Barry's Bay! Who knew?

Since I've moved back to Canada, I've been doing a lot of random gigs in towns in Ontario I've never heard of. Little remote, tiny communities that are sometimes cute, sometimes sketchy but most of the time - there's always something charming about them. Honestly! There really is. So I was booked to do a "Winter Carnival" show in Barry's Bay, Ontario. I'd never been to Barry's Bay and anytime I mentioned to someone I was doing a gig there they had never heard of it either so that's always a tiny bit weird but kind of intriguing. It was a long drive because I was driving from London, Ont. Seven hours! But I had some good podcasts and music. Plus, a hands free headset that I can make calls to people in my life I need to catch up with who are windbags! I have all the time in the world while driving to Barry's Bay! I arrived at about 4pm. Show wasn't until 8:30 so I had some time to shower and nap before grabbing some dinner and then the show. When I drove up to the motel I was staying at, "The Mountainview Motel" - there were more skidoos (snowmobiles) than there were cars so that's a funny start! I check in and it's a cute little office that smells of fresh baking. Nice, cozy welcome... especially since it's easy to go to the creepy small town vibe when you see skidoos - cue the deliverance music. A very friendly Scottish man greets me and checks me in. Gives me an actual key! The days of the actual key are so unsafe if you think about it. It has your room number on the key so if you misplace or lose your key, someone can see what room you're in and come on in! Anyway, I mention to the friendly scotsman that it smells amazing and he says in his charming Scottish accent "that's my wife's famous toffee pudding!" YUM???!!?!?!? I then notice they have a dinner menu and a tiny dining room - which is right next to their home/kitchen where they cook for the dining room. Cute!I inquired about the menu, he said that his wife cooks all the food homemade. There's nothing more welcoming on the road than a home cooked meal! He told me to call and order 20 minutes before I am ready to eat. So, I did and asked if he had a wine opener because I brought a bottle of red wine. He did of course and told me I could bring a glass of my own wine to have with my spaghetti. This place keeps getting better and better! I got to the dining room, candles lit, smells awesome. I am sitting at one of the four tables and I'm the only one there. My food comes - nice big plate of spagetti, served with garlic toast. Delicious! Ate every bite! Then the man asked me if I wanted dessert. No way! Tooooo full. Then his wife shows up and says "are you sure I can't offer you a small piece of my toffee pudding?" I don't know if it was the accent or what but I said "ok!" They gave me a complimentary piece of warm toffee cake and scoop of vanilla ice cream, I had a yummy spagetti dinnerand brought my own wine. The whole bill was $9.00 plus tax and tip. I obviously gave them $20.00 - keep the change! What I learned from this experience was you can't judge a book by its cover. The next time you see a motel with snowmobiles parked in front of it - don't go to the deliverance place in your mind so quickly - maybe go to the bagpipes and toffee pudding place! Here's some pictures!