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Ontario Lakes Week: Final Stop, Killarney Mountain Lodge, Killarney Provincial Park

After spending 3 days on an island in a remote Ontario lake with very few people, it was an adjustment to get back to civilization. This was clearly evident when we arrived at Killarney Mountain Lodge, a busy Georgian Bay summer outpost, especially during the 3-day August Holiday Ontario celebrates. The front desk seemed ill-equipped to handle the many demands of the multi-generational families staying here and gave us bracelets to wear and a stack of cards to hand out every meal (neither were necessary during the stay). It felt far too touristy at the time. But I have to say that after spending 2 nights here, the place really grew on us and I’m glad Amy added it to the itinerary. I really enjoyed the food, especially the blueberry pancakes with regional maple syrup each morning, and the waitstaff were far superior to the front desk. I loved having our cocktail hour behind a beautiful new building they designed, made from massive logs. The patio overlooked a scenic inlet to Georgian Bay and we could spot otters gathering reeds from the water. From the resort, you can take an easy walk over a bridge to the town of Killarney, which will be commemorating its bicentennial in 2020. For lunch, we stopped at Herbert Fisheries for its award-winning fish and chips, made from local whitefish. We also took a sunset sail our last night into the many coves and anchorages in this section of the immense Georgian Bay.

The highlight of our time here were the two walks we took in Killarney Provincial Park. We started in the morning on the Granite Ridge Trail, a short climb that rewarded us with vistas of the water and the surrounding hillside. Near the top, we stopped to pick sweet wild blueberries. The Chikanishing Trail was dreamy, along the rocky shoreline to inlets and pools of the water on the bay. We slid from the rocks into the coolest water of our trip, then lied down in the sun on a perfect slab of rock under a cloudless sky. It would be our last dip of the vacation.
 
 
I want to thank Amy for designing a fantastic 8-day itinerary to the Ontario Cabin Country, visiting Algonquin and Killarney Provincial Parks and Lake Temagami. If you would like a similar rejuvenating jaunt in the region, please contact ActiveTravels and we’ll help with all the planning. 
 

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Traveling the World While Staying Put in Toronto

Guest Post and Photo by Amy Perry Basseches

I traveled all over the world and through time this month without ever leaving Toronto. The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is an annual public event in September where nearly 300 top-flight movies are shown during a 10-day period. TIFF is one of the world’s most well-attended film festivals (almost 500,000 people), and it is also among the most prestigious, moving newer filmmakers onto the big stage. Many directors, screenwriters, and actors/actresses speak to audiences immediately after their films are shown, which is an added treat. I saw 17 films this year, a huge increase from the two last year, once I understood what all the fuss was about. 

Toronto itself is an amazing city, an easy journey from both eastern and midwestern US, and full of fascinating indoor and outside activities: over 180 languages and dialects are spoken here; half of Toronto’s population was born outside of Canada; it is now the 4th largest city in North America (behind only Mexico City, NYC and LA); and the varied neighborhoods, shores of Lake Ontario, and wooded ravines of the city beckon. Walking and biking are very popular, as are a tremendous choice of cultural experiences.
 
But, back to TIFF: this month, I’ve been to India, Kenya, England, France, Sweden, Colombia, and across the US (by, for example, old-style RV, horse and wagon, classic convertible, bed of a pickup truck, and decidedly unglamorous team bus). I’ve immersed myself in wonderful stories (many of them based on fact). To me, this is similar to real travel in a small way — learning about and absorbing different ways of life, imagining different time periods, hearing different stories, and seeing different vistas (literal and metaphorical).
 
Consider a trip to Toronto anytime, and ActiveTravels can help you with a wonderful itinerary. Or plan ahead: TIFF 2018 will be held September 6-16, 2018. If you determine what movies you want to see (the list is published each August), ActiveTravels can get your desired tickets during the exclusive “pre-sale” period, held the week before the Festival. 
 
Photo: The Cast and Crew of I, Tonya, My Favorite Film of This Year’s TIFF
 
 
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Two Good Reasons to Visit Paris Later this Year

Joan Miró’s first major one-man show in Paris was at the Gallery Pierre in 1925. The private viewing opened at midnight and quickly became legendary, both for the art on the walls and the guest list, which included the Surrealist Andre Breton. Miro’s whimsical works of his vivid imagination will be back on display this fall and winter in Paris, when the Grand Palais presents a retrospective of the great Catalan artist’s body of work. From October 3, 2018 to February 4, 2019, over 150 works coming from the greatest European and American museums, as well as from private collections, will pinpoint the milestones of his career. It’s the first retrospective of the artist since the Tate Modern show in 2010. If that’s not enough of a reason to get you on a flight to Paris, the same Grand Palais is offering a second exhibition this fall on the career of singer Michael Jackson. "Michael Jackson, Off the Wall," on view from November 23 to February 14, 2019, will mark the 10th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death and examine the contribution of the world’s most famous pop singer to the creative arts over the past 30 years. 

 
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Favorite American Drives, Oregon Coast

In 2005, I was hired to pen a story about whale watching along the Oregon coast during spring, when the gray whales migrate north. I brought along my brother Jim, who worked as photographer, starting our trip in Portland. That first night, we had an exceptional meal at Paley’s Place and had our first taste of the beverage we’d happily be drinking the rest of the weeklong trip, Oregon pinot noir.

From Portland, it’s only 75 miles on Route 26 West to the shores of Cannon Beach on the Oregon coast. First stop was towering Haystack Rock, which stands tall in the shallow waters, inspiring awe from all who stroll on the hard-packed sand. After dropping our bags off at the upscale Stephanie Inn, we drove over to nearby Ecola State Park and took a hike in this emerald forest, where massive 300 year-old Sitka spruce trees have trunks as wide as a redwood. The woods soon recede, replaced by sandstone bluffs, pink colored beaches and the great expanse of the Pacific. 

We headed south on Route 101, stopping in the fishing community of Bay City for small, tender Kumamoto oysters on the half shell at Pacific Oyster. Dessert was creamy blackberry ice cream at Tillamook Cheese Factory. As we grew closer to Depoe Bay, the traffic and commercialism increased. Yet, south of Newport, the coastline is its wild self once again.

In the small arts community of Yachats, houses cling to the high cliffs, nestled in a forest of spruce and leafless alder trees. The hills reach their highest point, 900 feet above the beach, at Cape Perpetua. We drove to the top and jumped out of the car to take in the exquisite vistas. At the start of the Giant Spruce Trail, a man yelled joyously, “A whale.  I just saw a whale.” My brother and I ran over, but didn’t see diddlysquat. 

Our final night was spent at arguably the most perfect spot on the entire Oregon coast, a former assistant lightkeeper’s quarters set on a grassy patch below the Heceta Head Lighthouse. Below, breakers explode against the burgundy red cliffs that hem in a narrow beach filled with driftwood. In the darkness, we grabbed a flashlight from the inn and hiked up to the lighthouse to watch it flash beacon after beacon across the rugged land and then out to sea.

The next morning, we tried again to find one whale, any whale, but saw no fluke or spout the entire trip. Didn’t matter. We still had an awesome time. We topped it off with a visit to Willamette Valley, the heart of Oregon wine country. From Yachats, it was about a 2 ½-hour drive to the outskirts of Salem, home to our favorite wine of the week, Cristom. Vines cling to the slopes of their 60-acre lot and are named after the owner’s four daughters.  We also stopped at the Tasting Room in Carlton to try his selection of little-known gems that never make it out of the state. Then it was an hour drive back to Portland and our flight home. An exceptional drive that I can’t wait to do again!
 

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The Historic Nelson’s Dockyard National Park in Antigua

There are few other Caribbean islands that can match the impressive history of Antigua. The biggest attraction on the island, English Harbour, is a long inlet popular with the Caribbean yachting sect, especially during Sailing Week festivities in late April. From 1784 to 1787, however, it was home to the British fleet and naval hero Admiral Horatio Nelson. The restored Georgian buildings and pier are now part of Nelson’s Dockyard National Park. You’ll get a guided tour of the buildings and a bit of history on Nelson, who was only 27 when he became Commander-in-Chief of the Leeward Islands. Up the hill from English Harbour stands a dilapidated fortress called Shirley Heights. The view of the harbor and the rocky coastline from the Lookout is the best on the island. If you’re lucky enough to tour the facility on a Sunday, you’ll hear a steel drum band play live music and watch a game of cricket. The lone cannon at Shirley Heights points to the terra cotta roof of a rambling house that’s owned by singer Eric Clapton. Yes, “Slowhand” plays his guitar, not surprisingly, on Caribbean time.

 

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Camping Area Conserved on Cape Cod

One of the last items the late Senator Kennedy worked on was protection of the North of Highland Camping Area. Located in Truro, this is an area of Cape Cod that still retains the charm of yesteryear, with its wild dunes, stretch of sublime coastline, and patches of forest. Unlike much of the Cape these days, Truro has resisted overbuilding. In 2005, North of Highland’s owner expressed interested in retiring and selling the 57-acre property, which the family had owned for over 50 years. The Trust for Public Land stepped in to prevent its sale for residential development and just announced they secured a conservation easement that will be managed by the National Park service. This makes perfect sense since the property lies inside the Cape Cod National Seashore, a half-mile walk from Head of the Meadow Beach.
 

 

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My Favorite Small Outfitters, Ken’s Hinterland Adventure Tours, Dominica

Unlike the rest of the Caribbean, the attraction in Dominica is not the beach, but a lush mountainous interior ripe with every tropical fruit and vegetable imaginable and inundated with so much water that around every bend is another raging waterfall, a serene swimming hole nestled in the thick bush, or a hidden hot spring to rest your weary body after a day in the outdoors. Indeed, this island closest to Martinique has become an affordable haven for the active traveler who yearns to hike through a jungle-like forest. My guide for a week of treks into the interior was Kent Augiste of Ken’s Hinterland Adventure Tours. The highlight was a 7-hour round-trip hike inside Morne Trois Pitons National Park to the crater known as Boiling Lake. We hiked through a dense forest of tall gommier trees, staring at the iridescent purple-throated hummingbirds as they kept us company. Afterwards, we lounged in the natural hot spring at Papillote Wilderness Retreat. Owner Anne Jno Baptiste first came to the island from the States in 1961. Eight years later, she bought a 7-acre chunk of land enveloped by the rainforest that she would cultivate into a flower-rich botanical garden and one of the Caribbean’s first eco-resorts. 

 

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