I seem to recall saying something around the same time last year about not celebrating Valentine’s Day, but we did. And here we are preparing for what promises to be another lovely weekend away – starting in less than 72 hours.
In all fairness to my valentine denial, Valentine’s Day does now fall near our new, mid-winter statutory holiday weekend – Family Day, the third Monday in February. It does seem like the perfect time to “get away from it all”. And so we are… thanks to Steve’s great ideas and planning.
Port Stanley is a bustling little fishing and cottage community on the north shore of Lake Erie, about half an hour south of London. We’ve experienced its charm in three seasons, but never in the winter. We suspect it might be a little sleepier at this time of year… And the Kettle Creek Inn, that we have enjoyed in the past, is on the Ontario Finest Inns list. So, unique little shops, a beach or three to stroll on, a few other treats yet to be disclosed, and a cosy home away from home – here we come.
We have arrived…
Our inn package included one dinner so we took advantage of that on Friday night. When on the shores of Lake Erie, one must eat perch or pickerel. We started with scallops that virtually dissolved in our mouths, served on a Bibb lettuce leaf and topped with sprouts and a pineapple salsa. I had the perch dinner and Steve had the pickerel – again, cooked to perfection. For dessert, he had a yummy (of course I tasted it!) mascarpone cream tart and I couldn’t pass up my most favourite dessert ever – crème caramel (served in a bowl, at my request, so I could easily scoop up all that sugary goodness that normally gets left behind). With our taste buds fully satisfied, and a bottle of Pinot Noir between us, we stumbled the 50’ back to our room and passed out. What a way to end a busy week!
But wait! We still had 3 days ahead of us…
Saturday was the only day with pre-arranged plans. After a late and lazy continental breakfast at the Inn, and a little music time in our room (yes, we brought our guitar and ukulele), it was Posh time.
To my greatest surprise (and pleasure) Steve had arranged for a couple’s massage – a first for us! Posh was a hop, skip, and a jump from the Inn, a small yet lovely little spa nestled into a quiet corner of a warehouse-type building. An hour and a half later we left, completely relaxed and smelling like coconut oil from tip to toe. That would have been enough treats for one day, eh? But, nooo…
Last Family Day (Valentine’s Day) weekend, we hung out in Hamilton and were fabulously entertained by Blue Rodeo at Hamilton Place. This year, coincidentally, they were back in town, only this time at the Budweiser Gardens in London. And that’s exactly where we went!
I love their music – the melodic tones of Jim Cuddy, and the hypnotizing harmonies by he and his co-writer, Greg Keelor. All seven band members put on an energetic show and, as usual, played for longer than their normal 2-hour time allotment. They did NOT disappoint! And this time, they had an opening band – The Devin Cuddy Band. At first I thought we would be exposed to some mediocre nepotism but, seriously, you should check them out! Jim’s son, Devin, is a “chip off the old block”. He writes his own songs, plays a mean piano, covers a range of music categories, and sings every bit as well as his dad. His lead guitarist, bassist, and drummer are no slouches, either. They thoroughly entertained us for half an hour and left us wanting more. So, it was rewarding to have them come back on stage at the end of the 2.5-hour Blue Rodeo session to join in on the closing number, a long and mesmerizing version of “We Are Lost Together”.
So, here we are, Sunday evening…
We had a long and wonderful sleep last night. First, by the time we got back from the concert, it was 1:30 when we fell into bed. Second, the mattress on our bed is magical and neither one of us can feel the other one move. Finally, we were exhausted and, apparently, needed a good sleep-in. We missed our complimentary continental breakfast, but who cares when you’ve had a satisfying sleep? Instead, we made our way to Roxy’s Diner and indulged in good ’ol fashioned bacon and eggs. Then strolled around town a bit before we headed to the shops and the beaches!
(Roxy’s Diner – missed the sign…)
There are a few interesting shops in “The Port” and, although I’m not a shopper, I do appreciate unique products. I made two purchases today – a most unique and beautifully crafted necklace from Guatemala made from seeds and seed pods; and a wrought iron accomplice to something I will make and will reveal in the future through my Facebook page (sorry, but you’ll have to wait a few months).
Port Stanley is also home to three beaches – Little Beach, very close to our Inn and the one we’ve strolled on before, the Main Beach, which is much, much larger and the one we’ve purposely avoided in the past as it’s been, in our opinion, over-crowded in the warmer months, and the much smaller West Beach, which I didn’t know existed until now. But no one can complain about it being too hot and too crowded in February – especially this February! What a difference but, to our surprise, neither Little Beach nor Main Beach was empty! Regardless of whether or not you like winter, or feel it’s lasted too long by the time February rolls around, you cannot deny that a cold, snowy, and sunny winter offers us a most enchanted perspective on our worlds.
Common opinion around these parts is that this is the first time in about 25 years that Lake Erie has frozen to the extent that is has this year – almost all the way across to the US shore. (Apparently, all the lakes, except deeper Lake Ontario, have mostly frozen this year.) Little Beach is on the east side of the port channel and is protected to the point where the ice and snow combo is relatively flat. We walked out quite a distance and got some photos of the shoreline that one would normally only get from a boat.
(the happy couple…)
But frankly, Little Beach was a bit boring, so we jumped into the car and headed over to the larger, Main Beach. This section of water isn’t protected at all so we were rewarded with lots of ice heaves and interesting snow formations. Walking out was a little more challenging as the snow was deeper and very inconsistent. Then there were the “hills” we had to climb which, once at the top, provided some very nice photo ops. Top that off with the ice Inukshuks we stumbled across and the brilliant sunset, and I’m hoping you agree our hike out onto the lake was well worth the extra layer of clothing and the effort. (We never made it to West Beach.)
Ice for as far as you can see…
We were contented to stay at the Inn tonight for dinner, as both of us were sleepy from the wind and sun – and our red faces were visible proof. They served THE most delicious creamed potato and roasted garlic soup, which would have been enough with some bread, but we did also indulge in the perch dinner again. This time, we each had only one drink (wine for me, beer for Steve) and passed on dessert. And now we’re wondering if 10:00pm is too early to go to bed…
Even though we have to head home tomorrow, we still have the whole day ahead of us and we have some ideas on how to make the most of it.
Well, we sure weren’t in any hurry to get out of bed and get going today – again. So we missed the continental breakfast – again! But the Roxy Diner welcomed us back with open arms and we ended up having lunch (as it was close to noon by the time we finally got there).
I could tell you that we roamed through the ice caves of Crystal Beach, or visited the historic village of Sparta, or strolled through the snow-covered forests of the Springwater or Archie Coulter Conservation Areas – tres romantique… As you might guess by now, we didn’t engage in any of these wonderful activities so perhaps another visit back to this neck of the woods (so to speak) is in order. We did drive along the Talbot Trail, which took us along the water’s edge as far as Port Dover. We saw miles and miles of frozen lake, and miles and miles of wind turbines. We chatted and sang, sang and chatted, and eventually made our way back home just before the sun set.
Six days ago I didn’t know I’d be whisked away. Six days ago I didn’t know I’d be wined, dined, massaged, musically entertained, and just basically pampered and catered to. Six days ago I knew Steve was a great guy and, at the end of it all, he’s still my Valentine.