From Niagra to Port Dover - days 9 & 10

We took a look at the map and picked a spot along Lake Erie in the Southernmost part of Ontario - Port Dover - and that is where we decided to go. We had decided to have a rest day; find a motel with a pool and stay for 2 nights and do very little in between to recharge our batteries after our hectic start.

First we went to Marineland. Apparently the second largest marine park in North America; and certainly it was vast; but it didn't have that much marine life. A tiny aquarium with fish but fantastic large enclosures where you could see the animals from both above and below the water for Beluga whales (with babies), killer whales; dolphins; walruses and seals. You could queue up for ages to feed a Beluga but it was too hot to stand in line in the sun. On the far side of the park they had other animals in large enclosures. The best was a fantastic, half water, half land enclosure with black bears; people were buying bear food (some sort of honey balls, like cereal) and throwing it down to them. They all had different characters; one that didn't like getting wet and would wade through water to a rock on back legs with arms in the air. Another that was asleep in the water, he was floating but with his chin propped onto a rock, another that would raise his arm; as if to call over the waiter; when he wanted some more food. Elk that loved the fresh grass we brought them had silky soft antlers and a bit of an attitude if they didn't get their fair share; Bison (buffalo) that were very slobbery and snorty and also loved the fresh grass; and we walked amongst a herd of deer, they were being fed some sort of food like horse nuts that were dispensed in ice cream cones, the deer weren't interested in the nuts just the cones!
Celso and I rode the longest steel rollercoaster in the world which had 2 loop the loops and 2 twists, but never got more than about 6 metres off the ground so my fear of heights didn't really come in to play, nonetheless I had my eyes shut for most of the trip, but it was a great one!
We then got on our way to Port Dover driving along small country roads. The roads were really straight but really poorly signposted. We got a bit lost but made sure we just kept heading west towards the sun and we arrived in Port Dover at around 6pm.

Port Dover is an old fishing port that now survives on a very brief summer tourist season. The tourists are all Canadian; we haven't met any other foreigners and that's what the guy we are staying with says; and they come here for the beach on Lake Erie, it looks just like a sea. We drove around for about 1/2 hour looking for a motel but we could only find B&B accommodation. I left Celso and Tris on the beach and set out to find us somewhere to stay; we had decided that instead of a pool we could use the lake and beach to fulfill our 'lazy day' plans.
The first place I stopped at had 1 free cabin, a self contained unit with kitchen / sitting room with sofa bed; bathroom and double bedroom - PERFECT. The manager wasn't about, but the owner let me have the cabin at a reduced rate for a couple of nights for cash saying he wouldn't put it through the books. This got him in trouble with the manager the next day who relet the cabin as he hadn't written down that it was let!
It turns out that the place has an outdoor swimming pool open until 11pm and heated to 85F....bliss. He has about 10 cabins (they call them cottages) and also lets out rooms in the house. His son (about 14 or 15) spent the whole day on Thursday painting a boat opposite our cabin; I sat for a few hours watching, reading my book (I'm reading Obama's autobiography which someone sent me in the post just before we left but there was no note with it so I have absolutely no idea who - Thanks if it was you, it's a great read) and we did our accounts, spent a couple of hours on the beach and generally chilled out.
We now have 3 days to get north to Algonquin where we will take the canoe out onto the lakes; we are just going to see where the road takes us heading vaguely in a Northwards direction. If it all turns out as well as this place it will be fab!