I recently discovered this quote that pretty much describes me…
Not all who wander are lost.
–JRR Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring.
FYI
I am hoping this blog will be an enjoyable journey to the sights and delights of Eastern Ontario, especially my hometown of Kingston. It is for those who are homesick, those who have visited and loved it and those who are lucky enough to be here. I lived in Vancouver for 25 years and I did miss it, and would have liked something like this to look at. Right now I live in the country north of Kingston so there will be a lot of country photos, and I will also add photos from outside the area now and again but in general I will stick to Eastern Ontario and I will usually focus on Kingston and immediate area. I hope you will love my hometown.
Stratford 2
Riding my bike along the Avon River.
The center of town.
An animal loving fountain.
Many things in Ontario aren’t as spectacular as things in BC–but our Blue Jay is much prettier than the Stellar’s Jay.
Shades of Gone With the Wind.
I believe this is the main theater in Stratford, although there are other theaters. That’s the crown on the top.
One day soon, I hope that I can go and see a show there. I haven’t done that since I was a teenager, on school trips.
Stratford
Last year I was surprised to find out that Stratford is only an hour from Guelph, where I go regularly, at least when things go well. I got to Stratford no problem, but coming home, the highway was closed due to an emergency. Then the 401 came to a standstill, then I got lost in Kitchener. A one hour trip became three hours. Stratford itself was lovely though. I took my bike and rode along the river, and around the center of town.
Entrance to the park.
I like it.
The theater and the swan.
Taking a bow.
Lumpy, gnarly old willow.
The Shakespearean Garden.
Most of the plants are ones that Shakespeare mentioned in his writings. They also have to grow in our climate.
The Bard himself. It’s all about the Bard.
Today I went to Gananoque. The Weather Network said it was going to be the nicest of my days off, so I went, expecting to sit by the water and enjoy the town, but it rained on and off all day. I’ll try it again soon.
Rainy Day 2
Cutest book exchange I’ve ever seen.
Tucked away.
The Opinicon resort is having a facelift. If you’re interested, you can go to their Facebook page and check out the latest on what’s happening.
Angela Bearance, are you with us today? These are for you.
Opinicon Lake. This beaver has worked hard to dam up this water pipe, and the township crew has torn it all apart. There is a scene like this at Beaver Lake in Stanley Park, Vancouver. Every day the beaver blocks up the pipe, every day the city guys unblock it.
The wild phlox are out and looking good.
Tomorrow we are off to Stratford, finishing up my trip from last week.
A Rainy Day North Of Kingston
Before we get started on the rainy day, here are a couple of pictures from last week.
I love when the Bridal Spirea is out, and this is one of my favourite showings of it, along Stagecoach Road. Magnificent!
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I thought I would take a break from our southwestern Ontario tour and get back to local scenes for a couple of days, and then we will get back to Stratford.
I had to go to a celebration at Hotel Kenney at Jones Falls today, and took some pictures along the way. This morning it was just bucketing down, but by the time I got on the road, it had eased off a bit. By evening the sun had come out. I don’t take many rainy pictures, and I don’t want to give folks the idea that Kingston is always basking in sunshine. However, I heard on the news today that Kingston has only had 1/4 of the rain it usually gets in the spring.
Looking east from Rideaucrest.
Just north of Sunbury.
Battersea.
Cute shed.
Cute horses.
I ran into this young lady getting ready to lay her eggs at the side of the road–probably not the wisest place to do so. As far as I could see, there were no eggs yet–she was still digging.
Boy, you can’t even lay your eggs in peace without the paparazzi bothering you.
Wild Daisies and Birdfoot Trefoil.
The Hotel Kenney at Jones Falls
The hotel is kind of old fashioned but comfy and cottagey inside.
More tomorrow, along Opinicon Road.
Galt 2
The Grand River goes through town.
The Library is off this square. They don’t call it the Library. They call it the Idea Exchange.
Great balcony up top.
It’s unfortunate that this one is a bit fuzzy. It looked very European.
It looks like they are restoring this building.
Heading out of town to the west.
The final out of town engagement will be Stratford.
Galt
My niece has been living in the Galt part of Cambridge, which is three communities that grew together–Galt, Hespeler and Preston. (I think) Going down from Guelph through Hespeler, you enter Cambridge through miles of mall strip–not all that attractive. Up until this visit, I hadn’t bothered looking around because I hadn’t gotten a very good impression, but this time my grand niece took me to a few places and I loved it! What a charming place. I can’t speak for Preston–I haven’t seen that part of town.
First we went to The Fashion Museum in Hespeler. I had heard about it on the CBC. I liked it. It is inexpensive to get in. There isn’t a lot, but what is there is in immaculate shape. One dress was 200 years old. The man who runs the place also provides costumes for movie productions and like projects.
A lush and verdant alley on the west side of the Grand River. The streets were lined with trees and fine, well kept old homes.
My grand niece found this place really fascinating. She was surprised by the short life spans and the children who died–one at only one hour old.
Looking east towards downtown.
Cool windows!
Different false windows through the above alley downtown.
More Galt tomorrow.
Niagara Falls
I am a bit surprised at how few photos I took of Niagara Falls. As I said before, the parks are beautiful, the falls are impressive, but the town itself, or the little I have seen of it, is unremarkable, and full of tourist traps.
I think these are people on the US side, walking under the falls.
The famous Maid of the Mist. I could have gotten us on for free because of a personal connection, but I didn’t think of it in time. Duh.
Standing at the edge, with plenty of barriers and hundreds of other people.
Above the Falls.
I told my niece about Roger Woodward, a boy only a year younger than her, who went over the falls and survived. http://www.infoniagara.com/history/rogerwoodward_miracle.aspx
More carriage rides.
Maybe the reason for my being underwhelmed is that I have seen Victoria Falls–one of the most mind blowing events of my life. It’s still wild, with baboons running around and fabulous tropical flowers–a deafening roar and mist soaking one from head to toe. Hardly a barrier in sight. Wow!! I recommend it highly. My grand-niece liked Niagara Falls though.
They also have this amazing character providing entertainment on the Zambia side. The next time I saw him, he had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth.
Boy, we sure are getting far away from Kingston! 
Back in Guelph…
A little corner of Guelph that I haven’t stopped at before.
Today we had a good rain in K-Town, but we could use some more. The sun is supposed to be out again tomorrow though, which I am not complaining about.
Tomorrow we go to Cambridge, a town I had never explored before.
