Walking James Bay #2

By Trudy Chiswell

Breathing the fresh spring air, I wandered the streets of James Bay on a Good Friday walk. As a child in Ontario, Good Friday always meant teenagers all over town in church groups, Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops on long bike rides or out in the country on hikes. It was a rite of spring; a celebration of the end of winter! Mothers would pack lunches and off we would go for the day. Parents never worried about us then, they didn’t have us checking in by cell phone every hour. There were no cell phones! It was a freedom to just be a child and explore the world in our neighborhood. Good Friday brought back all those memories for me, so I decided to discover my new home of James Bay over the next few weeks.

The day was bright and sunny as I wandered down Superior Street from the James Bay Tea House. Double pink blossoms burst in profusion from the trees lining the street. My daughter told me it snowed on Easter Sunday back in Ontario, so I reveled in the balmy weather here. 

Walking down Superior Street I headed for Fisherman’s Wharf. Old homes are sprinkled among the low-rise condos or apartments, and I can see a pride of ownership in the gardens facing the street. There are some quaint homes here. It is a nice quiet walk and in only 12 minutes I was at Fisherman’s Wharf Park. It’s a lovely little oasis in the middle of surrounding condos facing the water. It beckons for lazy summer afternoons reading a book. Double pink Kanzan trees were blooming as they marched along the perimeter of the park leading down to the actual wharf. I enjoyed a half hour wandering among the businesses and colourful floating homes before heading back up Michigan Street and back to the James Bay Tea Room. Perhaps time for tea! You could do this whole walk in one hour, including half an hour at the wharf.

Stay tuned for more walks next month.