Residence Inn By Marriott Gravenhurst Muskoka Wharf

After hearing many, many stories about "going up north" in Canada, I began to wonder where "North" is, exactly. Why do these people say "north", and everyone just seems to understand one another perfectly? What's up north, anyway?

So, J decided to arrange a nice "Up North" getaway for us. We went to Huntsville in Muskoka, where we stayed at the Deerhurst Resort. I was the one who planned the dates, on the premise that I would be leaving the country on ...

Great family camping weekend of campfires (i think we must have burned the equivalent of a small forest), frisbee, swimming, volleyball, canoeing, hiking. And the main event of the weekend: eating.

Some of us camped over night (me, Matt, Anice, Piyali, Calvin, Aunty Ivy ...

... old. Of course when my travels headed toward North America there was never a moment when they were not going to include visiting this wonderful family.

The setting here is incredible. The camp is set amongst forest and lakes and streams and in general breath taking scenery. It’s about 2 hours north of Toronto and not the easiest to access if you don’t have your own transport, but if you can get there its well worth the visit.

The week here has been so ...

Here I am in the woods of Muskoka It's incredibly beautiful, right on a lake, trees everywhere and that warm cosy familiar feeling of being back in a camp environment.

I arrived out here this afternoon after hitching a ride with Nicole's parent's, Marcel and Virginia. One added bonus of my hotel last night was that it was only five minutes from a Yonge line stop and making my way out to see Nicole's parents was pretty quick and easy. Nicole (my ...

... Grocery store and asked the lady if she had perhaps known the people whose place I had lived at so many years ago ? Charlie and Dorothy Thompson had owned the farm we lived on and I hoped that lady in the store may have known them. Sorry ,she said but that was before her time. There was a road called Charlie Thompson road though, would we like directions? I got the directions and frankly they were the same as the directions my Mother ...

We arrived at Toronto Airport, flying from London, to be met by my cousin Mick. We drove north for about 3 hours to "Lake of Bays" near Huntsville in the Muskoka district. On the way we stopped in at timmy's (well Tim Hourtons a brewed coffee and donuts chain that is all over Canada, the locals call it timmy's).

... the scenery was blurred by the speed - that would have made an awesome photo! Along Lake Simcoe our train ran perpendicular to a calm canal - we looked straight out a tree lined waterway on the brown tumultuous lake - only for a second and then we were past. We thought we were getting up early and that arriving half and hour before departure ...

... But if you put one in your shoe, you will be protected against it. After this, I went to go read in a field while everyone else made lunch. Hee! Heather also disappeared and we all got back together to eat lunch, and sit around talking some more. After lunch, Heather played some crazy balloon games with us and we all got tootsie pops at the end, because "We're all winners". Trinette and my mom went swimming again. The lake had ...

... the corner. Please come quick! Someone, PLEASE! A nice man with long grey hair in a pony-tail comes to see if we have our own tents. I of course, have no idea. He seems nice, and very concerned...or is he? This is exactly how everything starts. He tells me to phone when we figure out our tent situation. Yeah right, I'll be watching you, Bill... if that's your real name, of course. So 8 p.m. comes around, and my mom and her friends finally show up. They have ...

... a motor to it's side. So after we had paddled out, jaws almost hanging on the water, we were passed by a motorized canoe, no paddles in site. At least we knew we wouldn't see (or hear) them after the first portage. And it was after this half kilometre trail we reached our first campsite. And at the first campsite is where I cut my first logs. I can say logs because Kevan had to stand on the other end so I could saw it. And before I cut this ...