Relaxing on Wasaga Beach, Ontario - the World's Longest Fresh Water Beach

Wasaga Beach, Ontario

We went to visit a popular tourist spot in the Georgian region - Wasaga Beach.

Wasaga Beach, Ontario -  the Longest Fresh Water Beach in the World

              

The soft fine sand stretches for about ten miles along the Georgian Bay shoreline

Wasga Beach, Ontario, is not on the coastal region of Canada, but located on the shores of Georgian Bay, Ontario, a two hour lovely drive from Toronto.

 It is the longest fresh water beach in the world!

Its soft fine sand stretches for over ten miles and is a must see in the Georgian Bay region if you are visiting the area.

The best place to relax!

We went to the beach three times  during our vacation this time and each time we did something different and enjoyed ourselves very much!

One afternoon, we simply lounged under our beach umbrella and read a book.








 I loved feeling the sand under my feet, listening to the sound of waves, or  just watching the world go by and the kids chasing the sea gulls away on the beach.

I love watching the kids running after the seagulls on the beach!

This time we watched a drama played out by a bullying seagull right in front of our eyes.


A few seagulls found a bag of snack food left behind by some visitors to the beach,

They were milling around the food figuring what to do with it.

Within minutes, more seagulls landed on the spot taking turns poking at the bag of snack food.

Then a seagull bully arrived on the scene trying to claim the territory and the find as its own.

The seagull bully exerted itself and confronted the crowd for a few moments.

It extended its wings, broke up the party and scared the other seagulls away!

Though it was not a hot day when we could run into the water without hesitation, we still had so much fun on the beach!

We just let our hair down, jumped around, posted for pictures and had some great laugh!

What a lovely time we had on Wasaga Beach every time !
 

R.T.
Wasaga Beach
Ontario

More to see in Thornbury, Ontario, than we expected!

Beautiful old houses in Thornbury

While vacationing in Collingwood, we visited Thornbury, a small town about a twenty minute drive from where we were staying.

A perennial garden with Hosta plants

 

We could  find a spot and parked our car easily in the main street area.

Strolling around town, we passed by some beautiful houses with  nice perennial gardens

Shops in the downtown area, Thornbury, Ontario

Like so many small rural towns in Ontario, the business area is usually located on one main street of the town.

Stores in the downtown area

Though a town with a population of around 2200 people -  2011, Statistics Canada (web), there were quite a number of nice shops and stores on the main street downtown area.

 Along with some fine furniture and interior design stores, we saw at least two bakery cafe restaurants.

Ashanti Cafe & Bakery in Thornbury

We found our new favorite coffee shop -

Ashanti Cafe and Bakery which we visited in Collingwood.

We ordered some coffee and  homemade pastries. Yummy!  Using the WiFi. we checked emails and read the newspaper.  Thai Curry Chicken Coconut Soup was offered as the soup of the day. It was O.K.

Catering to a more mature crowd, Ashanti was a  comfortable place to stop for coffee and a bite to eat in downtown Thornbury.

We visited Thornbury more than twenty year ago and remembered the Thornbury Harbour well.

Thornbury Harbour

It was a cool, grey day on the day we visited the town, therefore there were not a lot of actions at the harbour.

Thornbury City Hall

 There were more to see in Thornbury than we expected!

When we were here many years ago, we stood on the Thornbury Bridge over the Beaver River and watched in amazement the salmon run for the very first time in our lives!

Beaver River, Thornbury

The scenery of the river was just as beautiful and peaceful as we remembered.

This time, the place looked not just prettier but with more consideration and help for the salmon fish and their next many generations!!

The Thornbury Dam

Since Thornbury has a dam,  it is almost impassable for the salmon fish returning to their spawning ground  each year.

After some careful study and planning by the town, a ladder like structure was built to enable the salmon to swim upstream gradually and get to their spawning grounds to lay their eggs.

Some generous towns people donated money to build a long wooden stairs with viewing platforms leading to the banks of the river. 

A  viewing platform was built recently

Some generous towns people donated money to build a long wooden stairs with viewing platforms leading to the banks of the river.  

Folks visiting the dam could sit on a bench to rest and enjoy the scenery. It would be a great place to watch the salmon run during the fall seasons as well.

An old wooden bridge in Thornbury

We had a great day in Thornbury visiting the shops, and enjoying the scenery along the river. 

We look forward to coming back to watch the salmon run in the fall!

R.T.

Thornbury, Ontario

Ashanti Coffee - A Great Bakery Cafe in Collingwood & Thornbury!

Ashanti Cafe, Collingwood, Ontario

One of the joy and fun things to do while travelling is trying new food at different places.

















Sipping  a good cup of aromatic coffee, savouring delicious homemade pastries and enjoying good conversations are little things that we enjoy on a regular basis.












Therefore, we are always looking for nice and comfortable coffee places and are willing to try them out.

 This time while vacationing in the Collingwood and Georgian region, we found and tried a new place.

We found a neat new coffee place -Ashanti Cafe and Bakery, located at the corner of First and Elm Street, close to the downtown area of Collingwood.

Ashanti Cafe - a great place for coffee and reading the morning paper!

The cafe, nicely decorated, with comfortable wicker chairs for seating allow patrons to enjoy their coffee, read the newspaper in an unhurried and relaxing atmosphere.

The cafe offers sandwiches and wraps besides sweets

It also offered a decent selection of sandwiches and pastries.


We liked the experience so much that when we visited another small town, Thornbury, in the area, we went to the Ashanti there as well for a bit to eat and our coffee fix.

Ashanti Cafe - Thornbury, Ontario

The best part about Ashanti Cafe - it is Canadian owned and operated!

A Canadian couple purchased a  farm in Africa, starting growing coffee, harvesting and bringing the beans to Canada. The coffee beans are roasted right in Thornbury!








We are big supporters and dedicated loyal customers of  Canadian owned and operated business.

Instead of Starbucks, now we have another option!

We will be looking for Ashanti coffee from now on!

R.T.
Collingwood
Ontario

A Breathtaking Sunset at the Sunset Point Park, Collingwood!

Sunset Point Park, Collingwood, Ontario, Canada

One of our most favourite activities on our itineraries while we are on holiday is watching a beautiful sunset.

















This time we stumbled upon a park in Collingwood called Sunset Point Park.

We were here a couple of days ago during daytime. But we liked it so much that we went back at dusk to view the sunset. We were not disappointed!

Sunset at Sunset Point Park, Collingwood, Ontario

As soon as we got off our vehicle, we heard back pipe music playing in the park. A free concert was going on here, we thought.

We were going to be serenaded while watching a beautiful sun going down.

How lucky could we be!

Pipers rehearsing their music at dusk in the park

  It turned out that a group of pipers were rehearsing their performance and we got to hear their music first. 

We have been to many parts of the world and watched the sun going down on the summit of Mt Fuji, on the islands of Hawaii, on a resort beach in Fiji, in Sydney, Australia, Venice, Florence and the country side of Tuscany and from the top of the ancient temple of Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

Inukshuk - a Symbol of the Native People of Canada, Sunset Point Park, Collingwood, Ontario 

The sunset at the Sunset Point Park in Collingwood was breathtaking!
Standing beside the Inukshuk ( a stone symbol of the native people of Canada) we were dwarfed.

"Inukshuk means:
 "in the likeness of a human" in the Inuit language. They are monuments made of unworked stones that are used by the Inuit for communication and survival. The traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path."  from Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre Wedsite

With the brilliant sun slowly going down to the horizon and the huge stone Inushuk dominating the Georgian Bay shoreline, the sunset was spectacular!  It was a photographer's dream!

Watching a Spectacular Sunset in Sunset Point Park, Collingwood, Ontario

It was magical when one could share a beautiful moment with a loved one!

Most important of all, I was with my loved ones who were there to share this magical moment with me!

This made it all the more special!

R.T.
Sunset Point Park
Collingwood, Ontario