Hiking trips over the Thanksgiving weekend had become my oldest daughter and I’s tradition.
This year I had chosen the Midland area, and extended the trip by a day. We had rented a cute Airbnb within walking distance of the old downtown area. It was central to cute shops, and restaurants, and about 25 minutes from each of the trail areas we had decided on.
I brought some of my crystals up with me so that I could continue my daily meditation practice. While I am capable of meditating without them, my preference is to include them. I had also researched a couple local metaphysical shops to visit in the area as well.
I was also keeping up with my grounding, though I’m sure the neighbours were curious about the girl in her pajamas, standing barefoot on the lawn at 7am each morning.
Our first hiking day was spent at the Georgian Bay Islands National Park. This happens to be the smallest park in Canada. It requires taking a ferry, and choosing between the 2 sides of the island. The Beausoleil side of the island is much more rugged, and considered to be better for hiking, so we chose that.
The island is entirely Canadian Shield, and hiking that was a first for me. It was intense, and slippery. We spent 4 hours on the island, exploring its many lookout points, and taking in nature.
Being in nature has become so calming for me, a reset of sorts. My reiki practitioner had mentioned seeing this trip, which I had booked back in July, and how it would be good for me.
I snuck in a little beach side meditation while my girl ate some snacks, and just enjoyed the slower pace of my day. Surrounded by trees and water, in an element I’ve come to enjoy much more than being around people.
After we took the ferry back to our car, we decided to head into town to a little crystal shop called Tiny Gems. I highly recommend it if you ever visit the Midland area. They had all kinds of tumbles, palms and raw pieces, most notably, amethyst from a mine owned by the shop.
The second day we were heading off to Awenda Provincial Park, an area with over 30 km of trails situated in and around Lake Huron.
We did a combination of the Bluff and Wendat trails, which were around 14km, and took us around 3 hours to complete.
The Bluff trail, in particular, is considered a hard trail, and so we mostly had that to ourselves. Personally, I would rate it moderate.
After our long day of hiking, we ventured back into town for some antiquing at an old library turned vintage store, called Olde Town Library. Such a unique spot, filled with all kinds of knickknacks, and a cafe in the back that looks straight out of the 1920s.
Our last stop was a local Mexican restaurant called Zanca. The only thing I enjoy more than being in nature, is good food. Very authentic, really fresh, and their assortment of made in-house hot sauces were deadly.
Overall, the weekend was a success. Plenty of time in the great outdoors, some window shopping, all capped off by eating Haagen-Dasz bars in bed while watching Letterkenny.
I was rediscovering how to balance my time between work and play, and the added perk was the quality time I had gotten with each of my girls by doing this solo trips with them. I left Midland with gratitude in my heart, and fresh air in my lungs.
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