He’d love to do the San Juan Islands in a Nordhavn 62-footer (around $2 million pre-loved, including VIP stateroom). Or, for those moments when the budget calls for something a little more modest, how ’bout the Saint Lawrence River in a 29-foot Ranger Tug (just under $225,000 for the 2010 model).

Millionaire dreams aside, the exciting moment finally came when Milliver’s Travels got to visit one of the places Brian learned of in Motor Boating magazine: Big Chute Marine Railway on the Trent-Severn Waterway in Ontario, Canada.

Big Chute is fascinating for boat lovers and engineers alike. Brian is both. But would it prove of interest to a foo-foo type such as moi, who needs her hot shower, her well-rounded breakfast and her breve (pronounced bre-vay) sipped at the local coffee house before she’ll agree to go adventuring?

I can safely proclaim that even a girlie traveler like me found Big Chute a tourist activity not to be missed!

A load of boats crossing land via Big Chute

But how does it work? In the words of your technically-challenged friendly travel guide, Big Chute lifts boats overland from one side of the Trent-Severn to the other. It does so by allowing boats to drive onto a submerged ramp; operators then secure all craft with special webbing slings.

One of the fun parts of watching from the sidelines is seeing a collection of different-sized boats gently glide up or down the steep incline (depending on which side they entered from) as you stroll beside them on the observation sidewalk. While bikini-clad wives wave to you from the suntan decks of their pleasure craft you can hear the hard-working Big Chute operators communicating by radio.

We watched four or five loads going in both directions and never tired of the novelty.

The same load of boats from the opposite angle, as they begin their stately descent

After gloating over the main attraction you can see the remains of the Old Big Chute, built in 1917. That one could only carry boats up to 35 feet long, which ruled out a lot of larger commercial vessels.

Brochures and prominently-placed info boards also educate visitors on the flora and fauna of the region. This can be stirring stuff!

For instance, Engelmann’s Quillwort is a primitive aquatic plant with a fossil record dating back 206–248 million years. Closely related to ferns, quillwort is on the endangered list due to human development.

Meanwhile, if you didn’t already know that You Are in Black Bear Country, you can grab the brochure of the same name to learn how to avoid a bear encounter. Get the low-down on which local snakes are poisonous and which are not, and which are endangered. The Massasauga Rattlesnake is a provincially threatened reptile.

(Provinces to Canada are like states to the USA.)

You can also see a bottled example of the Sea Lamprey: a little dude with a scary smile that caused a big change in the modernization plans at Big Chute during the 1960s. The Sea Lamprey had been devastating the fishing industry; researchers had to find a way for the system to stop assisting the migration of the Lamprey before modernization could go ahead.

Lego model of Big Chute

I badly wanted to get the Big Chute documentary on DVD, but we’d spent all our money the day before on a glorious float plane ride. One of my favorite displays was the Lego model of Big Chute that was sitting underneath the TV as it played the documentary for visitors.

Big Chute is operated by Parks Canada. Located approximately three hours north of Niagara Falls, we visited Big Chute as an easy day trip from our luxury base camp: Beacon Shore on Georgian Bay B&B (Midland, Ontario). Our B&B was all the luxury you could ask for in a vacation on the Bay, but without paying the high prices.

If you’re having a hard time narrowing down your activity choices in the Georgian Bay area, here’s the skinny: you simply MUST put Big Chute on your list. Free to watch and the only one of its kind still operating in North America.

Bring your own breve.

Photos Copyright © 2010 Brian Williams & Milli Thornton

WHEN WE SAY travel, we tend to think of world travel—or at least going to another county or state. But most of us travel every day without giving it much thought. Sure, we might be more conscious these days of the cost of gas (and its impact on the environment), but how much do we know that our local travel can make a big impact in other ways?

Do you have a beaten path to Wal-Mart, Target, Starbucks, etc. that you could almost drive in your sleep? I’m not suggesting you never shop in those places, but adding some new travel habits to your routine could prove life-changing.

Thanks to online friend Judy Clement Wall of Zebra Sounds, I’m now a member of the 3/50 project: Saving the Brick and Mortars Our Nation Is Built On. Have a look at these numbers from their site:

Get behind the 3/50 project!

3 – Which three independently-owned businesses would you miss if they disappeared?

50 – If half the employed population spent $50 each month in locally-owned independent businesses, it would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue. Imagine the impact if 3/4 of our employed population did that.

Below are my picks for the 3/50 project. I already have fun spending at least $50 a month between them, so my extra push is to feature them online with a link to each business.

My 'serene' route for errands

Brian tells me I’m saving gas because I’m driving slower (35 mph) and not doing the Stop-Go for traffic lights and stop signs. I get to share the road with walkers, joggers and bike riders instead of maniacs in SUVs.

Peaberry’s Café & Bakery

4350 Boardman-Canfield Road, Canfield, Ohio 44406, Ph: (330) 702-9230

Having a local coffee hang-out is essential to my writer’s lifestyle, and Peaberry’s meets my stringent criteria. The coffee’s always perfect (I drink double-shot breves), the service friendly, and I can sit in one of the quiet back booths to write.

Peaberry’s also makes killer gourmet sandwiches. My favorite at the moment is the #9: Cucumber with Asiago Peppercorn, Red Onion and Muenster Cheese on Croissant (I ask for turkey to be added). Yum!

The Flaming Ice Cube: Vegan Shoppe & Café

1449 Boardman-Canfield Rd., Suite 260, Boardman, OH 44512, Ph: (330) 726-4766

I *love* this business! I’m not vegan so I’ve only eaten in the café once, but I do love to shop in the eco-friendly New Age half of the store. I have bought candles, aromatherapy, books, a water fountain, CDs and other treasures. I found an agate candle-holder-cum-bookend that was just what I needed for a shelf in my office.

Cool merchandise: The Flaming Ice Cube

Fittingly for the theme of this article, the sign in the picture reads:

Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

Health Food Center of Youngstown
(new Website coming soon)

6015 Market Street, Boardman, Ohio 44512, Ph: (330) 965-1515

I buy a lot of herbs and supplements, and I’m fussy about the quality of what I consume. This shop not only feels inviting as you walk inside, they do stock many items I was buying online.

I’ve also bought organic bananas for my organic banana bread, neem toothpaste (Do you read your toothpaste label? Do you know what you’re putting on your gums?), herbal shampoo, almond milk for my protein powder and more.

Which three businesses will you (or do you) support in your local area?

Visit the 3/50 project for more inspiration!

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MILLI INTERVIEWED ABOUT THE 30/50 PROJECT ON WKBN:

Story by Steve Pacer of WKBN, Youngstown, Ohio. Thanks, Steve!

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Photos in the body of this article Copyright © 2009 Milli Thornton. Feature image courtesy Chris Cole of Peaberry’s Café & Bakery.

Photos for this article courtesy Amy Weiland

FOR THE RECORD, I hate blueberries. Here at home in western Nebraska, I avoid them like lizard avoids the cold spot on a rock. So when I am given the opportunity to go blueberry picking in eastern Tennessee, I expect to enjoy the picking but not the fruit.

Am I in for a surprise!

We bump along the scenic back roads that line the vineyards of Charleston, Tennessee (about an hour south of Knoxville). Born and raised in the drought-ridden Midwest, I will never get over the verdant beauty of green oceans of kudzu vines and rugged pine trees climbing up from the red earth to touch the cloud-wisped skies. We turn into the Morris Vineyard & Tennessee Mountainview Winery and into view of the long rows of grape vines, the wide curly leaves somehow both fresh and ancient, the stems burdened under a burgeoning crop of muscadines and scuppernongs. A little farther down the road, we park in front of the expansive pale brick Visitor’s Center, Tasting Room & Store.

The soft humidity of the Tennessee afternoon engulfs me as I climb out of the van and collect my sturdy, plastic bag-lined bucket. It’s a daunting first sight. I’m supposed to fill this huge bucket with tiny blueberries? My second thought assures me that since I have no intention of eating any as I pick, I will have no trouble piling my bucket full. My friends and I walk the few yards to where the blueberry bushes stretch in neat rows, the imposing slate blue of the Smoky Mountains looming in the distance.

Picking blueberries in Tennessee

Nose scrunched in anticipation of the pungent taste I’ve never been able to convince myself I like, I slip the berry onto my tongue and pop its warmth against the roof of my mouth. I’m thrilled to discover not the store-bought dilution I’m accustomed to, but rather a sweetness underlined by a seductive tartness. Suddenly, my chances of returning home with a full bucket aren’t looking so positive!

Back home in my non-vacationing life, a jam-packed schedule and poor soil have conspired to keep me out of the garden. But I love being close to the earth. I love the dry warmth of the soil under my knees as I kneel next to the bushes and duck under the branches to reach the clusters hidden near the bush’s center. The berries slip off the vine with barely a pinch and roll into the center of my palm. Those that aren’t immediately tossed into my mouth fall into the bucket with a soft thump and a rustle of the plastic bag.

The day's pickin's

My bucket is barely half full by the time we retreat to the Visitor’s Center to weigh our prizes. But our combined efforts produce enough berries to create a delicious blueberry crisp when we get back home. Sun-warmed and content, I lounge in a wooden chair at the kitchen table and load my spoon with vanilla ice cream and blue and purple dribbles of blueberry sweetness.

Suddenly, thanks to a wonderful afternoon at the Morris Vineyard, I’ve been converted to a lover of blueberries extraordinaire!

If you’re interested in scheduling a blueberry-picking venture of your own the next time you’re planning a trip East, you can contact Morris Vineyard by calling (423) 479-7311, writing them at 346 Union Grove Rd NE, Charleston, TN 37310, or emailing them via their contact form. Morris Vineyard is open daily 11-7, Sundays 12-7, and 9-8 during fruit season. Closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day.

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K.M. Weiland