An excerpt from my new book about places to visit in Ontario includes Port Dover and Lake Erie, plus some great wineries. I also take a look at the fabulous Maui Ku’ia Estate Chocolate company, which makes truly incredible treats in Hawaii. My New Ontario Escapes Book: Excerpt Here This is an excerpt from my new book, “Ontario Escapes: 19 Great Places to Visit Right Now.” It’s available for $4.99 from Apple Books at this link. Thanks for taking a look. This chapter includes a visit to the fun and funky town of Port Dover and the north shore of Read more
boating
CHATHAM-KENT, ONTARIO – A beach town with charm to spare. A vital link to Ontario’s black history. And a positively wondrous hotel in a town that will definitely surprise you. I had stopped in the town of Erieau a couple years ago on a trip along the Lake Erie shoreline (sometimes called Canada’s forgotten coast). It was only a brief drive-by, but I was charmed by the low-key yet vibrant nature of the town and beguiled by the beach and the cute waterfront homes. This time, with the help of the folks at Ontario’s Southwest I managed to squeeze in Read more
NIAGARA FALLS, ONTARIO – A shiny new restaurant. The same world-beating view. The new Table Rock Restaurant overlooking the Horseshoe (Canadian) Falls in Niagara Falls is a beautiful and tasty addition to one of the world’s most popular destinations. The restaurant, formerly known as Elements On the Falls but originally called Table Rock, was shut down for four months at the start of this year. It re-opened in May, and it’s a stunner. Thanks to the massive windows, you still get the same jaw-dropping views of the falls. But now the décor is equally impressive; deep blues and greys with Read more
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA – Designer name shops? Check. Celebrity-studded waterfront? Check. Posh hotels with sumptuous spas overlooking the coast? Check on that, too. Newport Beach is known as one of the more elegant destinations in southern California, and rightfully so. But it’s also got its fun, casual side, with waterfront carnival rides and corn dogs, a remarkable set of beach homes you can rent for next to nothing, and an ongoing, decades-old fight between two businesses who both claim to have invented the frozen, chocolate-dipped banana. I recently had a weekend to explore the charms of this popular city, which Read more
It’s easy to forget how lucky we are in Toronto. I live a few miles north of Lake Ontario and often weeks go by without my seeing one of the world’s largest lakes. And then I get down there on a perfect night in late spring and admire the light on the water and the brilliant white sailboats bobbing along and the feeling of sun on my face, and I look at the shoreline and say to myself, “I wish I owned a place right over there.” That’s probably not going to happen, and I’m probably never going to own Read more
