Summer Days Out

It’s mid-August and I’m less than two weeks away from going back to work. Ahhhh! It is going to be strange to actually go to work after six months of working from home and summer holidays. Part of me is looking forward to things like seeing my colleagues and the students face-to-face and working without the distraction of Ella and Ollie at home. On the other hand, I will miss waking up a normal time, lazy mornings, being able to exercise and cook regularly, and all the little adventures we’ve gone on this summer.

As I mentioned in my last post, swimming pools and splash pads have been a big part of our summer, especially the hot and humid July days. We've also been able to add in playgrounds to this mix as a few weeks ago, as they were open for the first time since March. The kids were super excited, and on our first visit Ollie was swinging in the swing, happily shouting “I’m at the playground mummy! I’m at the playground!” And while most of the summer has got a certain Groundhog Day sameness to it, things have started to feel a bit more "normal" here, at least in comparison to when the pandemic first took hold in March. I know this could easily change, and we are all anticipating the dreaded second wave that will inevitably hit as the weather turns colder. But for now I am appreciating the relative freedom and safety we feel here in our Canadian summer.

In order to break up our days, we've ventured out for a few day trips over the past few weeks. Here are a few highlights.

Lake Erie

Our first big day trip was to my cousin Bobby’s cottage, located on the northern shore of Lake Erie. When I told Ella we were going to a beach for the day her reaction was priceless: “A real beach?! With sand?? You mean not just the pool???” She was beyond excited.

Bobby’s place is a two minute walk from the beach which was perfect. The drive was just under two hours, and when we arrived the kids were dying to get in the water. We left my parents to visit with Bobby and his partner and headed down to the beach. The Great Lakes in North America are not your regular lakes. You could be forgiven for thinking you are gazing out at the ocean as you look across the endless expanse of blue water. The waves can get pretty big and there are tides and currents like an ocean, so you have to be cautious about where you swim. 

Getting into the lake with the kids was a challenge - the bottom is rocky and balancing with Ollie while the powerful waves crashed into my legs was a bit scary! But once we were past the break in the waves we were able to bob peacefully with the two kids. Both kids love the water and Ella is getting pretty confident with her swimming.

Once they’d had enough we headed back to Bobby’s for some lunch. Andy took Ollie for a walk in the wagon, hoping he’d fall asleep for his afternoon nap. Once he thought Ollie was nodding off, he came back and parked Ollie in the shade of a tree, about 20 feet from where we were having lunch on Bobby’s lawn. About 15 minutes later I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye… it was Ollie in his sleeping bag, trying to climb out of the wagon! The top half of his body was hanging out over the side, and he was reaching for the ground. It was very funny to watch, and Andy ran over to rescue him before he toppled out. Nap time was over for Ollie!

After lunch we went back to the beach. We did a bit more swimming in the waves with the kids, and then took a walk along the beach down to the nearby pier. There was a secluded piece of beach there which was sheltered from the waves and was perfect for the kids to play in, so we stayed there for a while before heading back to Bobby’s for a BBQ dinner.

Niagara Falls

Next we went to Niagara Falls for the day. Normally in the summer it would be absolutely packed here, but as the region was still under stage 2 restrictions it was much quieter than usual. We went for a walk along the path beside the falls, stopping to take the usual touristy pictures. 

After that we headed to Clifton Hill, which is a famously touristy/tacky part of Niagara Falls, filled with haunted houses, arcades, wax museums, restaurants and other themed attractions. We ended up going on a big ferris wheel overlooking the falls which was fun and felt like a “covid safe” activity. Right next to it was this fantastic dinosaur themed mini golf course, complete with a volcano that “erupted” every few minutes. The kids (ok and me) were very amused by this, looking over the golf course eagerly each time the ferris wheel went around. It would have been a super fun course to play at if the kids were a bit older. 

Andy also took Ella on a roller coaster which she liked. We’ve really missed Canada’s Wonderland this summer, a HUGE amusement park just north of Toronto. We had Season’s passes last year and had a terrific time, and I had been looking forward to both kids being a bit older this year to enjoy the rides. It feels like it will be a long time before we can expect to safely visit things like amusement parks again, sigh!

We ended our day on the patio of a restaurant. Some streets were closed to traffic to allow restaurants to have bigger patios, since indoor dining was not yet allowed. We thought this would be great for the kids but actually by then Ollie had had enough for the day. He was pretty overtired (no nap in the wagon this time!) and just wanted to run around the whole time. On the way home he cried for most of the two hour journey, yelling “get me out of here!” over and over, which put a bit of a damper on the day! We’ve realised through all of our day trips that Ollie doesn't really sleep in the car, no matter the time. Is he the only kid in the world that doesn't sleep in the car? Sometimes it feels that way. Luckily once we got back both kids were super tired and went right to sleep for the night.

Wasaga Beach

Our friend Nikki has a cottage at Wasaga beach, which is the longest freshwater beach in the world! Who knew a record for longest beach would be in Canada?! It is about two hours north of Toronto on the Georgian Bay, which is a bay of Lake Huron, one of the other Great Lakes. The beach here is sandy and shallow a long way out, making it perfect for children. 

On the way up we stopped halfway and discovered Maple Grove Farm. They had fruits and veggies for sale, along with homemade bread, pastries and ice cream. We stopped for pastries and ice cream, enjoying our treats on picnic tables overlooking the farmland. 

Nikki’s cottage belongs to a group of cottages and they have their own private beach, which is nice as the main beach can be very busy. The water levels are quite high this year, so there is not much of a sandy beach, but we had a patio area with chairs just beyond the water that we could sit on, gazing out at the lake (which again, looks like the sea).

The kids didn’t mind that there was no beach, it was easy access to the water for them and they again had tons of fun in the water. 

The kids had a great time with Aunty Nikki. They hadn't seen her in a while due to the pandemic, and Ollie in particular is very wary of people he doesn't know now. But we left her out there with both kids for a good half hour and she managed them both just fine! 

 

There was also a huge playground along the beach which we took them to for a break from the water. 

We had perfect weather, again all in all it was a lovely day out. So although things have been somewhat restricted this summer, we’ve been lucky to be able to visit some beautiful places and create memories with family and good friends.