Summer Vacations - Carnival of Genealogy

With two carnivals with due dates close to each other talking about summer vacations, I will focus this posting for the Carnival of Genealogy, on vacations at Sauble Beach and the other will be about vacations on Manitoulin Island.

From the time, I was a little girl, our family went to Sauble Beach on short holidays. We rented until we purchased a cottage in 1955 on the south end of Sauble Beach on leased land.

One of the advantages of Sauble Beach was the closeness to home. With about a half-hour drive you could get from home to the cottage. With a quick unload of the car, you could be on the beach in just over an hour. Our own cottage had a view of the beach as it perched up on the dune area. There was a cottage in front of us but it didn't block the view from the porch, deck or the living room window.

The cottage was not large but had three bedrooms off the living room/dining area. Two of the bedrooms had 3/4 bed bunk beds that were home made. There was a small kitchen. That was it. Now where was the bathroom? You had to leave the cottage and go out to the veranda and turn right. At first it was only a once piece facility with the motor for the pump inside the room. Later a sink and shower were added. For many years, the veranda was not enclosed and you always feared that you might meet a skunk during evening or night time visits.

When my parents purchased the cottage, it had a small porch with an entrance to the cottage that faced the water. This was later enlarged. One summer, either 1968 or 1969, my dad decided that an addition should be added to expand the living area. This meant the end of the front porch and entryway. Needless to say, my mother was not happy.

In front of cottage, Bob, Janet Marion, Ted and Nancy Iles ca 1958.

Sauble Beach is a beautiful sandy beach that stretches for about seven miles. It has spectacular sunsets over Lake Huron.

When we were teenagers, we would walk to what was called the entrance about two miles away where the stores were located and the roller rink. I tried roller skating once but it was fun to see who was there, to watch the skaters and to listen to the music. Sauble Beach also had a dance pavilion. The one I remember was from the sixties. Most nights there was something going on - movies, teen dances, barn dances, bingo and other dances with popular bands.

The cottage next to us to the south, had friends from town. On rainy days, we'd gather in one of the cottages to read, chat, play games or to colour.

Some summers, we'd spent many days there with my dad commuting back and forth to work.

To see some examples of the spectacular sunsets check these postings Sunset 1, Sunset 2, Sunset 3

A walk before sunset to get an ice-cream was always a favourite. You'd sit on a log or just walk slowly back, licking the ice-cream while you watched the sun set. If you were lucky, there was a beautiful afterglow.

We enjoyed many happy summers at the cottage.

Other postings about Sauble Beach -- Bathing Beauties? and Swimsuit edition 2009

To read about and see photos of the pavilion Sauble Beach pavilion in book Let's Dance