On Saturday, we took our first trip outside of the city this summer (other than our brief trip to Newfoundland), and visited the picturesque Elora Gorge!
Elora Gorge - spot the inner tubes!
Luke's parents are visiting us in Toronto for 10 days so, naturally, on their first full day in the country, we hit the ground running by hopping on a bus for 1.5 hours (each way), and walking 18,000 steps.
On Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early and got on the Parkbus near Dufferin Station. We bounced around in the back of the school bus as we drove out of the city and onto the wide open road. Getting off the main highways was especially interesting for Luke's parents as it was an opportunity to briefly see a bit more of Southern Ontario outside of Toronto.
When we arrived in the town of Elora, it was raining. A lot.
On Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early and got on the Parkbus near Dufferin Station. We bounced around in the back of the school bus as we drove out of the city and onto the wide open road. Getting off the main highways was especially interesting for Luke's parents as it was an opportunity to briefly see a bit more of Southern Ontario outside of Toronto.
When we arrived in the town of Elora, it was raining. A lot.
... so we huddled in the first café we found and slowly drank our morning hot beverages. Once the rain let up a bit, we walked further into town and scoped out a place for brunch. Box Social fit the bill - pancakes, quiche, and big breakfasts galore.
By the time we finished our brunch, the sun had come out and then stayed out for the rest of the day! We wandered back through town and visited a viewpoint which looks over the Elora Gorge before walking over to the Elora Gorge Conservation Area itself. We briefly debated zip-lining across the gorge. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the zip-line across the gorge is not as epic as it sounds.
The walk to the Elora Gorge Conservation Area is slightly inconvenient from the town of Elora. There is only one entrance to the park and it is at the opposite end from the town. The sun was beating down on us as we made our way to the entrance, but we enjoyed the walk along the long, straight, country roads.
By the time we finished our brunch, the sun had come out and then stayed out for the rest of the day! We wandered back through town and visited a viewpoint which looks over the Elora Gorge before walking over to the Elora Gorge Conservation Area itself. We briefly debated zip-lining across the gorge. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the zip-line across the gorge is not as epic as it sounds.
The walk to the Elora Gorge Conservation Area is slightly inconvenient from the town of Elora. There is only one entrance to the park and it is at the opposite end from the town. The sun was beating down on us as we made our way to the entrance, but we enjoyed the walk along the long, straight, country roads.
Once we arrived in the Conservation Area, it didn't take long to find the trail along the top of the gorge. From a small bridge, we watched people tubing down the gorge for a while and then walked the length of the park in one direction, stopping occasionally for some photos or just to soak up all of the nature. It was spectacular.
We had to repeat the walk back into town but, as to be expected, it didn't feel like it took near as long to get into town on the way back.
To reward ourselves for our hard work, we set up camp outside at a local pub and enjoyed the warm breeze as we sat in the shade and drank our pints. Wasps also seemed to be fans of the local cider that Luke's mom was drinking so that ended pretty badly for the wasp.
We spent our last hour in Elora grabbing some ice cream and wandering around the town some more
To reward ourselves for our hard work, we set up camp outside at a local pub and enjoyed the warm breeze as we sat in the shade and drank our pints. Wasps also seemed to be fans of the local cider that Luke's mom was drinking so that ended pretty badly for the wasp.
We spent our last hour in Elora grabbing some ice cream and wandering around the town some more
We had a great day out in Elora and we so glad that we got to enjoy it with Luke's parents. Here are some more photos of the day:
Curious to see what we were up to last year? Well, we finally checked out Quidi Vidi Brewery and enjoyed some of their local brews. Two years ago we made lanterns and hung out at the St. John's Lantern Festival.
