Tag Archives: Ontario

Easter at Addie’s

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Easter at Addie's, Adelaide Hunter Hoodless, Adelaide Harris
Adelaide Harris tests out her brand new tooth while on the egg hunt during Easter at Addie’s.

Thanks to my daughter, it looks like we may have a new family Easter tradition!

Hunting eggs at the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead

Imagine a green rolling field bordered at each end by trees, filled with plastic eggs of all colours and sizes. Children lined up in anticipation, eyes gleaming as they set out to gather as many eggs as humanly possible. Parents laughing at their children’s excitement. This is an egg hunt to be remembered. This is Easter at Addie’s.

Adelaide Hunter Hoodless, Ontario, Homestead, St George
The Adelaide Hunter Hoodless homestead outside St. George, Ontario.

Travelling between Cambridge and Brantford, Ontario is the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead. The two story farmhouse and surrounding property becomes home to a charming Easter celebration every year. With a local fire truck on hand, face painting and a clown making balloon animals it already has the makings of a fun adventure. When you add in a petting zoo and cookie decorating, it’s hard not to want to join in the fun.

Adelaide Hunter Hoodless was born in 1857 on the farm in what was then known as Canada West. The youngest of 12 children, she went through incredible personal tragedy before becoming an advocate for women’s rights and education, helping found the Women’s Institute and the YWCA. She passed away in 1910 but her legacy still lives on.

As we named our daughter after Adelaide Hunter Hoodless, we only felt it fitting to join in the celebration this year for Easter at Addie’s. As it was our first visit to the homestead we enjoyed walking the grounds and checking out all the games and activities as part of the celebration.

Adelaide Harris, Howie Hill, Egg Hunt, Easter, 2016
Trees glistening with ice form a backdrop as Howard Hill and his granddaughter Adelaide Harris examine an egg found during Easter at Addie’s.

We didn’t let the ice storm this week hamper our spirits even though some of the activities needed to be cancelled – some food vendors, a carousel, and a donkey and baby chicks in the petting zoo.

We let our nearly 8 month old daughter sit in the middle of the eggs and hunt for whichever one caught her eye, which for this teething babe was a wonderful thing. She looked very confused by the skittish lamb in the petting zoo but did reach out to not so gently pet the mother goat and would’ve loved to get into the cages with the rabbits had we not been holding her back.

One of the best parts of the entire event were the volunteers. Everyone helping out had smiles on their faces and were more than willing to answer any questions and make sure the kids were having a great time.

All in all, we were incredibly glad to have travelled down the highway to the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead for Easter at Addie’s. We are already looking forward to bringing Addie next year when she can run and join in all of the fun.

Visiting the Homestead:

For more information about Adelaide Hunter Hoodless’s life and legacy, please visit the website:
www.adelaidehoodless.ca.

The plaque commemorating the life of Adelaide Hunter Hoodless stands outside her family homestead near St. George, Ontario.
The plaque commemorating the life of Adelaide Hunter Hoodless stands outside her family homestead near St. George, Ontario.

© Corina Harris, 2016

Tourist in my home town – Cambridge’s Bob McMullen Linear Trail

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As the sun began setting over the Grand River valley, my husband, dog and I took to the Bob McMullen Linear Trail for a little exercise and to soak up the autumnal glow on October 2nd.

Sunset, Autumn, Cambridge, Ontario, Grand River
Looking out over the Grand River as it winds to the west in the setting autumn sun.

The head of the Linear Trail is located at the end Bishop Street in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Parking can be found in the same parking lot as the Preston Auditorium, and the start of the trail begins to the south side.

Cambridge, Ontario, White Cliffs, Preston, Autumn
The limestone cliffs along the Grand River as it winds past Preston opposite Preston and the Linear Trail in Cambridge.

Minutes from the hustle bustle of King Street in the Preston area of Cambridge, the trail takes you along the Grand River, which in the setting October sun means warm golden hues from trees as they change colour reflecting on the water.

Cambridge, Ontario, Autumn, Canadian Geese, Grand River
The rich warm colours, the Canadian Geese and the tranquility of the water makes visiting the Linear Trail in Cambridge a worthwhile visit.

These pictures were captured on my iPhone 5C and slightly boosted using an app called Snapseed. If you haven’t played around with Snapseed I highly recommend it. It can help bring out some details and make the colours pop, even though the images didn’t need much work tonight as the colours were outstanding.

Autumn, Bench, Cambridge, Linear Trail
This park bench sitting in the golden sun along the Grand River on the Linear Trail just made me want to curl up with a blanket, hot chocolate and revel in the joys of the autumn season.