Murals in Midland

Not all research is fun and games under the sun. In our profession research is ongoing in all types of weather – sun, rain and snow.  Sometimes it is even more fun exploring in a down pour of rain and the slush of snow than it is in the sun.  Everything has its charm.

There are many reasons for this weather attitude. Here are a couple – less crowds, less people, and sometimes I do not have  a choice.  Which in a nut shell means,  we cannot always wait for the sun. Not that I do not mind people.. but every once in a while alone time is a good time – just me, nature, thunder and lightning. The weather does not matter. In fact it is a refreshing change from the weeks of sun.

After the story in Wasaga Beach, we made a company decision to visit Midland. Why? Well it is close for one.  And  it is on Georgian Bay. Waterfront communities are usually a good bet for good scenery.

Being from BC, I am accustomed to slogging trails while in storms.  It is like being in a giant muddy sandbox.  So bring it on.. and it did – in buckets.

But before it came down in buckets I was able to enjoy the downtown core of Midland. It reminded me of Chemainus, BC because of the many murals.  Most communities I find have murals. But sadly, many are not very good.  Sometimes murals are poorly done and not worth the visit. Some communities do a  poor job at maintaining murals. If murals are not top notch do not push them as an attraction.

Midland, Ontario is an exception as well as Chemainus in BC.  Both do a  good job in murals.

Midland Murals

They were murals on every street corner and painted in vibrant colors.  There were few faded murals. You know the ones.. the eye squinting murals that look like they have not been touched up in a hundred years.

I was impressed so I made an effort to follow their downtown mural map to check them all out.  There was some nice art work to be seen. My favorite was the lighthouse..  which looked like a live lighthouse from afar.

The following day I hit the parks. This was the day of rain.  Not many in the area as it was clearly a boating community. The best park was the Wye Marsh located out of town.  It was run by a non profit organization working to protect some sensitive habitat for birds, snakes, turtles and others.

There were trails, lookouts and towers in the marsh. A boardwalk trail took hikers down the middle of it. Birds were chirping but never seen much and animals were heard splashing amongst the cat tails and lily pads. No sigh of them either.

No one was around on this soggy day, which is understandable. I, however,  suited up in my rain gear enjoyed the day,  took my time as I had tunes.. the  rap tap tap of the rain pounding against my rain gear (Main Blog Photo) and some wicked hiking tunes from my Walkman.