*Hey guys! I didn’t fall off the planet! The last month has been crazy with end of the year stuff at school and a family emergency on top of that but I’m back!
A few weeks ago I had the privilege of tagging along with our grade 7/8 class and their teacher, who happens to be Chris, to a camp on the Bruce Peninsula. It was 4 days of nonstop fun and activities for the students and Chris and I couldn’t have been more pleased. On top of all of the great facilities the setting was absolutely gorgeous! If you’ve never been to “the Bruce” you should definitely check it out! As a frame of reference, the drive is about 3 1/2 hours from Toronto to the tip of the peninsula. There are several provincial as well as national parks and plenty of places to camp along the way. While the kids were kept pretty busy, there was a little downtime for the teachers who were there. Chris and I decided to do a little exploring and did a couple of 4 mile runs around the area. If you’ve never considered heading out for a run while on a trip, you really should, not only does it help you keep up your exercise routine, but it’s a great way to see the sites! In fact, more and more hotels are offering site seeing runs as part of their offered services.
If you’re going to head out on your own it’s a good idea to check with a staff member first to get some tips on where to go, or more importantly, if there are certain places you should avoid running through. Chris and I noticed one of the camp nurses out for a run one day so we asked her for some advice. She told us about a 4 mile loop that goes right by the beach and that sounded great to us! Did we go in the water you ask? Ummm…no. Lake Huron is cold on a hot day in mid July let alone a mild day in May and, truth be told, we’re wimps when it comes to water temperature 😉 . The route was perfect. It was quiet and for the most part pretty flat terrain except for one sharp hill in the road right outside of the camp. Along with the runs, we went hiking with the kids at Bruce Peninsula National Park. Such a beautiful spot…
We were only there for a morning but I would love to bring my own family back and really explore this gorgeous park. It’s funny how your interests change over time. Just a few years ago, I wouldn’t have thought of doing a run or a hike on a vacation but now I find myself looking up local running routes if we’re travelling. I was really bummed in March when we went to Montreal and the snowstorm hit. Our plans of running Mount Royal were replaced with simply trying to navigate the snow drifts near our hotel!
It’s funny, now when I think of somewhere we should go on a vacation, it’s more about what we can do outside rather than indoors, less about museums (which I also love) and more about nature and exploring this wonderful world that God has entrusted us with. Next time you plan a trip I challenge you to incorporate at least one run or bike ride and see if you fall in love with it too!
Been to a runner friendly city on vacation? Tell me about it!