Boating

GRAVENHURST, ONTARIO – It’s intermission, and members of the band Pretzel Logic are standing on a patio outside a Gravenhurst concert venue called Peter’s Players. There’s nothing unusual about that, perhaps, but in this case they’re mingling with members of the audience on a perfect late spring night in Muskoka. A couple band members are drinking from bottles water. One is nursing a beer. But they’re all chatting with audience members about their favourite songs or about music in general. One of the singers is trying to rustle up a fishing trip for the next day. A few feet away, Read more

I didn’t know a lot about Saskatoon prior to my first visit late last summer. What I found was a surprising city with wonderful people, sophisticated dining, great shopping areas and a lovely setting with a huge variety of things to do. Here’s a photo essay from a memorable trip to Saskatchewan.

GRAND BEND, ONTARIO – I’ve spent many a day kicking down the streets of Lahaina on Maui. I’ve paraded down Duval Street in Key West and strolled the piers of California from San Diego to Santa Cruz. I’ve been lucky enough to hit the beaches of Thailand and Sardinia, of St. Lucia and Senegal. Yet somehow, despite some three decades living in Toronto, I’d missed spending any time in Grand Bend. It won’t happen again. Because there are few things I love more than a good beach town. And because Grand Bend might be the best beach town in Canada. Read more

SARNIA, ONTARIO – A sleek new craft brewery. A stunningly designed art gallery with some of Canada’s top works of art. Inventive restaurants run by outrageously entertaining foodies. This is a city that has come a long way in a short time, with a vibrant and growing downtown that seems to be torqueing up the cool factor on an almost daily basis. Almost everywhere I went during a two-day visit in June I ran into someone with a story about something new in town. At Refined Fool, a wonderful craft brewery, they had just put the finishing touches on a Read more