Friday morning we packed our our campsite/tent trailer and hit the road. But not for too long. Our first destination was Upper Canada Village (Morrisburg, ON) where we stepped back into time...somewhere in the 1860's.
What a fun day. (despite the soaring humidity and heat once again.) The only downfall of this excursion was we were crunched for time. You can easily spend an entire day here. Actually, you would want to spend that much time there so you can see and experience everything they have to offer. We only had about a half a day. So we had to pick and choose and keep a move on.
Just wanted to insert a little note here: If you're ever looking for a summer weekend getaway with kids, this is totally do-able over a long weekend. Upper Canada Village + Fort Henry + Camping = a Fun-Packed Weekend. We could have easily spent our entire camping trip in this area alone. Lots to do and see and enjoy! If you're not campers but still want the camping experience without investing in a tent/trailer...KOA Campgrounds are a good way to go. They rent out these adorable little cabins with beds in them. I think you basically have to bring your own stuff - bedding, food, dishes, etc. You can use the bathrooms, showers and ammenities that all the rest of the campground uses. Basically, you're not in a tent...you're above ground, and have walls and a roof. Always a good thing in my books! :-)
Back to our time spent at Upper Canada Village...This church was absolutely stunning to me. I'm drawn to simple old buildings with lots of natural light and windows and whiteness. Aren't those paned windows gorgeous?
You couldn't roam freely inside unfortunately. It was roped off. So this is the best shot I could get from the doorway. I must say though, I love the doors for each bench. No runaway children during the service. Just pen them in. Genious!
Max was more than content to take a break under a tree and watch the "Travelling Tilton's" show outside the tavern.
A visit to the bakery. Every day, hundreds of loaves of bread are mixed and baked here in the bakery. This kind baker below explained the whole process to us. Then he told us that we can buy the bread in the giftshop if we want to take some with us. And also, at Willard's Hotel, they serve the bread with the meals there. Mmmmm...food for thought! :-)
Upper Canada Village is located right beside the St. Lawrence River. Such a pretty peaceful spot...
The apple trees were completely loaded...there's some wishful thinking going on in someone's head...
And his daddy comes to the rescue!...
The schoolhouse. Once again, for the second day in a row, we had to go to school...
Keith and Max walked in a head of me. And totally got in trouble from the school marm for coming in late. Then I walked in and sat down beside them. Keith leaned over and whispered to me "You're gonna get in trouble...." and sure enough. I got in trouble for sitting with the boys. So I had to immediately move to the opposite side of the classroom and sit with the girls. My how things have changed over time!
Upper Canada Village runs summer camps for kids on a weekly basis. Here was a group of campers having a tug-of-war. They were drawing lots of onlookers with their shrieks and antics. I was feeling rather sorry for them all because it was hot and they were sooooo bundled up in costumes - long sleeves, stockings, petticoats and all. You know, as a kid I don't think I would have enjoyed that type of a camp for that reason alone!
We decided rather spontaneously to have lunch at Willard's Hotel. The fact that we wanted to try some fresh baked bread (thank you Mr. Baker man for telling us about that) helped towards making that decision. But truthfully, the real reason was...it was air-conditioned. And we were positively wilted from all the blazing hotness.
Max tends to go a little crazy when he has control of my camera. We have lots of pictures where I"m trying to get to him and grab the camera because he's just click click clicking and ends up taking 150 photos when he should have really only taken 1 or 2. Is he his mother's child or what?
This meal turned out to be da bomb!
Don't you just love it, when you make a quick decision to do something and it just turns out fabulously? And so unexpectedly fabulously? We all felt that way. The food was AMAZING! Keith ordered a hearty stew that came with a slice of that gooooooood wholewheat bread. Max had grilled cheese (made with that gooooooood wholewheat bread.) and I ordered a salad that came with a slice of that gooooooooood wholewheat bread. And also a round of fresh old fashioned lemonade for all. Mmmmmmm. SOOOOOO GOOD!
Back out touring again. This time watching logs being cut up at the sawmill...
The flour mill...(where they grind up the grain to be used in the bakery for that gooooooood wholewheat bread we enjoyed! Almost sounds like a "little red hen" story!)
Max getting weighed on the scales at the flour mill...
Impromptu feeding of the goats...
And then a tour of the Woolen Factory where a kind worker, gave Max some wool to make a beard...
And the same worker, allowed Max to jump over the railing and check out the old fashioned knitting machines...
By this time it was almost 3:00pm. We had wanted to leave by 2:00pm. Oops. It was def time to go. We made a quick stop at the gift shop for some icecream and bought some cheese that is made there the old fashioned way at the Union Cheese Factory. One last pic of that beautiful church...
We made a quick stop for gas. Popped in a movie in the DVD player for the Maxter and we hit the road for the second time that day. Headed for...
Because we left a full hour later then we had planned to, we were smack dab in Montreal rush hour traffic. On a Friday afternoon. Of a holiday weekend. Oh yeah. We did a lot of stopping and waiting and sitting in traffic. It was hot. The truck's thermometer was reading 40 degrees C. Plus humidity. We got to our campsite (St. Nicolas KOA) around 8:30pm that evening. Needless to say, by the time we got set up and had dinner made, it was a late one. But there was no sight of rain and cold temps from Earl. The weather had cooperated and held off again for the second day. Awesome!
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