Mad Dog's Coffee and Vinyl Cafe

 Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader 

Weekend Coffee Share

Sunday Salon

May 2022 - Collingwood ON

Saturday we were both awake at stupid o'clock for an hour or so until we both dozed off again. I guess our brains kicked in travel mode as we are headed north to Collingwood. Ontario is a huge province as this says.

Trust me, we have driven across the country and this is definitely true for Ontario.

MAP WITH SPOTS HIGHLIGHTED

Click here for our drive from Toronto to Collingwood. We stopped for coffee in Shelburne on our way.

Click here for coffee.

This was our first time seeing a FreeDUMB gang with a F*** Trudeau flag, stupid. They were standing on both sides of the street waving their flags and shouting as well as having a sign "Free our political prisoners". Looking at the group I wonder if they even know what they are talking about. This ruined our wanting to look around town.

Coffee break at Jelly's.

We stayed at a timeshare resort, Mountain View Villas for the week with lots of side trips.

Once we checked in and unpacked it was time to relax.

There is a full kitchen as well.

The loft has more sleeping.

Sunday John made breakfast and we sat around with our laptops. Since it is Mother's Day we figured town would be crowded so we decided to drive to the town of Thornbury.

Georgian Bay Day 2.

But instead of Thornbury, which was busy, we drove on to Meaford.

HMMM closed due to covid.

Of note - many local restaurants in the towns do not have dine-in, only take out. 

I had tried to order dinner on Sunday in Collingwood from a rib place also only pick up no dine in. However I never was able to place the order.

On that covid topic, we received an email from the condo office that one of our bus drivers tested positive.

Big red Muskoka chair.

Meaford Hall.

Beautiful Joe Park - lots of photos in the link above.

John had to try a red chair.

On our way back we stopped in a Foodland and picked up a rotisserie chicken, potato salad and coleslaw.

We made a stop at Penny's Motel. The link above will tell you about this motel.

The boutique motel, which has actually been in service for over 40 years, is under new ownership and recently underwent a ‘motel makeover’ of its own.
With just thirteen rooms leading to a manicured courtyard, the motel maintains its original architecture and ’70s vibe outside, but the interior has been completely gutted and upgraded for a modern and luxurious feel. Each room has its own flare, with accent walls featuring mountains, palms, florals or seascapes, but all are equipped with the same crisp white linens, minimalist decor and hand-picked retro touches, like record players and vintage-inspired alarm clocks.

John suggested having a beer and sitting the patio in the sunshine!

Monday we spent the afternoon wandering downtown Collingwood.

Collingwood's harbour is in Nottawasaga Bay, the southern part of vast Georgian Bay. The city is a gateway to the Blue Mountain ski resort, with its downhill and cross-country trails. The town center is marked by the beaux arts–style Collingwood Federal Building.

There are great historical maps around town.

Feed your sol.

A stop at the Millennium Park.

The terminals were used for grain service for 64 years, ending in 1993. Collingwood was involved in the grain trade for 123 years. Over the years, there have been some proposals to convert the grain elevators into other usable space, including for a mushroom farm.

In nearby Midland a huge mural was painted on their grain elevators.

We then drove over to Sunset Point and soaked up the sun.

The Sunset Point inukshuk is first and foremost a tribute to Pete Crompton, a popular local man and avid windsurfer who died in a boating accident in 2003 at age 27. The stone giant stands watch over Crompton’s beloved Nottawasaga Bay in recognition of life lived large and taken too soon. Over time it has developed almost spiritual significance as a totem for all who pass by.
The word inukshuk means “in the likeness of a human” in the Inuit language. These monuments of unworked stones have been used for centuries by the Inuit for navigation, communication and survival. Traditionally, an inukshuk says, “someone was here” or “you are on the right path.”

Tuesday we headed to Owen Sound. 

First stop for lunch at Birgit's Bakery Café, a great spot that does gluten free as well.

I had a BLT and John had a tuna sandwich.

Then we strolled along Main St. 

This was a fabulous place to visit, their dog was named Doc Martens! 

From there we stopped into the Tom Thomson Art Gallery and Billy Bishop Museum.

It was a 20 minute drive to our overnight destination at Cobble Beach Golf Resort.

I never did take a photo of our room.

We checked in early and sat outside.

Dinner was at 7:30. We were seated and got our wine and then it was like we were marooned on a desert island as everyone around us (3 tables - one with 7 people) were served. After 45 minutes I asked if we were ever going to get our beet 3 ways appetizer...once we got it I asked if we were going to be served bread as everyone else had.

Odd menu, 1 beef, 1 pasta, 1 fish, 1 chicken and risotto of the day. I'm not sure I would enjoy staying here for a few days with that menu. I did check later and there is a menu that is served until 8 PM.

We both had Pan Roasted Atlantic Salmon-fingerling potato, saffron-tomato broth, chorizo, fennel, kalamata olive gremolata.

Breakfast is included. I had the continental.

We set out for Tobermory to take a glass bottom boat ride.

The black line with the words Lake Huron is the US/Canada border. On the left side is Michigan.

Tobermory is a small town at the northern point of the Bruce Peninsula. Drive up Highway 6 until you essentially can’t drive any farther without hopping on a ferry. It’s about 300km northwest of Toronto.

Tobermory is known as the “fresh water scuba diving capital of the world” for its intriguing shipwrecks in Fathom Five National Marine Park, Canada’s first national marine conservation area. It’s also the gateway to Manitoulin Island.

Once we were checked in and parked we had time to kill.

We'll be going to this cidery later in the week.

On the dock as we wait to board.

The ferry is going from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island.

To start, our glass bottom boat toured around Big Tub Harbour to check out a pair of shipwrecks.

Two 19th century shipwrecks, the Sweepstakes and The City of Grand Rapids are wooden ships that rest only feet below the surface of the water. The Sweepstakes is one of the best preserved schooners in the Great Lakes. Back in 1885, it became damaged and was towed to Big Tub Harbour. Unfortunately, it was not repaired in time and it sank the following month.

The City of Grand Rapids was a wooden passenger ship that caught fire in Little Tub Harbour in 1907. It was towed farther from the harbour to prevent the town from catching on fire. As it burned out in Georgian Bay, the fire eventually burned through the tow line and the free floating ship eventually blew back into Big Tub Harbour where it ran aground and sank.

After viewing the shipwrecks, our glass bottom boat ventured through the water to Flowerpot Island. As you leave Big Tub Harbour, check out the classic white and red lighthouse, Big Tub Lighthouse. Then, we hit the open waters and looked out to the neighbouring islands as we cruised by.

There are two natural “flowerpot” rock pillars on the shore, worn away gradually over the centuries. The tops are completely flat and the jagged rock formations are interestingly top heavy. Greenery miraculously grows from the pillars.

Once back on shore we headed back to Collingwood for the evening. 

Thursday we checked out Creemore which is just off the beaten path. The village is nestled into the beautiful Niagara Escarpment and a walk down the main street transports you to a simpler time.

Creemore Brewery 

Creemore Springs is a brewery which first opened in 1987. It was founded by John Wiggins, and its flagship brew was a premium amber lager brewed with specialty malts, fire brewed in a copper kettle. 

The brewery is known for not using preservatives during the brew process or pasteurizing afterwards. Because of this, it recommends perpetual refrigeration. The brewery states that it uses only four ingredients in its brewing process: malted barley, hops, water, and yeast. These are the four ingredients allowed to be in beer according to the Bavarian Purity Law, which all Creemore Springs beers follow. The brewery uses water exclusively from an artesian well on in its brewing process. The water comes from the Creemore Spring located on one of the founder's property. It is trucked from the source to the brewery daily in 10,000 L truckloads; each truckload contains enough water to brew one batch. The beer is brewed in small batches.

We chose The Mill House Pub for lunch and it was a great choice.

We both loved our lunches, John had a burger and I had a chicken sandwich.

A saunter around town but it was a hot day!

Creemore’s jail is the smallest 3-cell structure in Ontario and possibly all of North America.


Creemore’s last surviving log residence, built in the 1870s, relocated as a heritage building 2011.

First built at the edge of the village (at George and Mary streets) and constructed with trees harvested locally, this is the last original log house in Creemore.

Its first residents were James & Abigail Scarrow and their ten children. Early in the 20th century, Joseph & Emily Veitch made it their family home, followed by their daughter, Hazel (Veitch) Shaw.

Friday we had planned on Blue Mountains and Thornbury. We drove to the Village of Blue Mountains but we didn't feel like walking around this bland shopping area.

Instead we stopped in Thornbury at the cidery.

From heritage McIntosh to newer varieties, through large-scale farms and friendly markets, Ontario apples grown south of Georgian Bay can be consumed fresh year round, or as baked goods, sauce, cider, and juice. Generations of innovative farmers, and the favourable influences of the temperature of the lake water, types of soil, and the Niagara Escarpment influence the success of growing apples. The area produces around 25 per cent of the province’s annual apple crop with more than 15 varieties.

We shared a flight - honey crisp, raspberry apple, cranberry and spiced apple.

We ordered sausage rolls with chips and gherkins for lunch.

Another flight - original, rose, blueberry (weird) and blood orange.

Then we bought some to take home.

We took a scenic drive back to Collingwood and spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Saturday we drive home. The beauty of being in a timeshare with a kitchen within a driving distance from is we could bring our own wine and foodstuffs from home which we supplemented with goods from the grocery store. 

Don't forget to visit the daily links I posted above with lots more details about our trip to Georgian Bay!

COOKING

Saturday we brought cheeses, pate and baguette from home.

Sunday we had Irish rashers and eggs for breakfast. 

Rotisserie chicken, fully loaded potato salad and coleslaw.

Monday we finished the chicken and salads.

Tuesday dinner out 

Wednesday scrambled eggs and rashers.

Thursday frozen store bought shepherd's pie

Friday leftover shepherd's pie

WATCHING

We both watched some of Stanley Tucci's Searching for Italy when he is in Venice.

We watched Our Father, a documentary.

READING

I read an old Lynda La Plante Unholy Murder.