Ontario Residents What are Your Summer Plans?

[Pinkgurlshubby]

I ran into this all the time on another set of (RV) forums I used to moderate at. It has to do with the way the cell phones take pictures. The camera in a cell phone really only has one way that's "up". And that way, is actually sideways. For an iPhone, it's usually when the phone is rotated with the camera in the top left, which puts the volume buttons on the 'bottom' of the way you're holding it. I'm not sure on the various Android devices. When the camera takes a picture, it needs to rotate the image it captured to be right side up for the picture to appear correctly.

Rotating a picture however, takes a bit of processing power. So, instead of rotating the actual picture, cell phones just store the picture as grabbed, sideways, upside down, etc... and then they add some additional data into the picture (in the EXIF data, see this wiki to learn about that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exif) that tells programs what orientation the camera was in, and leave it up to the program to handle the rotation when it displays the picture. This is why pictures look 'upright' for you on your phone, or when you extract them to certain programs on your computer, but not necessarily others. The forum software that other forum used had a quirk where it would strip the EXIF data from your photos when you uploaded it, which then stripped out the 'orientation' that your browser would have needed to display the photo correctly. I'm not familiar with this forum's software, but I assume it's probably something similar going on.

On that other forum, we used to recommend to people to pull their photos onto their desktop, rotate them manually (using a photo management software on their computer) so they were 'upright' and then upload the corrected photo. But of course, nobody ever did, because it's just so much easier to upload right from your phone while you're browsing the forums on your phone.



I'm guessing you're referring to a motorhome, with the references to plates, etc... A trailer style camper (fifth wheel, travel trailer, popup, etc...) is a lot more cost effective for that. At least here in Ontario (I'll admit I'm not familiar with all the provinces regulations) you only pay to plate the trailer once and they never need to be renewed. You'd still need to store it though. In Windsor, a 40' deep spot at the local storage yard used to run me $85 a month. My in-laws have a bigger site for their company, so now I can store it there for free, but back when I was paying, it was yeah, a grand for storage. But trips with the trailer can still be very fulfilling. Having the camper (this year aside) we'd get out for 8-10 trips a year. If we didn't have the camper, it would basically just be our Disney trips, 1 every 18 months or so.



Yeah, that sucks. Really puts a damper on any plans. Hopefully things turn around for you.



We've been thinking of getting a projector for doing outdoor movies, coincidently, for use with the RV. Is your screen more of a permanent setup or does it break down for easy storage?

To be honest I got a bit confused. It is taken from an Android phone but transferred to my laptop and loaded from there. Oh well, the image is 90 degrees off and I seem to be the only one that complained
We've stored our camper a few places but last it longest at some friends farm but we were still 50 a month. I called it a camper because it was just a 21 footer so I could never justify calling it an RV. It did have a great feature of being dual gas and propane. The 70 pound tank would get us from home to Niagara falls and halfway back. That was pretty good for an old 350 with no overdrive transmission.
My wife found the projector on Amazon for around 120. The screen breaks down easy. It's just some black half inch pipe with a couple of T fittings and 90 degree elbows. They just screw together. I picked up a metal grommet kit at Princess Auto for 10 dollars. It takes about 10 minutes to set up or take down. A friend of mind bought the same projector and it came with the screen. He just used ABS pipe and bungee cords. We are lucky enough in Southern Ontario to have great summer weather so we make use of it every week-end.

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

Anyone tried or thinking of trying one of the resorts in Ontario (e.g. Blue Mountain, Horseshoe, Deerhurst)? I did a quick check for a get away for a couple nights. They seem to have some things closed but some stuff is open with covid protocols. (Still a big downer since we should be going to Disney but trying to see if we can do something)

We haven't gone to Blue Mountain yet this year and probably can't. The summer is great for a lift up the mountain, stop for ice cream and ride back down. We have a couple of house rules. I get to make a stop in Pepper Palace for hot sauce and she decides where we go for supper which is usually Fire Hall pizza. Incidentally Georgian Bay in is our favorite hotel to book at. We love the 1 bedroom condo. It fits the whole family and only a couple minutes from the village at half the cost

 

[NAB]

We have been taking our fifth wheel out too. Also went to Emily provincial park and did some hiking trails. Then went to Brighton KOA a few days. That was before phase 3 opened . They have a great looking new playground that my daughter wanted to go on so bad. Especially the zip inline thing. They were also good at having only 20 people in the pool area at a time but we never went still looked like a lot of people but they were family groups.

In a few weeks we are heading up north toSalute Ste. Marie. Hoping some of the touristy things are open but if not just seeing something different is great.

 

[petunia]

We haven't gone to Blue Mountain yet this year and probably can't. The summer is great for a lift up the mountain, stop for ice cream and ride back down. We have a couple of house rules. I get to make a stop in Pepper Palace for hot sauce and she decides where we go for supper which is usually Fire Hall pizza. Incidentally Georgian Bay in is our favorite hotel to book at. We love the 1 bedroom condo. It fits the whole family and only a couple minutes from the village at half the cost

Is that one of the "offsite" locations that are right next to the property? I always wonder what the price difference is for those and are they booked thru BM directly? Also, do you know if you can buy the all day passes with these accommodations? Thx!

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

Google says 9 minutes by car but I seem to remember it was more like 5. It's not next door but from our room we had a good view of the mountain. The cost was half of what the village rooms were. I remember because we had booked a room in the village and ended up cancelling it. We chose the 1 bedroom suite. Kitchen, dining room, room with king size bed, living room, sitting room with sofabed and a gas fireplace. It's the Georgian Bay Hotel.

 

[Iralyn]

Toronto Zoo is offering campsites: http://www.torontozoo.com/wildtails It is not cheap but obviously a unique experience. I don't think we'll do it as I feel like we've been overspending lately but may consider if it is offered again in the future.

I am impressed with the way some organizations/companies have been able to pivot and figure out alternate revenue streams under the current circumstances.

 

[TammyLynn33]

Toronto Zoo is offering campsites: http://www.torontozoo.com/wildtails It is not cheap but obviously a unique experience. I don't think we'll do it as I feel like we've been overspending lately but may consider if it is offered again in the future.

I am impressed with the way some organizations/companies have been able to pivot and figure out alternate revenue streams under the current circumstances.

I so want to do this, but I can’t pitch a tent to save my life and DS18 is like I don’t camp.. sigh I didn’t either never have I’m a Marriott girl but I would camp for this

 

[bababear_50]

I so want to do this, but I can’t pitch a tent to save my life and DS18 is like I don’t camp.. sigh I didn’t either never have I’m a Marriott girl but I would camp for this

Me too,,I'm a hotel girl but exceptions can be made,,,lol.
Hugs to you
Mel

 

[Frozen2014]

After researching a number of different options we ended up booking 5 nights at Deerhurst Resort. It sounds like there is still a lot open at the resort and ways to have a socially distanced good time. From the recent reviews of current Covid practices I feel reassured that we can have a relatively safe getaway. Something to finally look forward to .

Have you gone to Deerhurst yet? If so, how did you find it? We're looking at different options with something like this. This is also something we typically wouldn't do but am hoping our kids would try kayaking and canoeing. Could be fun. Deerhurst is in my list. Also maybe Horsehoe Resort or Bayview Wildwood Resort. I actually like the latter as its an all inclusive including meals if we select that option (and the meals look very good). I find the main downside with these places is the cancellation policy is 7 day before for a refund. They are quite $ (e.g. Bayview Wildwood would be $1400 for the four of us) and if weather is bad, we are out of luck.

PS - Sorry @shaycamp21, I was reading this thread form the start and I noticed you actually responded already with your experience.

 

[Jrb1979]

For those that are still trying to think of something to do this summer. Just spent the last few days in Collingwood and Blue Mountain. Its worth going to. Blue Mountain is a little pricy but it's worth the money. The coaster is really good, and going up the the Mountain is worth the views.

 

[Pinkgurlshubby]

Me too,,I'm a hotel girl but exceptions can be made,,,lol.
Hugs to you
Mel

And that was how we ended up with an RV. We started with a tent trailer and graduated when I was given the I want indoor plumbing ultimatum. One day we will get another one

 

[grantclaire]

Hi, Deerhurst is reporting an outbreak stemming from a group of 30 people who stayed there during the August long weekend. 11 visitor's from outside the region have tested positive.

 

[grantclaire]

Starting my vacation next week and have not made any plans yet! I have been lucky to have a part time job where I worked 4 hrs a day 5 days a week so I have kept busy. The DW has a part time job with no hours since March and is starting to get antsy! I was looking at Deerhurst resort as well, but I am still worried that some people are starting to ease up on precautions.