In a previous post, I wrote about the Social Distancing efforts Joyce and I are making, but as a confession, we are "Get Out in Nature" buffs, often hiking through the beautiful forests that Simcoe County offers, and were "down a quart" so we decided that we could keep our distance while enjoying the beach! We have friends that have a cottage in Allenwood Beach, right on Georgian Bay, and a quick text to them resulted in a convenient parking spot. Truth be told, my wife Joyce LOVES to walk the beaches at Wasaga so this whole affair was a huge hit with her ... Please don't tell her that I was quite okay with the hike considering that I had originally been skeptical of what we would find after driving all the way from Barrie to "The Beach". It was well worth the effort, and with gas prices significantly lower in our area right now, not much of a hit on the pocketbook.
We had previously made the trek to Wasaga during the winter months to marvel at the massive ice flows that creep up the shoreline, a testament to the wonders of nature that are on your doorstep, so we anticipated that there may be some visual treats waiting for us as we traversed the dunes to the water's edge. At our friend's beach, all was normal ... actually, it was "more than normal" because the waterline had retreated from the ridiculously high levels of last summer, revealing some of the erosion issues that were created with those levels. We were eager to enjoy a healthy stroll alongside the lapping waters of Lake Huron.
For those who do not live in the part of the world, Ontario has had temperatures of late that were a little cooler than normal, resulting in below freezing conditions overnight. On the day we visited Allenwood, the temps were hovering right around 1 Celcius, so as we walked, we intrigued by the various frozen pieces of nature's artwork and, being a bit of a shutterbug, I was eager to capture some of that beauty for later. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that the ice was actually round globes that had frozen together to form bubble-shaped conglomerates of water and sand. The heat of the bright sunshine being absorbed by the sand was causing the ice to melt in peculiar ways, resulting in formations that were of a sort neither of us had seen before. We were aware that the bay had not frozen over this winter so perhaps these globes of ice were a function of that? We weren't sure but it certainly coerced us in to a lot of stopping and gawking.
It was really a spectacular way to spend an afternoon free from the confines of our house, and equally convenient to see that only a handful of others had similar thoughts, making the mandatory 2 metres easily achievable. Despite the fact that we had to cover up quite a bit to escape the nip of the stiff northwest breeze blowing on shore, our exposed faces will have added a much welcomed shot of vitamin D, although we're likely well stocked after our Florida escapes. Rather than retrace our footprints, we decided to return using the variety of beachside roads Wasaga has to offer, which allowed for a casual snoop of the wide array of homes in the area. Should that sort of thing be of interest, and if you haven't treated yourself to this before, it would be well worth your time to peruse the wide assortment of architectural styles dotting the shore area. I have no clue how some of these folks can afford "summer homes" of the likes we witnessed, many of which that were not only incredibly beautiful but screamed of opulence. From 10 metre river rock chimneys, to multilevel decks, to 3 car garages, some of these cottages (???) were highly impressive. Colour me frugal but, as much as I can appreciate said architecture, I am not in the least interested in building + buying anything of that sort. Give me access to a small traditional style cottage, 75 m2 with minimalist amenities, and the ability to traipse through with sand crusted feet and I'd be as pleased as a pig in poo.
We really are a privileged lot to live in Simcoe County and all of its natural beauty. Do yourself a favour during these tentative times and recommune with your wild side ... your brain will thank you.
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