Day One Hundred and Sixty - Mum and Dad in Canada

Dear all,

The summer holiday season is upon us and this summer I have definitely beenspoilt as more familiar folk hop off the plane at Toronto, this time in the shape of Tony and Hazel; Mutter and Dad Mourant!

Mutti is clearly key in the holiday organization as they arrived on Dad's birthday and despite changing in Newcastle from Exeter had a fantastic flight and tore up the Airport Road to arrive late afternoon.

Mum and Dad have developed quite a love for skiing in the last few years so high on the agenda was a trip to the Blue Mountain Ski Resort to check out the slopes with a view to coming back again during the snow covered winter months.

Blue Mountain is situated on small section of the Niagara Escarpment near to Collingwood and Georgian Bay. It sells on average 750,000 ski lift passes per year which lands it in third place behind Whistler and Tremblant as the third busiest ski resort in Canada. The resort has been carved out of the hill and includes high speed lifts and 'The Village' modelled on Tremblant and Whistler.

We drove to the top of the ski hill to enjoy the breath taking view of Georgian Bay and local area . We had the option of taking the gondola which runs in summer for a small fee, but decided to take the car, passing by The Scenic Caves (http://www.sceniccaves.com) and parked at the top of the mountain. We took a leisurely stroll beside the oldest chair lift in Ontario, now a relic but still on show for the delight of visitors ( if only to strike fear in the hearts of modern day skiers who shudder at the thought of how their ancestors ascended the slopes)

We walked a considerable distance over the mountain and despite the fact that Dad had forgotten his binoculars in the car, we admired various majestic birds mid flight and gazed out at the beautiful Georgian Bay in all its glory. A fabulous introduction to Collingwood.