Heading Home

When we pulled out of Bruce Peninsula National Park, I was ready to head home. After 11 nights in a tent—the last two of which were noisy and restless—I wanted to be back in my own bed.

But DW and I weren't quite ready to end our vacation. At the very least, we wanted to get in one more day of paddling. Our daughter wasn't expecting us home until the next day, which was a Saturday, or perhaps even on Sunday.

When we were researching good places to kayak along the Bruce Peninsula, Lion's Head, which is about midway down, along Georgian Bay, came up in our searches. The Niagara Escarpment, which officially starts in Tobermory and ends at Niagara Falls, is especially prominent at Lion's Head.

There's a beach with parking, at $3 an hour, between the marina and a trailer park. We were able to get a spot across from a carpeted walkway that leads down to the water and allows people in wheelchairs access to the beach.

We decided that we'd hug the southern shore of the bay on which the town is situated and make it around the point for as far as we could get in the time that we had. There are great rock features where the water meets the cliffs, and the clear water reveals massive boulders, below.

The southern point for the bay is a massive peninsula that juts high above. We could see private homes at the top, looking northward, which made the homes in Big Tub Harbour, in Tobermory, look like small shacks.

While I bawked at the extravagance of these homes, I couldn't help be envious of the views they must offer.

Just as you round the point, there's a sea cave that offers you a small hiding place from the sun. DW and I took turns backing our kayaks in. There was really only room for one vessel at a time.

We paddled the length of the peninsula, to where it turns in to Barrow Bay. We were both taken with the view of the escarpment and would have gone further, but the clock was ticking on our parking and we were starting to get hungry.

And we'd be paddling into the wind until we re-entered Lion's Head Bay.

The paddling was amazing and, once again, we had great weather. It was the perfect paddle to end a great vacation.

We made our way south, stopping in Wiarton for lunch at The Green Door Café, where I had a great wrap and DW had a delicious burger. I didn't want anything too heavy, as I expected to do a lot of driving, as I was now at a point where I just wanted to get home.

DW was nervous about a long drive ahead and didn't want us to be on the road at night, so we agreed that we would drive to various towns, where we would assess my level of fatigue and decide whether we wanted to find a hotel or continue.

Our first stop was in Orillia, at the top of Lake Simcoe. We paid a visit to Mariposa Market, where DW grabbed a coffee and a pastry. I picked up a dozen peanut butter cookies (to take home) and a cold drink, and we decided that I could go further.

I set directions for Peterborough and off we went.

The stop in Orillia had given me my second wind, which carried on at Peterborough. At this point, home was calling to me and I didn't want to stop. We followed Highway 7 all the way to Ottawa, stopping only in Perth for some gas.

As we pulled onto our street, the fatigue really set in. "I don't want to empty the car right away," I told DW. It was just past 11:30 when we pulled into our driveway.

"Neither do I," said DW. "We'll empty it in the morning."

We did, however, have to take our kayaks off the roof so that we could drive into our garage. It only took a few minutes to secure the kayaks to the wall racks, and we were in the house by 11:45.

I don't remember my head hitting the pillow, and I had the best night of sleep in almost two weeks.

Our vacation was over but the memories were going to last a lifetime. By now, all of my videos have been edited and uploaded to my YouTube channel, with each one coming out every Friday. The final video, of Lion's Head, will be released on Friday, October 9.

Our kayaking adventures for 2026 are far from done. As of the writing of this post, DW and I have been out in our kayaks twice, and I'll have videos to share from those outings. And we'll keep paddling for as long as the weather holds out.

But going forward, everything will be compared to the adventures we had on Lake Superior and Georgian Bay.

Happy Friday!