The Canadian Summer

The Canadian summer starts near the end of June. It is around this time that our igloo's melt away and we are left with no choice but to find cover elsewhere.

No we don't live in Igloo's, but the Canadian Summer is as gloriously short as it is spectacular. At least, that’s what you remember during our 3 seasons of winter and you’ll want to keep it in mind as you inch your way along the 400 series highways as you make your way to the fishing hole, cottage, trailer or campsite in Ontario's vast cottage country.

This post is a public service announcement from Real Man Travels to inform you that there are 66 days until the end of August. Get out there and make those days count! 


What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Muskoka

The Muskoka-region of Ontario feels iconically Canadian. This has a lot to do with the Group of Seven capturing the area so vividly in their paintings, which hang on the walls of the last several generations of Canadians. It has also come to be so iconic as generations, even before the Group of Seven, have found themselves drawn to the natural, rugged beauty of the area. Whether travelling to a campground, going backcountry, or traveling to a million-dollar cottage, Ontario's cottage country has much to discover.

Home to 1600 lakes, the region has changed significantly in the last 50 years. Lakes such as Rosseau, Joseph and Muskoka host the cottages of the rich and famous while single lane roads have turned into multi-lane highways cutting through the rocky landscape. That said, there is still plenty of untouched wilderness and quiet areas into which to escape.

The Real Man Travels gang loves to fade into the Muskoka wilds whenever we get a chance.    

What is 150 of our favourite Canadian things? Read about it here

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Surviving Road Trips: Music

It's summer time which means long drives to the beach, cottage, camping or maybe even cross country! Either way there is always a common factor when driving anywhere with multiple people and that is trying to please each passengers musical taste(s).

Conventional rules say that the front seat passenger is the one who controls the musical flow, but how fair is that when the passenger is the drivers significant other? So to avoid ruining a beautiful drive and possibly some friendships here are some quick tips to please everyone musically.

1. Find a generic station on the radio

Seems easy enough, just work the radio dial and scope out a station that is playing top hits of decades, genres or whatever your group is mostly into. The major drawbacks of this are that stations come and go as you drive, you will need to find a new station once every few hours as you exit cities, towns and cross borders. Oh, and you will have to listen to non-stop commercials! While not ideal, using the radio is still a valid option for some background music.

Sometimes you gotta go old school and just listen to the radio.

2. Share music time

Everyone has music on their devices, why not come up with a schedule so that everyone gets a turn listening to their own? Dedicate an hour or two to each passenger and pony up the auxiliary cord, Bluetooth signal, USB cable, or if you still have it (which is bad ass if you do) the cassette to 3.5mm adapter. The downside here is that you as a single person will have to listen to up to four other passengers musical preferences. And that can go either way depending on your friend’s taste in music. Again this isn’t ideal, but a better option than the radio.

3. Existing Playlists 

As an avid user of Spotify, I have to say that playlists are life savers when you don’t want to over think what to listen to. Simply pick a loose genre (example 80’s-90’s-00’s hits, Nu-Metal, Pop Punk, Country Hits) and search it up on Spotify. Magically, about 30 playlists pop up that you can now enjoy singing all the hits of. This works with many other genres, bands etc and is a pretty good road trip music solution. However you still have to swap playlists to cater to each passengers tastes. But at least it keeps the obscure tracks that no one has heard away. Downsides are streaming services use data, and we all know data is like gold right now! Tip: Consult with your buds beforehand and download a few Spotify playlists for offline play if you are a premium user. 

4. Creating Playlists

You can take this one step further and actually create your own playlist. You can do this on your computer, phone or through apps like Spotify. If you have extended time before your trip you could email all the other passengers and get them to send you the titles of 30 songs they’d love to hear. Compile them all up into a nice playlist, hit shuffle and enjoy musical freedom. This should cover everyone’s tastes and keep the music balanced (unless your shuffle is as stupid as mine and plays the same band 3 times in a row…c’mon shuffle get it together).

Spotify Logo, great streaming service for music.

5. Battle Royale Solution

Lastly you could of course have an epic road trip battle for dominance of the radio. The winner of whatever challenge you create takes full command of the tunes. Last one to need a bathroom break, rock paper scissors, elimination license plate games or pre-drive feats of strength? A true champion of the road deserves the glory of broadcasting the songs of their people, no? This solution isn't for the faint of heart (or ears) but still pretty awesome... if you win.

Regardless of which musical option you choose for your next road trip, just have fun and make the best of whatever may be playing. Remember that the drive and the music is just a means to get to your end destination!

Drive safe folks!

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Bick's Contest - Win a Big Green Egg!

As Canadians, we are resigned to the reality that our winters are long and our summers short. As such, we find ways to seize summer and make the utmost of its brief glory. Long, hot, hazy days are embraced as we swap our snow pants for shorts and our toques for t-shirts - often ridiculously early at the first hint of warmth.

There are a few telltale signs that herald the arrival of summer in Canada: the firing of sputtering lawnmowers, the filling of long-dormant restaurant patios, and the inevitable invites from friends and family finally breaking their winter hibernation. But two signs stand out above all others: highway traffic swelling with eager cottage-goers on route to cottage country, and the amazing smell of adding burgers to a fiery grill!

Bick's, purveyor of the finest pickles and other garnishes and condiments, were kind enough to invite the good lads from Real Man Travels to experience both these stand-out summer signals (well, the cottage, not the traffic) a couple of weeks ago. We also helped prove that burgers and pickles are truly the perfect pair. More on that in a future post, but we wanted to share a really fun contest they have announced with the chance to win a Big Green Egg BBQ - the ultimate cooking experience! These awesome-looking grills will allow you to signal summer far and wide and become the envy of your griller-hood. To enter, you must Find Bick's a Burger! Click here to learn how you can be entered to win, all while checking out amazing burger recipes.

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Winter Weekend in Ontario's Near North

A post by Scott F

Good things happen when you don’t let small annoyances ruin your day. During an Ontario winter day those “small” annoyances include brutal cold, snow measured in feet instead of inches and air that makes your face hurt...

Because you love it here, that's why.

But if you battle through all that and make your way outside, good things happen. This is what I learned during a recent winter vacay with the family to the outskirts of Huntsville, Ontario. Our intention: jam as many classic Canadian winter activities as possible into a couple days.

Ontario’s natural diversity seems to unfold anytime you cruise up Highway 400 and Highway 11. Wide stretches of fertile farmland blanketed with snow quickly give way to jagged, rocky terrain interspaced with countless lakes and rivers glassed over with ice. We watched as the accumulated snow piled on the road side quickly doubled, and then tripled as we passed Bracebridge, adding to the wildness of the land.

Our first stop was to check out Arrowhead Provincial Park just north of Huntsville. Arrowhead is one of few Ontario Parks that operates at any significant capacity during the winter, offering yurts and cabins for overnight winter adventures. We weren’t staying overnight, but had come to experience the 1.3 km skating trail we had heard so much about. Despite a few weeks of varied weather conditions, the ice was near perfect as we towed my son’s sleigh through the winding trail. The trail is a truly momentous accomplishment; a tribute to the Canadian love of winter. As we huddled around a campfire following our skate it was clear how much people appreciated the park's work maintaining the trail.

Before heading out we spotted Arrowhead’s tubing hill and I simply had to take my one year-old son, Wesley, for his first downhill ride (after a test run by myself, of course). No chairlift here folks, but the walk back up the hill will help you stay warm!

We made our way south east to Cedar Grove Lodge where we would stay for a couple of nights. The resort features 19 cabins backing onto a cliff that overlooks Peninsula Lake. Each cabin is unique and features a wood burning fireplace. We picked the resort for the private cottages, and for the fact that everything is included with your stay, including meals, firewood, recreational activities and more.

The next day, after a fantastic breakfast, we borrowed snowshoes from the resort and trekked to the top of the cliff, no small feat while towing Wesley in his sleigh. From the top we could see across the lake to Hidden Valley Ski Club on the other side. Scooter, our seven year-old fur baby, was thrilled with the chance to crash through the snow. Cheers to Cedar Grove for being pet friendly!

After a two hour hike we were more than ready for lunch. The meals at Cedar Grove are nothing short of spectacular. They offer three or four options at each meal in addition to different appetizers and desserts. The food is pure home comfort food sourced locally whenever possible (including amazing bread from the local Windmill Bakery). Plus, the resort is BYOB, so you can bring your own wine or beer with you to their dining room. I went with a gut warming Blacksmith Smoked Porter from the local Highlander Brew Co. as my drink of choice for our stay.

We spent the afternoon touring the resort, checking out their games room and playing shuffleboard and ping pong. We check off another winter activity when we grabbed some hockey sticks and headed out to the resort’s skating rink on the lake to shoot some pucks around.

After dinner we relaxed by our fireplace and played some board games. The cabins don’t have TVs or WIFI which was an amazing change from our regular plugged-in lifestyle.

Before leaving the next day we asked the resort to pack us a lunch and went out to their toboggan hill to squeeze in one more winter activity.  

All in all it was a near-perfect Canadian winter adventure. So don’t sweat the small stuff, like face biting cold; get out there and experience the unique opportunities winter offers. 

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