Someone once said to me Kenora Kenora, how I adore ‘ya! And how I do now! Leaving Serena to join her Aunt up in Collingwood, north of Toronto, I flew to Winnipeg and was met by the Carter family. I first met Megan when we worked on cruise ships together and soon fell in love with her big smile, her big laugh and big heart. Very quickly we became the best of friends and never left each other’s sides. Infact, we were bit of a phenomenon on the old Sea Princess organising the entire ship’s crew social life as Crew Club President and Vice President. We were a team that’s for sure! So being able to visit her in her home town that she had spoken so much about was a real treat for me.
I remember meeting Kellon for the first time also on the Sea Princess. Megan and I had been onboard for some time at this stage so I was very protective of her... Kellon was a ‘new joiner’ and a cheeky one at that! He took an instant liking to Megan (he’s only human!) and I knew I had trouble on my hands! A very striking man from the Caribbean Island of Grenada, I had a feeling that with his smooth manner with his gentleness with Megan, this could be serious. Totally smitten with each other, more than 4 years later, they are now both living together with their gorgeous son Mekhi and have baby number 2 on the way.
So I found myself driving with the Carter family 2 hours from Winnipeg to their home town of Kenora, Ontario late at night in the pouring rain and the FREEZING temperatures. Walking into their house was truly walking into a cozy home (just a bit colder until the furnace was put on!). Megan managed to get a good amount of time off from work so we spent the next week exploring her home town – that took the first 2 hours of the first day as it is not the biggest of places! A quaint little town, Kenora floods with people in the summer time who come to this beautiful area to camp and spend time on the myriad of lakes and in the parklands. The biggest lake is called Lake of the Woods and in winter time it freezes over and as turned into a fully functional highway! However now in Autumn time, it was much quieter place but the lake area was just as beautiful if not more spectacular with the changing colour of the leaves.
Each day required us to rug up before heading out but I have to admit that the blue skies made it inviting to head outdoors,however first things first, we went straight to Walmart to purchase some hair dye and fixed up the mess that was on top of my head! It worked and now I love my friend Megs just that little bit more!
Some days we would take Mekhi to day care while Megs and I got a bit of girly time (poor Kellon had to work!) and then pick up the little tike in the afternoon. We headed out to Rushing River one afternoon which Mekhi loved to say over and over ‘Rushing River, Rushing River’. He is so cute with his half Canadian half Caribbean accent and his miles and miles of curly fro on top of his head. And what a little character he is. We taught him to say Aussie Aussie Aussie to which I would reply Oi Oi Oi. Aunty Heidi read Thomas the Tank Engine with him, watched the Thomas the Tank Engine movie with him, played with his Thomas the Tank Engine toys with him and went up to his room to look at all his Thomas the Tank Engine decorations. Are you guessing where his interests lie?
Aunty Heidi reads Thomas the Tank engine to her little man Mekhi
Heidi and Megan hanging out at Rushing River
Mekhi and Mum at Rushing RiverOne evening we went on a bear hunt in search of Yogi himself. You’d expect that we would go looking in the woods or near the lake but no. The best place to look for bears in Canada is by the dumpsters outside the restaurants. Around and around we drove with Mekhi chanting ‘bear hunt, bear hunt’ but unfortunately there were no bears to be found.
The highlight of my Kenora experience had to be our fishing trip out on the Lake of the Woods. With the sunshining, our snacks packed into our bags and our 6 layers of clothing on, we headed out into the woods towards to lake to meet Cap’n Dave and Granny Evenden (Meg’s family friend and mum). Cap’n Dave as Mekhi liked to call him provided us with the boat, the fishing rods and the skill to drive us out onto the lake and find our fishing spots. It was quite a windy day but just stunning weather. First to catch a fish was myself and proud as punch I was to have caught it... until that was when I realised that we were actually going to eat it for lunch and then I couldn’t stop apologising to it! Granny took it off the hook and put it in the live fish box for Mekhi to talk to all afternoon. I have to admit that it was a darn good catch and the biggest fish of the day. However, Cap’n Dave was the only other successful one to catch any other fish that day! We like to blame it on the wind. Mekhi helped Granny get the minnows onto the hook and even decided to throw a couple over board!
After we decided we had enough for our ‘shore lunch’ we headed towards one of the little rocky outcrop islands and set up a roaring fire. Cap’n Dave prepared the fish, Granny collected the fire wood, I help set up the fire, Mekhi tried to eat the little red berries off the bushes and Megan attempted to stop Mekhi from eating the berries! Not long later we had fresh fish, fried potatoes, baked beans and Dora Getti (Dora the Explorer tinned spaghetti!). What a feast! It was so nice to be out in the open fresh air. It was then time to head home. So on top of our 6 layers we bundled into more ski pants, rain pants, heavier jackets and scarves to keep warm. The sunset was purely golden causing the trees to have magical reflection on the lake. What a stunning place it was. A big thanks to Cap’n Dave for his skilled boat handling and Granny for threading my line, tying on the hook, baiting my hook and taking my fish off the hook when I caught it....but I DID the catching!!!!
Cap'n Dave and Heidi prepare the fire while Granny searches for more wood
Cap'n Dave and Megs get into serious fishing mode
Heidi and her HUGE catch of the day (held by Granny Evenden!)
Mekhi helps Aunty Heidi to catch her fishAll too soon my week was up in Kenora and at 5am I was catching my bus to Winnipeg to get my plane to Chicago to meet up with Serena and my uncle Geoff and friends who had come all the way from home: Cairns, Australia!
Collingwood - Serena
While Heidi went to Kenora to visit Meghan, I went to Collingwood to stay with my Mum’s Aunty Philippa. Having never met her before there was the question of how do I know who she is when we meet? Of course Philippa solved this problem by sending me a photo of her and telling me that my mother looks just like her. So when we did meet at the Toronto Union Station I recognised her straight away. Phew!
Aunty Philippa Collingwood is a lovely town with activities all year round. During winter there is skiing and during summer there are lots of trails to hike and bike riding. On my first morning I woke up with a sore throat and the start of a cold! I was devastated as I had managed to avoid it so far. My first day in Collingwood was spent chatting to my Aunt and drinking lots of tea. The following day I didn’t feel that much better but we went for a drive around and had lunch at the ski resort. I also spent some time in the sauna (who would have thought I would be pulling out my bikini!) trying to sweat out my cold.
After watching the weather Philippa and I had decided that Tuesday would be the day for our drive north to see the changing colours for fall. I woke up feeling absolutely terrible! Determined to not miss out on Heidi‘s sole reason for bringing me to Canada at this time, I dragged myself out of bed and got ready to see the spectacular colours. Philippa drove while I sucked on my throat lozenges and popped panadol. As we got further north the colours got more vibrant and I pretty much sat in awe of the amazing array of colours with each tree being better then the last one! I only wish that my camera could capture the vibrancy of the yellow, orange and red leaves!
The colours of fall
Me and my friends
The town of Meaford and the scarecrow invasion! My last day with Philippa was spent going through family photos and looking at the family tree, something that I have always enjoyed doing simply because I like to see where people get their looks and personalities from. What I did find really interesting was the similarities between my mother and Philippa. Remember Philippa is my Mothers Aunty (one of her Mother’s younger sisters) so when you consider that Philippa moved to Canada over 30 years ago and yet my mother and her have exactly the same mannerisms it is really something that makes you wonder about nature versus nurture.
We woke up very early the following morning (4.30am) so as we could get to Toronto for my 8.30 am train to Chicago via Syracuse. Now that seems like a strange way of going but when I was looking at the train schedule the most direct route had me waiting for 12 hrs at a place with the 3 letter code of CBN. Heidi and I searched both Amtrak and VIA Rail Canada websites to find out where this place was with no success. Not wanting to sit in some remote place from 1pm till 1am, I decided that for the additional $10 I would prefer to sit on a train and go to Syracuse and have dinner with Jay, Lisa, Elliot and Jackson, besides, their company was much better than my own. By the way, I found out what CBN stands for...its Canadian Border Niagara and I am really glad I didn’t wait there!
Thank you to Aunty Philippa for having me and of course making all those cups of tea for me! I had a lovely time and hopefully will see you for Christmas!
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