It began with a super busy weekend...

I was asked to photograph a friend's family at their cottage in Barry's Bay. We made the plans, the clients made a down payment, everything was set. As a small town, budding photographer, I normally don't have clients scheduling me on the same day. It was the last thing I was expecting.

I had already made plans to spend the weekend in Barry's Bay after the photo session when I was asked to photograph a wedding back in Port Perry. I (of course) can't and won't say no to a wedding so we made some arrangements, moved some times around, and voila! I had a photo session in Barry's Bay in the morning and then I was back to Port for a wedding celebration at 7pm. I had ANOTHER inquiry that I sadly, could not possibly make work. We gain some and we lose some.

Although I was super happy to have these photo sessions, I was slightly bummed about cancelling my weekend plans with Justin up in cottage country. So, we made the best of it during our short stay.

We made arrangements to stay with a family friend in Eganville on the Friday night so it wasn't nearly as long as a drive to my 9am session the next day. Not only did we enjoy marvellous views, we made a couple spontaneous stops along the way.

The Bent anchor bar a restaurant

I was driving along, we were in Combermere which was super close to our first pit stop, downtown Barry's Bay, when Justin goes "That sign said Beach Bar.". That's pretty much all it took to make me turn around. Spontaneous stop #1 was, in fact, a beach bar. An AWESOME beach bar to be exact. After driving for so long, neither of us had an issue stopping off for a drink and a snack. The bar looked to be in an old cabin that had been renovated, they were playing classic rock, it was nested in the trees on a small lake and they had a giant flamingo floaty. The service was quick and the staff was super friendly. Justin had a beer and I ordered a delicious piña colada that was served in a mason jar with a paper straw. We split some deep fried pickles and maybe it was because we were starving, but, they were delicious. It has to be one of my favourite restaurants I've been to.

DOWNTOWN BARRY'S BAY

While we were downtown Barry's Bay, we went for walk and even were able to get some birthday shopping for Justin's mom out of the way. There were a couple small shops with unique cottage gifts which was perfect. For dinner, we were told to eat at Vito's Pizza. It was an Italian restaurant that came highly recommended by one of Justin's co-workers. I got the fettuccine alfredo and added chicken, Justin got one of their pizzas. The waitress was quick and friendly and we came at a good time because the we had the restaurant to ourselves. After dinner, we took a quick walk across the street for lattes at Madawaska Coffee Co. and then continued our journey.

Killaoe

So, Justin and I were driving along when I noticed a sign for Killaloe that said "Birthplace of Beavertails". I'm sure you can figure out what happened from there. Of course, we made the detour without hesitation and we shared a Beavertail that only took us about 5 seconds to finish.

Kamaniskeg Lake Lookout

On our way back from my photo shoot on the morning of the 13th, Justin saw a sign for a lookout so, of course, we took a quick stop to check it out. It was definitely worth it. We got to see a beautiful view of the lake and we even ran into an old co-worker from Port Perry which was super weird.

DOWNTOWN BANCROFT

Our final stop on the way back was downtown Bancroft. There are lots of cool things to do around there such as the Bancroft Brewing Co., unique shops, and cafes. Justin stocked up on some craft beers at the brewery and then we went to grab some coffee at The Muse Gallery and Cafe. This cafe was really neat because of all the unique artwork and the nice window bench. After our coffee break, Justin and I went to the Old Tin Shed to look around. There are tons of awesome gift ideas and things for your home. I got a hook in the shape of a hand making the rock and roll symbol that I used in my studio for keys. The final thing we checked out before leaving, was The Stone Kitchen which is located right next door to The Old Tin Shed.The Stone Kitchen is a place where you can buy homemade jams and jellies. Justin bought me a small jar of their cherry flavour and it was delicious. You can order from them online and their shipping is a flat rate per case anywhere in Ontario. One thing we did not get around to doing this trip, but we have done before (and I highly recommend going), is the Eagle's Nest Lookout. It's an super tall lookout that you can drive up to to get a full view of Bancroft. There is a Tim Horton's right near it so you can grab a coffee or a tea before going up.

What are your favourite stops out towards Barry's Bay? Send me a message and let me know!