Hello Everybody,

once again the blog is a month behind. Just wanted to let you know that we are doing very well and safely arrived in Nova Scotia.

I have lots of gorgeous pictures of the eastern fall colours and other beautiful scenery through the rest of Ontario and Quebec as well as New Brunswick and from our first lobster dinner in Nova Scotia. I hope to get them up soon. 

cheers from the Maritimes,
Linda

Sept 29 Heading East Towards Brighton


This was a fairly uneventful, sunny day. Not much to report other than that the scenery was lovely. Enjoy the pics:

Cobourg

Early fall colours...more to come!!!

In a small town called Salem, a very friendly family let us camp behind their barn. They even invited us in for dinner and we had a great time. Their neighbours breed alpacas and it just so happened that they had an Alpaca Farm Open House the following morning so we got a tour of the place.

This is one of the alpaca males after shearing. Soooo cute and bizarre.

They had several alpaca wool products on display such as blanket, scarves etc. and it is just wonderful material. So soft, quick drying, hypoallergenic! Loved it!

Below from left to right are two guys from the alpaca farm, Marco our kind host and James and I. 

THANKS MARCO AND FAMILY FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY! IT WAS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU. SAY HI TO THE NEIGHBOURS FOR US!

Sept 26-27 Georgetown, Toronto, Ajax

Our next stop after Guelph was Georgetown where Gabe lives, who we also met on Manitoulin Island. The ride out there was gorgeous. The trees were really starting to display their fall colours, which I could not wait to see in full swing.

Gabe and Al`s farm.

Gabe and Al welcomed most kindly. Pam, who we also met on Manitoulin Island, came over as well because she just lives next door. It was great to see them again and to meet Al.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY. IT WAS SUCH A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!

When we crossed into Ontario from Manitoba we believed this was the end of bad roads. Unfortunately that was not the case AT ALL. If you are a cyclist, grab a tissue before looking at the photo below because it will surely make you cry!

Despite the bad roads, it was a nice ride into Toronto. I was quite stoked to see the the CN Tower! It looks big from afar but when you get up close it`s just gigantic.

Toronto Marina. Sail boats on water are just so photogenic!

HUUUGE! We did not end up going up the tower because we felt like it was not worth the price they charged. Anyways, it was fun watching CN Tower tour participants hang over the edge of the viewing platform (while secured by harnesses and ropes). I could not help but think of you Tabea. Yay ropes and rock climbing!!!! Miss it!!!

Snap shot of Toronto.

We tried selling our cards near the tower but we had no luck. We ended up chatting with a friedly snack vendor from Greece. He gave us a little bag of caramel corn to munch on. Mmm, yum!

Unfortunately we did not see much else of Toronto because traffic was a bit intimidating and it is difficult to go anywhere since the bikes cannot be left unattended. Sorry Toronto, I am sure you have lots to offer but it will have to wait till next time.   

That same evening we made it out to Ajax, a town east of Toronto.  There we met up with Glen, who we had met in Sault St. Marie. He offered his place for us to stay and even took us out for dinner at a local Italian restaurant called Casa Verde. It is run by an Italian family and everything is totally home made. Just amazingly delicious!!

Long live cheese cake!!!!!

....and tiramisu!!!

THANK YOU GLEN FOR LETTING US STAY AT YOUR PLACE AND FOR THE DELICIOUS DINNER! IT WAS GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN. STAY IN TOUCH!

Sept 24-25 Guelph

The extended area around Toronto is a beautiful patchwork of farm land. Picturesque farms and fields of corn, wheat, canola and soy beans line the roads.

On the way to Guelph we saw more of the cute red brick houses typical for this area.

In Guelph we were invited to stay with Annie, who we met on Manitoulin Island. Unfortunately that fell through because Annie had to leave town. However, she arranged another place for us to stay at with her friend Vicky and family. They were such a cool family! Ken and Vicky were super welcoming and very interesting to chat with. They have travelled quite a bit and they take all five kids on cycling trips!

THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR MAKING US FEEL SO WELCOME! IT WAS A GREAT TIME WITH YOU GUYS!

There is a cool restaurant called the Bookshop in Guelph with an ajoining movie theater. The dinner and movie combo looked like a good deal so we decided to take this chance for a more civilized meal. It was such a treat!

Another stylish brick house!

Sept 22-24 Bruce Peninsula and Clifford

Quite a while ago, on the day we left Thunder Bay we met a nice chap, Paul,  when we were stopped beside the road for a quick snack break. He was very interested in our trip and before he drove on, he told us to come visit him if we pass thru Wiarton. It turned out his town was right on our way down from the Bruce Peninsula so we stopped by. Paul and Leslie gave us a very warm welcome and even offered their guest room for us to stay in.

Their cat Elliott (see pic below) made for a very entertaining time at their house. Elliott is young rescued cat bursting with energy. They had just bought him a little pet tent which he kept attacking. When he was inside the tent he would periodically jump up and make the whole tent leap and roll around then living room. Incredibly funny. The poor doggie is just terrified of this new family member.

THANK YOU PAUL AND LESLIE FOR THE HOSPITALITY AND FUN TIMES!

Our next stop was in Clifford. When my mom was in her twenties, she spent a few months traveling  around North America. She stayed in touch with a family she became friends with in Ontario and since  James and I came near their town, we  decided to visit them. 

The ride from Wiarton to Clifford took the whole day because rain squalls forced us to take shelter several times. One time we stopped in a barn until the rain passed. The barn was litteraly swarming with cats of all ages, sizes and colours. It was quite entertaining to watch them play and fight with each other. Their favourite spot seemed to be a draped corvette which they climbed over, hid under and ambushed each other through the cover.

The next rain squall was about to hit when we came past a nice farm where we asked to shelter in the barn. The picture below is the neighbouring farm which caught the last rays of sun before the clouds moved in. The lady on the farm kindly allowed us to put our bikes in the barn and then invited us in for a hot drink. She ended up feeding us delicious carrot cake and even ended up making us chicken wraps with all the fixings. It was just wonderful. THANK YOU SOO MUCH BETHANY!!!

We arrived in Clifford shortly after 8 pm. It had started raining again and it had gotten totally dark by that time. Not the most pleasant riding conditions but the discomfort made the ride feel like a real quest. Siegfried and Christa had an amazing dinner ready when we finally arrived at their house. Below is a photo of their house, which is the oldest house in Clifford. The architecture in the area shows a strong European influence. Very pretty.  

Siegfried still farms 150 acres of wheat and soybeans. He drove us out to his fields and gave us a quick tour of the operation. There is a large Mennonite community in that area so we came across many horses and buggies. It felt like having been transported back in time.

Siegfried`s combine. I would have loved to drive it but the battery was dead :-(

A flock of geese in the wheat field.

Beautiful evening light on the recently harvested wheat field. One of my favourite pics!

Soy beans drying on the stalk, waiting to be harvested.

Since Siegfried`s farm is very close to Lake Huron, we stopped there very quickly to enjoy the view. It was very windy and cold but the scenery was very impressive and dramatic.

Nice hot drink stop at Tim Hortons!

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY, CHRISTA AND SIEGFRIED!!! IT WAS A TREAT STAYING WITH YOU!!!