Last Sunday in Tobermory

The Tobermory Village Campground has been home for the last 10 days.  It is a nice place to stay with some wonderful sights.  The owners have a Belgian which they ride daily and hitch up for wagon rides through the campground weather permitting.

Last year when we were here, I remembered going to a flea market along the side of the road near Wiarton.  I thought it was closer but, it is actually 43 miles away.  

We left about 9:00 AM and found it.  It didn't seem to be as busy as last year, but then the whole peninsula seems to be suffering from the effects of a down economy.  At least that is what the shop keepers were saying in Tobermory.

Pam and Kelly headed for the craft and pottery store.

I went over to the area where the books were.

Like any book seller, he knew exactly where different authors were located and he showed me the section where I could look over Canadian history and historical novels.  Among my finds was The National Dream - The Great Railroad 1871-1881 by Pierre Berton.

Across the isle, a man with his knives was sharpening one for a potential customer.

Outside the covered area there were more tables.  It was drizzly and rained slightly but they stayed at it hoping for a sale.

In the parking lot I saw a man wearing a bike jersey of my alma mater:  Arizona State University.  That was unusual! I spoke with him for a few moments and he agreed to a picture.  His daughter was a teacher and had gotten her credential at ASU before returning to Canada.  He was an a bike trip from Labrador to Vancouver and still had a long way to go!

We went back to the cottage in time to catch Bill before he left for Petrolia and another week of work.  After that we went back to the Roadrunner, got things packed up and put away for our departure.  I went for a good run and we watched the finish of the British Open.  Then we and went back over to the cottage to have dinner with Marg and her mother.

I grilled a pork tenderloin and flank steak to go along with the green beans and baked potatoes.  We also had some of Pam's legendary potato salad.  After topping it off with maple cookies and ice cream we were stuffed!

We said our goodbyes and returned to the Roadrunner.  It has been a nice time here in Tobermory and we will likely be back.  Hope everyone has a great week!

Hike to the Grotto

We picked up Bill at his cottage and went over to the Cypress Lake entrance to the Bruce Peninsula National Park.  The Bruce Peninsula juts out in this area and and separates Lake Huron from the Georgian Bay.  It is part of the Niagra Escarpment which stretches over 450 miles from Niagra to Tobermory.

We visited the Park on a great day.  It was some sort of 'national free day at the park'.

Thanks Canada!  The goal was to hike to the Grotto which is a natural cave carved into the cliffs.  Along the way we took a group picture.

The trails were well marked and maintained.

The 1.5 mile trail through the woods lead around Cypress and Wall Lake to the coastline.  The trail was on the rocks near the water which was exceptionally clear.

The rock formations along the coastline are quite unique.

It was tricky to say the least to get down into the Grotto.  Kelly took the outside route around the wall of the cliff.  Bill and I went down through a crevice in the rocks.

I borrowed this photo to show the underwater hole in the rocks leading from the cave to the outside shoreline about 30 feet away.  This is why folks come to see the Grotto!

We had a picnic lunch overlooking the waters from our perch atop the cliff.  A few seagulls looked like they were interested in our tuna sandwiches...

We couldn't resist getting into the water.  Some of us went wading...

and one of us actually went for a swim.  It was invigorating!

In the distance you can see some cliff jumpers taking a plunge into the cold waters.  We were off to the left of them, following the trail along the 'beach' rocks and into the woods back to the trail head.

It was a pretty fantastic day for a hike and dip into the Grotto off the beautiful coastline of the Georgian Bay.

We may our way back to the car after a 3 hour excursion.  From there we went back to Marg and Bill's cottage and had a wonderful dinner of baked ham and scalloped potatoes.  We returned to the Roadrunner about 8:00 PM and watched some baseball before we called it a day.

Golf, Bakery and More Golf

The last couple of days we have been watching or playing golf and spending time with the Bakers at their cottage.

On Thursday it was an early day since the British Open Golf Championship was on at 4:00 AM.  I got up at my usual 5:00 AM ish and was surprised as anyone to see John Daly at the top of the leaderboard.  By the end of the day it was great to see the record setting 63 by up and comer Rory McIlroy from Scotland.

We went out to the cottage in the late afternoon and stopped at a bakery along the way.

The local shop had some good looking cinnamon cookies and an apple pie we couldn't resist.  It was a rainy, drizzly day for the most part and we remembered Meghan on what would have been her 29th birthday...

Bill got back from Petrolia and we called another golf course for a tee time on Saturday morning.
Then, he was at the campground promptly at 7:00 AM and we drove to Wiarton Golf Course about 40 miles away.

It was a nice course and priced right.  We teed off without any trouble and made our way around the front nine in about 90 minutes.

Then we got caught in a backup at the turn for the second nine and is was slow going rest of the way.  But the scenery was nice, we hit a few good shots, had a couple birdies.  I was pleased with my 79 but have to temper that with the fact that it is a really short course.

The course is on the side of a mountain and the scenery up from the Georgian Bay was beautiful.

Meanwhile, Pam and Kelly went in to Tobermory, picked up some postcards and some bread and we all met back at the cottage for dinner.  Marg fixed a fantastic meal of fried bass the her brother Chuck had caught and we topped it off with Yellow Label tea and apple pie.

Then we play three games of Skit/Skat.  I was happy to take the first two and Marg took the last.  We don't play cards that much but always have fun when we do.  We usually have some good laughs and we had everyone around the table.

Then it was back to the campground where we found a lot of new neighbors.  The place really fills up during the weekends but all were very well mannered and no issues.  I love the 'no outside music' rule!  We have lots of tent campers here with only about 10 RVs.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles today!  Hope you are having a great weekend.

Wednesday around the Campground and Cottage

I got up and checked my email at the one of the picnic tables near the Tobermory Village Campground office.  It turns out the wifi here is about the same as what we can catch in Tobermory at the library or one of the coffee shops.  It was a pretty slow day with not a whole lot going on.

Marg and Bill will be up here at their cottage through the weekend and we aren't due to leave until Monday.  Bill had a league golf match back at Petrolia but will return Thursday morning sometime.

After emails and posting my blog, I took some bottles and cans into town for recylcing, stopped by a bookstore and was back at the campground in time for Adam to drop by.  He was on his way out of town and headed toward Toronto for a few days.

Kelly and I went swimming in the campground pool and Pam joined us for a few minutes.

Over the back fence of the swimming pool is the stable where the owners have a Belgian horse, six goats, a rabbit and a kitten.  They also have a nice garden nearby.  I really like the way the owners have upgraded the whole camground.  Everything is in good repair and orderly.

Then we all went over to the cottage by Marg and Bill's.  While Pam did some laundry, I went for a long run and caught some sunshine.  It was another beautiful day.

Kelly and Marg went into town for some errands and a beer while Pam and I hung out at the cottage for a while.  I have a couple of books going and did some reading on:  The Bruce Beckons which is the history of the Bruce Peninsula (including Tobermory) and Lonesome Dove, a western novel.

Pam cooked a great dinner of meatloaf and baked potatoes.  When Marg and Kelly returned they brought the shortcake, whipped cream and blueberries for dessert.  Kelly went over to the other cottage with Ed after dinner and we stayed at Marg and Bill's cottage and talked for a couple of hours with Marg and her mother.  It was a nice evening.

We got back to the Roadrunner about 9:30 PM and that was it for us.  No major events, just a nice summer day on the Bruce Peninsula near Tobermory...

Hope your week is going well and thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!