Ontario dreams

Hey!

Hello welcome and greetings to anyone reading from the parking lot of a cinema in Sudbury, Ontario. It’s been about 2ish weeks since I last updated you in writing of how our adventures have been going. Time is flying and we have been so busy that I haven’t had time to write!

When I left you last, we were about to complete the Cabot Trail in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. This was on the bucket list and was definitely one of the highlights of our trip for me and Matt and Ross did a whistle stop experience there too. We drove from Halifax for approx. 3-4 hours to Cape Breton, the northern end of Nova Scotia and enjoyed some of the sights of the actual Trail before it got dark. We had a minor van issue before we left but that was resolved quickly (air bubble in power steering fluid we think). The following day was a heatwave day! 30 degrees plus, so we said goodbye to Matt and Ross in the morning and spent the day doing vanlife chores – boring I know and tested out the awning on the van for the first time! It’s nice when something works.

It was so hot on this day that the awning was so appreciated.

The next day we were ready to go and we had a BIG day planned. We had plotted on our map 6 stops in Cape Breton for Hiking, walks, history and scenery and were determined to hit them all…… and we did! 2 hikes, 2 walks 1 lookout point and one beach later and we were officially all knackered and ready to sleep. The image of the map below should show you our route and we enjoyed a lot of the beautiful scenery on the way. We ended the day at a park up by the beach and watched the sunset before having a very good sleep.

After leaving Cape Breton we had a few days of very big drives ahead as we headed to Ottawa to meet my mum, Matt and Ross at our cabin in the woods! It would be the first time the 5 of us, my mum and her children, were all in the same place at the same time since July 2024. Being a co-dependent 4some who all rely on Mumma Fraser a lot, this was a big deal, and we wasted no time in laughing, playing games and doing fun stuff together. The first 3 nights we spent in Ottawa seemed tame compared to the craziness that we enjoyed as we ventured to Toronto for Toronto Pride. This was a long day full of love, laughs and glittery rainbows and it was so amazing to see so many individuals, organisations and groups show up for equality and love. We had a great time getting dressed up as well as enjoying the parade, dogs too! Although in the interest of transparency, the dogs (and I) hit capacity for loud noises and a big crowd towards the end, especially as it was such a hot day, so we did go down a side street to get some space for a while.

Whilst in Toronto, we made a stop at Niagara falls. I have to be honest…. Niagara falls in underwhelming. I’ve also been to the American side and can say with certainty that that side is also underwhelming. The falls themselves are lovely, but the surrounding areas are pedestrianised, made for tourists, and a bit tacky. The walkways, boat tours and other excursions are very expensive and are always rammed with people. Plus the humidity that day made me want to commit murder, so all in all unless you’re desperate to see a waterfall, I wouldn’t recommend visiting Niagara Falls.

After this, it was time to say goodbye to Matt and Ross. We had spent a few delicious weeks reunited and it was as if nothing had changed, but whilst we are only (hopefully) halfway through our adventure, theirs is coming to an end and they had a couple more weeks to explore Canada before flying home. All being well with the van, it will be another 6 months before we see them again.

Even though Matt and Ross have gone, we are keeping Mumma Fraser with us for a few more weeks before releasing her! So we started our journey to Sudbury, Ontario for our first stop. We have visited Lake Nipissing (lol) and ate ice-cream on the Marina, we swam in Lake Nipissing (do not recommend, so many bugs) Hiked the Mount Ramsey Trail and at the marina, we made a burrito bowl in the van with the doors open to watch the sunset and listened to live music from a band that was playing 100m away. There are definitely worse ways to spend your week!

Our total journey with Mumma Fraser is from Toronto to Winnipeg, so from tomorrow we continue on that trail to our next destination. I am hopeful for continued sunshine, pink skies, happy dogs and most importantly, less mosquitoes.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Have a great week whatever you do.

Love Cx