Algonquin Provincial Park

I've already mentioned two YouTube videos about the park, one from the Friends of Algonquin Park and another by Ontario Parks.  But here is a less official video taken by RV Lifestyle, an older RV couple from Detroit who drive up to Algonquin Park for an RV road trekker get-together.   Two takeaways from their trip are the logging museum because there is an interpretive trail that shows how the loggers lived.  You can watch its 15 minute video The Loggers of Algonquin Park ahead of time so the kids don't have to sit through it.  It is well done and informative.  And second, it hadn't occurred to me how little light pollution there would be that far north so that we'll be able to see the Milky Way.   I'll even buy Milky Way Midnight Dark candy bars for the occasion.

By the way, our RV friends mention that late summer and early fall is a better time to go because of the bugs.

Civic Holiday or the August Long Weekend

We hit the jackpot!  We'll be starting our vacation week in Canada during their August long weekend which marks the halfway point in summer and which is called by different names in different provinces and cities.  One website said:   "It is probably the busiest day on highways as tens of thousands of families go camping, to cottages etc this weekend."  But there are no events scheduled in Algonquin Park for those days as of yet, so maybe it really isn't that "national"?  We can check their Events Calendar later on to see if that changes.

On the other hand, Muskoka is already planning for it:  Discover Muskoka August Long Weekend Events.   Will will be happy to know that they typically have a Session Muskoka Craft Beer Festival.   The information on the website is for last year but I assume it will eventually be updated.  Session Muskoka is held in Bracebridge, about half an hour south of Menominee Lake.

Another event for Will -- who can take Isabel along this time -- is TreeTop Trekking in Huntsville.  Unfortunately you have to be 9 years old so the boys are too young.  Such a disappointment.

There is a Santa's Village Theme Park near Bracebridge but it looks like it's for younger kids and the general admission is $37.95.  We could almost buy 2 youth kayaks for what it would cost for a family of 4.  There are also fireworks the night of Monday at Gravenhurst, at the tip of Muskoka Lake.

For Jen there is a Muskoka Lakes Farm and Winery where they harvest cranberries, make cider from apples and cranberries, and make wine from cranberries and blueberries.  It's about an hour away to the west.  We could drop Will off at the craft beer festival and drive on to the winery, skirting around lots of lakes.  All I can say is that by the end of this trip we should have our fill of water and should be ready for a desert vacation!  Hm.  Maybe it is time to buy some kayaks for the kids.

Menominee Lake Here We Come

We've bitten the bullet and reserved an AirBnB in Canada on Menominee Lake about 7 hours north of Pittsburgh.  It's about 6 kilometers north of Baysville and 19 kilometers south of Huntsville in an area pockmarked with hundreds of little lakes.  It's about 140 miles north of Toronto and around 100 miles northeast of Collingwood which is on the Georgian Bay.  (That's where my grandmother was born.)

That's Toronto at the bottom of the map covered up by a bunch of stars and the Google logo.

Three fourths of the family is going to make it:  the two of us, Camila's family and Will's family.  Juan is using up his vacation and money on the Disney Cruise as we speak, which sounds pretty good to me at the moment.  We're going to Canada instead of the Outer Banks this year and the weather should be significantly different.  With all those little lakes and ponds I hope there aren't too many mosquitos but I've got two bottles of Off with DEET left over from our Punta Cana vacation last year.  I never used it once there so hopefully it will continue to be unused this summer.

We hope to get to Algonquin Provincial Park, the original destination of this trip.  The Friends of Algonquin Park video traces the geological formation, prehistory and history of the park.  Highway #60 runs for 56 kilometers through the lower half of the park and provides camping sites, interpretive walkways, a museum and visitor center.  For more information on the recreational offerings, watch the Ontario Parks video.  The rest of the park can only be accessed on foot or by canoe.  The west entrance to the park is about 42 minutes (48 kilometers) from our AirBnB but the Visitor's Center is near the eastern entrance about an hour and 15 minutes (94 km).  Google Maps gives Canadian distances in kilometers and although you can change that to miles in the Options, I figure we might as well get used to them.  It's easy to convert from kilometers to miles:  you just multiply by 6 and move the decimal point one place to the left.  So 100 kilometers would be 60 miles.

By the way, Isabel says she has dibs on the top bunk:

What to do with Kids in Toronto

Finding playgrounds and places for Louise to walk around would probably work the best.

Scary Mommy has a list of the top 10 things to do in Toronto:

1. Toronto Zoo, which is very big and involves a lot of walking.  Bring a stroller and walking shoes.  It offers a 50% reciprocal program with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
2. Ontario Science Center.  They offer the reciprocal admissions program with COSI and the Carnegie Science Center so make sure you bring your membership card.
3. High Park, which offers Sakura viewing (2nd week in May), a zoo, a nature center, a children's playground.  It is off West Bloor Street and is near the lake shore so it might be a nice place to visit.
4. Canada's Wonderland (an amusement park for older kids)
5. CN Tower ($34!!).  They have a walk on the edge of it for the foolhardy.
6. Art Gallery of Toronto
7. Waterfront: "now includes beautiful boardwalks and piers where you can not only take in the incredible views, but enjoy gardens, the beach, public art installations, and places to eat."
8. Centreville Theme Park on Centre Island  "a great place to take the smaller kids. It has a lot of rides suitable for younger ages, such as the 1907 antique carousel, mini coasters, teacup-esque rides, mini golf, and paddleboats." ($35.35 for adults).  Might be good when Louise is a little older and maybe goes with her cousins but we can take a ferry to the island and walk around.  Louise might like the boat ride.
9. Hockey Hall of Fame (Maybe for Peter)
10. Kensington Market - vintage boutiques, probably for Scary Mommy...

TripSavvy in Best Things to do with Kids in Toronto offers a few additional suggestions:

1. Royal Ontario Museum ($20 for adults)
2. Riverdale Farm in Cabbagetown in East Toronto.  This is a working farm replicating early 20th century Ontario farm life with horses, cows, chickens, pigs and goats.  And it is FREE!!  This should be at the top of our list.
3. Ripley's Aquarium of Canada