Getaway: Mother and Daughter staycation in Ontario

Our feet in the sands of the Sandbanks Provincial Park ‘s Outlet beach.

Every year my mother and I try to go away on a vacation. Past trips have brought us to NYC, Margarita Island in Venezuela, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic as well as Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. This year we had to scale back due to time constraints, but we still wanted our mother-daughter getaway time together. Thus came the idea of an extended staycation in our home Province of Ontario in Canada.

Choosing where to go wasn’t much of a challenge. We chose a place we’ve been going to for years…Prince Edward County’s Sandbanks Provincial Park! Growing up, we’d go the camping route, but in more recent years, mom and I have matured in our tastes and seek adventures that include enjoying the comforts of a hotel room with electricity.

Since this trip came together very last-minute, and we were trying to go over a long weekend period, I knew it would be impossible to find a bed & breakfast in the area. We had to look at hotels in bordering Belleville, along the Trans Canada highway which connects vacationers from Windsor Ontario to the province of Quebec.

I’ll skip the story about our actual accommodations, but let’s just say, there are no fancy hotels in Belleville.

When we arrived in our room, we had a quick change of clothes, put on some lipstick and headed out for dinner.

I had found a local restaurant called Earl & Angelo’s based on a simple Twitter search. The service and food were really good, the menu selection was great and the lovely server accommodated us the entire time we were there. We left soon after a good laugh session and the last sip of wine was had.

Small town Main street.

Mama Urban Traveler & I just after our meal at Earl & Angelo’s in Belleville

The next morning, we woke up and our first stop was the local Walmart Supermarket (or whatever it’s called) to pick-up a cooler, some beach treats, then a quick stop to the LCBO (liquor store name in Ontario) and finally an important stop at good old Dairy Queen on Dundas St East for 2 chocolate dipped cones!

With our purchased items, suntan lotion, beach chairs, towels and Battleships travel edition in tow, we were headed to the park/beach. Thirty minutes later we arrived at the main entrance, paid the $16 car fee and headed towards the Outlet beach. My mom’s tip was to park in the first available parking spot. Her theory was that most people drive deep along the beach’s length, thus allowing an open gap of space to spread out at the top of the beach. Momma knows best! As soon as we walked onto the beach, to the right of the path, by a huge log, we saw the PERFECT spot for our set-up and it was like we were on our own little private island.

Obey your signs…or else!

My mom and I had a great day! We continued to laugh, we caught-up on life, played games and engaged in some necessary people watching. Initially the water wasn’t easy to get into, but as we chatted away, we didn’t even notice that we were already chest-deep. We were able to burn some calories by trying to catch each other in the water (that lady is as swift as the current!), we took a ton of pics and we even watched the rain trickle across the lake at the end of the day.

A view of the beach from just outside of the Park/Beach/

A view of the beach from a few metres into the water.

Chillin

I know…I crack myself up!

I sunk her Battleships!

We watched the rain move across Lake Ontario in the near distance.

Watching the rain intensify as it moved across Lake Ontario in the near distance.

The cherry on the cake was watching the most incredible rainbow beam in-front of us that lasted about 20 minutes. We had to pull over on the side of the road a few times just to enjoy the beauty.

Chasing the Rainbow in West Lake Ontario

The story I wanted to tell with this post was that even though my mother and I stayed local, we still managed to have an amazing time on our getaway. Just goes to show, you don’t need to go far or spend a ton of money trying to “getaway,” especially if you are with people you love and enjoy.

Food: Earl & Angelo‘s 82 Front St, Belleville, Ontario Canada K8N 2Y7 (613) 962-1182

Getaway: Sandbanks Provincial Park 3004 county road no 12, Picton, Ontario Canada K0K 2T0 (613) 393-3319) – 2hrs from Toronto and 2 hours from Ottawa as well

Total cost of our 3 day, 2 night long weekend getaway (gas, food, park entrance, hotel, drinks and beach accessories): Approx. $600.

Do you live in Ontario? Where do you go to getaway with your family and friends? There are TONS of activities and things to see each season. Check out Ontario Tourism ‘s website for ideas! www.ontariotourism.com