I had such a nice little holiday recently, visiting my mom and dad and their cute and funny dog Kiki. They live in Barrie, a city located about an hour and a half drive north of Toronto, on the shores of Lake Simcoe.
I’ve mentioned in previous posts about my visits to them, that I was a bit confused when they decided to make this their home upon retirement, as we had no family ties there, or any particular history with this city. Now that they’ve lived there for a while, I completely understand why they chose it. The people are so warm and friendly and there is so much to do, with what seems to be at least one special event or festival every month. I’ve grown to love it too. Well, except for the record snowfalls they tend to get in the winter, that is. (See this post, for a wintertime frosty visit. Makes me shiver just looking at it!)
I went for a week and I see by my lack of many photos, that my camera mostly stayed in my bag much of the time. I didn’t even get a single shot of my father, which I’m annoyed at myself for. As usual though, there were an abundance of pictures of their sweet elderly dog, Kiki.
The outings I do have photos of include a visit to one of the most colourful places I’ve ever been, Flying Monkeys Microbrewery and Tap House (Note, their site has music that starts up as soon as you click over.)
We end up going there for a takeaway assorted six-pack whenever I’m in town, so I’ve been before but this time there was the added surprise of a hugely expanded space. They’ve added a whole area of seating that’s brightly decorated with an awesome collection of vintage posters and album covers. There are windows along the back through which you can see where they make the beer.
↑ My mom ↑
↑ Samples ↑
↑ Looking through to the brewing vats ↑
↑ Kayla, a friendly server we chatted with ↑
↑ On our way home, we saw this beautiful car. He was on his way to the cool car show that I posted about here – Barrie Classic Car Show. ↑
↑ Cheers to Flying Monkeys, and to my parents’ nice tray ↑.
My mother and I also spent Saturday afternoon at the Kempenfest, a festival featuring hundreds of booths with antique sellers, artisans and food, all set along the beautiful waterfront. That part of the lake is called Kempenfelt Bay, hence the name. There was also live music being performed on an outdoor stage, that you could hear while you shopped, including an artist who did an excellent rendition of Janis Joplin covers, that I couldn’t help but sing along to.
I’ve subsequently had quite a few pangs of “I should have gotten this, and I wish I’d gotten that”, but, while I enjoyed it overall, I found it somewhat overwhelming and I didn’t end up buying anything. There was so much going on, with so many vendors and pretty thick crowds in some areas, that my claustrophobia kicked in. I understand that they had to squeeze everything together this year, due to some construction, so I imagine it doesn’t feel that tight every year. All in all, though, it was a good time.
Amoungst the other things we did, for which I have no photographic evidence, was : Have dinner at Shirley’s, one of my favourite restaurants anywhere. It was delicious, as always.
We also had a drink and visit with my dad’s pals at Donaleigh’s Irish Pub, where my father goes regularly for an afternoon coffee. It was heartwarming meeting the caring people who make him feel so welcome there, greeting him by name and making sure they had a fresh pot on for him. (I did get a photo of the three of us at Donaleigh’s in this post from last summer though. I can’t help but smile when I look at that picture!)
My mother and I always go thrift shopping when I visit, as their stores seem to have the best stuff. We went again this time and I’ll show you what I got in an upcoming “Thrifted Finds” post.
In closing, here’s Miss Kiki …
Thanks for checking out my post,
xo loulou
