A Visit to Flower Pot Island in Tobermory, Ontario, Canada after Thirty- Five Years

This was the second day of our visit to Tobermory, Ontario, located in Bruce Peninsula municipality. Though not too far away, Tobermory is about 4 1/2 hour drive north from Toronto. The last time we visited in that region was more than thirty five years ago when our kids were still very young.

There was a lot of change since our last visit; the place looked much more beautiful than we remembered. The next day, we drove to downtown Tobermory and strolled along the waterfront.

The area has been built up with a nice harbour where many boats and yachts were docking and Canadian flags flying high in the sky.

Many of the shops were opened with each following COVID protocols – masking and social distancing being enforced by shopkeepers and observed by visitors.

The town of Tobermory has a population of about a few hundred people but in the summer it is humming with tourists from far and wide.

We purchased our cruise tickets online ahead of time and waited to board the 11a.m cruise boat to the Flower Pot Island.

Boarding one of the glass bottom boats to reach the famous island is a must do for many tourists to the area, us no exception. Our Blue Heron glass bottom boat set sailed right on time.

It was interesting seeing the living plants and numerous fish swimming through the glass bottom of the boat. We also saw a couple of shipwrecks that have been lying at the bottom of the lake for many decades. Many of us were awed by the good condition of the shipwreck pieces submerged under water!

It was a clear blue sky day.

We had a good view of the scenery of the lake and the many cottages lining the shore.

We were excited when our boat was near the twin flowerpots standing proudly in the lake. The highlight of the boat cruise was getting off the boat and hiking to reach the flower pots, a big one and a smaller one located not too far from each other.

The Flower Pot Island is part of the Parks Canada and well managed. On the island, there are good trails, clean washrooms, resting station and a refreshment tug shop still opened after the peak tourist season.

We walked on the rocks, enjoying the blue sky. listening to the waves of the lake while nibbling on a packed picnic lunch on one of the many benches on the beach.

It was heavens! We could have stayed a whole day on this beautiful Flower Pot Island

, so that we could stretch under the soft sun and experience God’s marvelous handiwork!

But our boat cruise tickets only allowed passengers a three hour stop on this island, which flew by in no time. We enjoyed the cruise and being on the Flower Pot Island tremendously!

R.T. Flower Pot Island, Tobermory, Ontario, Canada

A Staycation at Tobermory - Our First Long Distance Car Trip After Our Vaccinations

A long distance car trip and our staycation in almost two years! It was such a refreshing and liberating experience! We have looked forward and planned for this holiday for quite a few weeks. I could hardly hide my excitement when the day of our trip arrived.

All the preparations were checked off on our to do list - packing all the necessary items, cleaning the house, mowing the front and backyard, turning off the water! We didn't do it the last time and the toilet was running for two weeks which cost us over $700.00 in water bills! So this time we remembered to do it!

We took our time for the drive up north of Toronto. A drive that normally takes 4 1/2 hours, we took it slow, and enjoyed the different small towns on our way up. We stopped for lunch at a country restaurant and shopped at one of the lovely craft stores displaying many creative folk art items. We arrived at Tobermory at around 5:30pm. Helen and Raymond were gracious hosts and invited us to stay for a few days at their

cottage. She even prepared dinner for us.

After dinner,they drove us to see the light house which only took a few minutes drive. Their cottage is located just a short distance from downtown Tobermory.

We love Travelling, in particular, meeting old friends and catching up with them. We have known Helen for more than a decade and have watched their kids growing up in Waterloo.

Helen prepared a camp fire in their vast backyard and we stayed up and talked into the night!

We would spend a few days in Tobermory and plan to visit a number of places and look forward to enjoying some downtime in this unique beautiful scenic part of Ontario, Canada, recognized by UNESCO as one of the UNESCO Biospheres! R.T Tobermory, Ontario

Bringing Mom out for Her First Dim Sum Lunch After Her Stroke

One of the major setbacks for our family during the COVID 19 pandemic has been my mom’s illness. My 95 year old mom suffered a serious stroke soon after the celebration of her 95 year old online celebration.

 

 She is in rehab at the Providence Rehab Centre   currently trying to regain some mobility and   independence she has enjoyed before her stroke.

Due to COVID restrictions, visiting my mom has not been easy as there are many protocols to follow and the number of visitors are restricted. 

My siblings and I have been trying our best to visit Mom and have made a schedule so that at least one

of us visits her every day of the week for a couple of hours.

At her rehab centre, only three visitors are allowed to be on the visitor list, therefore my other siblings and Mom’s grandchildren are not allowed to visit.

 After seeing the three of us for a couple of months, Mom missed her other children. She talked about seeing all of us together. Since not all our siblings live in the greater Toronto area, getting a date when everyone could be together needed much coordination. 

We needed to consider and accomplish the following tasks in order to take Mom out for a lunch: 

 1. Transportation - Mom is not mobile at all and we needed to arrange a wheel chair transport to take her to the restaurant and back to the rehab centre. 

 2. A day pass - We needed to apply and get approval from the Rehab Centre

 3. An outdoor patio restaurant that could sit 8- 10 people. 

 4. A date and time that would be good for everyone involved, including our of town siblings.

It took almost two weeks of intensive work to arrange all of the above. Finally, the day of our family dim sum lunch arrived!

How exciting! I was eager to see Mom’s happy face when seeing all of her children for the first time in a long while. Therefore, I made sure that we arrived at the restaurant way ahead of our scheduled lunch. 

 The lunch was at Shangri La Restaurant in Richmond Hill, Ontario. It had a nice garden with a gazebo, a spacious outdoor dining space surrounded by a lot of green space. The tables were far apart in keeping with the COVID protocol.

 It was exciting seeing Mom in a wheelchair arriving to the restaurant!

Mom was happy and gave us her thumbs up!!!

Seeing all her children together for the first time in almost two yeas made her very happy. She was in a good spirit!

The fact that she was able to enjoy a dim sum lunch in almost two years at a restaurant with all her children made her day! It made our day too! 

We had not been together for almost 24 months. There was a lot of catching up to do! Though Mom was still recovering from her stroke and her memory has been severely affected, she was able to recognize and name each one of her children plus some of their spouses present that afternoon.

 It was a good indicator that Mom was recovering though slowly. It was a joyful event! All the planning and coordination were worth it! 

In fact, Mom and us enjoyed the dim sum lunch so much that we did again after this one before the cold weather set in and the COVID lockdown happened again.

 R.T.

 Richmond Hill, Ontario

Life During COVID - Celebrating My Mom's 95th Birthday During the COVID 19 Pandemic

My mom celebrated her 95th birthday a few months ago! It is a milestone reaching one's 95th birthday. 

 

We were grateful that our mom was healthy, happy, active and living an independent life on her own in a senior apartment. 

 In normal times, we would have held a huge party inviting many friends, relatives to come and celebrate with Mom and our family. 

But due to COVID restrictions, we could not hold any in person gathering or having any party.

What we did instead was organizing a virtual party to celebrate this special event. 

We sent out invitations to all our siblings, and my mom's grandchildren who are working and living in different parts of the world. 

The day before, we decorated our house, putting up ribbons and preparing a special place for her to sit.

During the COVID period, we cannot attend church services on Sunday, therefore, we bring Mom to our house and we watch our church service online.
 

After the Sunday service, we would have lunch together. Mom really enjoyed that. We have been doing that since the COVID restrictions forbid us from going to church on Sundays.

We are glad that we could still bring a little joy to Mom who has been a prisoner in her own apartment since COVID started.

On the day of the zoom party (Sunday), we picked up Mom from her senior apartment at around 11a.m.and brought her to our house. 

She was surprised that we decorated the house and held a party in her honour.

 After the Sunday Service, it was time for the zoom party.

Most of her grandchildren and seven children signed on the zoom party. They talked to Grandma and wished her happy birthday. 

Mom was tickled pink seeing her grandchildren from Florida, San Francisco, Hawaii, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa and other Canadian cities! She was so happy having her family around her even though it was online.

 

My sister baked a diabetic friendly birthday cake for her and bought it over. We lit the candles and sang happy birthday to Mom. She was happy and tried to look for and identified all her grandchildren and great grandchildren on the screen.

It was a memorable day for my 95 year old Mom and us all! COVID or not, it could not dim our joy of celebrating Mom's 95th birthday!

R.T.

Toronto

Life during COVID 

My 94 Years Old Mom Got Her COVID 19 Vaccine!

The day finally arrived! After days of learning about the different types of vaccines available and enquiring the possible dates when vaccine injection for the certain groups of people, my whole family was excited when our mom was notified of her date of the first vaccine at her senior apartment. On the day of the vaccine injection, I arrived at Mom's senior apartment to escort her to the temporary set up clinic. I was impressed by the whole process: 

 1. Announcements came over the public announcement system informing the residents that all residents over 80 years old could go down to the clinic for the vaccines.

 2. About 10 minutes later, someone came to my mom's unit ready to assist her to go down to the injection site. 

 3. Chairs were set up in a good distance for the seniors while waiting in line.

4. Each chair was sanitized before another senior sat on it.

5. COVID protocols were followed as each senior was led to different stations before getting the injection. 

 When the turn came for my mom's injection, I stood beside her ready to translate for her. My mom had no vaccine hesitancy; she was ready to roll up her sleeve and happy to receive it.

As I was standing there witnessing my mom getting the vaccine, I started to cry as I knew that my mom would have some protection from the COVID 19 virus and that she would start to regain some of her freedom back! After she got her shot, my mom was asked to go to the recovery room and wait there for 15 minutes to be observed for any possible side effect she might be experiencing. I waited with her. Thank goodness, nothing negative happened. The vaccination was done!

A few weeks later, my husband got his appointment in Waterloo and received his first Pfizer shot. Then a few weeks later, I got mine too. We were so relieved that most of my family elderly members received our first vaccine shots.

We were very fortunate not only did we receive our shots, we could even have a choice of which vaccine we wanted. We were lucky that we all got the kind of shots we all wanted. Praise God and we are looking forward to get our second one. We were delighted to hear that both of our children living overseas also received their vaccine as well! 

 R.T 

Toronto, Canada