“Triangle Trip”
We caught a morning flight to Toronto on Monday and then drove a few hours to Port McNicoll on the Georgian Bay of Lake Huron to visit Randy and Janice for a few days. This map shows our plan for the next couple of weeks. Port McNicoll for a few days, then down to Corning, NY via Niagara Falls to see Patty and Brent, and then over to Indian Lake to visit Vince and Lori.
Randy and Janice have a great setup on Georgian Bay – a house with a lovely view of the lake, and a boat at the marina, less than a mile away.
Wednesday was our big boating day. We spent most of the day on the lake, taking an hour or so to motor over to Beau Soleil, where we anchored and enjoyed some swimming and sun bathing time. Captain’s Randy and Janice did a great job.
Diana always enjoys sunning herself up front on the bow of the boat:
And of course BP didn’t want to be left out:
Sunset from the dock was just gorgeous:
We enjoyed delicious pork chops for dinner back at the house.
On Thursday, we decided to have a walk in the nearby Kew Marsh. This was really interesting and enjoyable until Randy decided to try and find a way to cut over to the Canada Trail – coast to coast walking trail. We failed at that and retreated to our original route.
There was an active beehive exhibit on the trail:
We were thirsty after all that walking and so visited a very unique brewery in the middle of nowhere – Quayle’s. The setting was amazing – I had never seen hop vines growing before.
I chuckled at the number two beer – a tribute to Anne Bauer:
Later, we treated to dinner at the Explorer’s Bistro in nearby Midland. The restaurant had just opened again a couple of months ago. The food was excellent all around, but some of the logistics still need some tweaking. We started with a mixed mushroom sauté and arancini – both excellent. Then I had a vegetable bake with a tomato béchamel sauce that I thoroughly enjoyed. Randy was quite pleased that I had found this place open again.
Friday was a travel day – first side of the triangle to Corning, NY, with a stop at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side.
We had an interesting time at immigration in Buffalo. You’ll have to ask us if you would like the details.
We arrived in Corning in time for some amazing smoked pork, courtesy of Brent. It was very nice to relax in Patty and Brent’s wonderful downtown apartment. The smoked pork was fantastic. I had it again in a Brent scramble creation early morning Sunday, following the women’s soccer World Cup.
Saturday began with a run around town for Diana and Brent, and a walk for Patty and me. After that, we made a trip over to Watkins Glen on the Seneca finger lake (there are 11 of them nearby and they are all long and skinny.)
Watkins Glen has a racetrack and it was NASCAR weekend – leading to some fun shopping and people watching experiences. Apparently some of the NASCAR purists don’t love Watkins as you can’t watch the entire circuit from one spot in the grandstands.
We enjoyed lunch and then walked through town to the State Park waterfalls.
Not quite Niagara, but much more accessible. After that we drove to a local winery, Glenora, where we enjoyed white wines on the patio. My Riesling was nice and refreshing.
And following that, Brent led an expedition to the local distillery. That was a highlight for me. The cocktails and samplers were very well done in a beautiful location.
The day was finished off at The Cellar in downtown Corning – a short walk from the apartment. Another excellent meal – great starters like falafel salad and chicken liver mousse, and then a burger for me and paella for Diana. The ladies picked out a wine that they enjoyed very much, so I’m recording that here for future reference.
Diana and Patty attended the local yoga studio on Sunday morning, while Brent and I watched soccer and ate. Brunch was down the street at the Quincy. A really good brunch – my shrimp ‘n grits were better than most I’ve had in New Orleans. We had fun with the old bank vault as we left.
After brunch, we walked over to the Corning Museum of Glass (CMOG) and browsed through the gift shop. McD successfully navigating the maze on the bridge over the river.
Lots of amazing items, including many pumpkins and some mermaids.
As I finish writing this, Patty and Brent are mixing up frozen French 75s and preparing this dish for dinner. What great hosts!
As you can tell, there was a lot of driving and other activity this week and not much time for reading. I did find a really interesting short book on my iPad – no room for real books on this trip.
Dickens and Prince by the wonderful Nick Hornby was thoroughly enjoyable. What an amazing insight to put them together like this. The online update:
Not a lot of time for new music this week. I did find this new one that sounds remarkably like John Mayer. I like it.
Coexist peacefully, with kindness and compassion for all!