Collingwood Day 2

Gretchen and Dallas were both working today, so Ted and I had planned to explore the area by ourselves. We still felt confident doing it, even without our local guides! Gretchen made us overnight oats for breakfast, and our first stop was the town of Meaford. On the way, we stopped at a supermarket to buy some supplies (like food), as we seem to find it difficult to stick to our budget of not eating out everywhere we go.

The weather was perfect today, so visiting Meaford was worth it. There were already Hallowe’en displays about, so we walked around town including along the river. We even saw some people playing Pickleball, which is best described as a cross between table tennis and tennis. Apparently it’s a big hit here in Canada!

Our next stop was Wiarton, where apparently we have been before but I’ve unfortunately forgotten! The town is famous for Wiarton Willie, a Canadian groundhog who takes part in a local festival (I kid you not!) to predict if there will be an early spring. There is even a monument to Willie. The view in front of the lake was the perfect place to eat our lunch too.

Dallas had recommended visiting nearby Sauble Beach which ended up being a surprise - a nice beachfront area right here in Canada! With its Australian weather, the beach was really welcoming, especially with all the shops and restaurants lining the street that led to the beach. We stopped for a coffee at an outdoor cafe and were impressed with the coffee and iced coffee which were both reminiscent of what we get back home.

We had earlier driven through a town called Owen Sound which we’d liked the look of, so we headed back to explore it further. Unfortunately I think we’d seen the best of the town from the street as the back areas weren’t so attractive. We stopped into a games shop to buy a board game for Gretchen, Dallas and Ben for looking after us. They love games so it seemed like an appropriate gift.

We had both liked Blue Mountain Resort on a previous visit, so we went back for another visit today. Whilst there we checked out some different restaurants for dinner, but Dallas suggested eating locally instead as the restaurants were quite pricy. Gretchen and Dallas were also both keen on getting take-away instead, and it ended up being a huge selection of food from a nearby Greek restaurant. We stayed up playing the game “Taboo” before heading to bed. USA tomorrow!Read more