Canada Part 1

Ontario, Canada
On Thursday, June 10 we entered Canada at Niagara Falls. The customs agent asked where we lived, where we were going, how long we were going to be in Canada, do we have any weapons, alcohol or tobacco. In five minutes we were on out way. As soon as you leave the border crossing there is a toll booth. It cost us $15 to enter Canada. We stopped at a welcome center and picked up lots of good information. Had lunch at a little town park then continued on to St. Jacobs. We parked downtown on the Conestoga River. I took Gopher for a walk then Carol & I walked through the cute downtown area. Stopped in an amazing bakery. Since we both have weight goals, we’re getting better about such things. We each had one small pastry. After that we drove to a nice city park for the afternoon. Gopher was able to run free for a while. Stopped at the Canadian grocery store; Sobey’s. Tonight we’re “camping” in the parking lot near the bid Amish Market. Be interested to see how it compares with the Green Dragon
Saturday: Another gray day. No sunshine at all. I was up by 7:00. By 8 or so, we were at the market. This place is just huge. Bigger then the Green Dragon with a very nice selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. Bought some blueberries, sweet potatoes, Florida grown corn , zucchini, portabella mushrooms, sausage, pea coated ham, salmon and a spiced pork chop. We’re all ready to grill. The weather cooperated. It didn’t start raining until we had made two trips to the market. A local fellow was admiring the camper. He told me his Mennonite ancestors walked here from Lancaster, PA over 200 years ago. He directed me about a nice place to camp, for free, right on the Conestoga River walking trail. In early afternoon we left the market and spent the rest of the day there. Gopher & I went for a few walks and played ball. Later, I took the IPod and Gopher & I walked to downtown St. Jacobs. There was free WiFi along the main street. We sat on a park bench and checked our e-mail. The IPod is really nice when traveling out of the States. Heard about Oliver falling into the cactus. That evening Carol & I had dinner at the Stone Crock Restaurant in St. Jacobs. Tomorrow it’s off to a festival in Guelph. Hopefully with some sunshine.

Sunday. Gray with a misty rain. We went to the Guelph Multicultural Festival. A very enjoyable day in spite of the weather. A women I met while walking Gopher said the weather was not at all typical. Generally Spring is warm and sunny. Oh well, we put on our rain jackets and off we go. The festival was really interesting. There were German & Scottish dancers, different types of musical entertainment, foods from around the world, craft vendors, etc. For lunch Carol had Chinese dumplings & noodles and I had a gyro. In the park, there was a carrousel built in 1919. In early afternoon we went to the campground in the Guelph Conservation area. Mostly we had the place to ourselves. In Ontario, there are a lot of local Conservation Areas that tend to be around lakes & rivers. There are campgrounds, bike paths, walking trails, etc.

Monday; Drove into Guelph for the day. The plan was to visit the big Catholic cathedral but there was a funeral getting ready to start. Since neither of us were dressed appropriately, we continued on. Found a nearby city park. The park had a free Wi-Fi system!!. I got caught up on e-mail. Later we went to the Rockwood Conservation Area Campground but were disappointed with the facility so decided to continue on. Had lunch at a small city park. One of our campground books had a listing for a City of Toronto campground; Glen Rouge Campground at Rouge Park. A very nice campground. Only $30 for a site with “hydro” and water service. “Hydro” is Canadian for electricity.

Tuesday: A beautiful & sunny day. We headed out heading East with no particular plan in mind. I saw a small bakery along the side of the road. Turns out it was the living room of a private house. Amazing!! I bought a selection of goodies. Later we drove to Cobourg and stopped by the library to check e-mail and have lunch. Ate a sensible lunch followed by pastries. As we drove through town, we came across a city campground right on Lake Ontario. They had a lakefront site available for tonight and tomorrow. We’ve had some great and unique campsites over the years but this one is tough to beat. Right on a paved multi-use trail, on the Lake and in the heart of the downtown area. The best of everything we like.