There�s something puzzling about this ring.
10:57 a.m.
There is another opening into the ground which they�ve nicknamed �The Refrigerator�, as it�s downright cold inside, and I banged my right shoulder on a piece of rock I didn�t see (again because of my diminutiveness) and ended up with a scrape and a rather nasty bruise. But it was great. I love caves. There is also a nature walk through the woods (watch out for poison ivy, it�s everywhere), a jaunt across a suspension bridge, and mini-golf for the younger set (which we didn�t stay for). In the store on site we bought a bag of polished rocks: hematite, agate, different coloured quartzes, et cetera, the stipulation being that you could buy as many as you wanted for $10 as long as you could pull the drawstrings on the bag shut. I think we stuffed it pretty full.
Lunch was in �wen S�und, and we arrived in T�berm�ry in time to book a boat trip to see two wrecks in Big Tub Harbour and stop at Flowerpot Island, where we hiked around until our boat came back an hour and-a-half later and took us back to the mainland. The islands between T�berm�ry and Manit�ulin Island are part of the Niagara Escarpment, and there was once a landbridge separating Lake Huron from Georgian Bay. They are all that remain. The rock is thick slabs of sedimentary strata and each island has its own unique biota. We visited a sea grotto which is now well above the present water level, hollowed out by wave action and then further eroded by freezing and thawing from seasonal changes. Yay! Another cave!
We ate our supper at Shipwreck Lee�s where the waiters and waitresses dressed like pirates. I asked our waiter where his parrot was, and he told me that it had absolutely refused to come to work that day. I had the broiled whitefish, which was absolutely delicious, and for dessert Hubby and I split a piece of bourbon pecan pie with whipped cream. That was yummy. The entertainment was a mediocre folk singer who played mediocre guitar and we stayed for most of her first set just because she was so nice.
The next morning we breakfasted at The Sweet Shop, and Buddy Boy was as happy as a kid in a candy store. My latt� was excellent and so was my muffin. Hubby did not fare so well though. His coffee was good, but he had ordered a creamcheese-filled soft pretzel which proved inedible. It was still doughy and had that yeasty unbaked smell about it. He returned it, got another and experienced the same disgust with the second one. This time, the shop clerk expressed her amazement, saying that they were such popular items. She gave him a muffin instead, which he had insisted on paying for, but she insisted more strongly that he not. So everything worked out. Buddy Boy did scald his tongue on the hot chocolate though.
We then wandered around The Tub�s commercial district, which consists of shops upon shops of touristica (it�s a handy word we picked up in Greece to describe all those items you find in souvenir shops the world over). The boys bought themselves some T-shirts, I got myself a cotton skirt with seashells sewn thereon and a silver puzzle ring. This latter item was truly a sentimental journey. I owned one when I was a teenager, and I have no idea whatever happened to it. As you can imagine, it had been ages since I had taken one apart and put it together and I spent a merry half hour or so puzzling over it, until it came back to me in a flash and I had the four rings nestled back in their right positions. Buddy Boy had fun with it too, but still hasn�t figured it out.
With the car loaded once again and our purchases safely stowed away, we proceeded south, leaving beautiful blue skies behind us, and headed into fog and drizzle, stopping at the little town of Li�n�s Head for lunch before attempting another hike along the Bruce Trail. The path took us through dark green woods, the forest floor littered with moss-covered boulders and the roots of ancient trees waiting to trip us up. We emerged at the top of the escarpment, looking down over the bay from a height of many hundreds of feet, much to the anxiety of my vertiginous husband, where we could see the limestone shelf through the crystal clear water. It was breathtaking. The fog was rolling in and the mist was almost tangible. Again we were walking through what was once a shoreline, viewing potholes and other water-worn phenomena on rocks far above the present lake�s surface.
We continued our journey south, myself driving since Hubby was starting to nod off at the wheel, finally stopping at the little town of Mt. F�rest at a delightful place called Le C�ffee N�g where we refreshed ourselves nutritionally and spiritually before continuing on to Guelph. The people who worked there were so incredibly nice that I wanted to make room for them in the trunk and take them home with us. I ended up buying a beautiful glass hummingbird feeder which is now suspended from a crook in the front flower garden.
We arrived at my in-laws� around suppertime and took them out to an Italian/Mexican restaurant which used to be an East-Side Mari��s, and I made the mistake of ordering a manhattan when I really wanted a cosmopolitan. I traded it to Hubby for his lime margarita and everyone was happy. The rest tomorrow, if you can stand it.
[Click back for last night�s entry, if it so behooves you.]
<~~~ * ~~~>
