Summer of 2024 is my vengeance against grief. It’s obviously a lost cause because no amount of experiences can fill your cup enough to stop the real, raw, bodily, visceral, rollercoaster of grieving. But even so, knowing the fragility of life and the beauty of this moment… this fast fleeting moment, I was determined to pack in as much travel as I can. With our very busy toddler, we prefer our destinations to be in driving distance to give him enough breaks to run and stretch his limbs.

Tobermory is my favorite destination in Ontario, and each visit to Tobermory grew my intrigue about Manitoulin Island, which lies just north of Tobermory. So this summer, we revved up our SUV, packed snacks and a cooler full of flavored yogurts, cheese sticks, apple sauce pouches (for my toddler), and Gatorade, and headed to Manitoulin Island.

Being a last minute trip, tickets for the Chi-Cheemaun Ferry were sold out. This ferry takes tourists from Tobermory to Manitoulin Island. With that option ruled out, we mapped our route via Sudbury and entered the island via Espanola and Little Current. A little longer on drive-time distance but lovely, nevertheless. I love discovering new, unseen landscapes of Ontario, exploring its simple, sweet little towns and find amazing burger joints on the highway.

On our way to Manitoulin Island, we made a pitstop at Blakes Memories of Muskoka in Seguin in Parry Sound. We ate, took a restroom break, and bought some mid-afternoon coffee to-go. The food servings were large and fresh, the staff was attentive and polite, especially to my little guy, offering him colouring books and crayons. The rustic cottage decor created an interesting ambiance.

Another memorable experience was driving on the Little Current Swing Bridge. Although a modest looking bridge that swings open for marine traffic but marvelous in in the fact that such an engineering feat was achieved as far back as 1913.

Late evening we checked into Manitoulin Inn in Mindemoya. Manitoulin Island is not very touristy, at least it wasn’t packed with crowds the late July weekend we were there. All hotels or Inns were located on spacious lots surrounded by large green fields or forests. Our motel was super well maintained and every morning and late evenings we spotted groups of deer just grazing the fields. It was so peaceful and tranquil at this location.

The one thing to watch out for is that almost all eating joints close relatively early. So if you’re returning from a day of hiking or excursions late evening, it’s best to order ahead and collect your takeout on your way back to the hotel or motel. Most food options are in the category of burgers, fish & chips, chicken tenders and pizzas. Mum’s restaurant is a popular breakfast place among tourists. There’s also an Indian food truck – Sukhdev on Wheels. We loved the burgers at Rich Man’s Stand in M’chigeeng – the fish ones were amazing and my husband enjoyed their chicken burgers and hamburgers a lot.

I’m going to follow up this blog post with a day by day recap of my family adventure in Manitoulin Island.

Learn more about Manitoulin Island – its history and indigenous peoples: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/manitoulin-island

I found this article about Manitoulin Island’s Indigenous heritage an interesting read:

‘Language does mean something’