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.
I’m not very impressed by Ontario’s countryside. It seems so… flat! I don’t know, I’ve always thought that it looked a bit like Vermont (which I deeply love) but I guess I was wrong. Rural Ontario is, on my mind, a bit like rural New York State : grey and a bit sad, after all…
It was a greyish day but it didn’t look that bad to me. I’ve seen nicer places in Ontario though and in upstate New York. Look at my post on Lake Placid about a month ago… it was a lovely place!
More familiar sights! I’m heading to Barrie and beyond this weekend (cottage close-up chores).
We keep on missing each other by a weekend!
Salut Zhu,
Wow, that is a quiet Labor day weekend. Such a lazy spot.
Where are the beachfront cookouts or beach volly??
Though I enjoyed the quaint views like the beace store or the colorful but expensive chairs.
It was a quiet day, I think most people were already heading back to the city because of la rentrée 😉
Ha! I have a pair of Merrell river sandals which, I found comfortable wearing even when I am not wading in a river, so I wore them the whole summer. Thus, I think I have the same tan lines as you do on my feet. 🙂
We are totally starting a new style 😆
It looks like a charming and quiet place to spend the end of the summer… but I could imagine that the water was quite cold, did you test it? 🙂 By the way, I love the picture you took from the sparrow on the wire!
I dipped my feet into the water and yes, it was a bit cold but probably not as bad as I expected it. It was also the end of the summer so…
I need some peace and tranquility for sure 😀
Then that would be the place to escape to!
Looks so peaceful, a complete world away from Toronto.
Yes, that’s what we felt too. It’s funny though, because it’s so close to Toronto!
The three townships Tiny, Tay, and Flos were named for three dogs owned by Lady Sarah Maitland, wife of the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada in the 1820s. So the dog was Tiny, even if the township isn’t.
Thank you for the story, I didn’t know it! Makes me love the place even more, I like these quirky anecdotes 😉
I’ve been by Barrie and through Barrie lots of times but have never actually been to the town or by the waterfront!
It’s worth stopping but I was a bit disappointed by the city center. aybe I didn’t go to the right places.
oh that lonely sparrow caught my attention! so cute!!!
looks like a nice lil’ place to hangout. 🙂
A great place for a break, for sure!
Lovely serie … you should see the tanning streaks on my feet: I look like a zebra 🙂
Ah, so I’m not the only one! 😆
Hi Zhu! Places like Barrie and Guelph are our favorites too because you can be close to the city but still feel like you travelled somewhere totally new. We are planning to do this 4 day bike trip around lake Simcoe but I don’t know when that will happen…
Yes, it’s good to get out of the city once in a while… we do the same in Ottawa 😉