The Grotto, Tobermory - One of the Most Beautiful Places in Canada!

>

Though we visited Tobermory before, somehow we did not visit the most beautiful place in the Bruce Peninsula region, the Grotto! On the third day of our stay in Tobermory, our hosts strongly advised us that since we drove such a long distance from Toronto to be in Tobermory, we must pay a visit to The Grotto, part of the UNESCO bioshphere.

We hesitated about the visit as the local weather forecast was a rainy day most of the day and might even be a thunderstorm.

After We got up in the morning, I wanted to prepare a nice lunch for our hosts therefore I spent the morning in the kitchen and cooking together with Helen. It was wonderful spending time with old friends and we vowed that we would keep in touch more often from now on. In fact we enjoyed our time together so much that we would try to visit Tobermory more often, definitely not another thirty years!

After lunch we packed up our things and planned to have a leisure drive back home. As luck would have it, we passed right by the sign pointing us to The Grotto! remembering what our host told us, we were determined to visit this famous spot which we had missed thirty five years ago.

We drove into the park and purchased our park and parking tickets. At the height of the tourist season, it would not be possible to have a parking spot unless you do it the day before. Since it was the fall season with less visitors, there was a spot for us, therfore we took advantage of it and decided to hike to The Grotto.

As soon as we got our tickets, it started to rain and we were not sure if we should go ahead. But the park ranger told us that often it would rain in this area but the rain would stop and it would be clear. Determined to see this famous area, we decided to continue and push on with our hike.

We were not disappointed! It was a beautiful hike with rest benches along the trail for breaks. There were a few trails and we chose the shortest one as we were limited by the amount of time we would have. True to what the park ranger had told us, the weather started to turn better; the rain stopped and the sky cleared. We ended up with a nice afternoon. On our hike we were pleasantly surprised to find young family with parents pushing their youngsters in strollers; senior folks wlaking witjh canes and a young lady gingerly hopping on crutches! What a brave a woman! After about 30- 40 minute hike, we came to an open area with lots of caves.

Wow! What a beautiful unique spot! I have never seen so many caves in one area.

There were people swimming in the water, sunbathing on the beach, climbing and exploring the caves here and there... There were quite a number of visitors doing various outdoor activities at this one spot. I thought that was the Grotto.

Wrong! As we walked further along the trail following the directions, we needed to climb to higher grounds with rocky narrow paths.

We had to be extra careful watching each of our steps with care and attention lest we would lose oir footing and fall.

Finally, we reached The Grotto! What a manificent sight lay before our eyes! It took our breath away and we were speechless!

I had never seen anything like this except in magazines! We climbed up to one of the rocks, laying there still and just take in this awesome scenery!

Below us, there were people climbing the rocky walls,some were swimming while a strong young man trying to scale to the summit and dive from the top of the cliff.

Cliff diving was not advised by the signs posted in this park.

This particular cave resembles a human face and legend has it that he looks out for the people and protects them in this region. We truly enjoyed this exceptional out of the world scenery and natural environment! There was no noise, except for the songs of birds and blowing of breezes and the rustling of the leaves. We will definitely return to the Grotto in the near future!

R.T.

The Grotto, Tobermory, Ontario, Canada

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