I was going to write about the bugs because that's a question many people ask about before they come to Canada. All I can say is; do you really want to hear about the bugs? Sure, they can be bad from time to time, but oddly enough they seem to be the truest "baptism by fire" any south of the border tourist can survive if they want to be accepted by the local citizenry. I guess we've passed the test as our blotching and itching can attest to. Whenever we meet someone from around here now, we all share our particular - "man, they're bad this year" stories. Then we laugh and roll our eyes - it makes the difficulty easier to bear when you know everybody is having a "shared experience". Anyway, they'll be gone in a while and we'll have the cold and snow to complain about then. However, before then there will be a magnificent late summer and autumn to enjoy - bug-free! Patti and I have been up here in August, September and October in the past and we find that Lake Superior just gets prettier and prettier as the sun slips lower and lower in the sky. But we'll get to that later.
So, things were a bit slow in April and May, but we did have some very interesting and exciting guests stay with us. There was a particular group up here writing a story for Canoe & Kayak Magazine down in the states on the Steel River Provincial Park and the circle route for canoes in particular. One of the really exciting things about this area is that the wilderness parks such as Steel River and The Slate Islands are so new that they don't even have official visitor's centers built yet by the Province of Ontario. Hey, we're the closest thing to a visitor center you'll find for the Steel River Circle Route since we are the closest lodging provider to the park and only five miles away at that. You'll be "roughing it" up there, so why not stay here before and after your adventure tour? Lots of sea-kayakers paddle out to the Slate Islands and Jackfish Lake right across the highway from The Coach House is a pefect spot for setting out from. Don't worry - we'll keep an eye on your vehicles and trailers for you. Ontario Parks are awesome and undiscovered - nobody down in the states knows they are here yet. Why go all the way to Alaska and pay all that money? You can access magnificent wilderness up here and we at The Coach House Motel can show you how to do that - at a much lower cost overall than those National Geographic tours charge. And you can have all the solitude and isolation you need to really commune with Mother Nature.
Which reminds me... we decided we needed to make a little extra revenue so we can continue with the renovations and expansions we are planning. So we will start having people out for Sunday Brunch in our lovely little dining room. For months now we've been struggling to come up with a name for it and kept drawing blanks. Our "theme" is the great natural outdoors that surrounds us here. To wax a bit poetic, you wouldn't be wrong in calling it: "The Wilderness". Having spent our whole lives in a populous American metropolitan area, Patti and I have always been inspired by Lake Superior's magnificent wilderness. It's awe-inspiring, yet very accessible at the same time. (Unlike majestic mountains that require extreme efforts to conquer) Then it hit us - why not call our cozy dining room, "The Wilderness Cafe"? We like it; any objections? Good, motion passed!
There you have it - The Wilderness Cafe at The Coach House Motel will now be open for Sunday Brunch until the end of November. Our Grand Opening will be on Sunday, June 25, 2006 with very limited seating at 11:00am and 1:00pm. Come watch us grow.
p.s. Although we are "out in the bush", or in "the wilderness"; however you might say it... we now have wireless internet access at The Coach House Motel. Bring your laptops and log on wherever you'd like to.
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