Owen Sound, Ontario

Owen Sound is a mid-sized city (population 21,753 in 2005), located on the Owen Sound Bay of Lake Huron in South Central Ontario. It is located in the heart of the Lake Huron Snowbelt, so it receives a HUGE amount of snow wintertime. It is also home to the Owen Sound Transportation Company, which operates an extensive ferry service in the summertime (including the relatively famous MS Chi-Cheemaun). Owen Sound is the seat of government for the County of Bruce and is the home to Georgian College. It is also home to the Owen Sound Attack, my favorite OHL (Ontario Hockey League) team.

Check out this link to the Festival of Lights Webcam (the Festival of Lights is schedule for late December, 2009) : http://www.festivallights.ca/webcam.php

Orillia, Ontario

Orillia, Ontario is located about 50 kilometers north of the city of Barrie (see post on October 29th). It is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Couchiching (Lake Couchiching is really just the northern end of Lake Simcoe). Orillia is home to one of my favorite waterfront parks, with a really fantastic monument to one of the regions early explorers, Samuel de Champlain. The park is also a major overnight stopover for boaters traveling on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Orillia is the home of singer / songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, pianist Glenn Gould and was the birthplace of author Stephen Leacock. If you like to gamble, Casino Rama is very close by.

Check out the view of the lake from the Lagoon City Webcam: http://www.lagooncitywebcam.ca/tin/lagoon.html