a peek inside the fishbowl

12 Aug, 2015

Camping at Achray, part two

By andrea tomkins in travel talk

If you follow me on Twitter – or was watching the 6:00 p.m. news last night – you already know that a massive tree fell over in our backyard yesterday morning. Thankfully, it fell in the right direction and no one was hurt, but the What Ifs have been filling my brain and I’m still on edge about it all.

This was the scene at around 8:30 yesterday morning.

Here’s another view.

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In part of one this post I mentioned we had forgotten to pack some critical items for our overall camping success:

1) A frying pan
2) A dust pan
3) Dinner plates

I knew that not having this things wouldn’t destroy our camping trip, but they sure are nice to have, aren’t they? The frying pan is for the obvious. Anything that can’t easily be cooked on the grill can be cooked in a pan. And the dust pan is for the sand which will inevitably find its way into the tent. I’m not dirt phobic by any stretch, but the sand we track in makes me a little crazy. And the dinner plates? I tried to be optimistic about their absence. It meant there’d be fewer dishes to wash, and better portion control as we ate everything on the smaller, lunch-sized plates, right?

We had to make some adjustments. For example, our first breakfast was drawn out more than usual. First, we had coffee and juice. Then, we waited while Mark fried the bacon a few slices at a time on a makeshift frying pan (yes, you read that right) constructed out of a foil tray lined with more foil. When the bacon course was complete, I mixed up the pancake batter. Then Mark made pancakes, a few at a time. And we took turns eating them hot off the ‘pan.’

As per our camping tradition, we always set off on a hike after breakfast, and we always start with the easiest. At Achray, it’s Jack Pine Trail. It’s a short walk that takes visitors out to see the setting of Tom Thompson’s famous Jack Pine. (Which you can see and read a bit about on the National Gallery website.) At the end of the trail, or should I say, the climax of the trail, there’s a rock face you can scamper down to reach a natural beach. If you’re lucky you’ll see a little waterbird or two running between the incoming waves.

The walk back included a bullfrog sighting, wild raspberries ripe for picking, and a monarch resting amid a field of milkweed.

Camping has permanently changed for us. When the girls were small they required constant supervision, and although they were pretty good at entertaining themselves, they still needed a lot of attention. Now, we are four adults (almost). They take care of their own needs and are very good at helping. I can’t imagine setting up the tent without their help anymore. We let them start the campfire on their own too. This year they baited their own fishing hooks and removed and released the fish they caught. I am one proud momma, that’s for sure.

What kind of camping family are we? This is something I’ve thought about. We aren’t one of those families who belt out show tunes around the campfire. We stare into the embers and poke the fire with smoking sticks. We are a family of photographers, minnow catchers, nature lovers, readers, and Uno players. Mark called Achray “an introvert’s paradise” and I think he is right. This campground is radio-free, and since there are no showers here either, it seems to get a pass by a whole segment of the usual camping population.

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So I was brushing my teeth at one of Achray’s pseudo-comfort stations (think: a pair of flush toilets and sinks, co-ed) and had a foamy mouthful of toothpaste when I noticed some guy standing awkwardly on the outside of the building, kinda watching me. I looked over at my eldest, who thought he was waiting for a sink so she skirted closer towards me. I looked up, and it was our friend Pete! Mark and Pete have been friends since high school. To make a long story short, we had company around the fire that night and borrowed a frying pan in the process. It was destiny.

I’ll be writing more about the Achray, and some of the things we did while we were there in my next post. As long as more trees don’t fall in our yard. Sigh.

Tags: Achray, activities, Algonquin, camping, kids

09 Aug, 2015

Dinner at Wooden Heads, Kingston

By andrea tomkins in Recipes and Food,travel talk

I have so much to catch up on here and I feel like I am falling behind by leaps and bounds, but I have to stop the presses and tell you about a great restaurant in Kingston that knocked our socks off recently: Wooden Heads Gourmet Pizza. Have you ever been? They’re a fixture in Kingston and have been there for over 20 years. (Here’s a little article/review about Wooden Heads FYI.)

The four of us were near starving (I will tell you why later) and ready to gnaw our arms off as we ventured forth from our hotel. Wooden Heads was our destination of choice. My Ottawa foodie friend Paula Roy had recommended it in an article that was published in Capital Parent Newspaper ages ago. And if SHE liked it, I knew I would like it.

It was after 8 p.m. on a Thursday night. How busy could it be? It was a weekday after all, and Queen’s wasn’t in session yet, right? As we navigated the crowded sidewalks of Ontario Street it began to dawn on us that it was not going to be a quiet night in sleepy Kingston. Wooden Heads’ patio was at capacity and the restaurant itself was packed to the rafters. A lineup was beginning to form at the door. We asked the hostess about a table for four, silently hoping for a miracle. She told us it was going to be a 45-minute wait. Hunger pangs aside, we decided to stick it out. But wait! Suddenly the hostess turned around and told us to wait a moment. She left, then returned a minute or two later to let us know that they’d just had a cancellation. She motioned that the table was a taller one, would that be ok? I would have sat beside the washrooms at this point, so we followed her inside.

She lead us to the Wooden Heads back patio. It’s a sizeable area, open to the sky and nestled between two buildings with lots of exposed brick and stone work. Our table was not located near the washrooms after all, it was a cosy corner that was indeed a rise above the other tables, which afforded us a pretty nice perspective. This will give you a bit of an idea:

Our server, Annie, was a standout. It’s not often that we experience this level of service. Annie was charming, patient, attentive without being overbearing. We started with battered shrimp and beverages, which arrived promptly. It took us ages to decide what to order, as the menu is extensive and frankly, everything sounded delicious. Pizza is the big draw here, and I now understand why. After some difficulty I narrowed it down to 4-5 choices which, just to give you an idea, included:

Vegitariana (tomato sauce, mushrooms, mozzarella, grilled eggplant, onions & green pepper)
Guglielmo (porcini cream, brie, pear slices, prosciutto, rosemary)
Luminoso (avocado pressed yogurt, cheddar, tomatoes, double smoked bacon, cilantro
Capretto (tomato sauce, soft goat’s cheese, basil and rosemary)
Prosciutto (roasted garlic, mozzarella, tomatoes, prosciutto, sweet onions, rosemary)

Here’s my dilemma. I really wrestle with the idea of ordering something I know I will love vs. trying something completely new. At the last minute I ordered the Nonna Mela (apple butter, roast garlic, cheddar, sweet onions, blackened chicken).

Oh. My. God.

I was so happy with my order. The crust is the thin, wood-fired variety. This is my personal preference as I have grown to dislike bready crusts. I much prefer to focus on the toppings! And they did not disappoint. The apple butter and garlic and onions provided the perfect contrast to one another. The chicken was nice – thankfully not dried out as can be the case sometimes – and the cheddar, although not a traditional cheese for pizza, pulled it all together very well.

Mark had the Sorrento (tomato sauce, Italian sausage and mozzarella). He liked it, but wasn’t entirely happy with the kind of sausage they used. My youngest ordered a caesar salad with grilled shrimp (two thumbs up), and the eldest ordered a traditional pepperoni, which was also very good.

I wish we lived closer, because I’d like to make my way through the menu. ;)

We had a lovely dinner, and I’m happy to recommend Wooden Heads if you ever find yourself in Kingston. Just remember to make a reservation!