Stratford & St Mary's, Canada

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Stratford & St Mary's, Canada

Our awesome hosts, Colin and Gweneth

We were on the road again, this time about 3 hours north to the town of St. Mary's, Canada. Rob and Sue drove their van all the way from Punta Gorda and we were lucky to get a ride with them for our week with the Friendship Force Club of Stratford/St. Mary's (June 14-21). We arrived at Rose & Ken's house where their club had an afternoon Welcome Party in a gorgeous backyard setting. They divided us up with the Canadians and we had a fun quiz on Canadian Facts. Of course, a wonderful chicken dinner followed with salads and an array of Canadian desserts that featured homemade butter tarts. Yum!

Our host's lovely home in Woodstock, Canada

We stayed in the town of Woodstock (~40 minutes away) with our hosts, Gweneth & Colin. They recently joined the club and we were their first guest ambassadors. Colin recently fell off his roof while cleaning leaves off the gutter. Unfortunately, he broke 2 bones in his leg and was on crutches. We admired his stamina and willingness to participate in many of the activities, even though he had to be in some pain. Gweneth was a great host and their home was filled with treasures of the many trips they have taken around the world.

We enjoyed meeting Kingston

Travel has always been important to them as they took advantage of their summer breaks (as teachers) to see the world. They even took their 2 children with them to give them a broad world view and experience other cultures.

The Stratford/St Mary's Friendship Force club kept us busy with a wide array of activities. The following day we toured backstage viewing the costumes and props of the Stratford Theater and even learned a dance routine. That night, we attended the musical Guys and Dolls. It was an enjoyable production in this Festival Theater.

Canadian Tire is a must to see - tires, hockey sticks...you name it!

On Friday, June 16, we participated in a Car Rally followed by a fun dinner with a singer and lots of dancing. Saturday featured a Warehouse and Chocolate Trail Tour. Later in the week we went on a boat tour, the Hansall Co-op Tour and really had fun on an Ice Sculpture Tour. The week flew by and before we knew it, we were saying farewell to this great club.