One-Tank Trip for April 30/16
(c) By Jim Fox
The time is fast approaching when it’s incumbent
to show mom some special love.
Mother’s Day is May 8, so “get your game
on,” says Helen Lovekin of Ontario Tourism.
This celebration of mothers
everywhere is said to be first celebrated in 1908 when Anna Jarvis held a
memorial for her mother at St Andrew’s Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia.
In the world
according to Wikipedia, Mother’s Day in Canada “typically involves small
celebrations and gift-giving to one’s mother, grandmother or other important
female figures in one’s family.
Celebratory
practices are similar to those of other western nations while a Quebec
tradition is for men to offer roses or other flowers to the women.”
 |
| Traditional afternoon teas, such as this Bermuda-style in the Heritage Court at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, are popular with moms. (Jim Fox photo) |
Don’t do as the late Canadian humorist Stephen
Leacock suggested and let mother not only stay home to prepare the meal but let
her clean up and wash the dishes afterwards – just because she insists and “we
wanted just for once to humour her.”
Wake-up
call
Treat mom is breakfast in bed but don’t risk
a Leacock-like scenario and leave her to clean up the messy kitchen afterwards.
“Instead, let her wake up in one of
Ontario’s Finest Inns with full room service,” Lovekin suggests.
Packages are priced from $118 a person and gift
certificates are available for moms who can’t get away on the day.
One example is the getaway at the
historic Briars inn at Jacksons Point on Lake Simcoe.
 |
| The Briars, a century-old inn on Lake Simcoe, is offering a Mother's Day getaway. |
The all-inclusive two-night
stay includes an a la carte dinner each evening, full breakfast one morning ,
the “famous” Mother's Day Sunday brunch and a $50 spa gift certificate for $389
a person.
Flowers and tea
“Bouquets are always nice but why
stop there?” Lovekin asks.
Consider a family membership to the Royal
Botanical Gardens in Burlington, which is hosting a lantern-lighted musical
evening with the arboretum’s magnolia collection on May 7 and a Mother’s Day brunch
the next day. rbg.ca
Take a stroll through the themed gardens at Parkwood
Estate, former Oshawa home of Samuel McLaughlin, founder of General
Motors of Canada.
 |
| Parkwood Estate, the former home of General Motors of Canada founder Samuel McLaughlin, has themed gardens for mom to view. |
“It’s a fine way to spend a spring
Sunday with your mother and you may well feel like an extra in one of the many
Hollywood films lensed here, if that sensation is of interest,” Lovekin said. parkwoodestate.com
“Ever wonder what happened to all the
architectural embellishments and Doric porticos that gave way to downtown’s
steel and glass canyons?”
Take mom to visit them in their new home in
Guild Park & Gardens on the eastern edge of the Scarborough Bluffs in
Toronto.
 |
| Guild Park in Scarborough is a sculptural sanctuary with beautiful gardens. |
“The effect of disembodied architectural
ornaments sprinkled throughout the formal gardens is undeniably surrealistic
and entirely unexpected.” toronto.ca/parks
A really high tea is all about dainty
pampering and here are some of Ontario’s best.
Toronto has a three-way tie for the best with
the Windsor Arms, MoRoCo Chocolat and the Lobby Lounge at the Shangri-La Hotel.
“Each one perfectly balances tradition – porcelain
cups, tiered trays with sweet and savory nibbles, leaf tea and Champagne – with
its unique style.
Niagara-on-the-Lake understands the ritual
of afternoon and high teas in the drawing room at the Prince of Wales Hotel.
Round out the excursion by taking
mom to a performance of Chekov’s Uncle Vanya (matinee) or Wilder’s Our Town
(evening) at the Shaw Festival. shawfest.com
“One cannot speak too highly of the high tea
at Langdon Hall, near Cambridge,” Lovekin recommends.
“Possibly the ne plus ultra of this repast
in Ontario,” she adds. langdonhall.ca
Finally, help mother “channel her inner
Alice” in the red brick wonderland that is Ottawa’s Tea Party Cafe. theteapartycafe.com
For more suggestions, activities and events
check ontariotravel.net
Fox trot
You can celebrate Mother’s Day at Fanshawe
Pioneer Village in London at brunch on May 7 and 8.
Served in the Pioneer Village Cafe, it will feature
baked ham and roast chicken, seasonal vegetables and pie for $16.50 ($8 for
children to age 12).
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Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com
For more One-Tank Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca
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