weekends of the summer here in Ontario. Monday is a civic holiday and although the stores are all open, many people have the day off work. The highways were jammed by noon Friday with cars full of people going up north to enjoy their cottages. For those staying in Toronto, this weekend also offers Caribana with its parade and festivities.

Our favourite family long weekend event has always been camping. We’ve camped at a number of the provincial parks around Ontario and have enjoyed them all. Some are very popular and reservations are almost always necessary. Some parts of the campground have electricity and others offer just a place to put up your tent. We always tried to find a spot near the playground and the washrooms, yet not too far from the beach.

Camping memories include:

• trying to pitch a tent on a dark, rainy night – not fun.
• a broken tent zipper that allowed the bugs to sleep with us
• a raccoon perching in the tree outside our tent, waiting for food
• lying on the beach for too long on a hot day and suffering with sunburn afterwards
• surfing in an inner tube on the huge waves coming in
• hiking the trails
• marshmallows and songs around the campfire
• camping on an island accessible only by boat and with no conveniences except one outhouse. I was more than thankful for a shower when we got back to civilization. And we had six kids with us at the time too. What were we thinking?

The best thing I remember about camping: when we traded in our tent for a camper and I no longer had to sleep on the ground. After all, I was born and raised in Toronto. There’s only so much outdoors I can take at one time. Now that I’m a senior, I’ll leave camping to the grandkids. They can take lots of pictures and tell me all about it when they come home.

Now it’s your turn. Do you have a camping memory to share?

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Although expensive, two properties on Chalk Lake just sold recently. One was listed for about $900,000 and the other was a house a bit closer to the beach lot. Its listing price was about $800,000. The only house left for sale is on Lake Ridge Road. Although not on Chalk Lake Road, it still has lake access.

There are also two vacant lots available on Chalk Lake Road right now. If interested, you should find out what building or other usage is permitted on those sites. Since Chalk Lake is a private lake, there are a number of restrictions which should be taken into consideration when thinking about a purchase here.

And in case you’re wondering how the swimming is right now – even though the weather has been quite warm, the water is still a little chilly.

Technorati Tags: Chalk Lake, properties for sale

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During the Vancouver Olympics, the diversity of Canada was highlighted.  Rather than all of the different cultures mixing together in a melting pot, ours are visible and celebrated. This video shows the wide variety of shops and ethnic areas in Toronto. Korea town, Little Italy, Chinatown, Little India, Greek town. Walk the streets of Toronto and you can feel like you’ve traveled the world, without leaving the city. This video is a great overview of Toronto.

Technorati Tags: Toronto, ethnic areas, overview of Toronto

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If you are new to the Ottawa area or are looking for a place to go for some winter fun, then the Ottawa Winterlude Celebration is the place to be in February. Here is a little background about the Festival so you can decide if it is the place you would like to go and share some fun with your loved ones this coming winter.

Every February flocks of visitors come to Canada’ capital city to partake in the fun winter activities that can be found here. For three weekends, fun and excitement are yours to discover with ice sculptures, to an awesome playground made of snow. You can Read the rest of this entry →

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My parents used to live in downtown Toronto. Their home was on a busy street, but I parked at a meter and deposited enough money for a long visit.

Imagine my surprise when I left at suppertime and my car was no longer in its parking spot. In tears, I told my parents that someone had stolen my car.  But my mother knew better. She explained that the car had probably been towed to the pound and I would have to pay over $100 to get it back.  This was about 20 years ago, so $100 was a lot of money then.

It didn’t matter that I was in a designated parking spot. It didn’t matter that my time had been paid for. The only thing that mattered was the sign at the end of the street that said “No parking between 4 and 6 pm.”  Those times are considered evening rush hour in Toronto and very busy indeed.

I did get my car back, but it was an expensive mistake and took hours of running around to get it done. I’ve learned my lesson and watch for any signs that might be posted. Especially during morning or evening rush hours.

Technorati Tags: parking in the city, rush hour in Toronto

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