Heritage homes, robots and crazy cookies in a place called Port Hope

Along the shores of Lake Ontario, a lovely community beckoned us to stay for the day. We arrived at Port Hope a couple of hours before noon and had some time to explore the area before finding a place to eat. We went to their Information centre downtown and got some ideas on what to do for the day in this picturesque city.

First we checked out the Ganaraska River that runs through the heart of town, to catch a glimpse of the last of the salmon run. I saw some huge salmon jumping along the ladders of the river. Not quite the salmon run folks would’ve seen a week earlier, but it was pretty cool, nonetheless. This river empties into Lake Ontario and is known for year-round fishing. Rainbow Trout also make the run upstream during Spring. I think we will attempt another trip then to try to catch this! 

After watching the many folks who were fly-fishing, we decided to head off for lunch and some dessert. We ate at one of the popular local spots, Jim’s Pizzeria and Spaghetti house and had some, well, pizza and spaghetti . We clearly knew what their specialty was, so why complicate things? We ordered Jim’s combination (pepperoni, mushroom, green, peppers, onion, and bacon) and DD#2 got some Hawaiian (they had a buy 1 medium, get another free promo! Sweet! Or should I say, savoury!).

Pizza at Jim's Pizzeria, Port Hope

The pizza was made to order. It was fresh so we didn’t mind the little bit of wait. The crust was thin and the sauce was delicious. Truly, wonderful pizza! I got some spaghetti and meat sauce. It was delicious—nothing fancy, but a good, hearty meal.

After our nice lunch, we checked out some shops. They had a lot of quaint stores selling home stuff and quite a few antique shops. We just browsed around and worked up our appetite for some dessert. We headed over to Dreamer’s to try some of their famous crazy cookies. They boasted a sign outside of how many crazy cookies have been sold. We would have been damned if we weren’t one of the over 100,000 folks who have tried this!

At $2.00 each, we thought, this had better be good. But it wasn’t good. It was great! Chocolate, caramel and pecans brought a mouthful of cookie heaven! Yum!

Dreamer's Crazy Cookie

Then it was time for some coffee. We went over to Atomic Roasters coffeeshop for some home-roasted, bold coffee.

The girls had raspberry sorbet which the very pleasant owner happily gave out. We also bought a box of 10 ($2 per piece!) artsy gourmet chocolates to sample all sorts of fancy flavours-- from chili-infused to maple syrup filled ones. They were just too pretty to eat.

Chocolates at Atomic Roasters

After all that eating, we decided to drive down to the beach. We relaxed at one of the benches while the girls frolicked along the waters and played in the sand. From this main beach, we could already see the Scarborough Bluffs. Nice.

Before heading home, we went on the self-guided driving tour recommended by the Information centre. We stopped at about 30 restored century homes and buildings along the well-preserved main streets from the 19th century. A short commentary for each stop was provided with the driving guide. Knowing the history made the short drive-bys all the more interesting.

Heritage homes at Port Hope

Did I say we only did the driving tour before heading home? I lied. Hubby would not hesitate to say that I’m quite notorious for side trips. So, needless to say, I convinced him into stopping by Primitive designs to look at some very interesting things for the house. Two giant robots guarded its entrance and also served as a beacon for anyone who might miss this shop.

Merchandise from around the world was available for quite reasonable prices. It was hard to just walk away from there without a purchase. So, I didn’t give myself a hard time anymore and got a little something :) The trip was now complete.