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Posts from the road

Hiking in the Arizona Desert

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(Cave Creek, Arizona, U.S.A.)

While Sun City is filled with palm trees, we took a short drive north to experience a place filled with cactuses (or cacti – apparently, both plural forms are acceptable). Our destination: Cave Creek Regional Park. Our mission: a hike in the desert.

The U.S. and Arizona flags at the entrance to Cave Creek Regional Park

Armed with sunscreen, water, Gatorade, and maps, we set out on a loop that looked manageable. While the air temperature seemed rather cool, the late-morning desert sun made it relatively warm once we started moving. Somewhat alarmingly, we saw warnings about rattlesnakes.

The “Go John” trailhead at Cave Creek Regional Park

In the end, the only wildlife we saw were some really tiny lizards. And since the hiking trails were shared with horseback riders, the biggest hazards were the occasional piles left behind by those large animals.

Cave Creek Regional Park

The terrain was dry, rocky, and uneven. You wouldn’t want to hike these trails while multitasking, as you would eventually find yourself doing a faceplant. Even so, we saw more than one person texting while walking the trails. Just like texting while walking in a big city, this is just asking for trouble.

Cave Creek Regional Park

As you can see, I took a lot of cactus pictures. This is partly because I just don’t see them very often. They aren’t well-suited for the relatively humid Ontario climate. But it is also because this harsh environment doesn’t let much else survive.

Cave Creek Regional Park

We ended up covering a lot more territory than we thought we would. We decided to supplement our loop route with a spur line to an abandoned clay mine.

Cave Creek Regional Park

The spur route featured more cactuses and more views of distant mountains. We found the clay mine, but it was completely fenced off and we couldn’t enter it. That was probably a good thing, as the mine has been abandoned for a long time and likely wasn’t very stable.

Rent your horses here, to explore Cave Creek Regional Park

We also saw the horse enclosure, where people can rent a horse (and a guide) to experience the desert in a different way. This wasn’t an option for me, due to a a severe horse allergy, but the horses seemed sure-footed and happy in this environment.

Cave Creek Regional Park

See if you can spot the additional passenger on the lead horse above!

Looking north from Cave Creek Regional Park

After about 2 hours in the desert, we returned to our car and discovered that we had worked up quite an appetite. I was even craving more liquids, despite sipping water almost continuously throughout our hike. I don’t think it is possible to bring too much water along on a trip into the desert.

Cave Creek Regional Park

Stay tuned for another Arizona post…this time, in a slightly less harsh environment!

Posts from the road

Here we are in Sun City, Arizona

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(Sun City, Arizona, U.S.A.)

Some trips are predictable. For example, I knew it was only a matter of time before I made it to Chile. But other trips can’t be foreseen. I certainly never thought I’d be in Sun City, Arizona, to play in the US Open lawn bowling tournament. And yet, here I am.

Bell Lawn Bowls Club, in Sun City, Arizona

From a bowling perspective, this place is amazing. There are 5 clubs within perhaps a 15 minute drive of each other. The greens are true, quick, and aesthetically appealing. I can see why so many of my bowling friends have raved about it. I can’t wait for play to begin – for now, we have a couple of days of practice. But, for travel blog purposes, I will try to focus on all aspects of the trip…not just the lawn bowling ones.

US Open Opening Ceremonies – Lakeview Lawn Bowling Club, in Sun City, Arizona

Sun City is essentially a suburb to the northwest of Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix currently is the 5th largest city in the U.S.A. Who knew? But Phoenix is not a typical city, and Sun City is hardly a typical suburb. For starters, home ownership in Sun City is limited to those 55 and older. So, there are a LOT of recreational activities available. And also a lot of “Snowbirds” (retired Canadians who spend the winters in the southern U.S.A.). After only a day here, I can understand why it is so popular.

The gazebo overlooking Viewpoint Lake in Sun City, Arizona

While Phoenix summers are brutally hot, the winters here are very comfortable. It is now early November, and today’s high temperature was a balmy 27’C. But it isn’t like 27’C in Canada, as there seems to be little or no humidity. I might even find it a little too dry: my nose and throat have felt a little dried out since we arrived. We’ll see how I adapt to this over the next few days.

Viewpoint Lake in Sun City, Arizona

The car reigns supreme in many parts of Canada, especially outside of urban Ontario and Quebec. But this part of the U.S.A. takes it to a new level. At Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport, the train that zips passengers between terminals actually has a station dedicated to car rentals! It is like an entire airport terminal in itself, and just for rental cars.

Viewpoint Lake at Sun City, Arizona

There’s a good reason for all the cars: Phoenix and its suburbs are really spread out. It’s not surprising – practically every building outside of the downtown core seems to be a one-level bungalow. The trend towards urban densification does not seem to have reached Phoenix yet.

Looking towards the Lakeview Lawn Bowling Club – Sun City, Arizona

Regular readers of this blog will know that I make a point of finding independent and unique restaurants wherever I travel. That will be a little more challenging on this trip. Near our hotel in Glendale (another northwestern suburb), pretty much everything is a chain…whether it’s a restaurant or a retail store. But I have put together a short list of places that still hold some promise. We’ll just have to drive to get to them.

Sunset over the Lakeview Lawn Bowling Club – Sun City, Arizona

At least some of the chains are quirky. “Trader Joe’s” is a grocery chain that sells mostly its own products (usually made secretly by other manufacturers). But its prices are quite competitive compared to other stores, and they manage this despite also offering a lot of unique products (many of which are organic). For example, I didn’t know that prickly pear wheat beer was a thing.

Trader Joe’s in Glendale, Arizona

My focus on this trip is obviously on competing in the US Open. But I will do my best to post some more blog entries about this interesting corner of the United States. Stay tuned!

Posts from the road

Highway 31 (and Murray Street) Revisited

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(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

When I travel, I crave new adventures. However, sometimes it is fun to revisit previous experiences and even tie them together. That’s exactly what I did when I recently drove the length of Highway 31 from Morrisburg to Ottawa.

The St. Lawrence River shoreline in Morrisburg, Ontario

Morrisburg is a small Ontario town that remains very special to me. In December 2009, I was a torchbearer for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Torch Relay…and my assigned segment was in Morrisburg. It was such a unique and vivid experience: I’ll never forget the feeling of floating with the flame. You can read all about it by clicking here. However, when I retraced the route I ran on Ottawa Street 15 years ago, that supercharged feeling was gone. No snow, no festivities, no anticipation…and no cheering crowd! It is amazing how context can transform the routine into something truly extraordinary. I even had to go back to my old blog post about it and confirm that I was looking at the right street. But sure enough…it was indeed Ottawa Street where I did most of my Olympic run.

The main intersection in downtown Winchester, Ontario.

Heading north, I stopped in the similarly-sized town of Winchester. Although it is not that far from Kingston, I somehow had never made it to Winchester before. It has a strong agricultural history, and all the utility posts have a “cow” pattern on the bottom. I took a couple of pictures before returning to Highway 31. Before long, all the signs were referring to Bank Street, a major Ottawa thoroughfare, instead of Highway 31.

The Town Hall in Winchester, Ontario.

Bank Street was a mixed bag. The neighbourhood known as “The Glebe” was doing well…perhaps a little too well, as the new development at the south end seemed a little out of scale. But much sadder was the decay on Bank Street near Parliament Hill. So many vacant storefronts, and real human suffering. It was nothing like the vibrant street I remembered from 30-40 years ago.

Kerala (Red) Rice and Kodanadu Chicken at Kochin Kitchen (Ottawa, Ontario)

But on the plus side, I also had a chance to revisit Murray Street…which I visited just 3 months ago. In fact, I ate out twice on Murray Street: once at each of the restaurants that I wrote about this spring. The first evening, I went back to Kochin Kitchen for some Keralan food. I had the Kodanadu Chicken again, but this time I paired it with Kerala rice…which has a red tinge!

Dimly lit but brilliantly flavoured Gaeng Panang Curry at Khao Thai (Ottawa, Ontario)

The second night, I went to Khao Thai…which was full when I tried to go there in June. It was still fairly busy, but I was able to get a table. I had a spicy Gaeng Panang curry with some jasmine rice. It was excellent. It was a perfect blend of (most of) my favourite Thai elements: red curry, peanuts, coconut milk, and green and red peppers. And some peas! Yes, it was a little more expensive than the Thai restaurants in Kingston, but I’d have to say it was worth it.

Entering Gatineau, Quebec, after crossing the bridge from Ottawa

And finally, as has become my Ottawa tradition, I included a “walk through Quebec”. Using two of the bridges that connect Ottawa and Gatineau, I saw many of downtown Ottawa’s highlights (including the Chateau Laurier – see photo at the very top of this post) in a whirlwind tour. Even though I have advised against ultra-brief visits to places just to say I’ve been there, I must admit that I still do like the idea of crossing borders. That’s good: in about a month, I’ll be visiting another country. More details to come!

Posts from the road

Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains

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(Tannersville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)

My lawn bowling competition was being held at the Skytop Lodge in the Pocono Mountains – you can see the lodge in the photo at the very top of this post. It reminds me of the massive and ancient hotels in Canadian resort areas: the Banff Springs Hotel and the Manoir Richelieu in particular. They are like huge sports camps…albeit at a price. And that price hit especially hard with the strong American dollar.

“Taste of Susan’s Grill House” in Tannersville, Pennsylvania.

So, even though it would have been more convenient to stay at the resort itself, we decided to stay at a nondescript hotel in Tannersville for economic reasons. It’s about 30 minutes away (on narrow and winding mountain roads) and, strangely, home to a massive “outlet” mall with 100+ stores. The scope of that mall is a little odd because Tannersville itself is little more than the intersection of two local highways near an Interstate highway. But it was very busy, even just before closing time.

My tarragon soda at “Taste of Susan’s Grill House”

Anyway, the Pocono Mountains are dotted with unique restaurants that you don’t typically find in such small communities. On our first night, we went to “Taste of Susan’s Grill House”. It specialized in food from the former Soviet republics. For my beverage, I had a shockingly luminescent green soft drink based on…tarragon!

Uzbek Pilaf (#1) at “Taste of Susan’s Grill House:

For my main course, there was no doubt: I had to try the Uzbek Pilaf. How often does one get the chance to eat Uzbek food, particularly in rural America? I really liked the meal. In fact, we went back to Susan’s the next evening and I had the Uzbek Pilaf again. For a drink, though, I switched it up on the second night and had pear-flavoured “Georgian Lemonade” instead. And we also learned that the proprietor was from Armenia.

Main entrance to the Skytop Lodge (Skytop, Pennsylvania)

I’d like to tell you more about the Poconos but, to be fair, I spent most of my time practicing and playing at the Skytop Lodge. The grounds are beautiful and it is situated on a high plateau with nice views of the surrounding hills. The lawn bowling green was impressively manicured – maybe just a tad too lush (it wasn’t quite as fast as my favourite Ontario greens), but still a pleasure to play on. With the tranquil surroundings, it felt like being transported back in time about a hundred years.

The lawn bowling green, behind Skytop Lodge (photo credit: R. Hastu)

As I really enjoyed the event, I will likely return in the future. And I *might* consider a splurge and stay at the Lodge itself (if only for a night or two). There are a lot of other sports activities available…and if you check the link, you will see that some of them (“Arrow Tag” and “Intro to Shotgun” come to mind) are likely not available at Canadian resorts such as Chateau Montebello.

Part of the main lobby at Skytop Lodge (Skytop, Pennsylvania)

We self-catered our lunches during the tournament, so we stocked up in a local supermarket. I know that grocery prices have been a real pain point for Canadians over the past couple of years. But prices seemed just as high in the U.S., and that was before accounting for the 30+% exchange rate. Canadians used to do a lot of cross-border shopping in the U.S., but (except perhaps for gas) I don’t think it is much of a deal anymore.

Liquid Death, now at your local supermarket

The grocery price pain was offset a little by the entertainment value on the shelves. Canadian grocery stores have more variety than ever, but this was at a different level altogether. Maybe I shop at the wrong stores, but I don’t recall seeing products such as “Liquid Death” flavoured water in Canada. While flavours such as “Cherry Obituary” and “Berry it Alive” were tempting, I decided to give them a pass.

The Friendly’s restaurant in Cortland, New York.

As I had to play in a playoff match, the last day of the tournament ended a little later than anticipated . We had to drive all the way home that evening, which meant that we (1) couldn’t spent a lot of time looking for restaurants, (2) weren’t looking for an extended dining experience, and (3) would eat when it made the most sense from a driving perspective. And that is how we ended up at the “Friendly’s” restaurant in Cortland, New York! This American chain specializes in food like burgers…and dessert. My spicy grilled cheese was fine.

Posts from the road

Sightseeing in Scranton, Pennsylvania!

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(Scranton, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)

I continue to embrace the random travel that my sports competitions create. This time, I was heading to a competition in Skytop, Pennsylvania. I had never heard of it before, but decided to add a little bit of time to the trip so I could see the local sights.

Looking toward Pennsylvania, just inside New York state.

When I looked at what we’d pass before getting to Skytop, I saw…Scranton, Pennsylvania. Not too many obvious sights came to mind. In such cases, I start with looking for interesting restaurants and record shops (I found a record shop in nearby Dickson City). And I remembered that Scranton earned a kind of fame by being the site of a TV cringe comedy called “The Office”.

And now we’re in Pennsylvania!

For lunch, I found a highly rated Scranton institution called Abe’s Kosher Deli. It seemed like everybody knew everybody else. I had a BBQ beef brisket sandwich and it was very good. It was served with a pickle unlike any other I’ve had: it was very green, very crunchy, and very salty. There were a lot of interesting items on the menu; I would like to go back one day and try some more of them. But there’s also a nice Thai restaurant around the corner…

Abe’s Kosher Deli, in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania.

After lunch, we walked around downtown Scranton and snapped a few photos. Urban decay is a problem in many parts of North America, but downtown Scranton seemed to be OK. This may be because people still have a reason to go downtown. In addition to the Lackawanna County Courthouse, there was a mall…and there were sights from “The Office”!

Lackawanna County Courthouse, in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania.

The “cover photo” for today’s post is an actual mural in downtown Scranton. Apparently, it has been authorized by all of “The Office” actors portrayed on it. At City Hall, you can pick up a self-guided walking tour that visits many of the Scranton locations made famous on “The Office”. And I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I’m told that Brian Baumgartner (who played “Kevin” on “The Office”) has been known to appear at a couple of the local bars from time to time.

The Scranton Electric Building, in downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania. The sign lights up at night.

So Scranton, also known as the “Electric City”, does have something to offer the traveler. (In case you’re wondering, it was one of the first cities in North America to be electrified.) Stay tuned for more from our trip to Pennsylvania!

Posts from the road

Don’t forget to stop and look around!

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(Grafton, Ontario, Canada)

Every once in a while, I am reminded that “it’s the journey, not the destination.” Today’s brief post is about how that can apply to even routine travel.

The Grafton Village Inn, in Grafton, Ontario.

I play a lot of tournaments in Cobourg, Ontario. It’s less than 90 minutes away by the 401 “autobahn”, and exactly 2 hours away by the slower and more interesting Highway 2. But even when I take Highway 2, I tend to “press on” when I get close to Cobourg. Similarly, when I return from Cobourg, I want to get some distance out of town before stopping.

The Alnwick-Haldimand Municipal Building in Grafton, Ontario.

On a recent long trip home from a tournament in Woodstock, the timing was right for a stretch in Grafton. Grafton is only 12 km from Cobourg. As Cobourg is such a nice place to visit, we tend to overlook the much smaller community of Grafton. Over many years of travel on this route, I don’t think we’ve ever stopped the car there.

The Lass & Ladle Bakery in Grafton, Ontario.

And yet, all four pictures in today’s post were taken within one minute at one intersection in Grafton. The antique store (see photo at the very top of this post) used to be a barbershop, where the same barber carried on business for more than 50 years! I have also learned that Grafton was where Bob Homme (“The Friendly Giant”) retired. He is buried in the Fairview Cemetery there.

When you’re on the road, don’t forget to stop and look around!

Posts from the road

More non-traditional Ontario destinations

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(Pickering, Dresden, Campbellford, and other places in Ontario, Canada)

While my last post focused on Cambridge, Ontario, this one covers a whole bunch of non-traditional Ontario destinations. Once again, the unifying theme is “places I went for lawn bowling competitions”! And, of course, food plays a role.

Pollo con mole, at Cielito Lindo (Pickering, Ontario)

In late June, I had a qualifying tournament in Pickering, Ontario. We had a strong first day of competition, so our team decided to celebrate at dinner that evening. We settled on Cielito Lindo, which looked like a family-run Mexican restaurant. And it was! I went for the pollo con mole (pictured above), and the sauce was excellent. Just the right amount of chocolate and heat.

Yeck’s Smokehouse Grill, in Ridgetown, Ontario

Suburban communities like Pickering are sometimes overrun by chain restaurants, serving a very corporate kind of “McFood”. While there are exceptions (The Owl of Minerva – a Korean restaurant – being one of those exceptions), I really try to seek out independent alternatives whenever possible. Often, restaurants are the only truly “local” experience we have when I play in particularly intense tournaments. Such was the case in Pickering – there was no time to explore hidden nooks and crannies during that visit.

Solid diner food at Yeck’s in Ridgetown, Ontario

As the qualifying event in Pickering went well, two weeks later we headed much farther west for the Provincial event in…Dresden, Ontario. Dresden is a very small community (less than 3000 people), but it happens to have a good bowling facility. Before my first practice session, we stopped in the nearby town of Ridgetown for lunch. Ridgetown is only slightly larger than Dresden, and is clearly an important agricultural centre.

My grilled Reuben sandwich, and sides, at Yeck’s Smokehouse Grill in Ridgetown

I figured that Yeck’s Smokehouse Grill would be a solid choice. We did indeed enjoy our “homestyle” lunches – my grilled Reuben sandwich was particularly well done and the fries met our exacting standards. The restaurant was very popular with Ridgetown residents…we had to wait a little while for a table.

Cashew chicken, at the Thai Kitchen & Bar in Chatham, Ontario

After the competition in Dresden was over, I had an intense craving for Thai food. Alas, Dresden had little to offer in that regard. We returned instead to the nearby city of Chatham and the sensibly named “Thai Kitchen & Bar”. The menu was extensive, with a lot of unfamiliar options, so it was very difficult to decide on what to have. I settled on the not-at-all-unknown cashew chicken, but would have loved to try some other dishes too.

Exterior of the Thai Kitchen & Bar in Chatham, Ontario

I have the feeling that the Thai Kitchen & Bar’s facility used to be a very different type of restaurant…probably something Mediterranean. No matter – we were happy with the food and will undoubtedly return there someday. Chatham is a very long way from home, but we have been on the road again several times since. There was another trip to Pickering, and of course the “Preston” trip from my previous blog entry.

A small piece of regular Gouda (top), and a small piece of lavender Gouda (bottom)

On the way back from Preston, we took a break in Whitby to stock up on Dutch delicacies at the Village Bakeshop. Regular blog readers know that I am a big fan of Gouda cheese. So I decided to buy a couple of less common varieties. First up was goat milk Gouda – almost pure white in colour. And I also picked up a piece of lavender Gouda! Yes, it is very purple (see picture). To complement the lavender, the cheese also contains rosemary and thyme.

Municipal office for the Township of Stone Mills – Centreville, Ontario

Lastly, we went to Campbellford for another provincial qualifier. On the way back home, we stopped in Stirling for ice cream at a candy store and a brief walk along the main street (see photo at the top of this post). We returned to Kingston along a lot of back roads, passing through many small villages such as Moira, Roslin, Croydon, Centreville (pictured) and Camden East. It was a nice way to unwind after a day of competition.

Stay tuned for more non-traditional Ontario destinations…and an intriguing international tournament!

Posts from the road

A day in the hidden town of Preston

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(Preston, Ontario, Canada)

I’ve been spending some time in Southwestern Ontario lately for a series of lawn bowling competitions. Today’s post is about the “hidden” Ontario town of Preston.

The Black Badger Pub in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario

Our home base for 4 nights was the Conestoga College residence in Kitchener. More and more, we are using college residences as an alternative to the high cost of hotels during the summer months. If you can get a promo code, the cost is even less. And the rooms are even bigger! It’s not luxurious, but I don’t need luxury when I’m spending most of the day in competition.

Downtown Galt (Cambridge), Ontario

My first day of competition was at the Preston Lawn Bowling Club. Officially, it is located in the city of Cambridge. But the city of Cambridge is a relatively recent creation, as it consists of the former village of Hespeler, the former city of Galt, and the former town of Preston. Each community still has a distinct and recognizable downtown area, even though the former gaps between them have become urbanized.

Wesley United Church, in the downtown core of Galt (Cambridge), Ontario

The club is a throwback to a simpler age, and very much resembles other century-old clubs throughout Ontario. After a hot day on the green, I was ready for (1) rehydration, and (2) some adventurous food. Fortunately, I had done my research in advance, and found a promising Nepalese restaurant within walking distance of the club.

MoMo House Restaurant in Preston (Cambridge), Ontario – it’s very orange!

MoMo House has perhaps the most extensive menu I’ve ever seen at a restaurant. Not only did it offer a full range of momos (Nepalese dumplings) and other Nepalese specialties, it also had many Indian dishes and a lot of Hakka (“Indo-Chinese”) specialties. It took me about 15 minutes to review the menu and decide on what I was going to have. (Sadly, they didn’t have salted yak butter tea, which I’ve enjoyed at some Tibetan restaurants over the years.)

Interior of the MoMo House restaurant in Preston (Cambridge), Ontario

I settled on the Chilli Chicken Momos, which were impressively spicy and very, very colourful. Given the hot weather, it went very well with a salty Yogurt Lassi drink. And if a restaurant is called the MoMo House, you need to go with their namesake dish.

Chilli Chicken Momos!

Nonetheless, I couldn’t help wondering about the many other interesting dishes I saw on the menu. So, when my 3-day tournament in Kitchener ended, we decided to return to the MoMo House and try some different dishes! I went for a Hakka dish: “Schezwan Chicken Gravy” (more like a curry than a gravy), with some Lachhi Paratha bread and more Yogurt Lassi (the sweet version this time).

Left to right: Lachhi Paratha bread, Strawberry Lemonade, Vegetarian Tandoori Reshmi Momos, Schezwan Chicken Gravy, and Yogurt Lassi

I referred some of my fellow competitors (and friends) to this restaurant, and they enjoyed it as well. I think we’ve got a go-to place for our next visit to the Kitchener region!

City Hall in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario

After the meal, we made the very short drive to the downtown core of Galt. While I preferred the aesthetics and vibe of downtown Galt to downtown Preston, that has to be weighed against the food offerings. Other options in Preston included a Caribbean restaurant and an about-to-open Nigerian restaurant!

Remnants of an old mill on the Grand River in Galt (Cambridge), Ontario.

I don’t think I’ve seen all that these under-the-radar destinations have to offer. I look forward to spending some more time in Galt and Preston in the future.

A very old advertisement on the side of a building in downtown Galt (Cambridge), Ontario

Stay tuned for more on non-traditional Ontario destinations!

Posts from the road

Ottawa’s Murray Street

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(Ottawa, Ontario, Canada)

I recently had to spend a couple of days in Ottawa for work. Once the work day was over, I went looking for an interesting dining option in the Byward Market area.

Khao Thai Restaurant on Murray Street, Ottawa

I had a craving for Thai food, so I set out for Khao Thai…a nice place on Murray Street that I have visited in the past. Alas, when I arrived, a crowd of people was outside the front door. They were waiting for tables to open up. Clearly, I would have a long wait before having a chance to eat.

Kochin Kitchen in Ottawa

I then recalled a humble-looking restaurant on the corner of Murray and Dalhousie. It was called Kochin Kitchen, and it specialized in food from the southern Indian state of Kerala. I’ve had Kerala cuisine before, and it had been spicy even by the standards of the subcontinent. I decided I was up for the challenge. And I had the nagging feeling that I had tried to eat at this restaurant before…but had to make a last-minute change.

Kodanadu Chicken, on top of a parotta

I took a quick look at the menu before going in, and was pleased to see very little overlap with typical Indian restaurant menus in Canada. And then I saw a dish featuring “roasted coconut paste”. That did it – I now had to give Kochin Kitchen a try.

Murray Street, Ottawa

I knew the karma here was good, because I heard somebody call my name shortly after I ordered. One of my work friends, from the neighbouring Quebec city of Gatineau, was in the very same Ottawa restaurant! He confirmed that I had made a wise choice: he and his friends came here almost weekly.

Nameplate on the (now) Alexandra Bridge between Ottawa, Ontario, and Gatineau, Quebec

I went with my gut – the Kodanadu Chicken, with the advertised roasted coconut paste. It was really flavourful: even though it wasn’t described as spicy, it still had quite a Kerala kick on top of the sweet coconut. And I opted for parotta instead of rice: this turned out to be an inspired choice. Described as a layered flatbread, parotta is kind of like a buttery cross between a crepe and flaky pastry. I’ve never had it before, but I thought it worked very well with the spicy coconut paste.

Ottawa’s Chateau Laurier Hotel, as seen from Gatineau, Quebec

This was a rather rich meal, so I decided to take a long walk afterward. I headed down Murray Street, and just kept going…to Quebec! As it turns out, Murray Street is the extension of the Alexandra Bridge, which connects Ottawa to Gatineau. So I visited the grounds of the Canadian Museum of History (formerly Canadian Museum of Civilization) in Gatineau, took a few photos, and eventually found my way back to my hotel as the sun set over Ottawa.

Canadian Museum of History, in Gatineau, Quebec

Once again – going with the flow yielded some nice surprises. I didn’t have any Thai food that evening, but I’m sure I will have some again soon.

Posts from the road

Gatineau Getaway

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(Wakefield, Quebec, Canada)

We decided to take a road trip to the Gatineau region of Québec last weekend. There were multiple reasons, with more reasons appearing as the trip progressed!

The Nepean Lawn Bowls clubhouse on Woodroffe Avenue in Ottawa, Ontario.

Our first stop was the Nepean Lawn Bowls Club in suburban Ottawa, where I could do some early-season practicing on their artificial surface. And I could also finally try out my new bowls for the first time, as they had been patiently waiting since arriving from Australia three months ago. (I borrowed some bowls when I played in Switzerland in February). My club in Kingston has a natural grass surface and it won’t be available for at least another week.

King’s Day Celebrations outside the Dutch Groceries store on Clyde Avenue in Ottawa, Ontario.

I was excited to play outdoors again, so I stayed for a long time and worked up quite an appetite. Accordingly, our next stop was the nearby Dutch Groceries deli/shop. And what a coincidence: it was King’s Day (Koningsdag) in the Netherlands, so the shop was selling fresh treats such as bitterballen and poffertjes on the sidewalk outside the shop! Of course, we had to have some. With lots of Dutch-Canadians wearing orange, and some special promotions inside the shop, it was a very festive occasion. Among other things, I picked up some Cantenaar and Parrano cheeses, two specialized kinds of sambal (sambal manis and surinaamse sambal), and a whole lot of dropjes.

The Meule & Caquelon restaurant on Boul. Gréber in Gatineau, Québec,

By dinnertime, we had crossed the Ottawa River into Québec and decided to try something that you can’t find in Kingston: a Swiss restaurant (although we have Amadeus, which is an excellent Austrian/Bavarian restaurant). Meule & Caquelon has an unassuming location in a Gatineau strip mall but it is a cozy place specializing in fondue and raclette. We had a modified raclette; we grilled our own food and then melted raclette cheese over it.

The Auberge de Mon Petit Chum B&B in Wakefield, Québec. We stayed here for a night.

That night, we stayed in the rustic Québec village of Wakefield (see the covered bridge at the very top of this post). Wakefield is in the Gatineau River valley about 35 km north of Ottawa and, unlike other places near the nation’s capital, it has seen relatively little development. With almost no lighting on the side streets, it almost seemed like the village was in a previous century. While we chose this village because it was fairly close to Ottawa, Wakefield has some other special significance for me.

View of the lower part of the very first ski lift I ever took: the beginner area at Vorlage (Wakefield, Québec), with the base lodge on the right

The Vorlage ski area was just a block away from our B&B. While Vorlage is quite small, with a vertical drop of just 140 metres (about 460 feet), it will always hold a special place in my heart. It was here, in early 1983, that I went downhill skiing for the very first time. My Grade 10 friends convinced me to go on a school-organized ski trip. They also convinced me to just follow them rather than take lessons. While it wasn’t elegant (I was skiing like a hockey player), the trial by fire gave me the skiing bug. Regular readers of this blog know how much skiing has meant to me and my travel plans ever since.

View of the Gatineau River, taken from the middle of Wakefield’s covered bridge.

Anyway, Wakefield seems to be very quiet in the spring. This is probably because its outdoor activities attract more visitors in the summer and winter months. (In addition to Vorlage, the slightly larger Edelweiss ski area is also in Wakefield.) There was absolutely nobody else on the village’s picturesque covered bridge when I used it to cross the Gatineau River. On the way back, a couple of local children rode their bikes across but otherwise…silence.

The Northfolk Cafe in Perth, Ontario. The gelato was very good.

I spent a few more hours practicing bowls in Nepean the next day, and then continued home to Kingston via the “scenic route”. To break up the drive a bit, we stopped in the historic town of Perth for a beverage and some gelato. The skies were very gray by this point, with some intermittent rain, so the gray stone buildings in the downtown area made everything feel very gray indeed. But a tart lemon gelato can help overcome that.

A very gray day in Perth, Ontario.

This was the first, but certainly not the last, road trip of 2024. Watch this space for all the details!