Fun in Bayfield--July 2-4

Kathy here:  After all that fun on Canada Day in Stratford, we were eager to get to Dennis and Laurie's cottage in Bayfield.  We arrived in the early afternoon, unpacked and had lunch and relaxed.  Later we went down to the beach.  Laurie and Megan, Rick, Maia and Rylee had taken a trip to Toronto to see the sights.  We enjoyed the solitude with Dennis.

The beach at the cottage shrank after the winter.  Not much beach left.

Brothers

Sunsets at Bayfield are the best

The wheat field across the road from the cottage

Strolling with the dogs, Joey and Nichols

Sunsets at Bayfield are amazing

The next day we went to Zehr's to get supplies.  Those Mennonite ladies really know how to cook.

All the maple syrup you could ever want

We did some yard work and some relaxing and then Laurie and the rest of the family came back from Toronto.  Soon we were joined by Megan's friend Jen, her husband John and 5 yr. old son Alec.  They set up a tent in the backyard.  We all went to dinner and afterwards had a backyard fire and s'mores.

Waiting for s'mores

Good beer at "The Docks"

Megan, Rylee and Alec

Laurie, Den and their loving brother

Finally, the next day,  the weather cooperated and the kids got into their swimsuits.  Water fun ensued!

Watchers on the deck

kids plus water balloons equal fun

They passed the water balloon and when the music stopped, the kid with the balloon had to pop it over their head.....hahahaha

Megan and jumping the hose water game

Rick is immersed

Me and my Freddy substitute, Joey.....what a sweet patient pup

Megan in the kitchen

In the afternoon, the kids went down the the beach.  Megan, Dennis, Rick, Jeff and I joined them.  Even I agreed that it was too cold to swim, but the kids and I had fun counting to three, dunking ourselves and screaming at the top of our lungs.  That game lasted a long time.  We also played on the float, built sand castles and waded.  Sadly, no camera made it to the beach with us, but even without pictures, it was a lot of wet fun!

Another lovely sunset.  I took a few mosquito hits getting this shot.

Maia on the deck.

John and Jen fixed a gourmet feast for dinner on the 4th.  Thanks so much for your delicious cooking!  I was surprised by a Zahr's carrot cake and candles for my upcoming birthday.  Thanks everyone for such a warm celebration!

Later that night, Jeff was the hero of the day.  On the way to Detroit, Jeff had invested in a lot of really amazing fireworks.  We passed out the sparklers first, then Rick (designated pyrotechnician) lit the big fireworks one by one. Each was greeted by the appropriate oooohs and aaaaaahs and the kids all said they were the best fireworks ever!!  They all gave Jeff big hugs and I never saw him so happy

Rick gives Rylee instruction

Even the neighbors came to watch

Lots of smoke

It was a wonderful respite to hang out with Dennis and Laurie and the family.  Sadly we packed up and said goodbye to everyone on the morning of the 5th.  Maia asked "When will I see you again?"  "Hopefully soon", was our answer. 

OOOHHH Canada!: Canada Day in Stratford Ontario--July 1

After another delicious breakfast from Anna, including my Eastern European cookies which were becoming habit forming, we hit the road at 10:00.  We had a dilemma - one day left before we get to Bayfield - should we go to the big city, Toronto with all of it's many wonders or go small  and visit Stratford - the Canadian version of the Stratford in England where Shakespeare hailed from.  Well, after careful deliberation, discussion, impassioned oratory and consulting a ouija board, we decided on...drum roll please...Stratford.  Good choice on our part.  Situated on the Avon River, it has a wonderful charm to it.  Circa 1800 buildings, winding streets which follow the bends of the river, filled with polite, kind locals willing to help a wayward traveler.

July 1st is Canada Day, the Northern version of our July 4th.  Everyone wearing red with flags in their hair and smiles on their face.  We had lunch at a sandwich shop that my brother had recommended and were not disappointed.  As we wandered around town, we followed the sound of music and came upon the city square where a free concert was in progress.  We grabbed a couple of seats and enjoyed some very good music - go to itunes and check out Trent Severn, three women who know howto put notes together in a most pleasing fashion. 

After the concert, we strolled around town and checked out the Avon and then headed to our hotel for a welcome nap.  The proprietor offered a suggestion for dinner and we were glad we followed his wise advice to visit Pazzo - a restaurant whose salad and pizza lit up my mouth and made me sad when it was gone.  A delightful day.

The Bridge toward Toronto

Recommended by Dennis and Laurie

Kat got her phone working at last

Canada Day girls

The city hall building

Canada dog

Trent Severn......a wonderful group from Ontario

Flag wavers

We were just part of the crowd.

Lake on the River Avon

Calm, quiet comfortable.....the basement at Pazzo

Such a delicious wheat crust pizza

Niagra on the Lake--June 30

Well...Kat has been great about writing the blog and keeping people up to date and writing things out so our failing memories have a back up in place but it seems like I should take a couple of swings at the plate or in this case, Kat's computer.

We were up by 8:00 and in the kitchen by 9:00 where Anna was cooking up a storm for us, nothing fancy but everything was tasty and abundant.  One thing that was very cool was that she served us homemade cookies with recipes from her native land Croatia.  The cookies were very close to the cookies my grandmother used to bake, recipes from her native Ukraine.  It was truly a treat for my memories as well as my taste buds.

We enjoyed some down time on the porch and then headed out to the city in search of roadside attractions.  We stopped for lunch at Baselli's which looked like a down home restaurant filled with comfort food and grease.  Well, turns out they were heavy on the grease but not so much with the comfort food.  Oh well, most times we score but there is the occasion where alka seltzer is a must for dessert.

We then took a 25 mile ride out to Niagara on the lake.  This was a great way to see some interesting stuff and keep things mellow.  We drove down a road where we are in Canada but separated from the U.S. by 400 feet and one very deep gorge.  The scenery was beautiful, the homes we passed spectacular and you couldn't swing a dead cat without hitting a vineyard or winery.  We enjoyed the ride and stopped at the village of Niagara on the Lake which reminded me of Sisters without the western theme.  Their theme was cutesy, cutesy and expensive, leave us your wallet and your net worth.  We did give in to the peer pressure and sprang for two ice cream cones which I do have to say were delicious.

Coming back into town, we found a cell phone store and got a SIM card for Kat's phone to deal with the isolation of being a foreigner in a foreign land.  Makes me wonder how I ever learned how to put on my pants before all this new technology.   A light dinner from Tim Horton's, (Canada's answer to Denny's....except T.H. makes better food)

Crowds looking at the falls from the Canadian side

Budhist Monks visiting the falls

Is there someone in those boots?

Dam on the Niagara River

Making electricity for Canada

Lake Ontario

Flowers in Niagara on the Lake

They have a big George Bernard Shaw festival......hence his statue in the center of town

Seats next to the ice cream store

Cenotaph in memorium of World War 1 dead

More of Lake Ontario

The Niagara River runs from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario

Needless to say we stopped and bought some cherries.