Long Weekend Traditions
For several years now, my friends & I (loosely called by my friend Anna "the Scouting Group" because that's what drew most of us together initially) have spent the Civic Holiday weekend together. For a while, it was camping, but as the group grew and some non-campers joined us, we started renting a lodge in Tobermory for the weekend.
We're now up to about twenty participants in the "Tobermory Weekend", and this time around we had thirteen adults and seven kids ranging in age from "just about two" to seven years old. Sonja's at the low end of that scale, at two. We had families (as you can probably guess from the number of children in attendance), singles, and a married couple in the mix this year...actually, most years the mix is something like that. We've never had exactly the same group, but we always have fun.
Now, from where I live in the GTA, Tobermory is a 4-5 hour drive, depending on traffic and Sonja. On the way home Monday, Sonja slept most of the way, so that meant less stops. Yee-ha! Even with the drive, it is totally worth it.
The lodge we rent each summer used to be a radio-transmission building. It now houses 9 bedrooms, a living area, a deck that looks out on Georgian bay, a kitchen, and a large dining area that looks out on another deck, facing the parking lot. It is a five minute walk from the lodge to "downtown" Tobermory, where you can get amazing ice cream and treats at the Sweet Shop (alas, no Tiger Tail ice cream this year!), and browse shops with diving & camping gear (Fathom Five National Marine Park is just off Tobermory in Georgian Bay), and shops with typical tourist kitcsh. The Chi-Cheemaun ferry to Manitoulin Island docks in Tobermory several times a day, and glass-bottom boats offer tours of shipwrecks and access to Flower Pot Island, which we can also see from our lodge's dock.
We spent time at Singing Sands beach - maybe ten minutes down the road - because that was pretty much our only rock-free swimming access. The water is very shallow - you have to walk out quite far to get deep enough to really enjoy the water, but it's perfect for kids. We liked the beach so much, we stopped off there on our way out of town on Monday. Personally, I think that contributed to Sonja's long nap in the car.\
Although I'd already been on summer vacation for five weeks when I arrived in Tobermory, and this weekend pretty much marks the middle of summer, it just doesn't feel like I'm on vacation until I arrive in Tobermory.
We're now up to about twenty participants in the "Tobermory Weekend", and this time around we had thirteen adults and seven kids ranging in age from "just about two" to seven years old. Sonja's at the low end of that scale, at two. We had families (as you can probably guess from the number of children in attendance), singles, and a married couple in the mix this year...actually, most years the mix is something like that. We've never had exactly the same group, but we always have fun.
Now, from where I live in the GTA, Tobermory is a 4-5 hour drive, depending on traffic and Sonja. On the way home Monday, Sonja slept most of the way, so that meant less stops. Yee-ha! Even with the drive, it is totally worth it.
The lodge we rent each summer used to be a radio-transmission building. It now houses 9 bedrooms, a living area, a deck that looks out on Georgian bay, a kitchen, and a large dining area that looks out on another deck, facing the parking lot. It is a five minute walk from the lodge to "downtown" Tobermory, where you can get amazing ice cream and treats at the Sweet Shop (alas, no Tiger Tail ice cream this year!), and browse shops with diving & camping gear (Fathom Five National Marine Park is just off Tobermory in Georgian Bay), and shops with typical tourist kitcsh. The Chi-Cheemaun ferry to Manitoulin Island docks in Tobermory several times a day, and glass-bottom boats offer tours of shipwrecks and access to Flower Pot Island, which we can also see from our lodge's dock.
We spent time at Singing Sands beach - maybe ten minutes down the road - because that was pretty much our only rock-free swimming access. The water is very shallow - you have to walk out quite far to get deep enough to really enjoy the water, but it's perfect for kids. We liked the beach so much, we stopped off there on our way out of town on Monday. Personally, I think that contributed to Sonja's long nap in the car.\
Although I'd already been on summer vacation for five weeks when I arrived in Tobermory, and this weekend pretty much marks the middle of summer, it just doesn't feel like I'm on vacation until I arrive in Tobermory.