Off to Sarnia, A Random Sunday Getaway
- mentallurgical
- Jun 3
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 7
For me, things have been kind of rough at work lately. We went to the Ellora Book Fair on Saturday hoping it would lift the mood, but honestly, the stress and uneasiness were still there. Sunday morning came and I woke up late in the morning—around 10 a.m.—already feeling awful about Monday creeping in.
It was one of those cloudy, slightly rainy days where you just feel like crawling back into bed. But sometime around noon, we thought, "Let’s just go for a drive." No plan, no destination—just to get out for a bit. I started browsing places and thought of heading towards Chatham for a beach visit. But at the last moment, while I stopped at Costco to fill in gas, my wife suggested that we go to Canatara Beach in Sarnia instead. It was a bit closer (around 210 km) to our place as compared to Chatham, and since it was already 2 p.m., it felt like a better choice for a day trip.
We grabbed some coffee and snacks from an ONRoute Tim Hortons—kind of our little road trip ritual—and hit the road. The drive was actually really peaceful. Not too many cars, just open land, light rain, and that cool (infact cold) breeze. I was hoping for a cozy, relaxed drive, but it was colder than expected—about 7 degrees Celsius.
We reached Canatara Beach around 5 p.m. Not to our surprise, there was almost no one on the beach, and the wind outside was way stronger than we thought it would be. We didn’t carry proper jackets, and it felt like winter was making a comeback. Our 11-month-old son had been sleeping the whole ride and woke up just when we got there, but it was way too cold to take him out. So, he stayed warm in the car while we quickly stepped out taking turns.
There were only a few people around, just quietly sauntering and staring at the majestic lake Huron. It looked like everyone there was trying to find some peace, or maybe just figuring things out in their own heads. I kind of felt the same.
Since we couldn’t hang around the beach for long, we looked for nearby places and ended up at Centennial Park. Again, not crowded, but such a nice spot with children’s play area, Court of Flags, walking trails, recreation and entertainment area. There was a ship docked nearby, a few boats, and people taking brisk walks—probably the fitness freaks (assuming regular crowd would rather stay at home in this cold). Interestingly, while driving there, we spotted a house for sale on Victoria Street. We were not house hunting or anything, but out of curiosity, we checked the listing. One line in the description caught our eye: "Very close to the famous Albert's Fries." That instantly caught our attention. I’m someone who will go out of the way for good food.
After the park, I really wanted to check out the Blue Water Bridge. I’ve seen photos of the bridge, but being there in person was something else. The Blue Water Bridge is an international bridge built over St. Clair River and connects Point Edward, ON in Canada to Port Huron, Michigan in the US, and for me standing under it felt kind of surreal. I am always in awe of majestic man made structures. Even in the cold and drizzle, it was amazing. The bridge looked massive, and there’s something about standing under such a huge structure—it kind of makes you feel small, but in a good way. The river water was calm and kind of bluish green, moving steadily like it’s seen everything but still keeps going. We took tons of photos and videos there. Not often you get to stand under a bridge like that.
Coming back to the interesting stuff - after the bridge came the real mission—finding Albert's Fries. We thought it might be a truck or a rather small place and couldn’t spot it at first. I didn’t give up though. Just followed my gut, took a turn around the park, and there it was—under the bridge, besides Suzy’s Ice Cream.
We tried three types: loaded fries, dill fries, and Mexican fries. And man, they were so good. Crispy, hot, and loaded —just what we needed on that chilly evening.
My daughter, though, wasn’t ready to stop just yet. She marched off to Suzy’s and happily picked her ice cream, absolutely delighted with her treat. Honestly, watching her enjoy it was the cherry on top of an unplanned but memorable trip.
As we gathered ourselves and got ready to leave, we couldn't help but thank the house listing that accidentally led us to Albert's. The GPS said it would take 2 hours and 45 minutes to get home, but with a serene drive and no stops, we were back home in just over 2 hours.
A little tired, a little cold, but strangely calm—and kind of ready to face Monday.
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