Newmarket to Port Perry

With the help of sidewalks(!) and google maps,  we navigated our way down Yonge Street (the same one!), and passed a Quaker Meeting House, from 1810, and through some urban green space. This included some wetlands and the Aurora Community Arboreteum. From there, we travelled along Highway 15, which became much quieter after the junction with the 404 (which, incidentally has better hard shoulders than any road we have been on, but prohibits cyclists). The countryside comprised large estate houses, stables, lots of corn and a tract of land exploited by Lafarge for gravel. By that time, we were on the Oak Ridges Moraine. We know that to get our precious hard shoulders there is a need for aggregate, but the scars the pits leave are ugly. Travelling along the moraine also meant very hilly terrain. We headed to Highway 21,  but its condition was amongst the worst we had experienced, so we went back onto side roads, which were much quieter but almost as bad! Eventually, we arrived at Port Perry. In the late 19th century, cargo from all over Northern Ontario came through Port Perry, via the Severn-Trent Waterway, and then to Whitby. David Palmer, said to be the founder of “chiropractic”, spent his childhood here. There are many interesting and attractive buildings on the Main Street,  including the old town hall and and the building which now houses the Piano Inn 1884, where we are staying, in the seamstress room.

We passed the 5000 km point today!

Medical note: Lois was stung on the neck by a bee. Fortunately, her personal physician was at hand with his well-stocked first-aid kit. Dr. Paul pulled out the sting-relief gel, which he applied liberally to the affected area, after which Lois could feel neither the sting, nor any sensation in half of her neck for the rest of the afternoon!

We are on the traditional territory of the First Nations of the Upper Canada Treaties Area 1. The Mississagua of Scugog Island First Nation hold a pow wow each year in Port Perry.