The Travelling Davidson’s Great Canadian Adventure



Day 1 – June 12, 2011 Destination Moose Jaw, SK

The drive from Calgary to Moose Jaw is not the most interesting piece of highway in Canada. In fact, it’s pretty straight & boring. You really can see your dog run away for 100 miles.

It rained on & off all the way to Moose Jaw. The fields along the way are saturated & there were no farmers in their fields. As we approached Moose Jaw, the skies became black and you could see the lightening off in the distance. Our initial plan was to spend the night in a Circle 8, tour the Tunnels of Moose Jaw, then hit the road. Upon checking the weather as we approached the City we discovered a weather warning for severe thunder & lightening and heavy HAIL. A quick run by the Cicle 8, with its’ exposed parking lot had us making a b-line for the Terminal Springs Spa with COVERED parking. The Spa is a lovely place to relax & enjoy the mineral pool & have wonderful spa treatments. As soon as we checked in we decided to head for the spa for a good soak before finding somewhere for dinner. Quickly changing into our suites, we heading for the spa only to find it closed. Apparently it’s not a good idea to sit in an outdoor mineral pool in a thunder storm. So, we opted for a glass of wine on our balcony & watched the light show. After dinner we headed to the adjoining Casino for some light entertainment. I lost my money in the first 20 minutes & decided another glass of wine on the balcony with my book was a better use of my time. John had found an interesting table so continued on with his games. Apparently leaving him alone to gamble pays off, as we paid for our 2 nights at the Spa with his winnings!! We were able to get into the pool about 10:30 pm for a late night soak before heading off to bed.

Day 2 - June 13/11

Toured the “Tunnels of Moose Jaw”. Saw how the Chinese immigrants were treated when they arrived in the early 1900’s - we really should be ashamed and whatever compensation the Chinese were given by the government, they deserve. The worked, played, ate, and slept underground for pennies a day trying to pay back their Cooler Brokers for their passage to Canada & the promise of a job. It took many of them 20 years or more to save enough to bring their families to join them. The Tunnels were very busy in the 30’s helping Al Capone bootleg whiskey down to the States. All in all, if you happen to be in Moose Jaw you may as well take in the tours. Don’t bother taking your camera, you’re not allowed to take pictures!!

Day 3 – June 14/11 

This was pretty much a driving day & it pretty much rained all day too.  No need to stop in Regina we are doing that on the way home to see JD’s cousin.   Just after we entered Manitoba we made a side trip to a small town (population 400) call Miniota – where my dad was born.  Not much there but as we crossed the Assinaboine River you could sure see how badly things are flooded.   I doubt that many farmers in southern Manitoba will get a crop in at all.  We arrived in Winnipeg about Noon and it was raining so hard the windshield wipers could hardly keep up.  We drove around downtown a bit but it was raining so hard we couldn’t get out of the car.  Time to get out of town and search for drier places.   Headed due east & stopped for the night in Portage La Prairie for the night.  A good hot up, nice dinner and a good nights sleep.

Day 4 – June 15/11 – Destination Kenora

  The next day drive was beautiful and it finally stopped raining.  Still no sunshine but at least the rain let up!  We made it all the way to Kenora and by early afternoon we decided to see the sights and get ready for the Stanley Cup final.

Tried to check into the Best Western which was located on the harbour front and had the pool on the top floor.  How were we suppose to know that the “Beach Boys” were in town for a one night concert right on the harbour front – no rooms in that inn!  No tickets available either –  who books a Beach Boys concert the same night as the Stanley Cup final!   We did find a nice hotel on the outskirts of town with a bar & grill just across the street.  Would you believe we had to reserve our table to watch the game.  

Day 5 – June 16/11  Destination ThunderBay.

The scenery from Kenora to ThunderBay is beautiful.  Reminded me of southern BC, only no mountains.  And finally the sun!!!  The drive is much slower through Northern Ontario than it is in the Prairies.  Not only does the road have more bends & turns, the speed limit is only 90 kpm!!   Didn’t arrive until about 5:30pm so it was an early dinner at a lovely Greek family restaurant (really good) and an early to bed night.

Day 6 – June 17/11 – Destination Wawa

Toured the harbor then headed down the highway & stopped at the Terry Fox monument which is high up on a hill overlooking the beginning on Lake Superior. 

Drove for a couple of hours around the top of Superior and decided to pull into a lovely little rest area right on the lakeshore just outside the town of Schreiber.  Got our cheese & crackers, fruit & water out and sat down to enjoy the sun & water.  A couple of bikers pulled in with Alberta plates.  As they took their jackets & helmets off I noticed something very familiar about them.  John, of course, thought I was crazy and said go ahead call out Sandra if you think it’s her.  So I did.  The utter shock on the woman’s face was unbelievable.  Then came the shriek –“ My god it’s JD & Susan” .  It was Sandra & Jordon from Calgary.  Sandra works with our friend Anne at Canon and she & her husband have taken a year off to travel all the way to South America on their motorcycles.  They decided that they should also see Canada before heading down the eastern seaboard then across to the Baja & down to South America.  We all had a lovely

lunch on the shores of Lake Superior – and yes I had to wet my feet (dam cold!!) – and then headed off our separate ways.  Neither of us knew each others planned routes or timetables, but the stars must have been aligned.  Perhaps we’ll see them again along our travels, but if not we will always have that northern Superior “lunch” to remember. 

After lunch we continued our drive around the top of Superior to our over night destination Wawa.   This is really hunting & fishing territory.  Just about every car & truck was pulling an aluminum fishing boat.  There is not a lot happening in Wawa (other than hunting & fishing) but we found a wonderful motel that had “log cabins” for rent.  We had a great dinner at a little local bar & grill of Lk. Superior trout, then retired to our cabin in the woods.  

Day 7 – June 18/11 – Destination Sudbury

It’s not a long drive from Wawa to Sault St. Marie, but a pretty drive all the same.  We arrived mid morning and were off to the “locks” to watch the boat traffic & catch some history.  The Canadian locks are on one side of an island with the US locks on the other.  The island is in Canada so you can walk or bike on it, except the day we were there.  The police had the access to the island taped off & there were about 6 police cars & a camera crew.   Talking with the lock operator we found out there had been a knive fight on the island the previous night & a couple of the “women” involved had been murdered.  So much for sight seeing in The Sault!!

Next stop, Sudbury.  The drive from The Sault to Sudbury is pretty much the same as the rest of northern Ontario, trees & lakes and more trees & lakes.  We arrived in Sudbury about 4 pm, did a quick tour about & then set about to finding a hotel.  No such luck at any of the places we wanted to stay at and we were not that impressed with Sudbury so decided to head down the road.  We were only about 2 hours from John’s sister’s cottage at Parry Sound.  We knew they were there as they have been busy for the last 8 months making some major renovations, but we had told them we wouldn’t be in Toronto until Tuesday when they would be home. 

We decided to stop at a little roadside inn at French River – 1 hour from the cottage – for the night & make the surprise stop the next day.  French River is not a stop I would recommend.  The restaurant closed at 8 pm, we arrived at 7:30 so it was get there quick for dinner.  A glass of wine & something simple was all we needed.  The dinner was OK, but you know you’re in trouble when the glass of wine comes filled right to the top,  & the price is $4.00!!!  Back to our little cabin for a glass of wine (from our stash) on the porch.  A chat with the neighbors & a strange aroma.  Our cabin is right beside the septic tank lid!!  We slept quickly as we were unsure of what else might be in the bed with us, a quick shower then off to Parry Sound.

Day 8 – June 19/11 – Toronto via Parry Sound

We pulled into Parry Sound and had a lovely breakfast.  John didn’t think it would be a good idea to surprise his sister too early in the morning so we stopped & washed the bugs off the car.  It took a while for us to find the cottage, we hadn’t been since last year & John’s brother in law drove from Toronto.  This time we came in from the West & the highway has been twinned since John use to come 30 years ago.  We finally found the right place after driving around in the bush for over an hour!!  Everyone was working on the inside of the cottage, so when we snuck in the back door and caused quite a commotion. Needless to say, most of the work for that day stopped, we had a great afternoon sitting in the sun & catching up then headed for Toronto about 7:30 pm.  Arrived at John’s sister’s house in Brampton about 10:00pm, just in time to relax with a glass of wine before bed.  What a wonderful sleep after French River!!!

Day 9 – June 20/11

This was a catch up, sleep in, do the laundry day.

Day 10/11 – June 21 & 22/11 – Niagara Falls

Headed off to the Niagara Peninsula for a coupled of days of wine touring and sight seeing.   Stopped at 5 wineries the first day (The Thirsty Bench, Rosewood Estates (Johnny Bower), Good Earth Winery, Wayne Gretzsky Winery & Creekside Winery) and 5 the second day ( Inniskillin, Reif Estates, (Eddy Shack), Palatine Winery, Foreign Affair Winery and Legends Estate Winery).  Purchased some lovely Niagara wines including a bottle of Wayne Gretzsky, Johnny Bower & Eddy Shack wine.  Stopped & saw the Falls & stayed in a lovely Victorian B&B.  This was our first experience at a B&B and we were very impressed.

Day 12 – June 23/11 – Muck about day, went to Jackie & George’s for dinner to see the grandkids.

Day 13 – June 24/11 – Beautiful day, John met an old work buddy (John O’Hara) for lunch & I basked in the sun reading.

Day 14 – June 25/11 – A little overcast, but off we went with Heather & Collin for a tour and lunch in Oakville.  Took our hosts & tour guides out for dinner.

Day 15 – June 26/11 – Drove to Fergus, St. Jacobs, Kitchener to tour these lovely little towns.  Very much like Banff, buffed up for tourists.

Day 16 – June 27/11 – Did a little shopping, out for lunch & relaxed.

Day 17 – June 28/11 – City Line Day

Had to leave Heather’s house by 7 AM to pick up Jackie then take the GO train to downtown Toronto and the City TV studios.  Traffic was horrendous & we did not get to Jackie’s house until after 8:10 am, we were supposed to be on the GO train at 8 AM.  Jackie ended up driving downtown & we arrived at the studio on time.  We had a great time and got lots of freebies.  We then went to lunch, had a stroll through Eaton Centre and make the long drive home.    Wednesday night was an early night since we had been up since the crack of stupid & had our day of fame on City Live.

Day 18 – June 29/11 – Joshua’s Graduation Day

At long last the day we waited for, Joshua’s graduation day.  Also the dreaded day of seeing John’s ex-wife.   All went well as we watched all 349 kids walk across the stage to get there diplomas.  We had arrived early to save seats, but the venue was too small & we ended up no seeing much as all those who arrived late ended up standing in the aisle in front of us.  Joshua enjoyed the day and that is all that mattered. 

Day 19 – June 30/11 – Graduation Family BBQ

Didn’t do much until 6pm when we went back to Jackie’s house for the BBQ.  Another chance to spend time with the EX..  Actually, it wasn’t bad, we ate & drank and it was the first time John & his EX have actually spoken in probably 30 years.  All the grandparents  gave Joshua an Ipad for graduation so he was very happy about that.

Day 20-24 – July 1 - 4/11 – HAPPY CANADA DAY

Drove up to the cottage for a week of R & R.  John’s nephew Marc & his wife Candy were there with their 2 boys Liam & Mason.  Had a great time just relaxing on the dock, swimming and helping with the renovations at the cottage.

Day 25 – July 6/11

Starting to get a little cabin fever!!  JD & I took the laundry into Parry Sound then went for a drive to Blackstone Lake, a lake JD had a cottage at in the early 70’s before heading west.

Day 26 – July 7/11 – Leaving for Hastings Lake & 5 nights with George & Michell Simson (friends from Palm Springs).