Posts by: AlanMc

The area of Eastern Ontario along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River has a lot to offer. Take your time exploring the region and consider spending a night or two in one of the several picturesque campgrounds or inns, lodges and B&Bs that are dotted along the river. When you are driving along the boring MacDonald-Cartier Highway (a.k.a. the 401) between Montreal and Toronto exit at Ganonoque or Brockville or Cornwall depending on the direction you are going. If you are on your way to or from the United States you will be crossing at a short drive […]

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Driving north from Toronto along highway 400 is more often than not a challenge particularly on summer weekends when it seems as if the entire population of Canada’s largest city is on the move to vacationland – the rocky Canadian shield with its many lakes and fresh air. Just past Barrie you will turn onto highway 11 for the short trip to Gravenhurst. Swing into this town which is the gateway to cottage country. Here you can enjoy a traditional Muskoka experience. Go down to the docks and buy a ticket for a cruise on the lake aboard either the […]

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Hamilton is all too frequently missed on the drive from Toronto to Niagara Falls or vice versa. While it once was a city with serious air pollution, a virtually inaccessible waterfront and lots of heavy industry, it now has clean air, a beautiful park on Hamilton harbour in Burlington Bay and the steel mills are not the massive polluters that they once were. So leave the Queen Elizabeth Highway and have a visit. There is much to see. Here are a few recommendations. The Royal Botanical Gardens Hamilton’s great glory are the Royal Botanical Gardens. Hamilton should really be called […]

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Niagara Falls has been a tourist attraction ever since Euorpeans settled in North America. The absolutely unbelievable falls inspired many European and American writers to attempt to capture in words not just appearance of the falls themselves but also their but to relate the thoughts of God and nature that came into their heads as they stood on the brink of the cascade. Every visitor who stands on the edge of the Table Rock Lookout and watches the massive flow of water thrust over the precipice of the escarpment will be affected in a deep way by this truly awesome […]

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The drive downriver from Niagara Falls on the Niagara Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake is full of surprises. If you take in all the sites it will take a full day to reach Niagara-on-the-Lake. Along the way is the White Water Walk, Whirlpool Aero Car, the Butterfly Conservatory, Queenston Heights Park with Brock’s Monument celebrating the victory and death of General Isaac Brock in the war of 1812 and the McFarland House where costumed guides take you around a fine Georgian home. Turn into the town of Queenston and visit Laura Secord House the home of the Canadian heroine of the war […]

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North Bay was on my itinerary for a business meeting and I really dreaded going there. I had heard that it was a cultural wasteland. Was I in for a surprise! Not only is there plenty to do in North Bay in terms of culture it is also a centre for a variety of quality out-doors activities. Even better it is a mere 3 and a half hours drive from Toronto. As a summer destination North Bay it is a wonderful place to enjoy the untamed wilderness of the great Canadian Shield and in winter it is a centre for […]

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St. Jacobs bills itself as “Ontario’s favourite rural destination”. This is no idle boast. A drive to St. Jacobs (about 14 km from Waterloo) to shop and tour the surrounding beautiful farm land is a great break from city life. For me a visit to the St. Jacobs market is a fabulous treat for the palate and the eye. It’s open Thursday and Saturday year round and on Tuesdays during the summer. This is not the usual small community farmers’ market. It is enormous and comes with surprises everywhere. There are literally hundreds of vendors of food and crafts and […]

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