beach | Ontario Travel Divas

Tag Archives: beach

Winter Cottages in Huron

by Diva Jenna

A typical summer experience in Huron is heading up to the cottage for a long weekend or week long vacation. Last weekend my friend rented a cottage for a winter wonderland escape. I’m sure many of you don’t think of cottaging in the winter, but many of these accommodations are available all year round!

Many of the people coming up for the weekend were from Toronto, so we all got there around 10pm on the Friday night. We had a few leisurely drinks and snacks and played some card games. The next day we had decided on winter fun activities including hiking/snowshoeing along the beach, tobogganing and general snow play!

I had to head out to meet some other friends for dinner in Bayfield, but the rest of the vacationers went to Shannahans Quality meats in Goderich and go a huge Metzgers beef loin in which they roasted for dinner!

What a great time we had! It reminded me of being a kid again. If you are looking to rent a cottage or accommodation in winter on Ontario’s West Coast, here is a link to all of the options! http://www.ontarioswestcoast.ca/owc_directory/rental.php

Tags: bayfield, beach, cottage, friends, get out of toronto, goderich, hiking, huron, the road less travelled, tobboganing, vacation, winter

Family Day in the Country

27 Feb

by Diva Jenna

There seems to be more and more family day activities planned each year, as the holiday becomes more prominent. Many of the events are planned for children, which I don’t have, but I sure do love taking part in adventures!

I wanted to spend the day with my family, so we decided to take a drive and walk in Goderich. What a beauty day for this! We watched lots of families and friends walking and playing in yards and public places.

When we got home, Taylor decided to try out his new dirt bike ( I know, there isn’t much dirt showing right now, but he had just picked it up on Saturday!). Dirt biking and four-wheeling are leisure hobbies in my family and town for that matter. Even our cat Aiko venture out with us sometimes! It seems that most people in Port Albert have one or the other. It was a bit cold out, but Taylor braved the weather and rode the bike around for almost an hour!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

All in all we had a great day and we were very happy to have the Monday off to spend time together. If you are looking for cool events happening in Huron, check out this calendar and start planning your trip here – http://www.ontarioswestcoast.ca/events/events.php

Tags: beach, boardwalk, canada, dirtbike, Family Day, goderich, hike, huron, ontario, snow, winter

Comments 2 Comments
Categories Attractions, Festivals & Events
Author ontariotraveldivas

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.

Tags: beach, lake, park, spring, St. Joesph

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Attractions, Beach
Author Trista

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!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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!

Tags: bayfield, beach, beer, lake huron, The Docks, Volleyball

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Beach, Festivals & Events, ontario's west coast
Author ontariotraveldivas

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.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

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

Tags: bayfield, beach, Biking, Bones Cones, Frozen Yogurt, Pioneer Park, Sunset

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Attractions, Beach, ontario's west coast, Travel
Author ontariotraveldivas

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!

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!

Tags: award, Bayfield Ontario, beach, blue flag, lake huron, washrooms, water quality

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Attractions, Beach
Author ontariotraveldivas

Do you think about food all the time? Win a dinner with the Travel Divas!

28 Jun

By: Diva Jenna

CONTEST - to win a Food For Thought dinner with the Travel Divas

If you would like to win a dinner (see below for the dinners) at the Taste of Huron with the Travel Divas and be a star for the day on the Ontario Travel Divas site, all you have to do is:

Post your favourite culinary experience in Huron County to the bottom of this blog!

2010 Photos

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I think about food all the time! Huron is one of the most agriculturally productive counties in Ontario and we have some of the best culinary treats around! I’m going to be regularly posting about the different events that are happening during the two week event!

During the 2011 Taste of Huron there are going to be 7 Food For Thought dinners and 2 Locavore Luncheons. They are happening on week days in between August 29 & September 9. These meals include three courses, plus an interesting foodie topic, they don’t break the bank at $40 for the dinners and $20 for the lunches and they take place all across the County.

Taste of Huron – Food For Thought Dinners

Check out the website for more details www.tasteofhuron.ca

Cost: $40.00* (does not include: beverages, taxes or service)
Time: 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Details: Please call individual restaurants to make reservations

Monday, August 29, 2011

Thank a Farmer

Hosted by: Hessenland Country Inn
Contact: 1-866-543-7736
www.hessenland.com

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Functional Foods: Enhancing Your Diet

Hosted by: Benmiller Inn & Spa
Contact: 1-800-265-1711
www.benmillerinnandspa.com

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato & More!

Hosted by: The Black Dog Village Pub & Bistro
Contact: 1-519-565-2326
www.blackdogpubbistro.ca

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Healthy Doesn’t Have to be Boring!

Hosted by: Fireside Cafe
Contact: 1-519-357-4484
www.thefiresidecafe.com

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

The Blyth Inn – coming soon!

Hosted by: The Blyth Inn
Contact: 1-519-523-9381
www.blythinn.ca

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Huron County’s Wine Industry

Hosted by: The Little Inn of Bayfield
Contact: 1-800-565-1832
www.littleinn.com

Thursday, September 8 2011

A Fish Out of Water

Hosted by: Eddington’s of Exeter
Contact: 1-519-235-3030
www.eddingtons.ca

Tags: attraction, beach, content, culinary, event, festival, food, huron, Jenna, Kaylie, local, local food, ontario, taste, travel, win

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Festivals & Events, Food, Jenna's Gems, ontario, ontario's west coast, Travel
Author ontariotraveldivas

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!

Tags: 4-wheeling, ATV, beach, huron, lunch, ontario, Quad, vacation

Comments Leave a Comment
Categories Beach, Culture, Food, Uncategorized
Author ontariotraveldivas

Remembering: The beach in 2010

5 May

So the weather of spring 2011 has not been the greatest so far… So I thought I would post a story of the beach and campfires in the summer of 2010 to remind everyone of what is soon to come!

My friend Shawna called me up in June and said that her and her daughter Hilary wanted to come up to my house and go to the beach and camp out. We decided on a weekend in July. Hilary and Shawna got here around 2pm on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we immediately headed to the beach in Port Albert. It was almost 30 degrees and the sun was shining. We set up our towels and a shade umbrella and ran into the water. Was it ever refreshing! The three of us played mermaid games in the water and watched as boats went by further out. Then we played in the sand for a bit, went back in the water and cleaned the sand off and headed back to my house for a barbecue, campfire and of course to set up the tent! After setting up the tent we sat by the campfire, made s’mores and played with sparklers.