Thursday July 8, Friday July 9, 2010Kayaking has added a new and entertaining dimension to our retired life. We had done some canoe trips before we retired and thought we would buy a canoe but once we got looking we decided on kayaks. I love having my own boat and sitting low on the water. You can cover a lot of territory in a kayak and I have no problem keeping up.
We had read about kayaking on the Grand River and found information on line about Grand Experiences, an outfitter that rents equipment, does gu
ided trips and provides shuttles. Since we have our own kayaks we just used them to shuttle. John made the arrangements and booked a B & B for the 4 us in Paris Ontario. 
We drove to Cambridge very early Thursday morning and unloaded at the designated access point. Seamus and John drove the vehicles down to Paris and were shuttled back by Grand Experiences. We were on the river by 10:15.
It was hot and humid but what better time to be on a river? The river was wide and quite shallow for the most part. There were quite a few swifts especially on the last half. We stopped for lunch half way at the Glen Morris access point. After that swifts were plentiful. These are not really rapids, they are more gentle but quite exciting to navigate and to go fast. There were quite a few rocks but you could get around them and even if you hit one the kayaks are so durable and stable that I was not afraid. None of us tipped. The water was very warm and shallow so even if we had it would not have been too traumatic.
The scenery was mostly bush and as we got closer to Paris there were more hills. We saw a deer in the middle of the river at one point. The trip took a little over 4 hours including the lunch stop. I would definitely do this again or another part of the Grand. Maybe next time from Paris to Brantford.
When we got to Asa Wolverton House, the B & B John had booked in Paris, we were a little worried. It looked like it was under construction. It is actually a restoration project. As it turned out we did not stay in that house but went to River Line and stayed in their "garage" house.
Yes, this one looked like a garage so again we were a bit nervous. Once we got inside we couldn't believe how nice it was! Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and kitchen area and many amenities made it a wonderful place to stay. The air conditioning was working well thank goodness since it was one of the hottest days of the year!
The couple that owns these 2 places have made a life of restoring old places and it was a fascinating story. Judy and Rick live a much different life than we do but it seems to be a labour of love and the results are fascinating and attractive. I wouldn't want to do it but admire their efforts.
We walked to the Cobblestone Public House for supper and enjoyed pub food. Paris is a small town and has many old buildings and beautiful scenery along the river. The train bridge is a focal point and trains were frequent.
Friday we had a wonderful breakfast made by Judy at the Asa Wolverton House. We started with fruit and a streudel type pastry. This was followed by blueberry pancakes, scrambled eggs and sausages. It was raining but we were hoping it would let up so we could play golf and wear some of this off! Judy gave us a tour of parts of the house and explained what they were planning on doing to restore this old Carriage House. What ambition!
The Paris Golf Club is gorgeous. It was still raining at 10:30 when were supposed to tee off but we were anxious to play so sat on the deck and waited it out, keeping an eye on the radar in the pro shop. It started to lighten up so we did head out and were not disappointed. It did rain on us for a couple of holes but not too heavy and it was very warm and bearable. The course is well manicured, hilly and has many interesting holes. I loved the scenery and the greenery. Didn't golf too badly either! Some of the course ran along the river and it was interesting to see the Grand from both perspectives. We had passed the golf course on the kayak trip.
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