Tobermory to Niagara

Tobermory On

Tuesday morning we woke in the motel in South Bay Mouth and were loaded up by 7:00. Felt like a beautiful Fall day. Shortly thereafter we went to Carol and Earl’s Restaurant for breakfast. If you are ever in this area be sure to try this place out. We had a superb home cooked meal the night before and were treated to a two egg, blackforest ham, home fries and toast for only $4.95 this morning.

Jill remembers some stuff told to her by Lesley in the laundromat... asked him about the abandoned farm sites we saw on the Island. The old farm houses are empty, grey and weathered with not an animal in site. Lesley said the island used to be famous for turkeys and horses. He said there was only about 4 inches of topsoil on top of the limestone. He said the calcium in the rock made the animals have very strong legs. He said young people of today don’t want to do the work of farming any more. Not sure of the accuracy of all this. Things learned in a laundromat are sketchy. Still, Lesley seemed like a wise old guy who had lived a full life and I’ll take his word for it.

After breakfast we got ourselves into the ferry lineup and strolled around for the hour before the ferry came in. No preferred boarding for bikes but they are all moved to the front where there are tie-downs for motorcycles. The sailing is the same length as the Nanaimo/Horseshoe Bay run. For a part of the voyage there was considerable rolling hence the need to tie down the bikes.

We arrived in Tobermory just before 11:00, prepared for rain. The sky ahead looked like the vortex of evil in the movies. From there we took Hwy. 6 south. An OPP cruiser followed us for a way then turned off when we would do no wrong. The small towns we went through were fascinatingly beautiful with a lot of old stone or brick houses. The countryside still looks lush after a late Spring. We’re in the area of the 100 acre far and the corn is as high as an elephant’s thigh.

We stopped at Wairton for a coffee to warm up at Tim Hortons (they don’t take debit out this way). We’re getting pretty familiar with their menu. Think that Wairton Willie saw his shadow again and called for more winter. We had to bundle up for the cold and showed some respect for the cloudy skies and prepped for rain. That was to ensure that none would occur. Owen Sound was magnificent and if our timing had been better we would have made an attempt to meet up with Kim Speight’s sister. But we felt the need to get some distance done and make for Hamilton or nearby. All the towns on the way were a delight to see. The roads were comfortable and the countryside stunning.

Mount Forest had an attractiveness that made we think of stopping. I later learned that this was a place Jill hung out in during her hippy years when Kate was first born. If we were to pass this way again I’d be sure to take more time and stop.

With Hamilton and it’s traffic routes on my mind we pressed on. By the time we reached Guelph we were ready for a meal. I got us off the highway to a little mall where Jill discovered Ample Annie’s Pub. There we had one of the best burgers and fries either of us has ever had. We fueled up and rode on.

In order to regain Hwy 6 we had to go onto the 401 for a brief period. Wow, we were in Vancouver like traffic again. Yeah, we survived, but exited to #6 again ASAP. We had tried to locate a campground short of Hamilton and as luck would have it we located Emerald Lake Campground about 40k south of Guelph. There we set up for the night and attempted to get on the internet. Although we had a signal we could not get connected. Apparently we were not the only ones with that problem. The skies looked as though they could still offer up some rain but luckily the clouds cleared off and we woke to a splendid morning.

Our neighbours in the campground were from the Niagara area. They came over and poured over the map with us and offered suggestions for back road routes. Grant spent what seemed like several hours inputting it into the GPS and we set off.

Their suggestions took us along Hwy 6 to Hwy 8 through some lovely countryside dotted with small villages known as the Green Belt. There is lots of history in this area. We were stopped at a construction site and on our left was an old log house dated 1816.

The tiger lillies are in full bloom in every ditch, orange amongst the white daisies and blue chicory. The two storey red brick farm houses are set in a cluster of old maples. Holstein cows, black and white against the green of pasture. The barns are grey and weathered red roofs. Each village we passed boasted a substantial church with surrounding cemetery.

Other impressions are the smells... the beauty of the bike. Heady scent passing a field of clover. Lilac smell in Manitoba due to their late spring. Here in rural Ontario, the smell of fresh cut hay. Seems there's some manure spreading going on, as there always is in life.

We didn’t ride more than 200 k today, but keeping to the suggested route proved stressful. I got impatient with Grant and his bleeding GPS, totally unreliable even after 4 hours of destination inputting. It demanded we take the Queen Elizabeth, the busiest highway in southern Ontario. We were forced to ignore it’s constant beepings and instruction to “Turn left as soon as it is legally possible to do so” and rely on the map and gas station advice.

Again, people have been very kind about helping us out with directions. Had several waves today from other vehicles. It’s a friendly gesture I plan to repeat with tourists in our area.

At Lundy’s Lane nearing Niagara Falls, things suddenly became congested and heavily populated. It had a seedy air. Judging from the design of the motels, it was really rocking in the 70’s. Things got busier and crazier the closer we came to the Falls. It had the air of a kinda nasty border town. We stopped for directions and were told that parking in the area ran $20 a day for each bike.

We had reserved a campsite in Queenston, just up the highway. We left the freeway and followed the Niagara on the Lake Parkway which was lovely. Groomed gardens on all sides and a gently curving road.

Our campsite is heavily treed and has a pool I plan to use tomorrow. The sun was out by the time we checked in and the tent has fully dried out.

We belong to a bike club (Southern Cruisers Riding Club which has chapters in several countries) with a chapter here in Niagara. When they heard about our trip plans, they kindly offered to act as hosts. Grant phoned the Provincial Officer, Mike tonight and he rode over with Eva and Ian. Eva rode a Vulcan 800 only black. I immediately liked her very much and we joked about being Vulcan sisters. Ian and Mike rode identical ’09 Voyagers, Grant’s dream bike, purchased one week apart.We followed along on a wonderful tour up to Niagara On The Lake. This is certainly one of the most picturesque areas I’ve ever see. The parkway is lined with stately historical houses, often white and detailed confections. Mike led the group of four bikes by some historical forts along the gorge, past a beautiful marina then down some backstreets to a Tim Horton’s where we met some other members of the local chapter.

Mike is meeting us at 3 tomorrow with plans to take us on a tour of the Falls, Welland Canal with a follow-up BBQ at his place. It’s a relief to be able to put ourselves in Mike’s hands. He’s a warm, generous and immensely likable man and the chaos of the tourist mayhem here is too much for two geriatrics from a small island town.

Other members of the Niagara chapter will be coming to the bar-B-Q. They seem a great bunch and their warm camraderie shines through. This chapter does lots of riding. This summer they plan to ride to Memphis. They’ve been to Virginian and California.

Grant and I are back at the campsite sitting quietly in the dark sipping our Drambuei, looking forward to what tomorrow brings.

Opps, just had a visit from a skunk. Grant stood up and scared it away before anything unfortunate happened.