Christos’s Tobermory blog
Tobermory was a Canadian paradise. I had heard so much about Daryl from Sandy’s enlightening retreat with her last October. I never expected that they would invite all seven of us to stay. They are such an inspiring couple. They are in touch with nature, in touch with themselves and very loving.
Living on Lake Huron is so romantic, they have their own jetty into the lake and life can’t help but revolve around the water. We all adored their assortment of water craft from; kayaks to canoes, to tubes, to motor boat, to paddle boat, collected over the years and lovingly maintained by Doug.
The connection that we and the kids felt with Daryl and Doug was easy and instant. Like we had known each other for years. Oh how fun it would be to have summer holidays here, if only the distances weren’t so great!
Sandy and I are both in amazement at the seasonal extremes that is normal for people in this region of the world. While seasons certainly exist at home, with little seasonal jobs like, pruning, wood collection, fire prep, planting and mowing, the concept of ‘winterising’ to the extent they need to to survive, is quite foreign. Everything from emptying pipes completely, to dismantling the dock in the water, and putting it undercover because the months of ice on the lake would warp it out of shape. It is amazing to think that the lake is so still in the mornings, yet can get so choppy at times. And in another season one is able to ice skate on it in the winter when the strong winds blow the surface snow off and leave a clean ‘rink’ for the ‘Torvell and Dean’ of Tobermory to ‘do their stuff’. The fury of the seasons is so enthralling that I would dearly love to do more winter travel in Canada, Iceland and Russia.
I’m sure the kids will tell you more about ‘s’mores’, what a delight it was to end each day sitting around the lake with the fire, enjoying these wickedly delicious treats.
Daryl and Doug.
We are driving away right now from a remarkable place on this earth. The perfect place. Water, rocks and moss, snow, community, stunning nature, shipwrecks, national parks, meaningful work, a charity/opportunity shop, yoga on the beach in summer, and wonderful people. And amazingly all right outside the door literally, if not a 9 min drive away.
I met Daryl last year, she ran/lead the Womens Wisdom Retreat I attended. An awesome woman of integrity, of nature and of love. Now I have met Doug more completely. I am truly convinced they have their values and priorities in the right place. Neither Daryl or I imagined that our families would bond further and talk of visiting Australia would enter the conversation. Some things happen for a reason. It was through Daryl that I found out about the Kids Coaching Connection training (incredible stuff- watch out world here I come) that I attended last week in Toronto. And coming so close (4 hours drive from Toronto) we could not miss this opportunity to catch up. We never imagined how easy and fun it could be.
Doug is the master of equipment storing and repairing and maintenance. His gentleness and enthusiasm for getting out his boat and going tubing will be with the kids for a long time.
I will bask in the ever growing web of inter-continental and inter-generational connections that feed love into the hearts of our kids and grow peace, love and tolerance – exactly what we hoped this trip would do. Daryl had just read an article about sustainability and adaptability – talking about the need to develop the skill of ‘adaptability’ because we cannot predict the future, we need to learn how to adapt to whatever comes. And Daryl noted how ‘adaptable’ our kids were, and with pride we have to agree, as we see the kids connect and bond with all the amazing people we visit and stay with in our travel. Our world family continues to expand.
By mama Miliking
I loved the water at Doug and Daryl’s place and also the boats. The paddle boat was my favourite. We were helpers and we did a lot of helpful stuff. I also loved the s’mores – they’re square biscuits and you put chocolate, roasted marshmallows and a biscuit lid on the marshmallows and it melts the chocolate. They’re delicious.
One day when we come back to Australia we have to make some s’mores with our friends. I loved waking up with Zoi and getting our own cereal because everyone else was sleeping and it was yummy. by Moochie
MiliKing Meanderings 