The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

36 - The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday October 7, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Giving thanks in Canada this Thanskgiving weekend Oh Canada! It is truly a beautiful country in the fall, and as thoughts turn to Thanksgiving, let's head out and enjoy the scenery. Any road will do, take a drive, walk, ride your bike and turn wherever, you choose. Mother Nature, as she does this time every year, has put on a spectacular colour show for us. We have visitors from all over the world to see our fall colours. We should follow their lead and enjoy them too. Everyone has their own ideas on which routes provide the best colour vistas. My favourite is Hwy. 35 from Minden through Dorset. This is a beautiful route at anytime, let alone during fall colours, and has lots of places to stop and explore. Don't miss climbing the Dorset tower to really get a view, and remember to carry your camera. It's a long way down to get it. While you're in Dorset, visit Robinson's General Store; once voted the best general store in Ontario, it has only gotten better. Turn right in Dwight and drive into Algonquin Park to take a hike and look for moose. You can also carry on to Huntsville, and treat the kids to a " foot long" at the Tasty Cream Drive-In on your left at 55 King William St. There is a resort inn or motel for every budget if you have time to stay a night or two, and the main street of Huntsville is a picture all by itself. This is the weekend for the Haliburton Country Studio Tour in Minden (www.haliburtonstudiotour.ca). Next weekend, the "Hike Haliburton Festival" takes place (www.trailsandtours.com/hikehaliburton.php). In Peterborough, the trees along the Trent are showing their colours, and as usual the road to Curve Lake Reserve is a picture-taking opportunity. Be sure to stop at the Whetung Gallery, considered one of the best places in Ontario to buy Native arts and crafts, and all The audio brings to life the stories of the shores of Lake Ontario from Burlington, to Mississauga. You can drive it, walk it, or bike it. I'm told it is like having your own personal story teller. Along the way you can visit the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum, the Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate, the Museums of BurlingtonJoseph Brant Museum, Ireland house at Oakridge Farm and the Museums of MississaugaBradley Museum and Benares Historic House are interesting stops too. At any of these places you can pick up a copy of the audio, or look on the Internet: www.thekingshighwaytour.ca. You might want to make an overnight or weekend jaunt and visit one of Ontario's Finest Inns in the next couple of weeks. You can combine fall colour hikes with biking, theatre, or just plain relax. For theatre-lovers, several of Ontario's Finest Inns have packaged with the Thousand Islands Playhouse, Shaw and Stratford Festivals and the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope. Packages start at $180 per coup l e (www.ontariosfinestinns.com/p ackages.cfm). An unusual fall colour hike takes visitors 65 feet above the forest floor in Haliburton. Sir Sam's Inn has teamed with the Haliburton Forest Reserve to offer a two-night mid-week break that includes a forest Canopy Tour from $790 per couple. Or view the fall colours by bicycle in Prince Edward County, Ontario's hottest wine region. The Merrill Inn's fall cycling package includes two nights of accommodation, breakfasts, dinner one evening, a Sandbanks day pass, a gourmet picnic, and use of quality touring bikes. The package is priced from $538 per couple (www.ontariosfinestinns.com/packages.cfm). Happy Thanksgiving! Sam Ion can be reached at sion10@cogeco.ca. kinds of other nifty things. The Petroglyphs Provincial Park 30 kilometres north of Peterborough is world famous for its 900-plus aboriginal rock carvings, and the leaf peaking is spectacular too. Or maybe you'd like an Audio driving tour of Oakville, Burlington and Mississauga on the King's Highway. Again, spectacular leaves in an urban setting. But this free audio helps you imagine you're the great Mohawk WarriorTyendenaga, or Joseph Brant. FEATURING: HORIZON & CO. For over 43 years, people have been entrusting their travel dreams to Horizon & Company. Their rigorous standards for safety, comfort and style have earned them one of the highest repeat traveller rates in the business, and the tradition of excellence that began in 1963 continues, kept alive by the passionate commitment of their staff and the enduring loyalty of their travellers. The itineraries that Horizon offer are designed to take you off-the-beaten-path in search of those rare once-in-a-lifetime moments, whether itís cruising down the Nile enjoying cocktails at sunset or watching a sunrise half a world away over the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. All of their winter journeys are designed to reveal the essence of each destination through first-hand experience, "insider" access, and exploration of the area's history, culture, cuisine and more, with the added convenience of having all your travel needs handled by a friendly, knowledgeable Horizon guide. Horizon's exotic itineraries are part of their Classic Series of escorted small group trips specifis cally designed for mature travellers who seek an all-inclusive travel experience where everything is meticulously planned and organized, where you can see as many sights as possible at a reasonable pace and in relative comfort, and where your travelling companions will be like-minded individuals who share your sense of wonder at the world. If the Classic Series doesn't sound like your "cup of tea", then there are other exciting and ins novative trips that they are planning. For travellers in search of a more active and upscale travel experience, they have designed the Exploratory Series of trips along thematic lines ranging s from culinary expeditions and luxury adventures to mobile safaris and small ship cruises. For those who prefer not to travel in escorted small groups, they offer the Independent Trips Series, and for those who prefer to travel only with family and friends, they offer Private Trips service. Something for everyone! For more information give us a call! Visit McTavish At: www.mctavishtravel.com BEAVER TRAILS TO THE BERLIN WALL: Andrew and Michael Pearce in front of a portion of the Berlin Wall in Germany. They were in Berlin with their family for the World Cup Final as guests of Mastercard International and took time to read The Oakville Beaver. TRAVEL PROFESSIONALS Your guide to local travel experts and the best deals to your perfect getaway! Voted Best Travel Agency Best Cruise Company Best Travel Agent Thanks Oakville! Hopedale Shopping Centre 1515 Rebecca Street, Oakville Relax... you're with us Glen Abbey Travel Inc. 2441 Lakeshore W. Bronte Village Mall Oakville, ON 221 Lakeshore Road E. 1 Convenient Location in Oakville: (905) 827-1100 fax: (905) 827-4982 e-mail: travel@mctavish.com 905-337-2228 wwwhookedoncruising.com 905-827-7272 www.uniglobeglenabbey.com 146 Lakeshore Rd. E. 905-842-4999 lakeshore@travelchoice.ca