In September, I took a long road trip with my father, driving for 5 days through the province of Ontario, Canada. From Toronto, we drove a little over 4 hours north to Tobermory, a small community located at the tip of the Bruce Peninsula. Tobermory has a lovely little harbour (from which you can take sightseeing cruises), several places to enjoy hiking, and a few good spots to eat fish and chips. 

After spending some time in Tobermory, we loaded our car onto the enormous Chi-Cheemaun ferry, which can carry up to 143 vehicles. The Chi-Cheemaun (which means “big canoe”) has been running for over 50 years, and it makes daily trips between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island. The trip takes close to 2 hours, but during that time you can enjoy the cafeteria, information center and gift shop, and both indoor and outdoor observation decks. 

Manitoulin Island (which means “Spirit Island”) is located in Lake Huron, one of the 5 Great Lakes of Canada, and it is the largest freshwater island in the world. In fact, it has over 100 lakes within the island itself! This island has long been sacred to the Native Anishinaabe people. We spent 2 days on the island, visiting several small towns, beaches, harbours, and hiking trails. We also found the cemetery where my great-grandfather and great-great-grandfather were buried. One other interesting feature of Manitoulin island that I did not expect is that there are many, many huge wind turbines for generating energy.  

When it was time to leave Manitoulin Island, we drove off the northern end of the island, which is connected to the mainland by a swing bridge (a bridge that can rotate to allow ships to pass through). From there, we drove back down through Muskoka, which is known as “cottage country,” and visited the town where my father grew up, Port Carling, and also the town where my grandmother (who is 94) still lives, Bracebridge. During the whole trip, we also got to see lots of wildlife, such as sandhill cranes, an eagle, a coyote, and a black bear.    

Unfortunately, I caught a cold on the 4th day of the trip, so it was hard to enjoy the last 2 days, but overall it was a great trip and a nice chance to spend some time with my father. And even though I call it a “Northern Ontario” trip, the truth is that we didn’t really go that far north, because Ontario is a huge province that stretches much, much farther north. Some of my friends recently drove up to Thunder Bay, which is much farther north than Manitoulin Island, but even that is only about halfway across Ontario. I am reminded that Canada is a truly huge country, and there’s a lot left to explore!