For those of you who have never been to Tobermory (or have never even heard of it), it's definitely a place I would recommend visiting.

I took my two students from South Korea and my two nieces on a day trip yesterday. We boarded the MS ChiCheemaun Ferry (or the 'big canoe' in Ojibway) and had a blast. The boat has the capacity to transport 300 vehicles and LOTS of passengers. The ChiCheemaun features a restaurant, gift shop, game room, sun deck and other neat things. The view is spectacular. You can see a bunch of little islands and the water is a beautiful shade of turquoise and different hues of blue.

Upon arrival in Tobermory, we bought a hat for one of my nieces, as it was very hot and sunny, and she forgot hers at home (along with her Epi-pen! Goodness! This child's got severe allergies that could send her into anaphylactic (sp?) shock and she forgot her Epi-pen!!!). Tobermory is a quaint little water-side town that boasts a myriad of little, unique, cozy shops. I LOVE shopping in Tobermory because one can always find wonderful little treasures that can't be found anywhere else- mostly because they're one of a kind. There are also restaurants, scuba diving, boat tours, and much, much more!

After having a picnic lunch with the kids we set off to go on a boat tour. I didn't want to dine in a restaurant because of my nieces' food allergies, so I packed a healthy picnic lunch and we all ate by the water. Much to our dismay, all the boat tours were cancelled due to high winds. I really wanted to take the kids on a glass-bottom boat tour to see all the ruins and shipwrecks, as well as a visit to Flower Pot Island. Ah well, maybe next time.

Instead, we went on a hike and ended up having a pleasant little surprise. At the end of the trail we were on, we happened to find the newly constructed Visitor's Center. This place looked almost like Science North in Sudbury, only on a much smaller scale. We watched a film on the Bruce Peninsula, Tobermory, the Niagara Escarpment, and all the flora and fauna that can be found in this region. I certainly learned a lot and the kids were all mesmerized. We didn't know how tiny bear cubs were and we didn't know that there is a type of rattlesnake that can be found in these parts of Canada!

The kids loved the scuba diving part of the film, as well as all the caves and grottos that are in the Bruce Peninsula. There were different exhibits: The marine exhibit, caves, etc. We had a great day and the students ended it off eating some beaver tails (no, not REAL beaver tails!). They're a nice pastry that looks like a beaver tail and is usually dressed or topped off with brown sugar or maple syrup. The kids were still full of energy when we got home (it's 1 hr and 45 mins by boat from Tobermory to the island) so I took them swimming in Sandfield. Then we came home and I made supper, they watched a movie and by the time my SIL came around 11PM, I was ready to pass out! LOL It was a wonderful day. The kids and I enjoyed ourselves immensely.

I never realized how fortunate we are to be living in such a beautiful part of Canada. Much of the land is undevelopped and some even untouched. The water (from our rivers, lakes, etc) is pristine and crystal clear. There are so many species of birds, animals, flowers, plants, etc. This is definitely a little piece of Heaven and I feel very blessed to be living here.