Savouring the joy in our world through words, wanderings, and a writing community.
Wanderings is where we slow down to explore. Here I offer you slow soulful travel experiences that immerse you in the magnificence of our world. This isn’t about travel guides or crowded itineraries. It is an invitation to experience the real sensory heartbeat of the places I visit, experiences that you may find some joy in, too.
There’s something about grand old houses that rouses the storyteller and the curious cat in me. So, when I serendipitously came across The Carter House in Port Colborne Ontario I was smitten. A little bit of Googling produced the results. The house was built in 1867 for the Carter family and remained in the family…
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Magnolia Alley in Niagara Falls is a feast for the senses. A nature lovers delight. And don’t say I didn’t warn you about falling in love here. I can’t gush enough about this place and I feel blessed to live so close by. I have visited in every season and every season has its wonders,…
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In about a month Niagara cherry farms will glow in shades of pinks and soft whites as cherry blossoms come to life. It is a beautiful time of year as spring brings with it the blooming of fruit trees throughout this spectacular region. Cherry blossoms seem to be the favourite for people all over the…
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Ice thins and water seeps through the cracks severing winter’s grip. The softening March air and warming sunshine expedite the process and the canal returns to its former liquid state releasing the huge Great Lakes freighters that dock here in Port Colborne for their compulsory winter’s rest. This is the life of a Great Lake…
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If you’ve driven along the QEW between Toronto and Niagara Falls there’s a good chance you noticed the pirate ship in Jordan Harbour. The story of La Grande Hermine is about dreams. And it was someone’s dream that brought this ship to the Niagara Region of Lake Ontario. In 1535 the great French Explorer, Jacques…
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In Tuscany between Florence and Sienna you will find the prettiest tiny Italian Village tucked neatly behind stone walls. This is Montefioralle, a place that dates back to the 11th century where double stone walls were built in an elliptical shape as fortification against the marauders that existed in the Chianti area. Let me take…
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Just down the road from Niagara Falls, one of the world’s natural wonders, is a beautiful botanical garden with 99 lush acres of flowers, plants, trees and plenty of open spaces to wander and relax. The Niagara Parks Botanical Garden truly is a secret wonder, because when we visited, there were only a handful of…
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February in Canada brings some sunny days, but plenty of cold, often snow or at least rain of the freezing variety. Unable to escape to warmer climes means that we can find the tropics right here at the Gage Park Greenhouse in Hamilton, Ontario. This greenhouse is fairly new, having opened in March 2019. I…
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Just before my feet hit the soft white sand the pressure in my ears cleared. It was the kind of quiet rarely experienced on the surface of the planet. My eyes adjusted to the pale turquoise water, and I noticed the coral with fish swimming about unhindered, and uncaring of my presence. Walking upright, barefooted…
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The warm sunshine and cool air mixed together under a clear blue sky setting the tone for a beautiful day spent at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple here in Niagara Falls, Canada. It is also known as the Sarira Stupa and Chan Shan Temple. Completed in 2001, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple is a seven…
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Today’s Bloganuary prompt from WordPress is, What is something you wish you knew how to do. For me the biggest thing I wish I knew how to do would be to go back in time when international travelling was easier. Provided of course we don’t have to come back and live through all this madness…
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No this isn’t urgent, but I certainly can use your help in the form of advice. Lately I’ve been very conflicted about this site. As you may notice, I haven’t written in a while. Let me preface my plea by saying I live in a beautiful region where some cities and towns depend on visitors…
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Bayfield Ontario is a quaint little village that sits perfectly on the shores of Lake Huron. Part of the Bluewater municipality, Bayfield has a population of about 1200 people, and the entire village was designated a heritage district in 1982. It has a long history belonging to early Canadian settlers who travelled here along the…
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When I was looking for places to stay in Bayfield, Ontario for our summer roadtrip along the shores of Lake Huron, one place kept popping up in my search, The Little Inn at Bayfield. The romantic notion of staying in the oldest inn in Ontario with its double verandahs and big old willow tree out…
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Have you ever skipped stones? A lazy day spent by the lake tossing stones and watching them skip on the surface of the water is a summer dream. It takes practice and many summers to perfect the skill. And though I’m not very good at it, I tried my hand at it in the Stone…
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There was a time when if you were driving along the Niagara Parkway from Niagara Falls towards Queenston, you would have driven right by the Centennial Lilac Garden in Niagara Falls, and may have missed it. Thanks to a new road sign by Niagara Parks you will be tempted to pull into the driveway especially…
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Have you ever used a Post-It note? You know those little colourful squares that you can write on and stick anywhere? One of man’s greatest inventions. If you’re like me you’ve used these little stickies as reminders to yourself or others, placed them along pages in a file folder, written little instructions and stuck them…
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“I hope this isn’t a sundown town.” She whispered quietly to him. Their hands rested together between them on the Caribbean blue vinyl front seat of their brand new 1958 Packard. Her thumb rubbed the back of his hand tensely as she spoke. The road ahead was dark. He lifted his hand away to rub…
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