Small wonder that President Obama noted the abundance of golf courses in and around Toronto. The resort to which he and the other members of the G8 retreated north of the metro region was surrounded by one.
The closest village to Deerhurst Resort in what is known as the Muskoka region is Hamilton. Located in one of the wealthiest enclaves of vacation homes in Ontario – or anywhere for that matter, Muskoka is a region of stunning beauty slowly being encroached upon by the metropolitan megalopolis to its south. Not to worry about the ticket for this junket. Canada can well afford to host this kind of a meeting since their economy is the envy of the western world at this writing.
Years ago, I accompanied my Trust Officer step-father on a visit to one of his clients there. I remember their “cottage” was on one of the lakes that was filled with excessively large cottages that had those wonderful vintage launches like the Christ Crafts of the 1930s parked in their boat houses. I was taken on a tour of their lake and with each cottage we passed, it seemed that the story was a child in the family had been kidnapped for ransom.
My hosts had a separate house for servants with a mangler to iron sheets. In front of the woods at the shoreline was a beautiful formal garden. All of this was far, far removed from the fishing camps familiar to most in northern Ontario and Quebec Provinces and in New York State’s Adirondacks. In short, big time criminals could not buy into or rent in this area. It was a safe bet for G8 security concerns.
Trip Advisor did not give Deerhurst a very good rating this year yet the room rates begin at over $100 per night for 2 and that is before you enter the dining room, sauna, golf course, riding stable, or many other destinations on the property.
In the economic conditions in which we find ourselves, a camping experience in nearby Algonquin Park perhaps was in order. However, tourists who brave often 2 and 3 hour delays at the border and who come to camp in nearby Letchworth State Park here tell me Algonquin has lost its appeal. It is over-crowded and people are up all night talking and in multiple languages. I guess the leaders are better off living the life they would deny the CEOs of the companies they have either criticized or taken over outright.
whatigotsofar
June 28, 2010
Muskoka is a beautiful cottage place. Unfortunately, visiting cottage towns around the GTA (greater Toronto area), the locals have a deep resentment for the cottagers. The locals have no industry, no economy that isn’t reliant upon the cottagers. Alcoholism and desperation run rampant around there. It’s a shame. They have this beautiful land all around them, yet there is no wilingness to go out into that world and better themselves.
samhenry
June 28, 2010
Good to see you, Whatigotsofar. I lived in Toronto in the 1960s and worked for the University and the Red Cross Society. At the Red Cross I worked with outpost nursing stations in Ontario. Are those in Muskoka region struggling native Americans? The alcoholism was rampant among them. It is tragic when an entire area of people more or less give up.
If I saw my beautiful country being carved up for cottage lots and noisy motor boats infesting the quiet lakes, I would be upset as well. I can’t bear to go back either to Toronto or to Muskoka because I have heard both have been over developed. I loved Toronto before it decided to be just another north American city filled with steel and hung with glass. It was so delightful – all the neighborhoods. I’m just an old phart – what can I say. It is a beautiful area and I was hoping Canadians would not allow that beauty to be infringed as we have allowed it here. They are more level-headed. I call Canada “our conscience to the north.”