Do you love the setting of Anne of Green Gables? Then this blog post is for you! Today, PEI romance author Liz Johnson is talking about her latest book, Summer in the Spotlight with me, Breana Johnson–no relation to the author ; )
Liz Johnson at PEI’s Victoria Playhouse, a location featured in Summer in the Spotlight
I love the theater setting of Summer in the Spotlight! What’s your experience with drama, and which play did you see most recently?
I absolutely love theater! I try to see at least a few Broadway shows in Phoenix each year, and it’s been a great way to bond with my nieces, who also love to see shows. My oldest niece has been in a number of high school and community productions, so I love seeing her perform.
My personal experience is confined to audience member. Though one time I auditioned for a role in The Importance of Being Earnest (the same show they’re producing in Summer in the Spotlight). I was terrible and did NOT get a call back. But I had so much fun!
The last production I saw was a community production of Beauty and the Beast. It was wonderful! A couple weeks before that I saw Anne & Gilbert: The Musical on Prince Edward Island. It’s one of my all-time favorites.
Which character from Summer in the Spotlight do you resonate most with, and why?
Oh, man. I don’t know. I think maybe I see myself most in Violet—the older sister, giving counsel character. I’m rarely without words like Levi—though I do enjoy reading like he does. And I’m not one to faint at the sight of blood like Kelsey. But like her, I enjoy organizing events and coordinating things that matter to me.
What do you hope readers will gain from Summer in the Spotlight?
I hope readers will enjoy a fun escape to Prince Edward Island. And I hope they’ll be reminded of the power of the words we say. We can speak life, or we can speak death. I hope Summer in the Spotlight will encourage readers to encourage and uplift others every day.
Liz Johnson at the Anne of Green Gables house in PEI
Would you like to visit Prince Edward Island with author Liz Johnson? Explore the setting of Anne of Green Gables and Liz’s books when you join her PEI tour in July 2024! Find trip details here.
Last call for summer in Ontario! I can’t want to see fall in Canada, but summer is National Parks Season. In just a few short weeks, most of the National Parks in Canada will be closed for winter.
Naturally, the end of free Canada Parks passes for Canada’s 150th anniversary is a big deal for a budget traveler like myself.
So, when Ben and I both had a three-day weekend over Memorial day, we loaded up the dog and hit the road for a three-day camping trip in Ontario!
Ipperwash Beach: $0
Although we live in Detroit, we ended up taking the Port Huron border crossing. It’s closer to the coast of Lake Huron, where Bruce Peninsula is located.
Canadian Monopoly money
The way into Canada wasn’t too bad. The guards didn’t even bother checking Kito’s paperwork! It’s up to date, of course, which is actually more important on the U.S. entry than the Canadian entry. After quick formalities, we were on our way!
Lucky dog– she’s been to 4 countries now!
After we got through the border, we drove along the coast. After living in Saint Martin, where all the beaches are public property, we forgot there would be so many private beaches!
Of course, there are also some nice public beaches on the Huron coast of Ontario. We decided to stop for lunch at Ipperwash Beach, which is in Lambton Shores.
Part of the beach does require paid parking, but if you drive to the northern entrance, you can park for free. Exit Highway 21 on Army Camp Road, and you’ll find the lot and a nice picnic area with restrooms.
The beach itself was nice, and we apparently hit it on a good day! However, it was really crowded, so we made a mental note to come on a day that isn’t a holiday weekend next time.
The best part about Ipperwash Beach was a guy driving a couple of jet skis into the lake on his tractor. You don’t see that every day.
The Old Homestead Campground: $42 CAD/ $34 USD
Unfortunately, I didn’t plan the first day of our trip very well. I originally wanted to take a longer route and go through Point Pelee National Park on the first day, but Ben very wisely pointed out that the massive loop I mapped out on Google Maps was going to take more than 3 days, unless we never wanted to get out of the car.
So we didn’t have camping reservations, and when it came time to find a camp, we didn’t have a very easy time of it. Most of the campsites and hotels were full. Finally, I stopped at a general store and asked for advice. The owners pointed me to The Old Homestead, not too far from the highway in Bayfield.
Honestly, we were a bit underwhelmed by the campground. It was nice, but for $42 CAD I’d expect something different than an unserviced piece of grass on the common lawn. The playground was very close to the campsite, and everyone was packed into tight spaces, so it was pretty noisy. Someone played very loud music until late at night, too.
We forgot a pot, so Ben used his “African ingenuity,” as he calls the skills he learned from a childhood in Tanzania.
Although I’m more of a camp-in-the-middle-of-the-woods kind of person, The Old Homestead would be nice to stay at on a less busy weekend, if you don’t mind neighbors. It’s clean and well kept, which is always a plus.
Right behind our site, there was a path that led into winding trails through the forest. This was awesome! Kito loved running around the woods and splashing through the creek. I don’t think she’s ever seen a creek before, and she was fascinated!
We also found a great place to string up hammocks. We were far enough away from the noise of the camp that we could relax in the peace and quiet of the woods for a while.
Point Clark Lighthouse: $7 CAD/ $5.64 USD
The next day, we packed up and headed further north. We stopped at Point Clark Lighthouse in Point Clark, because who doesn’t love lighthouses?
I was planning to just look at the lighthouse, but Ben and I were excited to see that this was a Parks Canada Historic Site! Armed with our Parks Canada pass, we headed inside.
Unfortunately, the Parks Canada pass is not valid at Point Clark Lighthouse. Not sure why Parks Canada would own something but not operate it, but I guess that is why the pass isn’t taken there.
Because we were on a budget for this trip, we skipped the lighthouse tour. However, if you don’t mind spending an extra $7, it looked like a great place to tour! I was OK to skip it, though, since it was a bonus stop on our trip anyway.
Sauble Beach: $0
If you know anything about the Huron coastline of Ontario, you probably have heard of Sauble Beach.
Sauble Beach is a resort town on the coast, and it was hopping the day we visited. We were lucky enough to get a parking spot close to the beach itself, so we walked over to have lunch.
A friendly police officer reminded us that dogs are not allowed on most of the beach, so we stayed in the small dog-friendly area to eat. The view was very pretty!
Fathom Five National Marine Park: $0
The Fathom Five Marine Park is located on the tip of Bruce Peninsula, near the town of Tobermory.
For the Canada 150 celebration, Fathom Five Marine Park is open to the public for free. This treat ended already, sadly, and we ended up visiting on the second to last day! Because of this, the park was packed.
However, you can visit next year for about $6 CAD per adult and $15 for a family, which is an awesome price! If you want to see flowerpot island, add an extra $60 for a private boat tour. Or, go all out and scuba dive through one of the many shipwrecks.
Despite the mayhem, the crowds did not deter us. They kind of freaked out Kito, who barked at a beagle, a child, and a park bench within the first ten minutes of being in the park. She chilled out once we got on the path, though.
I took the climb up the tower to see the whole park. Wow! What a climb. the girl in front of me got shaky legs and had to summon all her courage to get all the way up. I tried to take some photos to show how high up it was.
We took the Burnt Point Loop, which is the hike in Fathom Five National Park. This, along with the trail from the visitor’s center, was about four miles long. It’s actually a side trail of the epic Bruce Trail, which runs from Fathom Five to Niagara Falls! It was cool to get to do a little bit of the Bruce Trail, which is a bucket list item for me.
The trail was gorgeous, and it took us to incredibly clear, blue water that reminded me of Saint Martin. Despite the many visitors, there were many nooks along the coastline where we could be alone an enjoy the view. A picture is worth a thousand words, so take a look below:
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Singing Sands at Bruce National Park: $0
On our way out, we stopped at Singing Sands, a part of Bruce National Park. This is another park that was free in 2017 and closed on Labor Day. Again, it was a bit crowded, but not as crowded as Fathom Five.
Ben and I would have liked to hike the trail to The Grotto in Bruce National Park, but they were totally booked for the day and turned us away!
Ben on his daily run! 112 days and counting.
We ended up at Singing Sands, which was still a lovely way to end our day. Besides, the Grotto will be there next time.
Singing Sands doesn’t look like much– until you start walking along the path. Here, you’ll find incredible biodiversity and lovely wildlife! Ben saw a snake, but all I saw were flowers and birds. I’m OK with that!
KOA Owen Sound: $35 CAD/ $28 USD
After our time at Bruce National Park, we drove to the Owen Sound Koa, about an hour and a half away. I’m a fan of KOAs, since they’re pretty predictable. In a place where randomly hiking into the woods and setting up camp isn’t allowed, this was a great option.
We are definitely coming back here! We did have neighbors and a busy campsite, but it was nice and quiet. It was spread out enough and there were tons of trees, so it felt fairly private. It also looked like a fun place to bring kids– a hay ride was taking off just as we arrived.
We strung up our hammocks by the car and made dinner– macaroni and cheese in a bread pan over a portable stove! Hey, whatever works.
The most wonderful part of this camp was that it is connected to the Bruce Trail! We woke up early, made a flask of hot chocolate, and followed the trail over the bridge, through the Rock Springs Side Trail, and on to the Bruce Trail.
Oh, my word! The trail in the morning was so still. It was only about 65 degrees Fahrenheit, but the stillness in the air made it feel comfortably cool. I come from a land of conifers, so this boreal forest was magical. Everything was covered in soft green moss, and the morning light filtered softly down through the leaves.
I wish so badly that we could take a month and trek the entire Bruce Trail! I’m not sure if that will ever be a reality, but it was a treat to get to walk a couple of miles of the trail.
Produce Stand at Masse Farms: $13/ $10.50 CAD for produce
We had a long drive ahead (and it got longer as the lines at the border increased), so we went straight along the 5-hour route home.
We did, however, make one last stop! One simply cannot go through farm country without buying fresh produce, so we followed the signs to Masse Farms and bought some sweet corn, meat, strawberries, and tomatoes. Yum! There’s nothing like farm-fresh food.
We continued on through the cornfields and towns toward home. Each church tower, brick shop, and Victorian estate was something new and beautiful to admire! If you ever find yourself with a weekend to wander, these towns are worth a look.
After a relaxing morning of driving through rural Ontario, we eventually pulled into our driveway. It was a weekend well spent! Next time, we’re heading around the southern coast of Ontario.
Other Expenses:
$140 CAD/ $113 USD for gas
$37 CAD/ $30 USD for groceries
Total: $268 CAD/ $216 USD
We were able to have a three-day trip from Detroit to Tobermory for under $250 USD! Of course, the free Parks Canada pass ends this year, so the parks won’t be free after 2017. However, the parks aren’t very expensive, and if you don’t want to pay, you can always opt for free walks in the nature parks!
The trick to keeping this trip inexpensive — despite the necessary gas for such a long drive — is to refuse to splurge. Don’t go shopping, don’t stay in hotels, and don’t eat out. You can have plenty of fun in nature while eating your own groceries!
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I’ve been in the ocean with sharks, and I don’t exactly love it, but I do love walking through an aquarium tunnel and seeing them above me! Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada in Toronto is a fantastic place to do just that. I got to chaperone a big group of kids from my home island, Sint Maarten, on their trip to Canada and Ripley’s Aquarium. Puppy, our littlest in the group at six years old, had a wonderful time at the aquarium.
Of course, the first thing Puppy wanted to do when he saw the inside of the aquarium was take off into the crowd and find something loud, shiny, and colorful. There’s plenty of loud, shiny, and colorful in the aquarium building, but Stacey and I made sure to keep a tight grip on Puppy! Fortunately, all the kids were dressed in matching bright yellow shirts, so we adults had a fairly easy time keeping track of them all.
There was so much to see! And everyone seemed to want to see it. We squeezed through the crowd to press up against glass tanks full of colorful fish. Puppy liked anything that moved quickly and stayed within his field of vision. I liked the jellyfish, particularly the upside-down jellies that we have on our own island in Simpson Bay Lagoon. The pink ones were also pretty cool.
“I shall call him squishy, and he shall be mine and he shall be my squishy.” -Dory
Then, of course, there are the jellyfish’s cousins, the anemones.
The best part of all was the moving sidewalk through the shark tunnel! Puppy was absolutely mesmerized as we glided past the huge sharks, sawfish, groupers, and turtles. He had a thousand questions to ask about everything! Stacey and I tried to convince him to get in a #sharkselfie with us, but he couldn’t pry his eyes away from the sharks right in front of his face.
As much fun as Ripley’s Aquarium was, there was a lot more to this field trip than just letting a bunch of kids see some fish. For some of the boys, this was the first time they got to see what’s beneath the waters surrounding their island.
They are the ones who will make tomorrow’s decisions about how those waters will be protected– or not protected. The marine ecosystem of the Caribbean island is so delicate! It’s under threat from tourism, over-fishing, chemical spills, and people just not caring. It’s vital that the people who live on the islands understand the importance that their reefs hold in many arenas, from tourism to preservation of species.
I hope that a peek at that underwater world, plus follow-up conversations from us, will encourage the kids to take an interest in their world and their responsibility to care for it. And how can you not care about this happy ray?
Puppy actually wasn’t so sure about the rays, but he did love the kid-sized shark tunnel and even convinced some of his friends to squeeze through it with him. There were a lot of cool interactive things like this that encourage little ones to kinetically engage with the ocean life around them and look at it from a different angle.
The aquarium was a blast! There was so much to do, see, and investigate. At the end of the morning, Puppy was worn out!
When a little league team from the Sint Maarten, Dutch Caribbean (SXM) visits Canada, what do they do? They play hard, of course. I’m so proud of our team, The Daily Herald. They consisted of five 14 or 15-year-olds, five 9 to 11-year-olds, and a six year old. They faced a team of 14 and 15-year-olds without a single qualm, and they dominated on the field. Someday, you might see some of these in the major leagues! Here’s Little King, on of our 10-year-olds, reporting on his team’s game.
Today we went to a baseball game, The Daily Herald vs. Blue Jays- St. Catherines.
1st batter: Triston. Walk.
Triston up at bat
2nd batter, Little King, walked.
Puppy had no fear. He even made it to first base.
3rd batter Tre hit a single.
Adonis after scoring a run
4th batter Big King hit the two runs batted in.
“I got two first base, two second base, third, and we won.” Adonis, 12
Skijlaar ready at first
When we got three outs, Triston was the starting pitcher. Little King was the catcher.
“I went 2 for 2 with 2 singles.” -Tre, 14
Lewis on the mound
The ball one could have passed, but I blocked it.
“I was left outfield and the team that we played never hit a pop fly so I didn’t do much.” Theo, 14
Little King catching
A boy hit the ball. Herald make an error. He ran to second base after the next batter came to bat.
“We had so much fun.” Triston, 9
Big King in the infield
The boy on second, he stoled 3rd. I got the ball and I throw one time.
Zack watches his teammate slide into home
We win St. Catherines Blue Jays 11-7.
SXM proud.
Yes, these boys certainly did make SXM proud! Way to represent your country, team. It’s not so much that they won– it’s the hard work they put in and the courage it takes to go up against bigger kids. It’s the good sportsmanship, the encouragement, and the confidence. This team makes me proud all the time! I’m thankful for them and glad I get to be one of their coaches.
Locks are cool! Our little league team has spent a good amount of time discussing canal locks during homework time over the past few months. So we were pretty excited to see a real one in action. During our team trip to Ontario, we stopped by the St. Catherine’s Museum and Welland Canal Center. Here’s a quick account from Lewis, a teen on our team.
We went to the Welland Canal.
“We saw the locks in action.” -Theo, 14
We went to the museum.
“I saw some of the classic weapons of World War I.” -Adonis, 12
There was so much to see and do at the museum, including St. Catherines’ history and the Harriet Tubman story. Of course, the most interesting display for the kids was a lacrosse game.
Then we saw a boat and the water drained.
“It takes 45 minutes to move up and down and its really amazing to see it up close.” -Tre, 14
We watched as the lock slowly drained. The crew carefully steered the ship as she sank lower and lower into the narrow canal. Finally, the doors of the lock opened and the boat floated out into the next level of the canal.
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Niagara Falls knows how to do kid-friendly nightlife. While the Player Development team from Sint Maarten was in Ontario, we had all had a blast, from the 6-year-old to the adults! A magic show at the Greg Frewin Theater was a great way to start a magical night. To add to the excitement, we walked down the street to see Niagara Falls lit up in color and watch the fireworks. Skijlaar, an 11-year-old from our team, writes about the experience.
We went to magic show with Mr. Greg Frewin. He did lot of magic trick.
“Mr. Frewin magically appeared in a car … whooOOoo … birds came from nowhere.” -Adonis, 12
“The guy that does magic trick, he is very tricky.” -Big King, 14
He did levitation, he made stuff disappear, he made a tiger with a trick.
“The best one I like, the man disappear and appear somewhere else.” -Little King, 10
“It was really interesting, although I thought I could tell how he did some tricks.” -Tre, 14
Triston and Puppy had some magic tricks of their own to entertain us before the fireworks.
Then we walked to the Ferris wheel and we went to Niagara falls to see it light up.
And we watch the fireworks.
Then we walked back to the cars and we went.
What a great night! It’s not often that you find a place that offers so much to do with kids in the evening. If it wasn’t for busy days ahead, we could have taken advantage of the many arcades, fun houses, and family-centered museums in the area. If you’re in Niagara Falls with kids, I highly recommend you take a night out!
