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A walk in Port Albert

10 Apr

By Diva Jenna Ujiye

Port Albert Beach in March

Port Albert Beach in March

Last Sunday was a glorious sunny day and perfect for a walk around my cute little town of Port Albert, Ontario! I first went to the beach, I was totally prepared for ice jams and lots of snow, but apparently the warmer weather quickly melted that away. I won’t say that spring on the beach is my favourite time of year, as I would prefer to be playing in the sand and swimming, but this day helped me see the end to winter and beginning of beach days!

Port Albert Beach in March

Port Albert Beach in March

So happy to be in the nice weather on Port Albert Beach

So happy to be in the nice weather on Port Albert Beach

The views and vistas in Port Albert are wonderful and I love watching the famous Lake Huron Sunsets. After my beach visit, I headed up the road over the bridge and past the Port Albert Fishway to the Port Albert Store.

Port Albert General Store

Port Albert General Store

Road from the beach

Road from the beach

This little convenience store is great all year round. Not only do they get in fresh vegetable in the summer along with dairy, frozen food, chips, pop, movies and fly fishing supplies, they have great pizza!

My next stop was to check out the Port Albert Inn. They have a 6 room inn and 3 cottages (with varying room numbers).They have a great breakfast ane owners Mark is a local historian with lots of great stories! For more information about the Port Albert Inn visit: www.innattheport.com

The Port Albert Inn

The Port Albert Inn

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Pub Grub by the Lake

22 Apr

The entrance to the Albion in Bayfield

By Diva Trista Russell

Back in late March (yes, I know it is April already!), I visited the Albion Hotel on Bayfield’s Main Street. Without the hum of summer tourists, I find that Bayfield is a peaceful place to visit in the spring.

This was the first time I’ve visited the Albion. I discovered it has bed & breakfast style accomodations along with a dining room and pub. The english-style pub serves traditional pub grub, along with a variety of beers. It was a Friday when I stopped in, and that’s when they have their all-you-can-eat fish and chips special for just over $10. My dining companion was keen to try the special and managed to finish off two servings of fish, while I decided to try the perogies. They were topped with bacon and sautéed onions, and served with a side garden salad. Yummy!

The pub has a cozy atmosphere as it’s filled with sports memorabilia and antiques. There’s definitely lots of old world charm at the Albion…and lots to look at!

If you check out the Albion’s website, you’ll find a haunting story about their “rent-free” guest!

And of course, I just had to stop to get a picture with the giant captain down the street:

The Captain

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A Walk in the Park at St. Joe’s

25 Mar

By Diva Trista Russell

With spring season underway, and summer just around the corner…why not make a stop to walk in the park?

I visited the St. Joesph Memorial Park this weekend, and had a fun time reading the fascinating stories along the walkway. If you’re a history buff, this park is definitely worth a stop. Even if you’re not a history buff (like me), this place has some beautiful scenery.

The St. Joesph Memorial Park began with a request from St. André, known healer and founder of the famed Oratory of St. Joseph in Montreal. A statue honouring St. Joseph and St. André are located in the park.

There is also a plaque honouring Narcisse Cantin, who had a dream to build a Great Lakes canal system. The canal would have started at St. Joseph and linked Lake Huron and Lake Erie. Although this canal was never built, he was remembered as the “Father of the St. Lawrence Seaway”.

Last summer, the St. Joseph and Area Historical Society produced an outdoor play about Narcisse, which was performed at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, just a few minutes north of the park. The Society even received a Governor General’s  History Award for the production!

I think this park would be the perfect spot for a picnic on the way to the beach. It’s right off the highway, and there’s a neat little picnic bench area to stop and have a bite.

The park is located at the intersection of Bluewater Highway (Hwy. #21) at Zurich-Hensall Road (County Road #84), and it’s open year-round.

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VolleyBall Champs!

10 Aug

Hello everyone!

Yesterday afternoon my boss was nice enough to let me off at lunch time so that I could participate in Bayfield’s annual restaurant volleyball tournament. On the 2nd Tuesday in August every summer, all the Bayfield restaurants get together to compete for the title of the volleyball champions! It gets pretty competitive, until about four o’clock when everyone has maybe had a drink or two too many.

I was fortunate enough to play with the winning team, THE BLACK DOG!!! for years we have come so close, so very close to the title. But this year we had focus and determination and we brought home the trophy!

I am being slightly sarcastic here, yes we were very happy to win, but the tournament is all in good fun!

It was the perfect afternoon too! Hot and sunny. What else could you want in an afternoon. Good weather, good friends, and the beach. Perfection!

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After the tournament, all the teams headed to the Docks for celebrations and dinner!

This is part of the team, sitting and admiring the trophy.

 

The Docks was great as always. The food was delish and the service was stellar, Especially considering how many of us showed up at once! They took good care of every body! And like every year. the tournament was a complete success, and everyone enjoyed themselves!

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Beautiful Bayfield

19 Jul

Hello my dear friends!!!

First off I must send out a huge thank you to all our readers! Today we surpassed 10 000 hits which is very very exciting! So I just want to say thank you for all the support!

Alight next on the agenda. Tonight was one of those perfect summer nights, the weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold, and the humidity was bearable, which is a nice change! Jd and I went for frozen yogurt at Copenhagens (or Bones Cones for anyone local) then biked around the town. We went to Pioneer Park to watch the sun set and and finish off our frozen yogurt.

After that we came home and jumped in the pool for a late evening swim. It was a lovely Tuesday night in Bayfield.

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I dont know if this happens to other people or not, but so many times when I think I posing for a picture, people take a video of me. This happened yet again tonight, so I am putting this video up to show you all how stunned I can be at times :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AFrd8_gr6I

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bagpipes and Sunsets

13 Jul

By: Diva Jenna Ujiye

My co-worker and I have been trying to get video footage at as many events on Ontario’s West Coast as possible. We have been spending some evenings and weekends and have got to see some amazing things and try some very unique things! This past Friday was really great! We headed to the Cove beach in Goderich and  watched as the Celtic Blue Highlanders pipe band piped down the sun.

I am not kidding you, there were hundreds of people at the event! This phenomenon seems to be a Lake Huron thing and it happens every Friday in July and August. We watched families and friends gather all around the pipe band and listen to the music. Many of the children started dancing and running around the band, which was in a circular formation. People travel from all over Ontario, Canada and the world to watch this event, most of the people attending where from out of the area.

After we watched the pipe band for a while we headed over to the beach and watched the sunset, it was so warm outside that people where still swimming in the Lake. What a wonderful end to a Friday evening!

Here is a video of one some of the happenings from the Friday night fun!

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Hello Blue Flag!

11 Jul

By: Diva Jenna Ujiye

We are so lucky here in Ontario’s West Coast to live in such a wonderful place. We have great food, excellent festivals and events, outdoor adventures galore and lots of shopping opportunities! A couple of weeks ago I was reading my RSS feeds and learned that Bayfield beach and marina where again awarded the Blue Flag. This program is something I had promoted in the past, but had never fully understood the value of the program.

When I read up on the program I found out that “The Blue Flag is a voluntary eco-label awarded to over 3650 beaches and marinas in 44 countries across Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean.” (www.blueflag.org) So out of 3650 beaches awarded the flag in the World, only 19 are in Canada and 5 of the are are on Lake Huron with two in Bayfield!

Bayfield Marina and Lake HuronBayfield Marina

Beaches are awarded the Blue Flag based on compliance with 32 criteria covering the following:

1) Environmental Education and Information

2) Water Quality

3) Environmental Management

4) Safety and Services
All Blue Flags are awarded for one season at a time.

In the end all I have to say again, is that anyone living in the area should feel really lucky to have so many amazing opportunities!

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Let’s Celebrate our Heritage and Culture – Canada Day!

29 Jun

By: Diva Jenna

When I was a kid it was a huge deal to head down to the beach in Goderich and watch the fireworks every Canada Day. As I got older I went with only my friends and now I am back to hanging with my parents and plan to catch the fireworks with my family! It is so great that we celebrate our Canadian Heritage and Culture with a long weekend… it really gets the summer started!

Below, I have posted all of the Canada Day Weekend events that I could find in the county!

Thu, June 30, 2011 – Sat, July 2, 2011
Clinton Pluckinfest
Event Host: Kinsmen / KinettesStarts Thurs. at 5 pm with a chicken BBQ and continues the whole weekend. Other events include wings in the park, base ball tournament, beer tent and much more. There is something for all ages including children entertainment and events, a street dance Friday eve. Admission for dance (age of majority)
Location:Clinton Racetrack

Date: Thu, June 30, 2011
Contact: Angela Cullen
Telephone: 519-523-9488
Alt Telephone: 482-7349

Thu, June 30, 2011 – Sun, July 3, 2011
Goderich Canada Day Celebrations
Event Host: Tourism GoderichGoderich waves the Canadian flag to show its civic pride throughout the weekend. Festivities include: fireworks (June 30), heritage walk, picnic, Canada Day parade (July 1), Lion’s BBQ (July 3– 3:30 to 6:30 pm), friendship breakfast, and much, much more.
Location:Goderich

Date: Thu, June 30, 2011
Telephone: 519-524-6600
Alt Telephone: 800-280-7637

Thu, June 30, 2011
Goderich Canada Day Fireworks
Event Host: Tourism GoderichBeginning at dusk at the main beach Goderich. Bring the whole family to enjoy the spectacular fireworks over Lake Huron. Come start your Canada Day with a” bang”!.
Location:Main Beach, Goderich
Date: Thu, June 30, 2011
Telephone: 519-524-6600
Alt Telephone: 1-800-280-7637
Email: specialevents@goderich.ca
Website: www.goderich.ca
 Starts at: 9:30 pm
Ends at: 10:30 pm
Cost: Donation`
Fri, July 1, 2011
Exeter Canada Day Celebrations
Event Host: South Huron Recreation Dept.Fun for the family. Breakfast, car show, bike decorating, fireworks and much more. Ends with fireworks.
Location:South Huron Recreation Centre, 94 Victoria St. E.
Date: Fri, July 1, 2011
Contact: Abby Hannah
Telephone: 519-235-1895
Email: www.southhuron.ca
Website: a.j-hanna@sympatico.ca
 Starts at: 9:00 am
Ends at: 10:00 pm
Cost: Free
Fri, July 1, 2011
Wingham Canada Day Celebrations
Event Host: Wingham Firefighters Assoc.Fireworks at Riverside Park at dusk.
Location:Riverside Park
Date: Fri, July 1, 2011
Contact: Connie Goodall
Telephone: 519-357-1096
Email: cgoodall@northhuron.ca
Website: www.northhuron.ca
 Cost: donation at gate
Fri, July 1, 2011
Seaforth Firefighter’s Breakfast
Event Host: Municipality of Huron EastCome and enjoy eggs, bacon, sausage, home fries, pancakes, toast, coffee and juice.
Location:Seaforth Firehall, 31 Birch St.
Date: Fri, July 1, 2011
Contact: Marty Bedard
Telephone: 519-527-0160
Email: mbedard@huroneast.com
Website: www.huroneast.com
 Starts at: 7:00 am
Ends at: 12:00 pm

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A visitor from Banff – Part 3

25 May

Marie grew up on a farm in Quebec where she learned to ride four wheelers and other farm girl fun stuff! She really wanted me to take her out on the four wheelers, so I asked Taylor to get them ready. We went on a quick 2 hour ride and boy could Marie ride! As soon as Marie got on the Honda EX 450, she broke something… I am not mechnical, so I thought our day was done. Marie seemed to know what was broken and said that if we just push started her, she would be able to keep going as long as the bike didn’t stall out. Check out the video and photos below:

On our final day, we didn’t have much time to do anything, but it was the most beautiful spring day, I thought we should try to get to the beach for lunch! I had meetings most of the day, so we made it quick. It was the best first beach lunch in a long time!

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A visitor from Banff – Part 1

23 May

My friend Marie from Banff called me up one day and said she was coming for a visit to Ontario. She said she had never been here and wanted me to show her around “Ontario’s West Coast.” She was only here for two days, but we were able to cram in lots of food and fun! First we made a stop at Shanahan’s Quality Meats in Goderich, where we picked up O’Briens sausage, bread and cheese. This place has some awesome local meat and unique food items.

Marie at my houseJennaWhen we got to my house Marie said she wanted to make us an appetizer dish, she mixed fresh garlic, brie cheese, olive oil and local maple syrup and baked it in the oven. Let me just say… yummy! It was so delicious and simple, we finished every drop.

For dinner we barbecued sausage and potatoes and had a spinach salad and wine with it. By the time we finished dinner it was time to go to bed and prepare for the next day!

I will be posting our next days adventure tomorrow, so make sure to check back!

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