Wiarton, Ontario - Home of the Wiarton Willie Who Foretells the Arrival of Spring

We spent the last few dyas in beautiful Tobermory, revisiting the famous Flower Pot Island and explored the Grotto which we had missed thirty five years ago while visiting the Bruce Peninsula for the first time.

We were glad that we saw it this time!

After our visit to the Grotto, we started our drive home to Toronto. We never drive straight from one destination to the next when we are on a car trip. We always take detours and stop by to see the samll towns and hamlets in between.

This time we stoppedd in Wiarton. A small town of about 2,300 inhabitants, located on the Bruace Peninsula between Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. We hear about Wiarton every year on the news at the beginning of February. After having been holed up in our homes for the entire winter, Canadians are dying to know when spring will arrive so that we can get out of our caves and come out of habination to play.

Spring arrives sometimes early and sometimes later. How do we know when the warmer days will arrive? Canadians all turn to Wiarton Willie eagerly anticipating what this little guy will tell us each year on February 2.

People from far and wide will travel to Wiarton and a big crowd will gather to watch and celebrate the announcement of spring arrival in Canada on February 2 by none other than - Wiarton Willie! In fact, a famous Hollywood movie, Groundhog Day, featured Bill Murray, was made based on Wiarton Willie!

Wiraton Willie is an albino groundhog.Since 1957, he has been coming out of his underground cave on GroundHog Day - February 2, each year to give us his predictions for the arrival of spring in the forthcoming year. For the past seven decades, this has been how Wiraton Willie shares his prediction:

If he comes out and sees his shadow - spring will be here very very soon! Everyone will celebrate! If he comes out and doesn't see his shadow, it will be a delayed spring, which means Canadians will have to wait for another six to eight weeks or so.

Not only is Wiarton Willie's spring arrival prediction a national news item in Canada and we all sit up straight and pay attention to him; this prediction is also broadcasted globally for all to know!

We were glad that we paid tribute to Wiarton Willie, stopped and visited his home town - Wiarton on this trip!

Another thing we have discovered about Wiarton is that it is a welcoming little town for kids with special needs, particularly kids with autism.

This has been made evident by the huge sign posted in austism friendly language in its beautiful waterfront park.

The Bluewater Park, Wiarton Willie's year round home in Ontario, Canada! R.T. Wiarton, Ontario, Canada

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

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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