Citroën Autoclub Canada – Spring 2017 Outing to Mono, ON Report
by George Dyke…..
It was a rain soaked week leading up to our annual spring outing on Saturday May 6. Weather improved a bit for the event but it was still drizzling and cool. Anticipating poor weather, the day before I sent out an email to members saying; “Even if you don’t feel like getting your Citroën drenched, we invite you to come along in your ‘daily driver’ and enjoy the camaraderie of lunch with our Citroën club. No point in having bad weather be a factor in keeping you hunkered down at home!” We didn’t want to postpone the event because we had our Club’s monthly meeting the following Sunday and being Mothers’ Day didn’t want to monopolize the day for those that family obligations. So, pressing on with the outing as planned, come hell or high water, seemed like the best course of action.
Fortunately some members agreed and we meet at 10:00 a.m. at the McDonalds on Major Mackenzie Drive just east of Jane St. The address is 2810 Major Mackenzie Dr W., Maple, ON L6A 1S2 for a morning coffee and snack before departing on a short hour and fifteen minute drive through the countryside north of Toronto to Mono Centre, ON. Our destination was the Mono Cliffs Inn. We were planning to go the Peter Cellers Pub in the basement of the inn, but with 11 people in our entourage, we decided that the upstairs restaurant, a very pleasant place with original wood floors and window views, would be the better place. Good choice as Harriet Nixon and Roy Pope added to the numbers coming over from Elora, and Kit Andrew and two of his friends joined us coming by from nearby Schomberg. Kit braved the dampness enough to actually arrive in his Citroën Dyane!
The Mono Cliffs Inn claims that their establishment has become a mecca for area food and wine lovers. “Innkeeper Carol Hall is always glad to see old friends and welcome new visitors. Since 1987, people in the know have been finding their way to Mono Centre to dine at the acclaimed Mono Cliffs Inn”, and now we know why! We we pleasantly treated and served a marvelous lunch that all of us felt was worth a Michelin 5 star rating! Absolutely fabulous and surprisingly reasonably priced!
With a leisurely lunch and much jovial conversation over, we headed back toward Orangeville and then east along Highway 9 to Heart Lake Rd. where we turned south and traveled to Olde Base Line Rd. (just north of Brampton). From there we headed east on Olde Base Line Rd. and began one of the last country drives one can take along the top of the greater Toronto area by going along Castlederg Side Rd., 17th Side Road and 16th Side Roads. Eventually we dropped down to Concession Rd. 8 and from there joined HWY 400 to take us back to Toronto’s traffic snarl.
We’ve had great weather most years for our annual spring outing and despite the moisture and only one Citroen this time, it was still a fantastic day!
Kip’s Dyane started fine. Jeff Teerlinck and Harriet Nixon just hammed it up for the camera!