FEBRUARY 11th, 2016
By LANA CARBON & JOHN LILIES
[John] Part One left off with us heading out of Sault Ste. Marie and beginning our trek east to North Bay… somewhat rushed mind you, as we got out of the Soo later than planned and needed to get to North Bay to check into our hotel with time left to find somewhere open for a late supper. Two long days were coming to a close and we still had a good four to five hours of driving ahead of us, which meant we would be unable to stop in Sudbury as we had originally hoped (we’ll see you next time Sudbury!). Join us now as we take you with us on the next part of our journey…
[Lana] One of the trading posts we had to skip on the first time past, we managed to stop at this time around. The Yellow Butterfly Trading Post, in Ironbridge, had actually just opened for business. The operation was, at the time, more of a ladies boutique but after talking for a considerable amount of time with the owner, we learned she had some wonderful plans for the place. She was looking for local artists to display their works and had areas being set up outside for larger pieces. A food truck had also just opened on the premises. It definitely had us wanting to check it out down the road just to see how many of these plans make it to fruition.
[John] While the products within The Yellow Butterfly didn’t appeal to either of us, I really was curious about the whole plan for the place. It all sounded wonderful and well thought-out so I do hope that it is turning into a successful endeavour.
[Lana] Surprisingly, that was our only stop on the beautiful drive to North Bay. We pulled into the city at nearly 9 p.m. and headed straight to our accommodations for the night. When we first pulled into the parking lot at the Lakeshore Suites, we were unsure about just what we had gotten ourselves in for. The paint was all chipped and it looked a little rundown but once we entered the room, our opinions changed drastically. For the approximate price of a regular queen room at most hotels, we had a full suite that was nicely decorated and had all the conveniences you might want for any overnight stay. We had debated on when and where to eat as we were traveling but now that we were checked in for the night, we decided to just order in and rest a bit after the 2 days with so much driving. Had we not been staying here for 2 nights, it might have been a different story.
[John] I was so tired from all of that driving that the last thing I wanted was to walk into our room and find it as rundown as the exterior of the place. Pleasantly surprised would be an understatement to my reaction. A clean room, nice bed, television and pizza were nice ways to end another long day.
[Lana] I must admit, for a city calling itself the “Gateway to the North,” I was quite disappointed. Other than the natural scenery (which was quite captivating as we looked out over the shores of Lake Nipissing), North Bay itself really held nothing to keep a tourist’s interest. Sure the big box stores are there but where were all the unique places? Where were all the places that North Bay could proudly call their own? We drove through the downtown district about 3 times before we even realized that it was in fact the downtown business section. True there are restaurants galore but not everyone’s idea of a night on the town is simply going out to eat. Please North Bay, show your local pride. I’m sure there are many local artists who could capitalize on a store in which they might display their work. Build it and the tourists will come.
[John] I really had very high hopes for North Bay. This was a place neither of us had previously visited and really wanted to see. I would absolutely return for the beauty; were I to have a week or two at a cottage with no exploring on the agenda and just plans to sit and relax it would be a great place. Typically however, when we travel we want to see and experience as much as we can. I’m still convinced that we must have missed a major section of town because I just can’t believe that there is really nothing to the downtown area. Sitting just east of Sudbury and just west of the Ontario-Quebec border, surely there must be more to this place! Alas, we didn’t find it in the short time we were there.
[Lana] Luckily, there was a small community close by called Trout Lake. We were drawn there by the lure of ice cream but what we found was so much more. The Trout Lake Trading Company had more to offer (at least in what we were looking for) than all of North Bay combined. There was a little art, some souvenirs, snacks and a beautiful view to top it all off. We sat by the water as we ate our ice cream and watched the boats motor past the marina docks… a peaceful few moments to be sure.
[John] This would definitely be a place we would revisit should we ever find ourselves nearby again. I really cherish those moments when we can sit and absorb a beautiful view with some peaceful energy. It means so much to me and this was a wonderful spot for that calm space.
[Lana] We took a short drive around to see a little more of the beautiful landscape before we arrived at the Raven and Republic, a pub that received fairly good ratings on TripAdvisor. They had a DJ playing for the patio crowd and seemed to be having a promotion for some kind of beer. We opted to eat indoors where it was a little quieter (even though there did sound like there was some kind of event going on upstairs). True to its name, the décor had a multitude of raven artwork that I actually had to walk around to inspect. We had the option of the main area close to the bar or a separate room off to the side where a large reservation was just finishing up. We chose the separate room. Despite everything else going on, and the wait staff stretched a little thin, the service was still very good and our meals arrived promptly.
[John] I was happy for the quiet corner in this place and it really was a quaint little pub. The artwork by Michelle LaRiviere did appeal to us both and it really added another dimension to the experience for us.
[Lana] After another comfortable night in the room, we checked out and made our way back to Trout Lake for breakfast at the Fifty’s Diner, which we had heard some good things about. The food was delicious and service very friendly. It is always fun when you can banter a bit with the employees.
It was then time to start the home stretch of our journey. Thanks to a reliable source (my daddio), we were strongly advised to stop in the pretty little village of Burk’s Falls. We listened, and stopped at this little shop called Circling Hawks Centre. This place is ideal if you are interested in crystals, meditation, aboriginal art, music, books, jewelry or basically anything else that tickles your fancy. However it is not just the items for sale that makes this place so special. Behind the store they have created the most peaceful area that I have ever been in. There is a tipi, babbling fountains, a fairy garden and a meditation labyrinth. There is something for everyone no matter the faith.
[John] We completely lost track of time in this place. Upon arriving at this shop, I immediately noticed the wall-sized chalkboard affixed to the front of the store. “Before I die I want to…” is a campaign by Candy Chang that was made familiar to me by a dear friend. Lana and I walked up to the board and each wrote down one thing we want to accomplish before we die (I want to see the Aurora Borealis and Lana wants to work at doing what he loves).
Entering this store, I immediately felt a new peaceful energy surrounding us but the yard in the back that Lana mentioned, took us to an entirely new height of serene thought. We each spent time in the parts of the gardens that spoke to us the most and upon realizing the time and acknowledging that we still had significant road to cover before our next planned stop, we walked through the Fairy Garden and then made our way back to the car.
[Lana] When we left, both John and I were consumed by a sense of tranquility and stillness. It was wonderful.
Huntsville was our next stop. We took a walk through the downtown core looking at a few interesting stores. We only had a short amount of time to spend in town so we simply visited a couple of the places. One of these was the Love Tree. I wanted to walk out of there with nearly every piece of art they had on display. Somehow we managed to escape with only a crystal (which they cleansed right at the cash register) and a protective pouch. We were incredibly impressed at the way they handled the problem we had when the strap on the pouch broke when John attempted to close it. They grabbed a new pouch without asking any questions and tried the strap themselves and when it snapped also, they gave us a different one made with a stronger material (after asking if the slight colour difference was acceptable).
[John] I was very happy with this service and the shop manager/owner immediately made a note to talk to the manufacturer of those pouches and she started pulling them all from the display. Not many shops would take things that seriously and so I was very grateful.
[Lana] After leaving the shop, we took a few moments to admire the dedication to Tom Thomson (an artist often associated with the famous Group of Seven…though he was never a member as he was presumed dead before the group formed) before finding a shop called The Antique Cellar.
[John] This shop was quite the experience for me. I love perusing antique shops and though I rarely intend to purchase anything it’s nice to see all the pieces that people have loved and discarded and to imagine all the histories that accompany these belongings. I tend to feel an increased energy and it isn’t often that I want to own second hand objects myself – certainly not from antique shops when I can’t know who previously owned the pieces and what their stories were. I tend to be sensitive to energies and objects can really have a strong effect on me, so I don’t usually take anything home with me.
This was the first time however, that simply being in an antique shop overwhelmed me and after a few minutes inside, I told Lana that I’d meet him outside when he was done. The air inside the shop felt thick and heavy but it was as I approached a specific display of glass and ceramic bottles and jars, my throat quickly dried and my heart began to race. I suddenly felt light-headed and nauseous and needed fresh air – the thought that actually raced through my mind was “I need to get out of here now”. I didn’t explain anything to Lana in the moment as I wanted him to enjoy the shop for himself, so I walked outside and took in some very deep breaths of fresh air. I don’t know what it was that affected me so intensely – I hadn’t touched anything in the shop at all - but after a few minutes outside, my head began to clear and by the time Lana met me outside I was almost back to normal. After another few minutes of walking outside back to the car and having a cold drink of water, I felt completely fine and ready to hit the road again. We have since been back to that same shop once and while the air still felt a bit heavy to me I did not experience anything remotely close to how I felt on the first visit.
[Lana] We got back on the road to continue our journey home and if we’d had some more time, we would have stopped in Bracebridge but I really wanted John to see Gravenhurst. I had remembered the concert stage that actually went out into the lake and always thought it was a great place for performances to take place. What we didn’t know was that there was a car show taking place in the park that afternoon. It was so crowded and we had no idea if there was an admission fee so we took another road that led us to where the steamboat cruises departed. The ship was there and we took a few photos of it and the scenery from the shore. We left knowing we weren’t going to get to see everything we had hoped to but that just solidified the fact we would need to make a return trip shortly.
[John] Gravenhurst was really pretty and the steamboat was a cool sight. Perhaps one day we will actually take the cruise and enjoy the view from the boat. This day, though we had to keep moving.
[Lana] As it was, we were running behind and had to change our coffee date with John’s uncle into dinner plans in the village of Coldwater.
[John] We hadn’t seen my uncle for a while and as we were heading south, we decided that we could detour a little bit and meet up for a visit. While getting to Coldwater was no issue for us, finding my uncle was bit more difficult. My uncle isn’t one for using a lot of words in text messages and so when we asked where to meet him, he simply said, “centre of town”. I asked Lana to read the text again for me, to make sure I wasn’t missing something and Lana confirmed there was no additional information. I had a good laugh and joked that maybe he would just be standing in the main intersection of the town and we would see him immediately. It may have taken us about an hour of texting back and forth, to finally figure out enough that we could sort of find our way to what we thought was the place we needed. The last instruction we received from my uncle was to meet him “at Tiffany”. Lana and I couldn’t figure out if that meant Tiffany Road or where we were supposed to be, but as we turned onto the street we thought we needed, we saw Tiffany Restaurant – a tiny diner that suddenly made sense to us.
We watched my uncle pull up and park in front of the diner. As he walked towards us we laughed with him as I teased him about his stellar communication skills and ability to provide directions. He’s a good-hearted guy and took it all in stride and after a quick meal and being filled in on how he was doing, we said our goodbyes and continued on south.
[Lana] Barrie would be the last stop on our prolonged road trip. Parking right by the huge sculpture, the Spirit Catcher located on the waterfront right by the marina, we watched the boats cruising over the waves on Lake Simcoe. We strolled along the shore towards a gorgeously landscaped pagoda with its own pond and waterfall. There was a tent set up for a Jazz and Blues Festival in the beautiful park (which we just missed unfortunately).
[John] We stayed here for about an hour, strolling along and taking our last moment to breathe before returning home. Barrie is a familiar place to me though to be honest, it is rarely a place I’ve pointedly made a destination unless to visit family. This was the first time I had really enjoyed a nice stroll along the shore of the bay and I was very happy we had made the stop.
[Lana] Calling an end to our meandering, we hopped in the car and headed for home. We still had a few days left on our vacation but it would be nice to have a night in our own place.
[John] It was hard to return to the city after a few days with such picturesque scenery. We reflected on our time away and felt a deep sense of gratitude for being able to live in this great place with access to our beloved Northern Ontario, as we do. Thank you Lana, for making this trip so special. It really was a lovely experience.
[Lana] Thank you John. Without you it wouldn’t have been the same.
