Highway 7 between Ottawa and Marmora – where my mother lives – is twisty and scenic. It’s one of my favourite drives. And if you happen to be taking the trip on a sunny fall day, well, that’s just a bonus.
If you ever find yourself on this route during daylight hours, make sure you stop at the Fall River Grill and Gift Shop about 15 minutes west of Perth. Someday I will hit it at the right time for lunch, but the shop is full of neat stuff. There’s a separate building for drive-through coffee and homemade snacks. I am pretty sure I had the best latte and date square I’ve ever had in my whole life there today.
The best thing about this drive is that there’s a lot to see. The worst thing about this drive is that if you’re the driver it’s hard to keep your eyes on the road.
Ahem.
On this particular drive I saw turkeys, turtles, trees, rocks, rivers, lakes, swamps, hills, valleys, trains, towns, bridges, junk shops, taxidermists, vultures, farms, motels, rusted out cars, sumac bushes so red they look like they’re on fire … and more. It’s quite a journey, and it’s never the same twice.
Someday I would like to take the time to do it justice with a proper camera. Maybe I should consider biking it next summer?* It might be the only way to take it all in.
* According to Google maps it’d take me 11 hours and 2 minutes to bike from my place to my mother’s house. Hmmm.
