Canada Day 2015

Canada Day 2015

Canada Day. Probably my favourite holiday, or at least a close tie to Halloween. Canada Day means summer is officially here, it’s the start of my birthday month, (yes that it cause for celebration) and festivities, lots of festivities baby! And of course, what’s better to celebrate than Canada!?!  So of course it just makes sense that a Canada Day post would be my first on this blog.

Canada Day, when I was a kid, meant BBQ, family gatherings and dad shooting off fireworks.  “Uncle Normand’s Magic” is what my cousins used to call it.  We would all sit around staring at the sky as dad shot off what could have been my college tuition in beautiful combustibles. We would “oooh, aaah and ohhh!” and it was incredible.

Canada Day in my teens and later meant Cobourg’s Waterfront Festival.  The Midway, loads of events, a gazillion places to shop, foods full of foodie-variety-goodness, games and live bands. Just walking the park, beach and pier watching the people, the lights and sights, and dogs by the dozen, provided an overload of stunning beauty.  Add in the scents of carni-food, the sounds of laughter and music, and you had all the ingredients for a sensory overload of the pleasing kind.

Last year we boycotted the Cobourg Waterfront Festival and went to Barrie’s Canada Day celebration instead.  Cobourg decided to charge a general admission for entrance in the park we walk our dog through nightly.  They put up a god-awful fence and banned dogs from entering.  So not cool.  Sadly, this year they did the same thing. (They also banned smoking from beaches and parks in Cobourg, which added an extra reason to avoid the fenced area). The pier was still open to all, including dogs, and that’s where the midway was located.  But for the shopping, the music, etc. the gates were up.  Not very Canadian in my opinion, so we decided to road trip it.

Add 2 cars, 5 adults, 2 kids, and 1 dog, 1 dose of perfect weather, combine the Great Canadian countryside and we’ve got a recipe for awesomesauce!

Our first stop was a nice little park on the way out of Cobourg, lakefront of course.  We were able to climb down a staircase onto the rocky beach and skip rocks into the water. It was a nice stretch-stop.

Wicklow Ontario.  Great place to stop and watch the fishies jump.

The next stop was one of my favourite places – it’s in Wicklow, Ontario just west of the Wicklow Beach.  We watched the fishies jump!  We stopped at the Wicklow boat launch and walked the pier to take in the view, but the water was pretty icky.

We then headed towards Trenton’s Canada Day festival. We drove past the most beautiful field of yellow and we stopped to take a pic…

Trixie in the field of yellow - between Wicklow and Trenton

Before Trenton we hit a farmer’s market for some fresh strawberries and baked goodies. Good thing we did, because Trenton’s “Festival” was less than festive.  The booths were closing at 5pm, and it was dead.  Saw some cute puppies though!

Trenton was dead. Pfft, some festival.

So we said “Screw Trenton” , and headed to Belleville’s Canada Day. 3$ for parking, and worth every penny and more. Decent food, excellent music and enough dogs to keep me thoroughly entertained.  It wasn’t nearly as big as Cobourg’s Waterfront Festival, but it had all the makings of a good time. 

The Music Venue at Belleville's Canada Day Festivities

Regardless, we knew the only way to finish this day off properly was to get back to Cobourg in time for the spectacular fireworks show. We booked it home from Belleville, stopping briefly at the cemetery to place a Canadian Flag at my sister’s resting place, who is sorely missed especially on this day, and then off to Cobourg’s Pier.

Masses of people.  There was no where to move.  We shimmied our way through the crowds down the pier, stopping briefly to say a quick hello to the people we know.  The midway was wild.  Just wild. We found a spot to sit on the edge of the pier and enjoyed the show.  And what a show it was!

I need to learn how to take good shots of fireworks. 

Happy Birthday Canada! Three festivals and a whole lotta miles, I hope we did you proud!