Sun and Sand at Lake Huron

View of the dunes and grasses

Beach O' Pines Lake Huron

Undiscovered, by us at least, was lovely southeast Lake Huron.  I've always been a big fan of Georgian Bay and still remain so, but our visit over the past week to a cottage on Lake Huron has opened a new horizon for us. 

Morning coffee and books

Morning snuggle-up

 We were lent a perfect 3-bedroom cottage by an extremely generous friend here in Windsor.  The cottage is about 60 years old but partially renovated to include all necessary mod-cons.  The large inside living/eating space was hugely comfortable with a big plus being the lovely extended deck where we ate meals and read to the background chorus of zillons of birds.

Sad Rachel burying Daddy

"Where did those come from?" said Cassie

Alan and I spent the first two days lounging around both in the house and down at the beach.  And what a beach!  I think that's what was the biggest surprise for us.  Our location placed us mid way between the town of Grand Bend and the Pinery Provincial Park but our beach space was only accessible by cottagers within the "gated" community where we lived.  So......the beach was practically empty.  It is a long, long stretch of pure golden sand, dune grasses and clean, blue water as far as the eye can see.  Bliss!  This particular area of Lake Huron has a "Blue Flag" designation which is an international rating of beaches and water quality that has to meet pretty rigorous standards.

With the girls at Lake Huron

Castle building with Daddy

Grandmum and Rachel

After our initial solitude, we were joined by Emily and the three girls.  Brian made a surprise visit for two nights as he also couldn't resist the call of sand and water.  Of course the little girls were in seventh heaven!  What's not to love about building sandcastles or burying Daddy?  For the adults, what's not to love about seeing happy kids play as you drink your libations, read your books,  and occasionally venture off for a dunk with the gang? Although the weather was pretty hot there was always a breeze on the beach and none of us fried!

How many books did you read?

Final evening at the beach

Cassie, Ellie, Emily and Rachel

It was a wonderful week from everyone's point of view and another addition to our lexicon of places in Canada that we love and would happily revisit!

Brian and Rachel

 

Some Summer Stories

 Who would have thought that the best place to go on a torrid Southern Ontario day would be the Detroit Zoo!  Hot and humid as it was with only the polar bear habitat to provide semi-cool relief, it was nonetheless a wonderful day.  Hauling a picnic with us and with Emily stuffing everyone into her car, we moseyed off to look at giraffes, hippos, ostriches, anteaters and all manner of interesting creatures.  Interesting fact:  Polar bears do not get hot lying in the sun because their fur reflects heat somehow.  So that lazy bear we saw right out in the open 100 degree heat was quite content!!  (We were also told that the zoo has cooling pads for them to lie on outside if they so wish!).

Brian joined us for our yummy picnic which included a terrific children's outdoor concert where Cassie danced the evening away!  Great way to forget the heat, especially when you arrive back at Em and Brian's for a lovely cooling dunk in the pool!

The deck continues to grow and look more beautiful.  Alan has done a masterful job "painting" it with a lovely honey-coloured Australian timber oil.  We eat out on it as often as possible.  Our first party was a lunch that I organized with friends, family and kids on the last day of June.  We celebrated an early Canada Day with many people sporting red and white.

Canada Day itself was brilliant.  Alan, Megan and I spent the day at Fort Malden in Amherstburg about 40K from Windsor.  It is a national historic site and important for its key position both in the War of 1812-14 and in the Upper Canadian Rebellion of 1837-39.  Its location on the Detroit River  is gorgeous and obviously strategic for battling armies.  We spent the day wandering the site, listening to music and picnicking waterside.  The loveliest thing about the day was watching 43 people become Canadian citizens at an outdoor ceremony on the site.  Quite moving and I felt proud to be there.

We also celebrated an early Fourth of July over in Detroit with a low key day of swimming, eating and schmoozing with the family.  Fireworks (or were they gunshots?) are part of everyone's celebrations on both sides of the river.  Alan and I went to a fabulous display jointly presented by Windsor and Detroit.  They start the event with a plane towing the Canadian flag down the river to the huge applause of the enormous Windsor crowd followed by the American flag towed upriver with the same loud applause stateside.  Both sides can hear the other's noise....terrific event!

So, in our garden the roses are blooming, the tomatoes are ripening, the cardinals insanely singing and all's right with the world!