St. Marys and Stratford Ontario
Family visit in St. Marys, Ontario. Walking down Queen Street East.
A Family Visit To Ontario
It had been 811 days since we last boarded a flight. A visit with Di’s mom and brother in St. Marys was overdue. Our last stop in Ontario was back in 2017 during our 5050 travel quest.
We jumped on the chance for an Ontario trip when we found return flights for CDN $106.00 per person with Swoop Airlines between Vancouver and Hamilton. Hard to resist.
Flying out of Abbotsford was a breeze. It was the first time we have done this. The drive from Vancouver is about an hour and parking next to the terminal for five days cost us $54.00.
Downtown St. Marys, Ontario
It is a small airport in Abbotsford with half a dozen gates. it was easy to find your way around and compared to Vancouver Airport it was surely less stressful.
We were right back into the routine of check-in, security check, “hurry up and wait”, boarding, take-off, counting minutes to landing, and finally the joy of arriving at a new destination.
I had looked forward to a view of flying over the Rockies but almost the entire flight was above clouds. Hardly any views of Canada.
The old train station in St. Marys, Ontario
St. Marys, Ontario
Di grew up in Southwest Ontario in a small lake community, Lakeside, near St. Marys and Stratford. During my first visit to Canada in 1984, this area set the scene for our first adventures in Ontario.
It was a fantastic and memorable summer. Back then I landed in Toronto and took the airport shuttle to Waterloo where Di’s mom picked me up.
This time around Di’s brother Don, his daughter Madisyn, and Di’s mom picked us up at the Airport in Hamilton. We drove through the familiar-looking farm landscape to St. Marys for a five-night stay.
The Public Library in St. Marys, Ontario
St. Marys is called “Stonetown” due to countless homes, churches, and public buildings being built in beautiful limestone. Admittedly when visiting St. Marys in 1984 I was too young to fully appreciate these architectural gems.
We did several walks along Queen Street, Jones Street, Church Street, Water Street, and along the Thames River and were in awe of the Victorian-themed homes and beautiful gardens.
Visiting during the May long weekend we had a couple of beautiful warm evenings, perfect for a stroll around the quaint streets and downtown core.
We loved the front porch of this home in St. Marys
History of St. Marys
The Archeological and Historic Sites Board of Ontario had a sign posted by the Thames and it read as follows:
Founding of St. Marys
When opening Blanshard Township for settlement in 1839, the Canada Company made an arrangement with Thomas Ingersoll, a brother of Laura Secord, to build mills at “the Little Falls” of the Thames.
In 1841-43 he erected a sawmill and a grist-mill and in return obtained 337 acres of land in the vicinity. The mills formed the nucleus of a setllemnt named St. Marys. In 1854 the community was incorporated as a village.
Little Falls on the Thames River in St. Marys, Ontario
The building of railways, 1857-60, stimulated development and in 1864, when St. Marys became a town, it was already the centre for lumber limestone quarry industries and the adjacent prosperous agricultural region.
Highlights of St. Marys
If you are traveling to St. Marys, Ontario here are a few highlights to look for:
Thames River
St. Marys Quarry
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
Grand Trunk Trail
St. Marys Train Station Gallery
St. Marys Museum
7 Churches Along Church Street
St. Marys Public Library
Sarnia Bridge
St. Marys train station
The Thunderstorm
Thunderstorms are not unusual in Ontario with the Great Lakes surrounding the area, often creating hot and humid conditions in the summer months. We recall many thunderstorms from spending summers in the past.
Di was longing for a storm but had not envisioned the storm that rolled through Southwest Ontario and parts of Quebec on May 21, 2022.
It was said to be one of the worst thunderstorms ever and it resulted in several casualties and power outages for thousands of homes. The area we were in had many trees fallen down in the storm and we had to change our route a couple of times while out for a drive.
A tree fell down during the thunderstorm on May 21, 2022. Thorndale, Ontario
Queen Of Hearts, Kitchener
We connected with old friends Gwen and Rob in Kitchener for an old-fashioned high tea at Queen of Hearts. Gwen’s daughter Alyshia opened Queen of Hearts in September of 2019 and this was our first but not the last visit.
It was an excellent experience with great service and a very tasty brunch. If in Kitchener, look it up.
Alyshia Bestard at Queen of Hearts in Kitchener
Stratford
I drove into Stratford one late afternoon and explored a bit on my own. I parked near the city hall, walk down to the river, and Shakespeare Gardens, and took in the atmosphere.
Known for the Shakespeare Festival I swung by the Tom Patterson Theatre and it was a serine drive along the river and back where more magnificent homes had me in awe.
I found an alternate quiet route through the countryside back to St. Marys as the sun was setting.
City Hall in Stratford, Ontario
Catching Up With Friends and Family
On a gorgeous evening, we had drinks and snacks in the backyard at Kirsten’s mother, Susie’s house. It was followed by a wonderful dinner. Gwen and Gord joined us and it was marvelous to catch up. We had plenty to talk about. Kirsten and Gwen are Di’s friends from high school.
We also found time for a movie in London with grandma, Don, Madisyn and Jorja, ice cream at Hearn’s, which is highly recommendable, and time to help grandma get set up in her new place.
Catching up with Kirsten and Gwen in St. Marys
Although Southwest Ontario is still in Canada we were more than 3,000 kilometers from home in Vancouver and the flights were 4 hours there and 5 hours back.
When we speak with family and friends back in Denmark it is often hard to grasp how big of a country Canada really is.
The Swoop flight we traveled on was continuing on to Halifax which would have been another 2 hours and 20 minutes and yet we would still be in Canada if we took this flight. Perhaps we should go there next?
811 days since our last flight but finally on our way from Vancouver to Hamilton, Ontario
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The photos in this article are made using a Fujifilm X-Pro3, XF 33mm f/1.4 R LM WR (links to my camera and lens reviews). Editing was done in Capture One Express. I have used Fujifilm film simulations in some of the photos.
