Ask Felix: Mystery road trip takes us to Madawaska Valley to see local art
Last summer while Robert and I were garage sale hunting we came across an old Felix the Cat toy from the 1990s'. You "Ask Felix" a question and spin the cat around, and he tells you your fortune- similar to a magic eight ball. I fell in love with this toy cat, and we started taking him on road trips, spinning Felix and allowing him to decide our route- and often our fate. Felix took us to the fair in Renfrew where we rode a Ferris Wheel and drank fresh lemonade. He took us to a man's home in Jacksonville who was a picker; he had one arm and the largest comic book collection I have ever seen. He took us to Stitsville to the Barbie museum and the best used bookstore. EVER! He took us to a chip truck called Pong's Poutine where we ate the BEST poutine! Those who follow me on Instagram @GonzoTheFacey may remember my Felix adventures. If you want to see how the Felix toy works head to my Instagram and watch the video.
Today we dusted off Felix and he took us on yet another road trip. This time we started at the Cobden fair and ended up all the way in the Madawaska Valley. We explored and acted like tourists. We asked Felix and he directed us on our way to a day filled with adventure and shenanigans. This is Ask Felix: Travel to the Madawaska Valley, our day in photos.
 |
| Photo by Rob |
The starting point was the Cobden fair, where I pretended to be a scarecrow. Unfortunately the rabbit agility doesn't start until 3pm...
 |
| Photos byStacey McIntyre-Gonzalez Copyright© |
We asked Felix if we should go to Barry's Bay and he said "Righty-O" so we went on our way and parked at Zurakowski Park...
The park honours Janusz Zurakowski, a local resident and world renowned test pilot...
He tested the CF-105 Arvo Arrow, a super sonic interceptor and the most famous aircraft of his career...
Next we headed to Mad Outdoors where we bought some clothes and were greeted by this guy...
We asked Felix if we should continue on to visit the other local shops and he said "Hopefully So." The next shop was The Vintage Gift Shoppe that also has their own store greeter...
This shop has a wide selection of specialty loose leaf teas!
Next stop is a mystical place full of whimsical novelties and glorious wonders...
Photographed by Robert
Someone else to greet us!
This is the most amazing store, and the fun starts on the outside. This store is full of everything you can think of! Imported art, crystals, jewelry, furniture- Grumblin' Granny's has something for everyone...
This was the most beautiful piece I found, and if I could have afforded it ,this witch would have been coming home with me...
The store is huge, with things outside, inside, of the walls and on the ceiling. It is sensory overload. I couldn't believe the beautifully carves skulls and longhorns, Rob has wanted longhorns ever since I can remember. He was in heaven...
Longhorns for days! Longhorns for years! But alas we had to say goodbye to Grumblin' Granny's...
We bought some salt water taffy, assorted mix. Colourful, but not labeled. We have no idea what flavour they are. Another mystery waiting to happen. From there we jumped across the street to another local shop...
The Botanical Glassworks and Gallery where we met the glasswork artist who is really nice and has a great sense of humour. She had a lot of cool things in her shop, but this was the best! Since I was left unattended I asked for about the free goods, but she said she was all out of puppies...
We took a little break at a local park, it had many different types of trees all planted in honour of someone who had passed, we think this is a plum tree but not too sure...
The Barry's Bay old water tower is beautiful...
According to the door it was built in 1904? The doors locked, we checked...
The park has some old railway artifacts...
I found the Maltese Falcon!
As well as an uncomfortable looking ride, no thanks Felix...
We were hungry so we asked Felix if we should eat at the Wilno Tavern and he said "Not Sure. Ask again!" so we asked again and he said "Righty-O" and away we went...
We asked Felix if we should order something we have never tried before and he said "Hopefully So" which freaked Rob out because he really wanted the pierogis. Luckily they had a authentic Polish buffet with things on it that we had never tried, so we went for it. Felix is able to compromise...
We tried a little bit of everything and the food was amazing as usual. I have never tried the pickled heiring. It was amazing. I also tried, for the first time, the homemade polish sausage with their in-house mustard, delicious! Thanks Felix!
We asked Felix if we should visit some of the local shops that surrounded the tavern and he responded "Hopefully So!"
We visited Rijoice Tie-Dyes and saw some beautiful, handmade rainbow fashions, amazing tie-dyed clothing...
It was nice to see they featured my favorite local soap makers Opeongo Soaps...
We asked Felix if it was time to go home and he said "Hopefully So" and we agreed because we were full on pierogis and salt water taffy...
But it was a great adventure and Robert bought me some treasures: A Canadian made copper 1986 penny bracelet (1986 is the year Rob was born) from The Wilno Craft Gallery, a polished stone ring from Grumblin' Granny's and a Burton tank from Mad Outdoors that was on my wish list! It felt great to support so many local businesses today because that is so important to me. I can't wait to go on another Ask Felix travel adventure and take yoall with me!
Posts
