Going Places

CLAUDINE GERVAIS, iSTOCK, LAKE OF THE WOODS BREWING COMPANY S U M M E R 2 0 1 5 | G O I N G P L A C E S 25 10-tonne houseboat, after all. While Lake of the Woods is dotted with as many as 14,500 islands, we look to our captain to nd the perfect spot. (Those going it alone can navigate the waters with the help of the $15 Navionics app; navionics.com.) Safely moored, we set a time for someone to return for us a couple of nights later, and we are on our own. We have our cellphones to text the Gordons if we run into any trouble, as well as the houseboat's VHF radio. The only thing online is sh, as Jeff perfects his cast from the swimming deck at the stern. We aren't counting on catching all our meals though, as we've stocked the fridge with our favourites. From the kitchen's pots and dishes to the barbecue on deck, we have all we need to prepare our food. Keeping the houseboat in one spot, we have a small outboard motorboat for short excursions around the lake. We adjust to nature's schedule, waking with the morning light and turning in when darkness falls. Our only visitors are loons and ducks, and a squirrel on the nearby shore. THE TABLE Prior to boarding, we spent a night at the Lakeside Inn, an 11-storey circular landmark overlooking the lake, and had dinner at the Bijou Steakhouse, formerly the Bijou Theatre, on Kenora's Main Street. Opened in 2012, owner and chef Dave Caissy is also a musician who regularly plays at the King's Head Pub in Winnipeg. Go for steak – and stay for live music. www.bijousteakhouse.com The MS Kenora offers a Sunday brunch menu, weekday lunch and dinner cruise options as well as a weekend dinner buffet. Meanwhile, it's the sparkling water, stunning sunsets and skyline outside the air- conditioned dining room that truly captivate. Indulge in another kind of stargazing while you cruise past extravagant summer cottages owned over the years by the likes of John Wayne and Goldie Hawn. www.mskenora.com Ye Olde Chip Truck is often the rst and last stop for Kenora expats and potato purists. The original year-round Market Square location was rst on the scene in 1957, well ahead of today's food truck faceoffs. The spud studs can also be found at Ye Olde Chip Truck East, 1229 Hwy. 17 E. www.thechiptruck.com Matiowski Farmers' Market is 100 stalls under the Whitecap Pavilion (the big white tent on the Kenora Harbourfront) brimming with local fruits and vegetables, baking, bannock, sweets and meats. It's open every Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., June to October. GP (clockwise from top) Fishing from the McDove's Two; public art; Ye Olde Chip Truck fare, served since 1957. This year's Harbourfest music festival (July 31-August 2) will see performances from Daughtry, the band featuring American Idol alumnus Chris Daughtry, as well as Canadian Country Music Association 2014 Rising Star winner Tim Hicks, and Kenora's own local boys, North Shore. www.harbourfest.ca The Coney Island Music Festival is a "maybe annual" festival that has taken place for the past six summers. It's prepping for lucky No. 7 on July 27, 2015. Catch the MS Kenora or another shuttle from the marina to Coney Island for the perfect mix of beach and musical beats. www.coneyislandmusicfestival.com The Lake of the Woods Museum brings history into the high-tech present with iPad-assisted tours through three levels of exhibit space addressing the area's rst aboriginal inhabitants, settlers and Kenora's industrial age of lumber mills, mining and milling. www.lakeofthewoodsmuseum.ca Tour the Lake of the Woods Brewing Company in the town's century-old rehall. The only re you'll have to put out is your thirst, with their agship Firehouse brown ale. www.lowbrewco.com And for a non-alcoholic quencher, try HoJoe Coffee & Books' Lake of the Woods lemonade, avoured with basil, mint and rosemary and served with frozen blueberries. Or get a boost from a glass of cold-pressed juice or joe while you pore over a book of your choice – perhaps the award-winning memoir Houseboat Chronicles: Notes from a Life in Shield Country, by Winnipegger Jake MacDonald. www.hojo.ca THE INSIDE TRACK North Shore. sunsets and skyline outside the air- conditioned dining room that truly captivate. Indulge in another kind cottages owned over the years by the likes of John Wayne and Goldie Ye Olde Chip Truck is often the rst and last stop for Kenora expats the Whitecap Pavilion (the big white tent on the Kenora Harbourfront) brimming with local

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