Archive for the ‘Lake Simcoe’ Category

One of our earliest articles on Canada Trip was about Muskoka Wildlife Centre, and left as a comment by Suzie Q was a recommendation to go check out Walter Page’s Muskoka Store, so that’s exactly what we did!

This year’s first trip to Canada was different to previous trips as we seemed to have a whole variety of weather.. From bright hot sunny days of temperatures in the mid twenties right the way to snowflakes falling and settling over night, it all seemed to happen this last trip! It was on one of the more wet days that we happened to be passing here.. In fact it had been raining solid for over a day, but that didn’t make any difference to our experience of this fantastic store.

a photo of the interior of Walter Page's Muskoka Store

If you are driving north, passing Muskoka Wildlife Centre on your right, you’ll begin seeing signs on your right telling you how much further it is to the Muskoka Store, and with its large signs beside the road and its distinctive black and white log cabin style building you’ll find it difficult to miss, just remember to be in the right lane on the highway and start slowing down as soon as you see it as you pull straight off the highway into their large car park!

When you walk into the first part of the store, it had, on the day we went in, the feel of a garden centre, the feeling that sure, it’s a Store but you get the idea there’s much more there than it first appears.. And that’s exactly what you find out, turning left and walking down the corridor you step through a door and find yourself immersed in the cozy comfy environment of a cottage, a cottage that’s seen everything and been there for years – and so accumulated many mementos of its past.. the only difference is, almost all of it is for sale.

The store has been designed well, selling just about anything you’d ever want, especially if you happen to have a cottage in Muskoka! If you haven’t, that’s fine too – the store has a massive selection of gifts – so if you were stuck wondering what you may buy friends and family as mementos from Canada, or maybe you want to treat yourself, your almost sure of finding something you’ll want in this store! .. I certainly did!

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In my last horseshoe article found here,

I brought you the summer fun of horseshoe valley resort, in the shining light of the 2010 winter games I’ll give you a taste of the Canadian winter in this part 2 resort review.

(Horshoe Valley resort from the top of the hills)

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Well, i decided to re-feature this place simply because, although it was our third drop in to this little interest spot, the last time we went (a couple of weeks ago) we actually got to see it in operation! So i thought I’d share with you some photos so you can see exactly how this Goliath of a lock works!

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Although it was a pretty cloudy day, it was pretty neat to see such a huge structure moving, and it was a lot quicker than i thought it would have been too! check out the short video:
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While visiting Canada, if you’re in the Muskoka region, why not take a trip to a place where you can see for yourself what things used to be like before the world of modern life crept into the area?

Muskoka Heritage Place is a trip back in time to an authentic pioneer village – all fully furnished genuine muskoka buildings including General Store, Church, Inn, Barn, Blacksmith Shop, dwellings and a trapper’s cabin. You will also find a First Nations’ Museum Exhibit & Encampment, the Muskoka Museum, Costumed Narrators, Farm Animals and Gardens and hands on demonstrations! If you’ve been to Beamish Open air museum in the UK, this place is a smaller version of that style of attraction, all based around a time gone by in Muskoka, Ontario. (more…)

Muskoka Attractions

Author: Rocky

While visiting Juni (our adopted raccoon, if you didn’t know already) at Muskoka Wildlife Centre, I saw a stand with some leaflets on, one of them was initially what I thought to be simply a flyer to let people know all the places they could visit while visiting the Muskoka area, but what it actually was – was a way to see more in Muskoka and save while doing it!

Muskoka Attractions

So here’s what it’s about: (more…)

Horse Shoe Valley Resort is a winter and summer resort just outside of Barrie, Ontario, and is  my favorite place to travel to in Ontario.

 

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(The main entrance to the Resort Hotel, Photo ©2009)

This resort is proof that Canada is a diffrent country every time the seasons change, in this article, I’ll give you a taste of the summer fun at this mountain top resort. (more…)

Well, I’m back and yes, as most people get when flying back – have that wonderful thing called jet lag, which is one reason why we didn’t have an article yesterday! But, normal service has resumed – and one place i actually got photos of this trip was Upper Canada Mall!

Upper Canada Mall Entrance

Upper Canada Mall Entrance

If you like shopping, this place pretty much has it all, and is the biggest mall in the area – catching people from all the way up from Orillia and the whole Lake Simcoe Region. The mall is located right in the middle of Newmarket and easy to get to no matter which direction you come from. Now I’ve been to Fairview Mall, which is another mall in Toronto, and I’m sure this place is bigger than it – and the variety of stores will pretty much suit any need you’d have.

Walking around the mall, it reminds me a lot of my own home city mall / shopping centre Meadowhall, with both these malls being on two floors, with large open areas through the upper floor so you can view the concourse below.. But me being me… food is one of the reasons i love this Mall.. This mall, like many Canadian malls has a huge variety of different foods available for you to try (more…)

Postcard from Canada

Author: Rocky

Hey there everyone! I’m doing this smaaall article from Canada since i thought it’d be a fairly good idea to put up a lil info about what we’ve been up to!

Algonquin Provincial Park

Algonquin Provincial Park

Now, we’ve been busy, we always are – and now we find ourselves specifically hunting out and descovering places to tell you about, and we sure have done that! – places we’ve been so far this week include Bancroft, Algonquin park (and wow did we underestimate what was on offer there!), Muskoka Wildlife Centre, Kirkfield Lift Lock, New market, Orillia and of coarse the beach near Bolsover, Lake Simcoe. (more…)

A military base, not a likely stop on your normal family vacation, if you’e one of those families take into account C.F.B. Borden. This state of the art training base is the size of a small city, containing two public museums, both of which are free of charge to see.

 

 

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(Engineering Monument in CFB Borden, Photo ©2009)

So read on for the sights and adventures in this leading canadian military installation.

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Barrie, ON

Author: Rocky

Barrie is a year-round tourist destination, with three beaches, more ski runs than anywhere in Ontario and is centrally located to some of Ontario’s most desirable attractions and destinations. Barrie is also the shopping hub of the area, and its downtown nightlife is legendary and the selection of campgrounds and award-winning hotels await you for a comfortable stay. If recreation is what you’re after, Barrie’s numerous trails, cycling routes and waterfront will keep even the most active people busy. In between all the action enjoy Barrie’s renowned selection of restaurants, and experience one of the many museums and galleries.

The Shorline at Barrie

The Shorline at Barrie

The special thing about Barrie is it’s location. It’s just down the road from Orillia – so it shares many of it’s locational attributes- such as being half way between Algonquin Park and Toronto. Though Barrie also has some of its own special places to visit on top of this.
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