Storytime-Haunted B&B In Ontario!

Ghostly sightings are not usually part of your travel experience, but occasionally, you are bound to run into something that goes bump in the night...

The Creepy Ruined Rock Of Cashel, Ireland

Our travels often take us to ancient places that have been the scene of a bloody battle, a burial site or some other historical tragedy.  From castles to churches, megaliths to burial mounds, we can get a spooky feeling in a dungeon or an early Christian catacomb.  As tourists, we often know the history of the place we are visiting; therefore, we know that many people may have died precisely where we are standing today.  You almost expect to feel the hair stand up on the back of your neck when visiting a 3,000-year-old burial chamber in Ireland, an Etruscan necropolis in Tuscany, or an old ruined castle.


What you don't expect is a romantic getaway to a quaint Inn to turn into a ghostly encounter!  There were no castles, no graveyards, no buildings with a tragic past...or so I thought.  





It was 2007, and my family was in Ontario for a surprise Christmastime visit to my mother-in-law in the Kitchener area. Between Christmas and New Year's Eve, my husband and I decided to leave our 6-year-old son with Granny overnight and have a much-needed romantic weekend. Searching online, my husband found a Victorian mansion that had become a B&B in Owen Sound, about a three-hour drive north of Kitchener.  

Highland Manor B&B

We packed our overnight bags and took off in our rental car. The drive to Owen Sound from Kitchener was beautiful.  We took country roads that meandered past brick farmhouses and through small Ontario villages.  It was lightly snowing, and we were in the Yuletide spirit, listening to carols on the car radio and stopping for eggnog lattes along the way.  We arrived in Owen Sound just as it was beginning to get dark, and the main street was lit up in Christmas lights and seasonal greenery.  We made our way up to West Hill, which overlooks Owen Sound and pulled up to our bed and breakfast.  The Highland Manor Inn is a stately 1872 Victorian manor house with beautiful arched windows and a wrap-around verandah.
The owners, Paul and Linda, met us upon our arrival, checked us in, and then took us up a sweeping grande curved staircase that ascended 40 feet to the second floor.  Our bedroom room was the "Ross Room," named after the original owners. The room was bright and inviting, with a romantic bedside fireplace that we were enthusiastic to light that evening.  I asked the owners of the B&B to recommend a restaurant to us for our dinner that night, and they kindly called to make reservations at a little steak house down the hill.  The restaurant was nearly booked that evening, but they squeezed us in late for a late meal.  

The Ross Room

That gave me plenty of time to freshen up for dinner and explore some of the Highland Manor's grand common rooms, all decorated in exquisite Victorian Christmas decor. My favourite place was the music room, which sat to the right of the curved central staircase. With its 1902 grand piano and open design, I could imagine the Victorian dinner parties that would have taken place here.  
When we returned to the Highland Manor from our dinner, it was nearly 11pm.  Belly full, I decided to go back down to the main floor and enjoy the architecture and decor of the library, which was across from the music room.  Shortly after, my husband came downstairs to join me, and we quietly chatted and thumbed through books and magazines in the library. The lights of the ten foot tall Christmas tree glowed in the dim lighting of the hall, and the house was still, except for the ticking and chiming of a grandfather clock. 

Just after the clock tolled midnight, a strange thing occurred.  What felt like a cold breeze came spilling down the staircase. It was as if someone had opened a door or window at the top of the stairs.  There was also a distinct and overpowering scent of pine oil cleaning products!  When I say "distinct," I mean it smelled of an old fashioned cleaner like Pine-Sol mixed with bleach, the kind my grandma used to clean her bathroom.  My husband looked at me and asked, "Do you smell that?" to which I replied, "Who would be cleaning at this time of night?" 
Immediately, the room's atmosphere changed, becoming only what I can describe as oppressive, and we felt uncomfortable. It was like there was an urgency to leave the room as if some invisible danger had entered the space.  We decided to turn off the reading light and head to our bedroom.   
Our bedroom felt better.  My husband had the firelog in our room's little fireplace burning, and it was so cozy under the blankets, listening to the winter wind blowing against our windows.  Soon, our romantic evening took another strange turn; I kept hearing a baby crying.  I speculated with my husband that maybe one of the guests had a sick baby, explaining the smell of Pine-Sol cleaning product.  The only problem was that my husband could not hear a baby crying.  I even asked him to poke his head into the hallway to see if he could hear the baby's cries from there.  He heard nothing!  I insisted he walk down the hallway to the other guest bedrooms to see if he could hear a baby crying, but he reported nothing but silence.  Feeling uneasy about the night's events, we decided to go to sleep, drifting off on the heavenly Tempur-Pedic memory foam mattress.  

I slept restlessly for a few hours until, at about 3 am, a noise woke me up.  I heard a creaking sound coming from the direction of the window.  I slowly opened my eyes, adjusting them to the dim glow of the firelight.  In the corner by the window, I saw the shadow of a woman sitting in the rocking chair!  She had a head covering on like a nun or nurse, but her figure was completely backlit by the light from the window, and I could not see any of its features.  This didn't make any sense because I should have seen her face in the firelight since she was facing the bed and the fireplace. My eyes flew open, I sat up, and I reached to turn on my bedside light.  She was gone!  My blood ran cold, and I shook my husband awake.  I told him what I had just seen, and he believed me entirely. He told me he had a feeling of being 'watched' while going to sleep.  I was SO scared that I kept the light on for the rest of the night. I kept waking up and looking at the rocking chair...but it remained empty for the rest of the night.


The following morning, we went down for a delicious breakfast: homebaked scones served with homemade jam and the main breakfast course we had chosen the previous day upon check-in. I looked around the dining room, surprised I didn't see anyone with a baby I had heard crying at night. As he was pouring the coffee, I asked the owner, Paul, if anyone had been cleaning at a late hour the preceding night. "No," he chuckled nervously and then changed the subject.  


After breakfast, while we were lingering over our coffee, I asked Paul and Linda about the house's history.  As far as they knew, the house had been built in 1872 by Mr. Ross, who had come to Canada from Scotland.  Mr. Ross also owned a hotel down by the water in Owen Sound that served the passengers and sailors that came into town on the steamships.  Mr. Ross was unmarried, and no one knows how he had made his fortunes in Scotland. Once Mr. Ross built the Highland Manor, he brought his two spinster sisters, Ethel and Amy, over from Scotland to join him.  After some years, Mr. Ross came into financial hardship, owing substantial debt, and he "disappeared," leaving the two unmarried sisters to fend for themselves.  They eventually had to sell their beloved Highland Manor house and move to Vancouver, on the West Coast of Canada.  The house changed hands several times until it was purchased in 1919 by Miss Moore, who converted the mansion into a private maternity hospital called Miss Moore's. That's right; between 1919 and 1940, over 2,000 births were recorded to have taken place in this house! Indeed, there were also some deaths.
  

Scrooge & Marley by John Leech

When Paul told us about the hospital history at The Highland Manor, a chill ran down my spine.  The cleaning smells, the crying baby, the apparition of the woman in the rocking chair, "watching" me all night long; it made sense now.  The Highland Manor is haunted as F***!!! 👻👻👻 After breakfast, we quickly packed our bags and said our farewells to the owners, who I am pretty sure had an idea of what kind of supernatural occurrences take place in their home.  I guess stating "haunted accommodation in an elegant setting" on their website doesn't sell rooms.
Since I visited The Highland Manor Inn over a decade ago, it has become my Christmas tradition to read Charles Dickens's "A Christmas Carol" between Christmas and New Year's Eve.  Looking back on my haunted romantic weekend, I appreciate the Victorians' connection with ghost stories at Christmas time.  Christmas is a time of reflection, taking stock of our lives and remembering those living and dead who are no longer with us.  

And what is remembered; LIVES.

Have you had a haunted travel experience?  I would love to hear about it in the comments!

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Originally published 10/30/19

Ottawa's Winterlude Festival

The time between New Year's Day and Family Day in mid-February can feel like a long, tedious haul.  A trip to Canada's capital city of Ottawa during Winterlude will leave you loving winter!

The winter days are short in Canada, and snowstorms along with sub-zero temperatures keep most sensible folks inside often for weeks at a time.  Yet every year for the first three weekends of February, Canada's capital city of Ottawa host's one of it's most significant festivals: WINTERLUDE!

Rideau Canal Passing Lansdowne Park 

Winterlude attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to the Capital Region of Ottawa each winter.  This Canadian festival began in 1976, and all the events are spread out between Ottawa, which is in Ontario, and Gatineau, which is located across the Ottawa River in Quebec.  

The focal point of Winterlude is the famous Rideau Canal skateway.  Other Winterlude sites include an ice sculpture competition in Confederation Park, a massive snow park in Jacques Cartier Park with an ice slide and snow sculptures, and several outdoor skating rinks.  At night, DJ concerts, fireworks and laser light shows light up the night, while the ice sculptures are also all lit up with an ethereal glow.

Starting Point Of Rideau Canal

If someone had just a day to spend in Ottawa, is it worth it to make the trip?  YES!  If you have only one day to explore Winterlude, I would suggest you focus your time on the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Rideau Canal skateway.  The Rideau Canal freezes over every winter and provides Ottawa with the longest outdoor skating rink in the world, measuring  7.8 kilometres or just about 5 miles.  The skating starts at Dow's Lake near Carleton University and snakes through Old Ottawa until it ends at the locks between Canada's Parliament Buildings and the Chateau Laurier.

Rest Area on Rideau Canal Skateway

I brought my own ice skates with me to skate the canal, but there are several skate rental facilities along the skateway.  Rental locations are at Dow's Lake Pavilion,  Fifth Avenue and at the end of the canal near the National Arts Centre. The skates cost $11/hour to rent, but for $32/2 hours, you can also rent large red sleighs with built-in seats.  Perfect for pushing non-skaters around, or for tired little kids. 






Also, new for the 2020 Winterlude is the Ice Bike! Rentals are available at Capital Skates locations at Fifth Ave and National Arts Center.  These cool bikes allow you to zip along the canal, perhaps with a passenger in tow!  Ice bikes cost $42 for 2 hours.  



   

Ottawa's Chateâu Laurier

My first trip to Ottawa was a solo day trip.  Ottawa is safe, easy to navigate, the locals are amiable and eager to make suggestions on how to spend your time.  I walked along Colonel By Drive, which is the main road along the eastern side of the Rideau canal with my ice skates in my backpack.  I found myself at Pig Island, which is across the skateway from the gleaming dome of Lansdowne Park, a vast 40-acre entertainment & sports complex.  I  put on my skates and headed north on the ice towards the Parliament Buildings.  There are several rest areas along the canal that provide benches & tables, washrooms, snack huts and firepits.  Soon, I found myself whizzing under bridges towards a huge fairytale castle that is the Chateâu Laurier Hotel. The skateway ends close to the foot of the Chateâu Laurier in front of The Canadian Senate building.

The Senate is km zero of the Rideau Canal Skateway and where I changed back into my winter boots to go check out Canada's iconic Parliament Hill.   A short climb up from the skateway and you are at the foot of Canada's legislature, at confederation square which occupies Canada's war memorial statues.   Beyond the War Memorial across Wellington street, is Canada's Gothic Revival style Parliament buildings with the Centennial Flame burning in a large brazier in front of it.  The flame was lit in front of Canada's House of Commons in 1967 to mark 100 years of confederation.  I can't believe how young my country is!  Seeing "The Hill," in person, actually brought my eyes to water as this building is the historic centre of my proud nation.  

Parliament's Peace Tower

Following the road around the right side of Parliament buildings to the back of The Hill, you pass by many bronze statues of Canada's forefathers. A path continues along a bluff overlooking the Ottawa River, offering stunning views of  Quebec just a few hundred meters away.  There are guided tours available of Parliament Hill, including The Senate building, The House of Commons and the newly restored East Block Buildings.  The Centre Block Buildings and The Library of Congress are currently (in 2020) closed for restoration work.  To purchase tour tickets online visit: Parliament Tours. 

A Winterlude Tradition

With the sun starting to sink low in the sky, I reversed my steps and strapped on my ice skates once more.  The skateway was packed with locals, and the smells of the Canadian delicacy called "BeaverTails" wafted through the air.  My stomach concurred that a snack would be ideal at this time, and I pulled into the Fifth Avenue rest stop.  I lined up for a hot chocolate, and a pastry called a BeaverTail, which was invented in Ottawa in the 1970s.  A Beavertail is a flat, fried pastry that is has a sprinkling of cinnamon & sugar on top and is served piping hot. 





Grabbing a seat in front of the communal firepit at the rest area and savouring my Beavertail on the historic Rideau Canal is a  uniquely Canadian Winter tradition that topped off my visit to Winterlude.   Now I know every January first, I will be counting down the days to Winterlude!



Have you been to Ottawa's Winterlude?  What's your favourite winter tradition?  Tell me about it in the comments below!

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Exploring Ottawa's Canadian Tulip Festival

We hear the cling of bicycle bells echoing under a stone bridge and the honk of geese from the sparkling waters of the adjacent canal as we glide past beds of colourful tulips.  Are we in Amsterdam?  No, we are in Ottawa, Canada for The Canadian Tulip Festival!

Château Laurier

Spring is a gorgeous time to visit Canada's capital of Ottawa.  The weather is mild, the international tourist crowds are still relatively thin, and tulips abound in all the flower beds around the city.  The Canadian Tulip Festival occurs every May for about 10 days and kicks off the summer festival season with a burst of flowers and fireworks! 

 

The History of the Canadian Tulip Festival is quite unique.  In 1940, during World War II when the Nazi forces invaded the Netherlands,  the Dutch Royal Family had to flee their home and came to live in Ottawa.  In 1943 Princess Juliana (who later became the Queen of the Netherlands) gave birth to Princess Margriet in Ottawa Civic Hospital.  In order to be born Royal, the Princess had to be born on Dutch soil, so the hospital maternity ward was temporarily declared "extraterritorial" meaning the ward was considered international soil.  In this way, Princess Margriet claimed the nationality of her mother, which is Dutch law.    Otherwise, Juliana's baby would have been a dual Canadian/Dutch citizen and therefore not be able to be in succession for the Dutch throne.

Bright Beds of Tulips Everywhere

In 1945 the Dutch Royal Family returned home, and Princess Juliana gifted Ottawa 100,000 tulip bulbs.  Every year since then the Dutch Royal family has gifted the city of Ottawa 20,500 tulip bulbs, and in 1953 The Canadian Tulip Festival was born. Drawing more than half a million visitor to Canada's capital, the ten-day festival has become one of Ottawa's biggest and longest-running celebrations.

Tulips are plentiful all over Ottawa's parks, gardens and boulevards during mid-spring especially around the Canadian Parliament, along the Rideau Canal and Dow's Lake.  The Tulip Festival usually had multiple locations, but this year in 2019 the festival was concentrated in one area; Commissioner's Park on Dow's Lake. 




The best place to find out current information on The Canadian Tulip Festival is on the official Tulip Fest website:  tulipfestival.ca or on the official ottawatourism.ca website.

Cori Biking Along Rideau Canal

The Ottawa Tulip Festival ends on Canada's Victoria Day Long Weekend (the Monday before May 25th; Queen Victoria's birthday) which is the unofficial kickoff to summer in Canada.  My friend Cori and I decided to make the trip a four-day weekend, taking the Friday and the Holiday Monday as travel days to Ottawa from South West Ontario; about a 6-hour drive.  This will give us more than a full two days to explore Ottawa.  

Ottawa's downtown core is quite compact and easy to navigate, with most of the major tourist attractions all within walking distance of each other.   Getting to the site of this year's Tulip Festival at Commissioner's Park in South Ottawa was going to part of the fun.  We decided to walk downtown and rent bikes and ride them along the Rideau Canal to Commissioner's Park at Dow's Lake; about a 13 km loop trail.

Map Of Our Tulip Festival Tour

Ottawa is a bicycle haven with numerous bike paths and city streets with designated bike lanes; renting bikes was super fun and easy.  We looked into a public bike share program, but the website was a bit confusing, and we had troubles finding the pick-up and drop-off locations.  Also, we didn't want our bikes to get picked up by another rider while we tip-toed through the tulips at Dow's Lake, leaving us stranded at the festival.  So we decided to head to the RentABike location on the Rideau Canal just under the canal bridge in front of the Chateaux Laurier.

TIP: At RentABike everything is included, the bike, helmet, lock, maps, a bungee cord to secure my raincoat to the bike rat trap and of course a sweet little bell on the handlebars!  We chose to rent our bikes for 4 hours, and it came to a total of $25, including taxes.  Here is the RentABike website:  www.rentabike.ca

Love Locks on the Canal...

Rideau Canal Leading To Château Laurier

Zipping along the shared pedestrian/bike path we were told to cross the Rideau Canal at the third bridge due to the ongoing construction of the canal on the east side in 2019.
The ride along the Rideau takes you along canalside pathways, under stone bridges and then up to tulip-lined boulevards, past the giant sports stadium only to return back down to the canal where it is quiet, and the chatter of ducks is louder than the people strolling by.  




Once we arrived at Dow's Lake, we were overwhelmed with crowds of tulip lovers congesting the bike paths, so we decided to dismount and lock up the bikes and make inroads to the Tulip Festival by foot.  TIP: If you are arriving by car, there is a designated parking lot at Queen Juliana Park a short walk away from Commissioner's Park.  All day parking is $15; see the Tulip Fest website for more information.

Gorgeous beds of colours bursting out from the gardens in some of the most resplendent tulips I have ever seen!  I am not a tulip aficionado by any means, but some of these varieties of tulips seemed so extravagant. The atmosphere in Commissioner's Park was so festive; there was a band shelter with a brass band playing and tones of food trucks with all sorts of delightful ethnic spices wafting over the crowds.  Kids were running around the park in facepaint and bouncy castles were set up so the kids could work off their sugar rushes.  TIP: Public washrooms are sparse throughout the park and the line up for the Portable butt-huts was almost an hour long in some cases!

Yum!

Speaking of sugar rushes; a trip to Ottawa would not be complete without a BeaverTail!  BeaverTails are delicious deep-fried pieces of flat dough that are then traditionally dipped in cinnamon sugar and served with a slice of lemon.   Nowadays you can have your BeaverTail spread with Nutella or try a savoury topping like parmesan cheese or even poutine...this is called a PouTail!  😂  

Sunshine & Tulips; A Perfect Spring Combo

Bellies full of exotic Canadian pastries and sugar coursing through our veins, we decide to hop back on our rental bikes and head back to the city centre to return our rentals.   The sun was shining, and the promenade along the canal entertained more people at this time, especially families with small kids in tow.  There were a few boats on the canal, and as we glided past the non-anglophone speaking locals, I couldn't help think that this must be a taste of what Amsterdam must be like.  I am inspired to find out!

The day ended with a blazing fireworks display over Dows Lake, and access to Commissioners Park was again free. TIP: The fireworks parking scene at night is just as bad as the daytime parking at Queen Juliana park so perhaps consider walking, biking or public transit to avoid getting stuck in the post-fireworks traffic jam.  


The Canadian Tulip Festival is one of my favourite festivals in Ontario and left me pondering this: if Montreal and Quebec City is Canada's version of France, and St. Johns Canada's version of Ireland then imaginably Ottawa is Canada's version of the Netherlands.  

Have you been to Ottawa in the Spring or to The Canadian Tulip Festival?  What was your favourite activity?  Let me know in the comments below.


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Family Day Dash Through The Snow In Ontario

My first Family Day Holiday in Ontario was special.  The romance of a horse-drawn sleigh ride seemed the perfect activity for a sunny winter day. We didn't let the frigid Mid-February temperatures stop us from getting outdoors for some family fun!

Cuddle Time 

South-Western Ontario seems to have a romantic "step back through time" feel, and a horse-drawn sleigh ride seemed perfect for this frigid and snowy Family Day! Our group met at Riverbend Acres; a farm situated South of Kitchener (between Washington and Bright) not too far from our farmhouse in Drumbo. Immediately the beautiful Belgian Draft Horses that reside at Riverbend Acres were curious to meet us and came around the corral to say hello to everyone.  These horses are magnificent; big and blonde with loving brown eyes. They enjoyed a little cuddle!

Our Sweet Ride

Libby, the owner of Riverbend Acres, had the sleigh and the horses all ready for us when we arrived. Blankets lined the bench seats that circled the inside of the wagon, plus we brought along some extra blankets for our laps-because it was darn cold out, even though the sun was shining.  Good thing we brought along mitt & toe warmer inserts that day too; it was down to -16 degrees Celsius that afternoon!  

Keeping Toasty Warm

Libby had a team of two Belgian sisters that would be pulling our family that day; 7 adults and 4 kids, plus Libby at the reins. There is a maximum passenger capacity of 12 people for each wagon ride.  Our group was no problem for these two horses who pulled us as if we were a bunch of toddlers in a Radio Flyer wagon! 

Ride Through The Maple Grove

Our sleigh ride lasted for about an hour; touring Riverbend's 100-acre farm.  We went down along the banks of the Nith river in the sunshine and of course, singing at least one chorus of Jingle Bells! Then the horses really got going to a trot, and I was amazed at how fast they could go... yet so smooth.  It felt like we were floating above the snow. Libby guided the horses through a thick stand of Maple trees, and the kids looked for bird nests, woodpecker holes, and even a few squirrel habitats were sighted. It reminded me that soon, this forest of Maples will be full of buckets when the weather starts warming up, and the sap starts to run in March.  Mmmmm...syrupy goodness!

Snow Angel Time

Libby stopped the horses in a field behind Riverbend Acres so that we could jump out of the wagon and make angels in the snow to add to her guests' collection.  The wind must have blown the snow into a big drift here because it was so soft and deep.  One thing I miss about the West Coast is the heavy wet snow; now that is snow you can make snowballs with!  We couldn't really have a snowball fight. It turned out to be more of a snow-spray effect, like how you would splash water at someone. Apparently, I need to hone this skill because if the wind is not in your favour, the snow flies right back in your face. 😩

Winter Time Fun!

The horses soon made their way back to barns, and we were ready to gather around a roaring fire for some delicious hot apple cider that Granny brought from Wellesley. But first, we had to check out the sheep and goats in the barn.  The kids had fun feeding the lambs that had just been born at the beginning of February.  I slipped outside to give the horses a few extra special treats; some big fat juicy carrots!  With Libby's permission of course...

The "Olde Piggery" At Riverbend Acres

We reserved the "Olde Piggery", a beautiful rustic stone outbuilding at Riverbend for an hour after our sleigh ride so we could warm up by the wood stove and have a light meal together.  We had plugged in our crock pots to warm while we were out on our sleigh rides.  Hot BBQ pulled pork on french bread buns was on the menu, washed down with some famous Wellesley apple cider definitely hit the spot! The adults warmed up by the fire for a while, and the kids played ping pong and darts.  A bit of Apple Schnapps sitting by the wood stove was a perfect way to end to the Family Day afternoon. 

   

To book a wagon or sleigh ride with Libby at Riverbend Acres call 1-519-504-8340 or go to riverbendacres.com   Connect with Riverbend Acres on Facebook or Instagram to see where they will appear next in the community!


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Algonquin's Iconic Canoe Lake

There was something so lonely about sitting in a little canoe in the middle of a big blue lake; the only sound was the wind and the waves loudly slapping the sides of your boat.  It was a strange sensation that I felt long ago as a kid learning to paddle a canoe at summer camp, but had never felt again; even as an adult in a kayak on the Canadian West Coast. This may sound weird, but I felt so intensely Canadian.  It felt like I had stepped into a Tom Thomson painting...

Tom Thomson's Jack Pine

You see, growing up in Vancouver as a young inner-city kid, our grade 1 teacher had taken our class on the public bus to The Vancouver Art Gallery to see some Canadian art. The VAG features Emily Carr's painting collection that captures the Canadian West Coast.  I fell in love with Emily Carr and her totem pole paintings that day.  To contrast Carr's work, the teacher took us into a"Group Of Seven" gallery that was on tour to the VAG, where I saw images of windswept trees clinging to rock outcroppings overlooking vast "oceans" that were actually lakes.  Words like "Canadian shield" and "Great Lakes" were tossed around.  As a 6-year-old, I had no idea what they were talking about, but there was one painting that I remember seeing in the gallery that really piqued my imagination for years to come.  It was Tom Thomson's painting "The Jack Pine" with its gnarley branches twisted by the wind.  The colours were not lush and nurturing green like Carr's paintings, but ochre, brown and grey, which felt so hard and rugged; so different. I remember the teacher saying Tom Thomson painted in Algonquin Park.  From that moment on, I knew I had to visit this place and see the landscape through my own eyes.

Tom Thomson came to Algonquin in 1912 and fell in love with what he saw.  He stayed in Algonquin Park working and painting the Canadian landscape until his mysterious death in 1917. Tom Thomson's body was found in Canoe Lake on July 17th, 1917; 8 days after he had gone missing. leaving many unanswered questions about his death.   Thomson left a legacy of 400 sketches and over 2 dozen canvases that are in art galleries all over Canada.  We visited canoe lake, because of my childhood fascination with the artist and didn't realize that last year had been the 100th anniversary of Tom Thomson's tragic death.  The stories about Thompson's death were like a magnet that pulled me in to want to learn more about the beauty of this peaceful lake; the lake that is reported to be haunted by Tom Thomson's ghost...


We had a brilliant plan for the day.  We would head over to the store at Canoe Lake and hire a canoe for a half-day and explore Algonquin park without having to use our legs.  You see, yesterday we walked the Centennial Ridges Trail, a ten and a half kilometre hike the previous day that involved going up and down five separate ridges.  Our legs were stiff and grumpy, so the thought of putting them through another hike was daunting.  So we figured we would use the upper body to paddle a canoe all day to result in making our WHOLE body stiff! Yay!

Italy Meets Canada!

Rental Shop On Canoe Lake

We headed West from our Kearney Lake campground to The Portage Store at Canoe Lake.  The little Portage Store is a charming store, cafe, gas station and boat rental on the shores of Canoe Lake, which is in the heart of Algonquin Park.  Along with canoes, you can also rent kayaks and stand up paddleboards.  The Portage Store also offers campground canoe delivery service (how awesome is that!?!) and guided canoe day and overnight trips.  In 2017, the 100th anniversary of Tom Thomson's death,  The Portage Store offered an exclusive Tom Thomson guided day tour visiting many historic sites on Canoe Lake and explaining the mystery of Thomson's death.  I don't know if this tour will be offered in the summer of 2018 and beyond but you could ask for the canoe map of the lake and many of the sites are listed on it and you can discover them on your own.

Charming Little Lighthouse

We rented a 17 foot 3-seat aluminum canoe, piled some blankets on the bottom of the boat for the dachshunds and hopped into our rental canoe.  The dogs were surprisingly comfortable in the boat, probably relieved that we didn't have to do any more walking today!  It was about $25 for the 4-hour rental, and that included the life jackets and paddles and a map of the sights around the lake.  We headed out on the lake, laughing and splashing as we tried to get the hang of paddling our canoe.  It had been many decades since my summer camp canoe lessons and mastering my J-stroke!  TIP: Check out this resource for first-time canoers.  We stuck close to the shore as we headed North on the lake, passing by many docks leading up to quaint summer cottages.  We passed Popcorn Island which is the only public access island on Canoe Lake and is a great place to go swimming or stop for a break.  Then we passed by Braught's Lighthouse which was built in 1941 to help guide you past the three islands in the middle of Canoe Lake.  Once past the group of islands in the middle of Canoe Lake, the smooth waters got a bit choppy and more difficult to navigate.

Thomson Cairn Canoe Lake

The goal was to try to get to the Tom Thomson cairn on Hayhurst Point, the place where Thomson was thought to have died. This is a popular destination for art lovers to pay homage to this brilliant Canadian artist.  The memorial cairn was erected in September 1917, a few months after Thomson's death by fellow artists that ended up becoming Canada's Group of Seven painters.  The dock at Hayhurst Point is the only public dock on Canoe Lake, all others are private and belong to exclusive lodges or privately owned homes.  The dock leads to a steep path that climbs up to the memorial cairn and a totem pole.  This is also the spot where every July 17, the day of Thomson's death, at dusk or in the early morning fog, a solitary canoeman suddenly appears and silently glides by the Point only to quickly vanish again.  Some say it is Tom Thomson's ghost looking for solace.

Rental Canoe

Suddenly the wind started to pick up and we decided to head to some calmer water.  Paddling like mad against the wind and waves we decided to head to Whiskey Jack Bay.  The rental staff at the Portage Store said that this isolated bay is a great area for spotting wildlife and the narrow passage feels more like a river, offering calm waters.  Often moose, beavers, otters, herons, loons and turtles are seen within the tranquil waters of the bay.

Lotus In The Lilies

We spotted a mother loon with about ten awkward fuzzy babies following along behind her just as we entered the mouth of the bay.  The further you paddle into Whiskey Jack Bay the calmer and shallower the water became, revealing the grassy lake bottom just inches below your boat. The canoe parted lily pads and lotus flowers like a comb, and marsh birds flitted in and out of the long grasses and bullrushes.  This was a lovely and relaxing way of exploring Algonquin by canoe.

Little Penny Enjoying Her Canoe Ride

The four hours in the canoe went by so quickly!  This was an excellent introduction to a quintessential Ontario experience and the whole canoe culture of Algonquin Park.  After returning our boat to the rental dock, we decided to grab some lunch at the Portage Cafe.  The Cafe is nice, but there is also an appealing lawn with picnic tables and a small public dock located here.  It was nice to sit in the sun and watch all the boats go by while licking an ice cream.
Reflecting on the afternoon's canoe experience, I felt hungry for more.  More paddling; but for longer, and with camping gear and portages to remote backcountry campsites!  I wanted the WHOLE Ontario experience!  I wanted to stay in that Thomson painting for longer!
I went into the Portage shop and bought my self 2 essential items:  A waterproof, tear-resistant Algonquin Provincial Park ADVENTURE topographic map with all the portage routes and backcountry camping spots. Also, I bought a campfire popcorn popper-because it can't ALL be roughing it after all!

I can see more Algonquin canoe adventures in my future...

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