#Bruce Peninsula rent a cottage

[kilsythcamping]

Owen Sound Ontario Campgrounds

If you want to go on a mini vacation or adventure tour or want to celebrate a special moment with friends or camping with family or want a private camping with children for which, if you want to know about Owen Sound Ontario Campgrounds, your seach ends here. At kilsyth country camping (KCC) Owen Sound, you can do many exciting things like tenting, RV camping, cycling, swimming, fishing and discover new ways of fun and entertainment.   

[cedarescapecottages]

Looking for a place to stay in Tobermory

Come and book a luxurious cottage at Tobermory near Bruce Peninsula Trail. The Cedar cottage located in Tobermory town has multiple properties to rent out. All the property is spacious and can accommodate 12-15 people. The properties are equipped with full kitchen, high speed internet, free WiFi, sat TV, BBQ + propane, fire pit, etc.

[campingca]

Have a calming holiday with cabins rental Sauble Beach

The advantages of this option are several: picturesque surroundings - forest, rivers, and lakes, silence and clean air, comfortable housing, developed infrastructure, and transport accessibility. The Bruce Peninsula rent a cottage for the weekend or holiday allows you to have good rest with your family and friends.

How to rent a house outside the city? Of course, the main selection criteria are good location and comfort of living. However, all other things being equal, experts strongly recommend paying attention to the following nuances:

• Distance from the highway. It is important not only to get from the highway to rented cottages but to do it as comfortably and quickly as possible. • Interior, exterior, furnishings, engineering communications, all this to be checked. We advise you to pay attention to the well-groomed plot, the presence of a garden with a veranda or gazebo, a vegetable garden, and outbuildings. • Infrastructure. It is better to rent housing for one year in an equipped village, where there are shopping centers, shops, ATMs, pharmacies, and other establishments nearby. • Insurance. The correct option is to rent insured real estate. It will protect against various troubles in the event of damage to property. • Write in the contract all the details of the accommodation - compensation for damaged property, pets, who will have more keys to the house, how often the owner of the property visits, etc. Experts at cabins rental Sauble Beach, advise when signing documents to negotiate directly with the owner of the cottage or the organization. First, you can discuss several points in a personal communication that cannot be solved when talking with trusted persons. Secondly, you will establish the legal capacity of the owner and the adequacy of the price charged by him. Thirdly, to correctly sign all the papers, invite a real estate specialist with you to the transaction.

[wesfike]

Relief and concern as province allows short-term rentals to operate again

Owners of homes, cottages and condominiums that offer short-term stays for visitors to Grey-Bruce are breathing a sigh of relief now that the province has given a green light for the rentals to operate again.

“From an industry perspective, everyone’s pretty relieved,” said Quinn Ross, an administrator of the 305-member Bruce Peninsula Short Term Accommodations Group Facebook page.

“It was limbo for an extended period of time without any real sense of what the plan was. Some communications out of the premier’s office had indicated that Phase 2 of 3 was when they were considering reopening the short-term accommodation industry and so people were anticipating that and wondering when that might roll out.”

The province banned the operation of most short-term rentals April 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The accommodations could only be provided to people who were in need of housing during the emergency period.

On May 19, the provincial government launched the first stage of its plan for reopening Ontario, while extending all emergency orders including the mandated closure of places of non-essential business, which had included short-term rentals.

The rentals were still deemed non-essential workplaces when the province extended that emergency order May 27 until June 9.

However, on Thursday, Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli announced on Twitter that short-term rentals would be permitted again as of 12:01 a.m. Friday, just ahead of what is expected to be a sunny weekend in Grey-Bruce.

Hotels, motels, lodges, cabins, cottages and other shared rental accommodations are now considered essential businesses.

“All in all, it’s been a rollercoaster, but I think generally speaking people are pretty happy,” Ross said.

“Now comes the time to ensure the safety of the guests from the perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

A provincial government news release says owners of short-term accommodations should consult the province’s health and safety guidelines related to the tourism and hospitality sector when considering how they can reopen their doors to guests. It says operators and guests should continue to practice physical distancing and wash hands frequently.

Israel Ellis, a board member with The Blue Mountains Short Term Accommodation Owners Association, said the province’s decision to lift restrictions on short-term rentals has been “positively received” by the organization’s members.

He said providing short-term accommodations at this point in the pandemic is something that can be done safely.

“We’re in a situation in Ontario where people want to travel; they’re restricted from all sorts of travelling. Places like Blue Mountain offer a great opportunity for them to travel and vacation and, especially in single-detached homes, it allows them to maintain protection,” he said.

“You can leave Toronto and go to Blue Mountain without filling up on gas, so I think the risk is extremely low when you compare it to places like hotels with common areas where it’s a lot more complex.”

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound Progressive Conservative MPP Bill Walker said the provincial government is taking a “measured approach” to reopening businesses and resuming activities.

Allowing short-term accommodations to operate follows additional actions the province has taken to support the seasonal travel and tourism industry in Ontario, he said.

His news release quotes provincial ministers that say many people rely on short-term rentals to supplement their income and that reopening the accommodations will provide guests the opportunity to “safely experience all that our province has to offer.”

Still, some local residents are concerned that it might be too soon in the pandemic to allow short-term accommodations to resume, with many people expressing concern on social media about the potential risks of having large amounts of people from cities with higher numbers of coronavirus cases visiting Grey-Bruce.

“Buckle up. I surely understand the desire to get away, but this will probably greatly increase our risk of illness,” one person wrote on a Northern Bruce Peninsula community Facebook group.

Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau said his municipality on Lake Huron has quite a few short-term rental properties.

He said the provincial government is following the advice of Ontario’s chief medical officer of health and those experts obviously feel now is the right time to allow short-term rentals to reopen.

“We’re supportive of the province working with the medical officer of health in that way, so we now look forward to seeing our summer residents and cottagers back in the community. And we certainly hope that when they do come back, they observe the advice of public health and do what public health is asking everybody to do – physical distancing, staying home if you’re sick, washing your hands, wearing masks if you go into retail stores,” he said.

“Just like everybody, if our cottage owners and summer residents are doing those things then I think we can all enjoy the summer here safely.”

Steve Harris, president of the Saugeen Shores Chamber of Commerce, said reopening short-term accommodations is a positive step overall, as long as it’s done safely and regular testing to monitor the spread of the virus continues.

Saugeen Shores needs tourism, he said.

“So we definitely want to see an increase in activity and increase in consumer habits, but, again, everything has to be done safely. We want to make sure that proper protocols are in place and that each and every business and customer are adhering to those so that we don’t have a step back,” he said.

Dave Craig, president of Lion’s Head-based Rentcottage.com, said his business is holding off on occupancies for now, until the province releases early next week specific guidelines for short-term rental operators.

The business, which lists about 150 rental cottages on the Bruce Peninsula and nearly 350 provincewide, has been accepting bookings throughout the pandemic for later in the summer, but decided March 20 to cancel all existing reservations with occupancy periods before May 31.

They also stopped taking new bookings for that period.

Craig said business was dead in March and April, but picked up in May for summer bookings. There’s been a surge in calls in recent days and Friday was very busy, he said, in the wake of the province’s announcement.

“We’ve had a few owners who decided not to rent this year because of what’s been happening, but most owners are keen to get going,” he said.

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[graytuft]

Ready for some humour? Here are six photographs. The game, or challenge, is to take sixty seconds and think up a story based on these six image. Only sixty seconds after doing that there is a short story that will make you laugh and even think, if you are so predisposed.

All of this begins in a small harbour town called Tobermory.  This is not the one in Scotland but it does have rock, water, sunken ship wrecks and lots of tourism. It is in the Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada. This small harbour town is transforms every summer from a lazy fishing village into a hub of people diving some of the clearest waters one can find after which many will find a restaurant where they can sip locally brewed beer, and savour the delicate flavours of fresh caught fish. Tobermory also happens to be smack dab in the middle of a designated UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

You are in the middle of all of this and find yourself  walking near docked fishing boats when you notice a dive shop. There is a hum of activity in the air but you are lost in your own thoughts and don’t quite register the people on a busy rooftop balcony restaurant.  Your mind saunters through whispers and snippets of thoughts when you hear a strong voice grinding out annoyance as it commands “Get out of here!” That grinding command breaks your reverie and you snap your eyes up in order to identify the source of your disturbance.

Above the street side shops you catch the movement of a seagull and you hear it squawk a response to that grinding command. The seagull is also disturbed and moves a safe distance away from the large hairy arm swatting the seagull away. Your whispers and snippets of thoughts now understand the background sounds because you have registered there is a rooftop restaurant serving fish and chips and possibly beer.

Your head is cranked up because your eyes linger only to watch the seagull navigate the dangers at that diner. It is going in again. It is at this point you have a different background noise that seems to follow the same dives and turns of the gull’s wings. That noise is your unregistered thoughts and even though you linger a few short seconds your mind starts to yaw and pitch with thoughts that have been waiting for their opportunity to jump the queue of all your other thoughts, including the never ending To Do List.

In that whirlwind of pitching and yawing thoughts you wonder how you may have affected the seagull’s natural environment. It is such a normal question yet it speaks of you being a bit more of a fair trade, organically grown, granola eating environmentalist than you really planned. You have a bit of a chuckle as you envision yummy homemade granola because your next thought is this of caution where it says ” if you eat granola you will become an activist out to save the world!” As you smile from the silliness of these thoughts you notice the whirlwind in your mind has settled.

It is now that the mind strikes up a conversation that will change your life forever. Yikes! Be wary of any settled mind for that is when an awkward truth will show up. You knew busy minds and busy bodies keep truth at bay and you rested for a moment. “Drat, here comes the truth!” This truth is out of left wing and even that metaphor is funny in this context. You laugh again and hear yourself asking “What is my natural environment?” That question has you laugh out loud and fortunately there are so many people around that it is just another noise in the hustle and bustle.

You decide to leave town and go back to the cottage you rented located on a harbour near Tobermory. That night as the sun sets you sit by the water and a number of seagulls come in for their evening meal. They don’t notice you, they fish in the water and fill their bellies as the sun settles into a burning red painting the sky a rainbow of pastel colours punctuated by reds and blues. The seagull was different here, it was in its natural environment.

After a profound sleep, lulled by waves rustling the rocky shore, you get up and decide to go for a walk (insert canine companion if you are so predisposed). While walking along the back road you see jack rabbits hopping across your path and sight deer munching their morning meal. You want to head back to the water again, if only to cool your feet, and find the small boat launch you heard was nearby. When you arrive at the launch you notice crows are calling out your presence to other birds and wildlife, but you happen to have been quiet enough that you catch the spread wings of a blue heron. You gasp at that silent magnificence. Your eyes seek to savour a longer view but the blue heron is once again camouflaged and safe from prying eyes so you return to watching where you step. As your feet enter the cool water the carp and frogs leave. Now just to clarify the carp and frogs they don’t leave the water, just the area where you are standing.

Standing in that water and watching the wildlife adjust to your presence you find your thoughts to be just like the seagull on that rooftop patio. Yesterday’s thought comes back for more thinking.  You are wondering “What is my natural environment?” It is now when your eyes rest on something so simple and serene. It is reeds in the water, subtle ripples from the activity below surface, and a blue hue associated with photo shopped images. Your mind makes a click of a shutter snapping because you wish to remember this image. As you imprint the image your impish sense of humour reminds you that there is a smart phone in your pocket, if you really want to take the picture. The stars align, metaphorically speaking because it is the middle of the day. The photo is taken when irony floats into your picture.

As the irony floats in the crows start calling again and the fish and frogs start to move faster. Your thought “What is my natural environment?” moves away, just like the fish and frogs. Something bigger is coming into the picture. Your camera is there to document the arrival of this great beast! The beast calls out “Challenge! Challenge!” It is occupied by a nuclear family replete with two adults (one male, one female), two children (one male, one unidentified), and two ivory coloured tea cup sized dogs with no chance of determining whether or not they were male or female as those parts were too small from where you stand not to mention it would have been socially awkward.

The boat is launched and you are left in the rippled water knowing you were just challenged. That seagull thought comes back to ask  “What is my natural environment?” One thing is for sure, there is a sense of humour in that UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve as the blue heron spreads those silent and magnificent wings to leave for other waters. Back home at the cottage the sun sets and the seagulls fish and as you look out from the kitchen window you spot the blue heron at the water’s edge.

Once you find the word “Challenge” in the photos I shall sign off for shift.  Set me free and maybe I will go have some fish and chips for supper.

Challenge Ready for some humour? Here are six photographs. The game, or challenge, is to take sixty seconds and think up a story based on these six image.

[cottageportal-blog]

Sauble Beach Cottages for Rent. Beachfront, waterfront cottages and cabins for rent at Sauble Beach Ontario.

[sheri-s-incredible-journey-blog]

November '17

November 4th, then November 10th and now I am finally finishing this post on December 2nd!

The last 4 day sailing trip was the most challenging of all my cooking/sailing experience and if I hadn't already decided not to do it anymore, well... good thing.

Our last trip we had Captain Dave (who is the owner of Manitou) and it was the wine trip. A 4night/3 day full boat and we immediately headed out to the lake. We were sailing with incredible wind and made the destination of Charlevoix in one day, whew! Last trip we made it on the second day.

We left early the next day and headed right back out into it... and we proceeded to have 2 full days of 15-20Knot winds which for those on deck it was amazing! For those of us down below (and in this case only Harriet and me) it was 8 solid hours of trying hard not to fall over or throw up. Actually H got sick both days and I never did but thought I was going to pretty much the whole time. H is a real trooper and rallied to do her part. Remember we still needed to make food for 31 folks, no matter what!

On a schooner, things in the galley are always on sticky mats, so that they won't fall while we are heeling (rocking side. Because this was a wine trip all hors d'oeuvres and dinners were paired with wines, our apps were a bit more "sophisticated" than normal. I had made lovely pear chutney to go with brie cheese for an app when I was overcome with major nausea and went up above for a bit of air and horizon. (For those that may not know, seasickness is always lessened by being on deck and looking at the horizon.

In the three minutes that I was on deck, we hit an enormous wave just right and crashed down and with that crash ALL things in the galley that were not literally tied down ended up on the sole in a pile with the chutney at the very bottom... wtf!!

The only "good" thing about all of this is guests are so accepting and happy for whatever can be done because they are so impressed that we could come up with anything let alone something that tasted good too!

So that was the end of that... had dinner with all the crew before I left and then headed into the rest of this adventure.

I took 6 days to drive to Port Townsend, WA... staying at Airbnb’s along the way. It is always interesting staying in people's homes and always a unique experience. Almost always really nice, I have been fortunate (although I do have a story for later).

Traveling through the west I was again reminded how incredible this country is. If you have never ventured on a road trip cross country I highly suggest it! I think because I am in such a different place than the last time I traveled (1998) my perspective has changed quite a bit. The flatness that is the Midwest was beautiful and much more interesting than before. The badlands of the Dakotas still takes my breath away, the Rocky Mountains as you approach from the east just stand up right out of the earth, so big and bold. And as I came into Washington, the eastern part of the state is a plateau with grassy land and mountains in the distance. Coming up the peninsula heading to Port Townsend, the landscape changed drastically to huge evergreens, rocky shore and the ocean! I missed the ocean, especially the smell~  

In Port Townsend I had a wonderful visit with my friends Susanna and Michael. They rent a very cool small cottage and I got to sleep in their landlord's granddaughter's playhouse. A bit of a hobbit house in the backyard and it was fun! We did a bit of the tourist thing along with a visit to the farmer's market and a hard apple cider festival. Ate some yummy food, played some games and had some great conversations. What more can you ask for?

I left S&M and drove to my friend Bev's house in Redmond Oregon. The trip there was just amazing, I left PT and went down Rt. 104 along the coast, rocky, damp and so very green and then I left the peninsula, drove into Oregon and… just like that I was in high desert with creosote bushes, rocks, sand and pretty much nothing else! Wow all in the space of three hours~

I ended up spending a week there and really enjoyed myself. Bev is an old friend and a fairly recent widow and still having a difficult time adjusting. We didn't do too much, went out to breakfast and lunch, I cooked dinner a couple of nights, spent an afternoon at her son's house playing a game with the family and basically just hanging out. Something I needed to do. Traveling is exhausting!

From there I drove to Oakland, Ca. where my friends Jess and Shannon live. I have known Jess since she was 4 and I catered their wedding three years ago. They own a lovely little house with an awesome backyard in the heart of the city. We ate some great food, went to the farmer’s market, ate more great food, went to a Day of the Dead festival that was pretty awesome, drank many whiskey drinks with this incredible mixer that was sweet and spicy and the drink was the best! Unfortunately the store that sold the mixer was closed when I left the area! L Maybe that was a good thing? L

After 4 days in Oakland I headed to central California… with no real plan and no more folks to visit. I was planning on camping for a few days hopefully in a free area (lots of free camping on National Forest land). That did not work out so well… mostly because the sites were so remote and vague that I didn’t feel comfortable staying so I ended up at an Airbnb or hotel. The one place I was sure I could camp in So Cal is a place called Ocotillo Wells, a state recreation area that has awesome free campsites in the desert with picnic tables, ramadas (a shade canopy) and fire ring. I stayed there for a week when I traveled the country 20 years ago. So off I went to OW, arrived on a Thursday (needed to be there early as it is a very popular weekend destination for off roaders) to find many open campsites and I was psyched! And then I got out of my truck and the wind was blowing about 15 mph, in the desert, out in the open with sand going everywhere. And I said to myself… self, do you really want to try setting up your tent in this? I talked to the campers next to me and they told me the wind was supposed to keep up until the next day, sooo… off I went to find another place to stay. I was bummed!

If you have never stayed at an Airbnb it works like this: you look at all the offerings in the area that you want to stay within your price range (mine is always under $50) and needed dates, you then send a request to the homeowner that you would like to stay there and they get back to you fairly quick. If they accept your request Airbnb then charges your credit card and you are all set. Like yelp there are reviews for the place below the listing so you have a pretty good idea of what you are getting into… most of the time. This time, not so much… I followed directions and headed to the Salton Sea (in So Cal), took a left where I was supposed to and continued driving into the desert. So far so good and then I saw some graffiti on some rocks that said “The Slabs” and knew that was what I was looking for, so I continued to drive for another mile or so and realized that as I was wandering further into the desert there were more and more trailers, huts, hovels, RVs and general encampments and suddenly understood these folks were all squatters! I arrived at my camp and the first thing I asked was are you a squatter and he said yes he had lived there for 15 years. Oh boy. He showed me to my “room” which was a 12x12 wooden box, insulated and covered on the inside with blue plastic and no windows… in the desert! The man was very nice and was so proud that he had a generator and Wi-Fi along with a trailer facility that was the ladies room (he rented out three different spaces). It had a toilet with water in it and to flush you poured in a bucket of water and when I asked where it went he said into a hole in the desert floor. Let me be very clear the man was extremely nice and I got great vibes from him but I was pretty clear that I could not stay here… what to do, what to do? While the owner went to town, I set up my laptop to check messages and while online I heard scratching and finally a mouse came from the ceiling and into my “room”. And that was it for me, the way to get out. Mind you I am not afraid of mice, rats or any rodents really but I knew that this was my way to leave and get my money back. So I am waiting by my truck when he arrived back and I just sort of flipped out, said how I had seen mice (wtf?), was petrified and could not stay in a place that had rodents, he was very nice (I can only imagine what he was thinking in his head), I asked if I could get my money back, he said yes and I left… whew! Drove 40 miles or so and got a hotel.

After that experience I decided that I needed to head towards Arizona a bit earlier than planned but my friends MeiMei & Bruce were very gracious and told me to come on over. So this is where I have been since November 4th.

I flew to Vermont on Thanksgiving night for a retreat and meetings for Dinners with Love and arrived back this past Thursday. My plan is to leave early next week and head to Texas where my niece Michele lives and will spend the holidays with her and her husband. Mike (my nickname for her) is a Christmas freak and it will be a lot of fun spending time with her.

As soon as I reached MeiMei & Bruce’s house I started earnestly looking for work. I applied to 20 jobs or so with only one call back. I have been pretty bummed and am thinking my age is starting to work against me. The one call back I got was the only job I actually wanted and after a second phone interview yesterday I got the job, yay! So I start in January at Texas A&M University for a company called Campus Cooks. I will be the cook for a sorority of 48 young women making lunch and dinner M-F. It pays very well, the hours are no more than 43 a week, if school is closed, and I don’t work but do get paid. It is a national company and all they do is provide cooks for frats and sororities, so if I like it and they like me then hopefully I can stay with them for a few years and try out different campuses. If I don’t like it then the gig ends in May and I will seek another new opportunity.

 My plan is still to head to Europe in May and depending on whether I want to go back or not to A&M in the fall will determine how long I stay!

Wow, this is a long post, hope it is not too boring and I will again try to not wait so long and have to write a novel!

Happy Holidays to all of you, may the season be filled with love and light! xo

November 4th, then November 10th and now I am finally finishing this post on December 2nd!

The last 4 day sailing trip was the most challenging of all my cooking/sailing experience and if I hadn't already decided not to do it anymore, well... good thing.

Our last trip we had Captain Dave (who is the owner of Manitou) and it was the wine trip. A 4night/3 day full boat and we immediately headed out to the lake. We were sailing with incredible wind and made the destination of Charlevoix in one day, whew! Last trip we made it on the second day.

We left early the next day and headed right back out into it... and we proceeded to have 2 full days of 15-20Knot winds which for those on deck it was amazing! For those of us down below (and in this case only Harriet and me) it was 8 solid hours of trying hard not to fall over or throw up. Actually H got sick both days and I never did but thought I was going to pretty much the whole time. H is a real trooper and rallied to do her part. Remember we still needed to make food for 31 folks, no matter what!

On a schooner, things in the galley are always on sticky mats, so that they won't fall while we are heeling. Because this was a wine trip all hors d'oeuvres and dinners were paired with wines, our apps were a bit more "sophisticated" than normal. I had made lovely pear chutney to go with brie cheese for an app when I was overcome with major nausea and went up above for a bit of air and horizon. (For those that may not know, seasickness is always lessened by being on deck and looking at the horizon!)

In the three minutes that I was on deck, we hit an enormous wave just right and crashed down and with that crash ALL things in the galley that were not literally tied down ended up on the sole in a pile with the chutney at the very bottom... wtf!!

The only "good" thing about all of this is guests are so accepting and happy for whatever can be done because they are so impressed that we could come up with anything let alone something that tasted good too!

So that was the end of that... had dinner with all the crew before I left and then headed into the rest of this adventure.

I took 6 days to drive to Port Townsend, WA... staying at Airbnb’s along the way. It is always interesting staying in people's homes and always a unique experience. Almost always really nice, I have been fortunate (although I do have a story for later).

Traveling through the west I was again reminded how incredible this country is. If you have never ventured on a road trip cross country I highly suggest it! I think because I am in such a different place than the last time I traveled (1998) my perspective has changed quite a bit. The flatness that is the Midwest was beautiful and much more interesting than before. The badlands of the Dakotas still takes my breath away, the Rocky Mountains as you approach from the east just stand up right out of the earth, so big and bold. And as I came into Washington, the eastern part of the state is a plateau with grassy land and mountains in the distance. Coming up the peninsula heading to Port Townsend, the landscape changed drastically to huge evergreens, rocky shore and the ocean! I missed the ocean, especially the smell~  

In Port Townsend I had a wonderful visit with my friends Susanna and Michael. They rent a very cool small cottage and I got to sleep in their landlord's granddaughter's playhouse. A bit of a hobbit house in the backyard and it was fun! We did a bit of the tourist thing along with a visit to the farmer's market and a hard apple cider festival. Ate some yummy food, played some games and had some great conversations. What more can you ask for?

I left S&M and drove to my friend Bev's house in Redmond Oregon. The trip there was just amazing, I left PT and went down Rt. 104 along the coast, rocky, damp and so very green and then I left the peninsula, drove into Oregon and… just like that I was in high desert with creosote bushes, rocks, sand and pretty much nothing else! Wow all in the space of three hours~

I ended up spending a week there and really enjoyed myself. Bev is an old friend and a fairly recent widow and still having a difficult time adjusting. We didn't do too much, went out to breakfast and lunch, I cooked dinner a couple of nights, spent an afternoon at her son's house playing a game with the family and basically just hanging out. Something I needed to do. Traveling is exhausting!

From there I drove to Oakland, Ca. where my friends Jess and Shannon live. I have known Jess since she was 4 and I catered their wedding three years ago. They own a lovely little house with an awesome backyard in the heart of the city. We ate some great food, went to the farmer’s market, ate more great food, went to a Day of the Dead festival that was pretty awesome, drank many whiskey drinks with this incredible mixer that was sweet and spicy and the drink was the best! Unfortunately the store that sold the mixer was closed when I left the area! L Maybe that was a good thing? L

After 4 days in Oakland I headed to central California… with no real plan and no more folks to visit. I was planning on camping for a few days hopefully in a free area (lots of free camping on National Forest land). That did not work out so well… mostly because the sites were so remote and vague that I didn’t feel comfortable staying so I ended up at an Airbnb or hotel. The one place I was sure I could camp in So Cal is a place called Ocotillo Wells, a state recreation area that has awesome free campsites in the desert with picnic tables, ramadas (a shade canopy) and fire ring. I stayed there for a week when I traveled the country 20 years ago. So off I went to OW, arrived on a Thursday (needed to be there early as it is a very popular weekend destination for off roaders) to find many open campsites and I was psyched! And then I got out of my truck and the wind was blowing about 15 mph, in the desert, out in the open with sand going everywhere. And I said to myself… self, do you really want to try setting up your tent in this? I talked to the campers next to me and they told me the wind was supposed to keep up until the next day, sooo… off I went to find another place to stay. I was bummed!

If you have never stayed at an Airbnb it works like this: you look at all the offerings in the area that you want to stay within your price range (mine is always under $50) and needed dates, you then send a request to the homeowner that you would like to stay there and they get back to you fairly quick. If they accept your request Airbnb then charges your credit card and you are all set. Like yelp there are reviews for the place below the listing so you have a pretty good idea of what you are getting into… most of the time. This time, not so much… I followed directions and headed to the Salton Sea (in So Cal), took a left where I was supposed to and continued driving into the desert. So far so good and then I saw some graffiti on some rocks that said “The Slabs” and knew that was what I was looking for, so I continued to drive for another mile or so and realized that as I was wandering further into the desert there were more and more trailers, huts, hovels, RVs and general encampments and suddenly understood these folks were all squatters! I arrived at my camp and the first thing I asked was are you a squatter and he said yes he had lived there for 15 years. Oh boy. He showed me to my “room” which was a 12x12 wooden box, insulated and covered on the inside with blue plastic and no windows… in the desert! The man was very nice and was so proud that he had a generator and Wi-Fi along with a trailer facility that was the ladies room (he rented out three different spaces). It had a toilet with water in it and to flush you poured in a bucket of water and when I asked where it went he said into a hole in the desert floor. Let me be very clear the man was extremely nice and I got great vibes from him but I was pretty clear that I could not stay here… what to do, what to do? While the owner went to town, I set up my laptop to check messages and while online I heard scratching and finally a mouse came from the ceiling and into my “room”. And that was it for me, the way to get out. Mind you I am not afraid of mice, rats or any rodents really but I knew that this was my way to leave and get my money back. So I am waiting by my truck when he arrived back and I just sort of flipped out, said how I had seen mice (wtf?), was petrified and could not stay in a place that had rodents, he was very nice (I can only imagine what he was thinking in his head), I asked if I could get my money back, he said yes and I left… whew! Drove 40 miles or so and got a hotel.

After that experience I decided that I needed to head towards Arizona a bit earlier than planned but my friends MeiMei & Bruce were very gracious and told me to come on over. So this is where I have been since November 4th.

I flew to Vermont on Thanksgiving night for a retreat and meetings for Dinners with Love and arrived back this past Thursday. My plan is to leave early next week and head to Texas where my niece Michele lives and will spend the holidays with her and her husband. Mike (my nickname for her) is a Christmas freak and it will be a lot of fun spending time with her.

As soon as I reached MeiMei & Bruce’s house I started earnestly looking for work. I applied to 20 jobs or so with only one call back. I have been pretty bummed and am thinking my age is starting to work against me. The one call back I got was the only job I actually wanted and after a second phone interview yesterday I got the job, yay! So I start in January at Texas A&M University for a company called Campus Cooks. I will be the cook for a sorority of 48 young women making lunch and dinner M-F. It pays very well, the hours are no more than 43 a week, if school is closed, and I don’t work but do get paid. It is a national company and all they do is provide cooks for frats and sororities, so if I like it and they like me then hopefully I can stay with them for a few years and try out different campuses. If I don’t like it then the gig ends in May and I will seek another new opportunity.

 My plan is still to head to Europe in May and depending on whether I want to go back or not to A&M in the fall will determine how long I stay!

Wow, this is a long post, hope it is not too boring and I will again try to not wait so long and have to write a novel!

Happy Holidays to all of you, may the season be filled with love and light! xo

November 4th, then November 10th and now I am finally finishing this post on December 2nd!

The last 4 day sailing trip was the most challenging of all my cooking/sailing experience and if I hadn't already decided not to do it anymore, well... good thing.

Our last trip we had Captain Dave (who is the owner of Manitou) and it was the wine trip. A 4night/3 day full boat and we immediately headed out to the lake. We were sailing with incredible wind and made the destination of Charlevoix in one day, whew! Last trip we made it on the second day.

We left early the next day and headed right back out into it... and we proceeded to have 2 full days of 15-20Knot winds which for those on deck it was amazing! For those of us down below (and in this case only Harriet and me) it was 8 solid hours of trying hard not to fall over or throw up. Actually H got sick both days and I never did but thought I was going to pretty much the whole time. H is a real trooper and rallied to do her part. Remember we still needed to make food for 31 folks, no matter what!

On a schooner, things in the galley are always on sticky mats, so that they won't fall while we are heeling. Because this was a wine trip all hors d'oeuvres and dinners were paired with wines, our apps were a bit more "sophisticated" than normal. I had made lovely pear chutney to go with brie cheese for an app when I was overcome with major nausea and went up above for a bit of air and horizon. (For those that may not know, seasickness is always lessened by being on deck and looking at the horizon!)

In the three minutes that I was on deck, we hit an enormous wave just right and crashed down and with that crash ALL things in the galley that were not literally tied down ended up on the sole in a pile with the chutney at the very bottom... wtf!!

The only "good" thing about all of this is guests are so accepting and happy for whatever can be done because they are so impressed that we could come up with anything let alone something that tasted good too!

So that was the end of that... had dinner with all the crew before I left and then headed into the rest of this adventure.

I took 6 days to drive to Port Townsend, WA... staying at Airbnb’s along the way. It is always interesting staying in people's homes and always a unique experience. Almost always really nice, I have been fortunate (although I do have a story for later).

Traveling through the west I was again reminded how incredible this country is. If you have never ventured on a road trip cross country I highly suggest it! I think because I am in such a different place than the last time I traveled (1998) my perspective has changed quite a bit. The flatness that is the Midwest was beautiful and much more interesting than before. The badlands of the Dakotas still takes my breath away, the Rocky Mountains as you approach from the east just stand up right out of the earth, so big and bold. And as I came into Washington, the eastern part of the state is a plateau with grassy land and mountains in the distance. Coming up the peninsula heading to Port Townsend, the landscape changed drastically to huge evergreens, rocky shore and the ocean! I missed the ocean, especially the smell~  

In Port Townsend I had a wonderful visit with my friends Susanna and Michael. They rent a very cool small cottage and I got to sleep in their landlord's granddaughter's playhouse. A bit of a hobbit house in the backyard and it was fun! We did a bit of the tourist thing along with a visit to the farmer's market and a hard apple cider festival. Ate some yummy food, played some games and had some great conversations. What more can you ask for?

I left S&M and drove to my friend Bev's house in Redmond Oregon. The trip there was just amazing, I left PT and went down Rt. 104 along the coast, rocky, damp and so very green and then I left the peninsula, drove into Oregon and… just like that I was in high desert with creosote bushes, rocks, sand and pretty much nothing else! Wow all in the space of three hours~

I ended up spending a week there and really enjoyed myself. Bev is an old friend and a fairly recent widow and still having a difficult time adjusting. We didn't do too much, went out to breakfast and lunch, I cooked dinner a couple of nights, spent an afternoon at her son's house playing a game with the family and basically just hanging out. Something I needed to do. Traveling is exhausting!

From there I drove to Oakland, Ca. where my friends Jess and Shannon live. I have known Jess since she was 4 and I catered their wedding three years ago. They own a lovely little house with an awesome backyard in the heart of the city. We ate some great food, went to the farmer’s market, ate more great food, went to a Day of the Dead festival that was pretty awesome, drank many whiskey drinks with this incredible mixer that was sweet and spicy and the drink was the best! Unfortunately the store that sold the mixer was closed when I left the area! L Maybe that was a good thing? L

After 4 days in Oakland I headed to central California… with no real plan and no more folks to visit. I was planning on camping for a few days hopefully in a free area (lots of free camping on National Forest land). That did not work out so well… mostly because the sites were so remote and vague that I didn’t feel comfortable staying so I ended up at an Airbnb or hotel. The one place I was sure I could camp in So Cal is a place called Ocotillo Wells, a state recreation area that has awesome free campsites in the desert with picnic tables, ramadas (a shade canopy) and fire ring. I stayed there for a week when I traveled the country 20 years ago. So off I went to OW, arrived on a Thursday (needed to be there early as it is a very popular weekend destination for off roaders) to find many open campsites and I was psyched! And then I got out of my truck and the wind was blowing about 15 mph, in the desert, out in the open with sand going everywhere. And I said to myself… self, do you really want to try setting up your tent in this? I talked to the campers next to me and they told me the wind was supposed to keep up until the next day, sooo… off I went to find another place to stay. I was bummed!

If you have never stayed at an Airbnb it works like this: you look at all the offerings in the area that you want to stay within your price range (mine is always under $50) and needed dates, you then send a request to the homeowner that you would like to stay there and they get back to you fairly quick. If they accept your request Airbnb then charges your credit card and you are all set. Like yelp there are reviews for the place below the listing so you have a pretty good idea of what you are getting into… most of the time. This time, not so much… I followed directions and headed to the Salton Sea (in So Cal), took a left where I was supposed to and continued driving into the desert. So far so good and then I saw some graffiti on some rocks that said “The Slabs” and knew that was what I was looking for, so I continued to drive for another mile or so and realized that as I was wandering further into the desert there were more and more trailers, huts, hovels, RVs and general encampments and suddenly understood these folks were all squatters! I arrived at my camp and the first thing I asked was are you a squatter and he said yes he had lived there for 15 years. Oh boy. He showed me to my “room” which was a 12x12 wooden box, insulated and covered on the inside with blue plastic and no windows… in the desert! The man was very nice and was so proud that he had a generator and Wi-Fi along with a trailer facility that was the ladies room (he rented out three different spaces). It had a toilet with water in it and to flush you poured in a bucket of water and when I asked where it went he said into a hole in the desert floor. Let me be very clear the man was extremely nice and I got great vibes from him but I was pretty clear that I could not stay here… what to do, what to do? While the owner went to town, I set up my laptop to check messages and while online I heard scratching and finally a mouse came from the ceiling and into my “room”. And that was it for me, the way to get out. Mind you I am not afraid of mice, rats or any rodents really but I knew that this was my way to leave and get my money back. So I am waiting by my truck when he arrived back and I just sort of flipped out, said how I had seen mice (wtf?), was petrified and could not stay in a place that had rodents, he was very nice (I can only imagine what he was thinking in his head), I asked if I could get my money back, he said yes and I left… whew! Drove 40 miles or so and got a hotel.

After that experience I decided that I needed to head towards Arizona a bit earlier than planned but my friends MeiMei & Bruce were very gracious and told me to come on over. So this is where I have been since November 4th.

I flew to Vermont on Thanksgiving night for a retreat and meetings for Dinners with Love and arrived back this past Thursday. My plan is to leave early next week and head to Texas where my niece Michele lives and will spend the holidays with her and her husband. Mike (my nickname for her) is a Christmas freak and it will be a lot of fun spending time with her.

As soon as I reached MeiMei & Bruce’s house I started earnestly looking for work. I applied to 20 jobs or so with only one call back. I have been pretty bummed and am thinking my age is starting to work against me. The one call back I got was the only job I actually wanted and after a second phone interview yesterday I got the job, yay! So I start in January at Texas A&M University for a company called Campus Cooks. I will be the cook for a sorority of 48 young women making lunch and dinner M-F. It pays very well, the hours are no more than 43 a week, if school is closed, and I don’t work but do get paid. It is a national company and all they do is provide cooks for frats and sororities, so if I like it and they like me then hopefully I can stay with them for a few years and try out different campuses. If I don’t like it then the gig ends in May and I will seek another new opportunity.

 My plan is still to head to Europe in May and depending on whether I want to go back or not to A&M in the fall will determine how long I stay!

Wow, this is a long post, hope it is not too boring and I will again try to not wait so long and have to write a novel!

Happy Holidays to all of you, may the season be filled with love and light! xo

[theweekendrunaways-blog]

Bruce Peninsula National Park and Flower Pot Island

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

Friday night to early Saturday Morning: Drive from Montréal to Tobermory Saturday: Lion’s Head and Bruce Peninsula Park                                                 Sunday: Flower Pot Island                                                                           Monday: Drive back with a pit stop in Toronto                                             

PRICE BREAKDOWN                                                                                             Stay: Wireless Bay Cottages, 440$ for 2 nights and 4 people. It came down to 110$ each                                                                                     .                       Entrance to the parks: Around 20$/day/car                                                         Ferry: 27.85$/person for a tour package                                                            Gas: 120$ (driving a Mazda 3 2014).                                                              Food: Varied from one person to the other.                                                           Total approximate cost per person for this vacation: 240$

Like a lot of basic young Montrealers, we turn to Mtlblog for inspiration. Last year, we came across a suggestion for Bruce Peninsula Park, promising clear blue waters and landscapes straight out of a postcard from Greece. This marks one of the longest roadtrips we will do for this blog as it takes over 8 hours to arrive.So four of us decided to try this adventure out. Since most of us were working on Friday, and had to be back by Monday night latest, we left on Friday around 8pm as we did not want to waste the day driving on Saturday. We figured worse came to worse, we would sleep by the water in the sun.We alternated drivers during the night with a late 90’s/early 00’s playlist blasting to keep us awake and arrived at Sauble beach, still over an hour away from our main destination, around 4 a.m.Since we could not get the key to the cabin we had rented before 11 a.m., we did what any cheap students would do: we parked the car on the beach and slept there after watching the sunrise. We woke up around 7 a.m. when people were beginning to take their morning walks and were curiously peering into the car.

With 3 hours left to kill, we made another pit stop at Lion’s Head where we began seeing the untypically blue water for a Canadian lake.

After walking around for a bit, we finally headed towards Tobermory where we rented a little cabin.Tobermory is a cute harbour village where we did some grocery shopping later that evening and grabbed a nice supper at a pub with a live band.So the day we arrived, we dropped off our luggage at the cabin and went straight to Bruce Peninsula park.Yes, it is as nice as you see in pictures. BUT- What everyone fails to tell you is that the water is ICE COLD. There are signs warning swimmers not to stay too long in the water because of the low temperature. So if you go there with the intention to swim around all day long, you’re in the wrong place. Apparently it does get a few degrees warmer depending on the season, but it does not make it suitable for long periods of swimming.

If you’re there to hike, walk through caves, sun tan, and/or relax surrounded by breath taking scenery, then yes, the trip is worth it.Side note here – We encountered quite a few snakes on the main paths. While most are harmless, there are rattlesnakes, and we actually stumbled upon one.Later that day, we visited Singing Sand Beach, which was supposed to be very nice from what we had read. The beach was actually packed, but it was muddy and the water murky. We did not like it and left within 15 minutes. The only perk of that beach which is only 15 minutes away from the peninsula shown above, is that you could actually swim in that water as it was much much warmer.On Sunday we took a ferry to Flower Pot Island. It looks like a place you could see in Thailand with tall rocks standing proud and surrounded by clear blue water.

We were excited to have the possibility to book a glass bottom boat to see a sunken ship wreck and then come back to Tobermory with a fast boat. It was great to see this sunken ship still in mint condition due to the cold water that preserves it. We were told that people book excursions to go dive and see the ship closer. A wetsuit is a must if you plan on following through with this activity.

On Flower Pot Island, there isn’t much to do except for walking, but it does make for a nice day.

After relaxing by the water, we did walk around the island aiming to find the ‘lake’. The ‘lake’ was disappointing as it turned out to be a swamp. We decided to keep going and ended up being alone on the other side of the island, which was pretty wonderful.That night, we decided to all cook in the cottage and eat outside in front of the marina. We finished the night with some drinks and marshmallows by the fire.

Finally, Monday, we packed our bags and headed home. Since Toronto is on the way, we made a pit stop to eat on a rooftop terrace in Dundas Square.

So would we recommend? Absolutely! It’s a fairly cheap vacation with views straight out of Greece or the Caribbean and 100% worth the roadtrip.

[kilsythcamping]

Sauble beach camping Ontario

Which is the best thing to do in Canada ? Is it Suable beach camping or rent a cottage in Bruce Peninsula or Bruce Peninsula camping or a memorable visit to Owen Sound Falls or camping at Owen Sound Beach or step out for Owen Sound hiking trails or end up at kilsyth country camping (KCC) Owen Sound to make it the most lovely and memorable day of your life . You will get here everything you have imagined, be it camping or fishing or biking or any other exiting to do activities.

[kilsythcamping]

Bruce Peninsula rentals

Which is the best thing to do in canada ? Is it Sauble beach camping or rent a cottage in Bruce Peninsula or Bruce Peninsula camping or a memorable visit to Owen Sound Falls or camping at Owen Sound Beach or step out for Owen Sound hiking trails or end up at kilsyth country camping (KCC) Owen Sound to make it the most lovely and memorable day of your life . You will get here everything you have imagined, be it camping or fishing or biking or any other exiting to do activities.

[kilsythcamping]

Cottage/cabins rental Sauble Beach

Which is the best thing to do in canada ? Is it Sauble beach camping or rent a cottage in Bruce Peninsula or Bruce Peninsula camping or a memorable visit to Owen Sound Falls or camping at Owen Sound Beach or step out for Owen Sound hiking trails or end up at kilsyth country camping (KCC) Owen Sound to make it the most lovely and memorable day of your life . You will get here everything you have imagined, be it camping or fishing or biking or any other exiting to do activities.

[kilsythcamping]

Owen Sound hiking trails

Which is the best thing to do in canada ? Is it Sauble beach camping or rent a cottage in Bruce Peninsula or Bruce Peninsula camping or a memorable visit to Owen Sound Falls or camping at Owen Sound Beach or step out for Owen Sound hiking trails or end up at kilsyth country camping (KCC) Owen Sound to make it the most lovely and memorable day of your life . You will get here everything you have imagined, be it camping or fishing or biking or any other exiting to do activities.

[kilsythcamping]

Owen Sound Beach

Which is the best thing to do in canada ? Is it Sauble beach camping or rent a cottage in Bruce Peninsula or Bruce Peninsula camping or a memorable visit to Owen Sound Falls or camping at Owen Sound Beach or step out for Owen Sound hiking trails or end up at kilsyth country camping (KCC) Owen Sound to make it the most lovely and memorable day of your life . You will get here everything you have imagined, be it camping or fishing or biking or any other exiting to do activities.

[kilsythcamping]

Owen Sound Falls

Which is the best thing to do in canada ? Is it Sauble beach camping or rent a cottage in Bruce Peninsula or Bruce Peninsula camping or a memorable visit to Owen Sound Falls or camping at Owen Sound Beach or step out for Owen Sound hiking trails or end up at kilsyth country camping (KCC) Owen Sound to make it the most lovely and memorable day of your life . You will get here everything you have imagined, be it camping or fishing or biking or any other exiting to do activities.

[kilsythcamping]

Bruce Peninsula rentals

Which is the best thing to do in canada ? Is it Sauble beach camping or rent a cottage in Bruce Peninsula or Bruce Peninsula camping or a memorable visit to Owen Sound Falls or camping at Owen Sound Beach or step out for Owen Sound hiking trails or end up at kilsyth country camping (KCC) Owen Sound to make it the most lovely and memorable day of your life . You will get here everything you have imagined, be it camping or fishing or biking or any other exiting to do activities.

[kilsythcamping]

Cottage/cabins rental Sauble Beach

Which is the best thing to do in canada ? Is it Sauble beach camping or rent a cottage in Bruce Peninsula or Bruce Peninsula camping or a memorable visit to Owen Sound Falls or camping at Owen Sound Beach or step out for Owen Sound hiking trails or end up at kilsyth country camping (KCC) Owen Sound to make it the most lovely and memorable day of your life . You will get here everything you have imagined, be it camping or fishing or biking or any other exiting to do activities.