Daytripping Issue - Summer 2020

Lake Huron
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ONTARIO
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Rodney
80
2
9
14
401
To London &
St. Thomas
West Lorne
& Dutton
79
2
EXIT 129
EXIT 137
8
401
West Lorne
76
EXIT 149
Duttont
3
Lake Erie
YOUR HOME
DÉCOR STORE
Furniture
Accents
Gifts
Jewellery
Accessories
To Chatham
& Windsor
121
Rodney
103
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going backward is the last thing any
of us want. Let’s keep being smarter
than a virus.
It could have been worse.
The only thing
we could count
on this past
spring was good
weather. July’s
Just an image I love.
(artist unknown)
been insanely
hot so far, but
beautiful months
of April, May &
June made the
whole quarantine
thing a bit more
bearable.
How does your garden grow?
Hands up if you put more work in
your garden this year. See, that spring
weather came in handy didn’t it? I
figured that garden centres would do
fine once they had the chance to fully
open. Okay, hands up if you’re growing
marijuana!
Relaxing along the St. Clair Parkway
Stepping back in time.
My sister Rose mentioned that she
hasn’t seen young kids walking to the
St. Clair River with fishing poles for
years, but they are now. She also reports
that folks are showing up in the many
riverside parks with picnic baskets of all
things. Apparently they pack a lunch in
them and relax while the ships go by. It
sounds like it might be more fun than
being tested for a virus.
We can’t stop the presses.
The printed page is far from being
out of style. You’re proving that right
now. However, this was written on July
8th and many things may have changed
by now. Please keep that in mind
when looking at the ads. For example,
restaurants that were only open for
takeout when we went to press may be
fully open now.
And on a bitter note.
It’s been the case throughout all of
Daytripping’s 25 years, that over 70%
of our tourists are from right here in
Ontario. I find it strange how many
tourism organizations are suddenly
selling a “shop local” message but
spending the vast majority of their
budget with Facebook instead of local
magazines, radio stations and other
mediums. Why aren’t they shopping
local?
It’s okay if you loved it.
I know that many of you had reasons
to find it unbearable and far too many
lost loved ones. We all know how horrible
the pandemic and quarantine has been,
but the fact is that many people found
peace and purpose and had a rewarding
experience over the past few months.
There’s nothing wrong with that. It
forced us to
slow down for
once and at
the same time
challenged us
to be our best,
whatever that
meant for each
one of us. For
the record, my
dog loved it.
My step-daughter
Sarah with Charlie
Who got a taste of retirement?
I know I did. March through to July
has been the busiest time of year for
me for the last quarter of a century.
I’ve often said that I don’t ever want to
retire. Quarantine or not, it was nice to
have those months off for once. I kept
very busy and found other interests. I
hope you did as well.
Quantitative Easing
That’s the official term for printing
more money, which is exactly what the
federal government has been doing.
Some say we’ll be climbing out of debt
for years to come (and I thought we
already were). Others suggest that the
debt isn’t as scary as it’s cracked up to
be. My suggestion is simple... keep it in
Canada. I’m 100% sure that spending it
all on products made in other countries,
ordered online from warehouses in
other countries - is the wrong thing to
do. A wise man once said “Amazon.
com is not going to sponsor your kid’s
soccer team.”
Shop Locally, wherever you are
You could be missing the point if
you think that “Shop Locally” means at
your local Gargantuamart. It doesn’t. I
realize that they employ people locally,
but they probably put countless smaller
stores out of business and I’m guessing
that most of their products aren’t
made in Canada, or by people who are
making a wage that you would deem to
be acceptable. Shop Locally means to
support small business, wherever you
are.
Please go out of your way to shop
locally and buy Canadian made
products when you can. Read the labels.
I’ve been harping on this issue for 25
years, saying countless times that small
businesses need us more than ever,
My formerly well groomed friend, Brent Freer
and it’s always been true, but I certainly
didn’t see this pandemic coming. If
we don’t stand up with them now, we
might not get another chance. Ironically,
I was saying just a few months ago that
Ontario was finally in a great position
to have a breakthrough tourism season.
If I haven’t bugged you quite enough
yet, go to Daytripping’s Facebook page
to see a video of “The Loonie Tune,” an
original song I recorded to encourage all
of us to support the Canadian economy.
Ontario is still in Stage 2 as I write this
and I’m confident that we’ll continue in
the right direction. Congratulations on
all you’ve achieved so far.
Have a great summer. Explore all
parts of Ontario including our chunk of
it. Stay at hotels and inns, camp, visit
friends and family, shop locally, but be
vigilant. Be smarter than a virus.
SUMMER 2020 “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.” — Yogi Berra
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