Sunday, July 5, 2020

A Ride Downtown!

I got out for my first ride downtown this morning, since early March when we stopped our coffee group and stopped going to church.  It's a big adjustment starting this after the lockdown!  I went in the morning when it was still relatively cool. 

I was delighted to see the first Chicory blooms as I rode down the big hill on Nelson Street.  Chicory only looks like this with bright blue wide-open blooms for a few hours in the morning, but I'm usually out in the afternoon.

There are six old churches downtown.  This one has the easily recognizable architecture of churches in the late 19th century.  It was built as a Presbyterian church, but purchased in 1938 and became a Pentacostal Tabernacle.

Across the street is the former Knox Presbyterian Church, now recreated into apartments.  This is the church we attend but in a new totally accessible building at the edge of town.

Since restaurants here can only open outdoor patios, I had heard that part of the parking in this block had been blocked off to enable that.  This patio looks very nice, fenced off from the traffic beside you and with a wheelchair accessible ramp! 

My favourite coffee shop has a nice looking patio, but it's not accessible!  You can see the concrete barriers behind the railing.

Across the street is Meaford Hall, also shown in the photo above.  Usually the popular site of local concerts, it's been quiet now for 3 months.

But the big red chair is still there.  I was glad to finally get downtown again, the first time I've ridden downtown myself since last October.  It was like a new adventure!






19 comments:

  1. What a nice wander downtown. We have a Knox Presbyterian Church here. It's unfortunate that many places are still not accessible.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A lot of old churches and schools have been converted to apartments here as well. It's good to see the buildings being repurposed rather than being town down. Glad to hear you could get downtown, but please stay away from other folks and be safe.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A great outing, and photos along the way. after all those months things would look different, another season altogether. I know the first time we drove into our small town, after 5 weeks, it was a shock to see every parking space was empty, almost every shop[ closed. The businesses are slowly gaining back what they lost, locals are being good and purchasing locally, maybe we all are reluctant to travel to the bigger towns at all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love exploring older towns like this. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I enjoyed my outing with you … lovely photographs.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice to be able to get beyond Four Walls to explore the area.
    Be Safe and Enjoy your freedom.

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great trip out. You must feel more empowered when you can get out and about on your own.

    ReplyDelete
  8. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yes that would be a pleasant adventure after having not been there since last October. And how nice to head there under your own steam. That has to be a nice sense of freedom for you. Mornings are perfectly cool and with this dry stretch we are in you may already have further adventures planned.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It must have been wonderful to be out and about!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm glad to hear that you got out!

    ReplyDelete
  12. At least some places are accessible, and that's great. I hope the others will try to get with the program! So glad to hear you are getting around so well. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. your town looks so quiet and so peaceful. Not normal, I know. But safer for us all.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looks like a wonderful ride! When you say you rode downtown by yourself, do you mean in your wheelchair? That would be quite an adventure!

    ReplyDelete
  15. How great for you to be able to get out!

    ReplyDelete
  16. you are so brave and such an adventurer!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. I so enjoy getting a glimpse of where others live through their blogs!

    ReplyDelete