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Barrie and Balm Beach, a World Apart From the GTA

On Sunday, we took the 400 to Barrie, 90 kilometers North of Toronto, for no other good reason than to see what the city looked like. As we got further and further from the Greater Toronto Area, the scenery began to change—fewer outlets, more farms. By the time we arrived in Barrie, we were in a different world.

The skyline was picturesque, set against Lake Simcoe. However, the city felt much smaller and quieter than we had expected, especially around the city center. We ended up grabbing breakfast at one of the many malls in the suburb where apparently the entire population of Barrie was shopping before Labour Day.

We then headed West, to the Southern Georgian Bay, and entered the Township of Tiny. It turned out to be bigger and busier than its name suggested, mostly because it’s popular with cottagers.

Balm Beach, our first stop, seemed to be stuck somewhere in the 1980s with a few old-fashioned stores selling beach toys along the sand. Feng and I bought an ice cream and a drink and the total came to $1.75—not quite Toronto prices! On the beach, people played volleyball or were reading and not a single person had a cell phone in hand. Canadians take the outdoors seriously and most cars in the parking lot either had a canoe strapped to the roof or a boat in tow.

Antiques
Grass under the Pavement
Barrie Waterfront
Barrie Waterfront
Ron Baird’s Spirit Catcher
Living Dangerously
Waiting for a Prey
Cars and Canoe
Sparrow on a Wire
Corn Fields
Community Mailboxes
Rocks by the Lake
Adirondack Chairs
Garage Sale
Jug City
By Balm Beach
Three Rocks, Three Boats
The Beach Store
Georgian Bay
Yes, Weird Tan, I Know
Balm Beach
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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