Life Outside the Inbox

Last December I wrote a post about touring Toronto in the Winter. One comment had mentioned that I did a poor job of showing my family around the city but I’m not sure if they were aware I tried to cater to my 10 year old cousin. This time, my uncle came during the end of October and I think I did a pretty good job. I knew he wanted to relax, take strolls in the city and take lots of pictures to feed his photography hobby.

Here’s the itinerary of his trip:

Day 1 – Mono Cliffs Provincial Park

My uncle wanted to enjoy the fall colours, so along with my family and our two pups, we set off to Mono Cliffs Provincial Park which is about an hour north of Markham. It was a great hike, though a few steep slopes on your way down. There was the options of stairs you can use. By the time we finished the trail, it was around 4:30pm and we drove into Orangeville for him to take pictures of their downtown main street, Broadway. Unfortunately most of the boutique shops were closed.

Day 2 – Casa Loma, Spadina Museum, University of Toronto Campus and the Distillery District

There was a lot of walking but the weather was nice so it was quite enjoyable. We went up the Baldwin Steps towards the Spadina Museum. There we went on an hour long guided tour for $9.00 each – it was a small group so it allowed for a lot of interaction with the guide. Then we went over the Casa Loma and while it was a beautiful place, it was more than double the price for admission and you guide yourself with an audio device (Tip: keep your receipt from the Spadina Museum to get $1 off your Casa Loma admission). We made our way south to walk around the University of Toronto campus and took pictures of historical buildings along the way. We then drove down to the Distillery District for more pictures.

Day 3 – Harbourfront, Humber Bay Arch Bridge, Front Street area.

Day 4-6 – Muskoka (Sand Lake), Huntsville, Dorset Outlook Tower

What an experience! We rented cottage #439 through http://www.cottagevacations.com this time. Just 2.5-3 hours north of Markham, the cottage was private and had a panoramic view of Sand Lake. Though it was raining, we caught beautiful sunsets on both nights. With skylights in 2 of the 3 bedrooms, my uncle was also able to catch the stars at night (a rare sight considering he’s from HK). On our way back to the city, we also stopped to hike up the Dorest Tower for an elevated view of Muskoka and a lunch break in Bracebridge.

Day 7 – Port Hope

This was one of the days we enjoyed the most. I’ve always raved about Port Hope, roughly an hour east of Toronto. Port Hope’s downtown is celebrated now as the best-preserved 19th-century streetscape in Ontario and a much longer main street than most. My uncle got great shots of historical homes and fall scenery. Shop owners were so friendly and one noticed that we had a DLSR and recommended we head over to Trinity College to get some good shots, and so we did. What a beautiful school, enhanced with the red leaves from the vines on the building.

I also have this obsession with trying homemade pies and tarts in small towns so I tracked down Betty’s Pie. The business is located in a quaint house with a homey feel and they had awesome pricing! We got half a dozen sweet tarts and 4 medium sized meat pies and boy, they were delicious. All of them. But they’re exceptional when you reheat it and have it with a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream!

I hope this list didn’t disappoint. As I always say, you can find road trips adventures wherever you go – just keep looking!

Check out more of my uncle’s photos here.