Justin's Cottage - Day 1

Barron Canyon Trail, Algonquin Park.

Since we stayed up so late the night before, we got a late start on Saturday "morning". I'm not even sure what time we woke up.

Peter and Emily made breakfast. Peter bought yummy Japanese bread from J-Town in Markham for French toast. And Emily fried up the special bacon Justin got from the corner store in Chapeau. After adding fresh tomatoes, they made sandwiches with them.

Our plans for the day were hiking at Barron Canyon in Algonquin Park then grabbing dinner at the White Water Brewing Company in Foresters Falls (40 minutes east of Pembroke; 2 hours east of the park).

After driving 1-1/2 hours we arrived at the trailhead going through the northeast entrance of the park. It was already 5:00 by the time we started hiking. Luckily the trail was short, so it wasn't much of a problem to finish it.

The view from the top of the canyon was fine. But, compared to what we saw of the Rockies out west, the bar had been set extremely high.

We finished hiking and taking photos within an hour. By then it was around 6:00. Time to hit the road to seek out dinner. I hopped in Justin's convertible and the others loaded into Keith's car and we headed out.

Being a local and a much faster driver, Justin took the lead. Still he relied on his vehicle GPS to show him the fastest route.

Now I have to say, the quickest way might not necessarily be the best way. Because we ended up on what didn't amount to much more than a winding dirt path just outside the park. Justin thought it was fun, but Keith wasn't so enthused. It was the first time I've ever seen a speed limit sign nailed to a tree. Yes, really.

We arrived at the restaurant/brewery just after 7:30, but saw no sign of the pig roast Justin had called about earlier in the day. When we inquired about it the waitress told us there wasn't one. Puzzled we took a seat inside and ordered from the menu.

After ordering I went to the bathroom to wash my hands. When I returned our table was empty. Everyone had gone outside to the patio.

I later found out that they were told there was a pig roast, but it was canceled because of low interest. They brought the pig inside and if you wanted something from the roast like sausages or pulled pork you couldn't eat inside. That got the group fed up and Justin posted a nasty note on their Facebook page which they quickly deleted.

We drove back to the River Club Restaurant near the cottage and had dinner there instead.

After eating we relaxed around another campfire at the cottage. This time there were no games or star photography afterwards. We were too tired for that.