Summer's Done .... Almost!

What an eejit I am!!.  I found this in my draft folder.  Guess it's not too late.....

The Massassauga didn't happen this year.  It's our annual end of summer, September paddling trip.  Nasty weather forecasts for the Parry Sound area forced us to rejig our plans.  So we booked a yurt at Silent Lake Provincial Park.  It's just over the 1 1/2 hours from home criterion.

Staying in a smallish round dwelling with 5 other men was a truly enlightening or frightening experience.  After the early morning rendezvous at Mc Cafe we had an uneventful drive, stopping only to buy forgotten sauerkraut and worms. One was for dinner, the other one wasn't.   We got to the park just after 11:00am.  It was raining steadily so we put up the tarp, unpacked the vehicles and chatted about just about everything all afternoon.  We saw two deer (does) wandering around. Very serene. Dinner was sausage with sauerkraut with salad.  It started to rain even harder so there wasn't a big argument to get everyone into the yurt for some card playin'.

             
The yurt was warm and cosy.  The fireplace was a godsend.  We had a few wobbly pops, snacks and great conversation.  I can't remember who won the euchre tournament but it doesn't really matter. Went to sleep early, about 10:30.

Saturday morning was cold.  The fire in the wood stove went out during the night and none of us were smart enough to put another log on.  Our plan this day was to paddle the shore of Silent Lake.  It was a cool but very pleasant paddle.   We stopped at the campground beach for a look around and a couple of nuts in our group went swimming.  Too cold for me!!

That evening we had a great campfire.  Lots of stories, laughs and even some harmonica and blues singing.  Went to bed quite a bit later as some people didn't know when to quit.  There was a lot of snoring in the night!!

We were all up bright and early the next day.  Two of us left early to attend to family commitments back home.  The other four went to the Day Beach to have another paddle and a picnic.  The best thing about the day was that no one was there!!

While we missed our annual trip out onto Georgian Bay, the yurt experience was still a good one!

Little Portugal in November

It was a cold and windy day not a dark and stormy night.  Lorie and I made a trip into Toronto to see a film and have dinner to celebrate her birthday.  We had one of those internet Groupons for a new restaurant out on Dundas West in Little Portugal.  Neither of us had been there before and we were looking forward to a new area to explore.  While we actually didn't see a whole lot of this neighbourhood, we both realized that interesting little"villages" like this one exist all over the GTA.
Here's what we did see in about 45 minutes and 3 blocks:
-a Portugese meat market with everything from salt cod to pigs ears

-hand made clothing stores for women and for just children
-a catering and banquet hall
-several travel agents specializing in trips to Brazil and Portugal
-an office to help immigrants to Canada
-barbershops and hairdressers, some traditional, others nouveau chic
-the Lisboa Hardware store
-at least 4 sports bars with TVs showing soccer and seemingly only open for men (Just kidding of course)
- 2 Vietnamese restaurants
-a couple of gift shops with lots of stuff from Brazil
-a cheese and bakery shop/cafe
-Full of Beans Cafe - we had a delicious americano there
- a Psychic shop open for readings

When I got home I looked Little Portugal up on the internet and found out how unique and interesting it is.


Oh yeah.  The restaurant was called Quinta (pronounced "keenta").  It had a very unique menu and lots of gluten free options for me.  We started with a glass of cava - - sparkling wine.  The appetizer was a potato, kale, chorizo soup that was very yummy.  Lorie had their cornish hen and really enjoyed it.  I had seared albacore tune on a bed of quinoa.  It also came with baked radishes, green beans and a very flavourful sauce. Of course we had a glass of wine too.
Dessert ( poached pear tart and wheat free chocolate mousse cake) and a coffee finished things off.  The waitress was super friendly.  We were surprised that they weren't busier.

Next time we hope to explore Ossington St between College and Queen.  I hear there is a blues bar there called the Dakota Tavern that's worth a visit .......