Jernie's Hub

We were invited by Herbert's cousin to spend our weekend with them in Barrie. Fortunately, Herbert didn't have to work from Saturday to Monday, being a Family Day.

It was a clear sky but cold Saturday morning when we drove to Barrie at around 11am arriving there at 12nn. On our way, the landscape was beautiful, everywhere is covered with snow. As we entered the residential area I was very surprised to see how much snow they had; the roofs were covered with thick snow and on the grounds there were walls of snow around. I just wonder how long it will take to clear this up especially that the temperature is never going-up.




We had lunch with the family then we started to gear-up for the outdoor activity. We were so lucky with the weather. Our first destination was to the Springwater Park (http://www.ontarioparks.com/English/spri.html). We did hiking and wildlife viewing. It's a fantastic place for family activities.







We did see the black bear, grey wolves, coyotes, foxes, deer, wild turkeys and a variety of other birds - including birds of prey -- and animals housed along a one-km paved walkway. The birds and animals were brought to this park because they were injured or imprinted upon humans. They cannot be released into the wild and are dependent upon humans for their daily care. I really wish to come to this place again during the spring and summer time.

Thereafter, we drove to the Snow Valley Ski Resort for snow tubing. I am particularly new to this kind of activity, never heard 'snow tubing' at all. When we arrived at the resort, the parking space wass literally full that we had to wait for some time to get a spot. The resort has skiing and snowboarding hills, as well as snow tubing hill. We headed to the ticket counter and then queued outside. There are two areas for snow tubing; one is a steep hill but short path, and the other is quite gradual incline but longer path. We chose the first. It was quite frustrating because of the long wait. It took us almost 45 minutes to get our first ride.




Then came our turn, as the crew hooked-up our tube in the line, we had to sit on our respective tubes to get to the hill top. As we went higher, the view is really beautiful. I captured some in my camera. When we were on the top, we opted to go downhill together. So we had to connect each other's tube and then the crew will push us down. And, ..... there we went. Oh my gosh! I was screaming on top of my voice. The hype of excitement compounded with the anxiety being our first time, made it extremely fun. It was pretty fast, we found ourselves at the tail-end of the path. Then we queued again for the second ride. We were supposed to have four rides but then because of the long wait, we decided not to take the rest of the rides. The second ride was more fun though.





After the ride we went inside to warm-up, had coffee and hot chocolate. It was too cold outside! For almost 2 hours in the queue, I was feeling the cold already; my feet and hands started to freeze.

At around 6pm we drove to the Beer Store but unfortunately it was closed, then we went to the LCBO (the only chain of shops selling alcoholic beverages). As I have mentioned in my previous post that alcoholic beverages and cigarettes are being regulated by the government. You can’t buy any in supermarkets and other shops. Then we drove back to Herbert's cousin's home. It felt good to be warm. While waiting for the dinner, we had karaoke session with the children. They loved it!

The next day, the weather was horrible. It was forecasted to have a snow storm in the afternoon so we opted not to go anywhere. Instead, for us to drive back to Toronto in the afternoon before the storm could hit the area. It is so ironic, the weather here changes so quickly: one day fine weather with clear sky then the next day it's dark with heavy pouring rain.

We arrived in Toronto in just an hour time. The city was so wet and dark, not really conducive for any outdoor activity. Well, it was a wonderful weekend in Barrie.