Category: SW Ontario

My cousin is a birder and photographer with back woods knowledge I don’t have, which is why I rely on him for these kind of pieces. The Blue Winged Warbler you see before you is from Backus Woods, part of the Backus Heritage Conservation area.  This is about a 30-minute drive from Tillsonburg. Backus Heritage Conservation Area has historical and natural offerings and is part of the larger Long Point Region Conservation Authority. Bring binoculars or a long lens!

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Point Pelee National Park is about 10 km from Leamington and has a couple of unique characteristics.  Namely, it’s point (which on the map looks really pointy as it heads into Lake Erie) is the southern most point of the Canadian mainland and it’s the smallest national park. More information: Point Pelee National Park Bird watching is huge in the park, and my cousin took this shot Orchard Oriole. If you head to this part of Ontario, make sure to bring binoculars or a telephoto lens!

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Stratford is known for its theatre. See www.stratfordfestival.ca/WhatsOn/ThePlays for the details. One of the wonderful plays being shown in the summer of 2017 is Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. I was on the ground floor, about 10 rows back. The show was well done, all the way down to the set details. The singing was magnificent, a lovely combination of the voice but also staying true to the character at the same time. The beginning of the play itself took a little while to get going, but once the plot had fully settled it was a wavy ride. Ha-ha get […]

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Pazzo pizza is a Stratford Ontario basement restaurant where they serve mostly pizza (not surprisingly given the name), but also pastas and other entrees. I went with some family over the summer, during play season. It was quite busy. We realized maybe we should have gotten a reservation. They said the wait would be about twenty minutes, and offered us seats at the bar. We were sitting for maybe five minutes when they called us, saying that somebody had missed their reservation and we could take their spot. However, I’d consider that more luck on our part than good service. […]

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If you are a Shakespeare or play fan in general who is visiting Ontario there is one place you must visit to fulfill your theatrical need. I’m referring to Stratford! Stratford puts on a series of plays shown in theaters close to one another in the town. This year my aunts took my brother and I to see a play version of the book, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. The play itself was incredible. The aspect that impressed me the most were the sets, due to the fact that the main characters travel from […]

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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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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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Enjoy Spectacular Sculptures on London Ontario‘s Tree Trunk Tour. Truly a one of a kind walking tour, this incredible cooperative art project transforms unhealthy trees into works of art everyone can enjoy for free. Before artists begin, the trees are carefully cut to maximise their potential; then, with chainsaws and other carving tools, they are shaped into stunning sculptures. One of the first trees you’ll see on the tour is at 382 King street; it is called Donohue’s Canadiana and features a number of birds and animals as well as beautiful images of Canada’s most iconic plant life. Along the […]

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Whether you’re heading to Stratford Ontario to take in a Shakespearean play, or if you plan to shop for antiques, enjoy one of the many festivals the city hosts annually, or simply visit for a look around, you are certain to enjoy yourself immensely. With plenty to see and do, this is a great place for everyone. Let’s take a few moments to learn more about the many galleries the city has to offer. Art in the Park While not a fixed indoor gallery, Art in the Park is certainly a Stratford fixture. Artists have been presenting their work in […]

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The Kitchener–Waterloo area offers an abundance of fantastic opportunities for fun and relaxation. While you might know that the region is a great place for skiing and snowboarding, you might not be aware of some of the lesser-known attractions the area has to offer. Here are just a few to whet your appetite for adventure. Woodside National Historic Site The boyhood home of Canada’s longest serving Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, the Woodside National Historic Site features a beautiful 1853 home which has been completely restored to its 1890’s Victorian state, as well as beautiful grounds that were saved […]

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