Going on a Mystery Trip

A few weekends ago I went on a trip and had absolutely no idea where I was going. As someone who is usually in charge of building out the itinerary for any trip that I go on, this was a really scary situation for me. Okay, I’m probably exaggerating a bit here. It wasn’t scary, it was more anxious than anything. Not knowing where I’m going to go usually stresses me out, but I soon found out that sometimes it can be fun!

Guess Where Trips approached me earlier in the year to see if I would be interested in test driving one of their brand new trips and I agreed. For the first time ever, I wouldn’t be the one responsible for planning out an entire trip and this completely excited me. I’m also someone who really enjoys mystery and intrigue so this was right up my alley! A scavenger hunt across the city with clues and riddles to solve? Who wouldn’t agree?!

I even vlogged the entire experience along with everything that we did wrong along the way if you want some entertainment for the day:

I won’t give away exactly how we solved each and every single clue just in case someone ends up reading this blog post and decides to book a trip with Guess Where Trips for the GTA region, but we did have to solve a little puzzle to get the address for our first destination—Sunshine Doughnuts.

This adorable little shop in Burlington has long since been on my GTA bucket list, but I had yet to taken the time to go all the way far enough out west of the downtown core to visit it. It’s an understatement to say that I was excited when I found out that it was our first destination because I was solidly giddy in my seat as we drove down the highway in search of the giant pink doughnut.

After a short pit stop and a doughnut each for both Peter and myself, we began making our way to the next point in the journey. Guess Where Trips also does this lovely little thing where they also include a list of fun nearby sites to hit up, and Dundurn Castle was one of ones near Sunshine Doughnuts.

Peter and I had already visited Dundurn Castle last year, but we had yet to take an actual tour of the inside, and trust me it was totally worth it. Not only do you get to walk through and view all of the rooms of the entire castle, but you also get the chance to wander through the basement as well. Trust me, it isn’t as creepy as it sounds, it’s actually quite interesting and you learn a lot about the history of the castle.

After our little tour, the next clue led us on a drive over to Hamilton to visit one of their many waterfalls, Ball’s Falls. As someone who has visited many of the waterfalls in Hamilton, Ball’s Falls is actually one that I’ve never once been to. With a lookout point at both the top and bottom of the fall, you can decide to take either the short (bottom) or the long (top) hike to see the view. Unfortunately for us, we misread the clue and decided to take the path down to the bottom of the falls since we were running short on time. Unfortunately we didn’t actually get the chance to solve the clue for the next location due to our error. Luckily for us, Guess Where Trips also includes an Answer Key (which I begrudgingly used) that helps you out in a pinch, so we resorted to it to get to our next destination without having to do the long hike.

After extracting the next clue from the Answer Key, we were off to the Niagara Falls to experience the White Water Walk. Being a Canadian resident, I had thought that I had seen just about everything that could be seen about the falls. I’ve ridden the Maid of the Mist, I’ve walked behind the falls, I’ve been to the top of the falls, I’ve even watched the light show on the falls. But the one thing that I don’t think that I’ve ever done was walking alongside its rapids.

Did you know that the rapids created by the Niagara Falls are Class 6 Rapids? This classifies them among some are the fastest of all rapids in the world. And the speed is mainly due to the sheer volume of water that is coming down from the falls. When you take in that small tidbit of information, it really makes you appreciate Mother Nature and her wonder.

Our visit took us along a walk down the boardwalk path collecting numbers for the next clue, and we quickly made it off to the next destination before closing time.

By the time that we made it to our final destination, it was nearing the end of the day and most businesses had already begun to close up shop. I’ve been to Niagara-on-the-Lake before, but this was Peter’s first time so I was excited for him to see the picturesque little town. We whisked around the town gathering our last clues before taking some time to enjoy it.

As we wandering down the roads and across the adorable little store fronts, I began to wish that we had planned an overnight stay in one of the hotels so that we would be able to enjoy a dinner on the lake. Unfortunately we were due back home to walk the dog, so a quick stroll was all that we were able to afford before we had to leave and be on our way.

If you ever have the chance, I would highly recommend a weekend trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake so that you can also visit some vineyards and enjoy dining at some of the many amazing restaurants there. This is probably as close as you’ll be able to get to Napa Valley without having to board a 5 hour flight to cross the country.

With little shops dotted along the street like this holiday one (featured below), local jammeries, and restaurants with mouth-watering fragrances wafting towards you on the sidewalk, it’s easy to see why people love Niagara-on-the-Lake so much. In all honesty, it’s definitely a place that I can foresee myself retiring to one day in the future.

We had such an amazing time on this little day trip with Guess Where Trips that led across the entire GTA and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It felt nice to take a break from being the one always responsible for creating the itinerary and being to sit back and enjoy the trip. The mystery also helped as well. If you’re a fan of intrigue like me, the I’d highly recommend signing up for a trip from Guess Where Trips to try something new, or to even rediscover your neighbourhood in a different light!