When I was recently asked what one of my favorite places in Southern Ontario was, Long Point Provincial Park immediately came to mind. As one of Ontario's oldest provincial parks (established in 1921) and the only one to be located in a designated World Biosphere Preserve, Long Point Provincial Park is long indeed on bragging rights. And Long Point Provincial Park camping is the perfect way to experience summer - it's an escape filled with sun, sand, swimming, and more.

Every summer, we join friends for our "big" annual camping trip, lasting anywhere from several days to nearly a week, and Long Point is a favourite spot among all of our preferred destinations. It checks all our usual camping boxes (clean sites, clean washrooms, a nice blend of lively but not TOO lively atmosphere) and yet it offers so much more than that.

​Here are our five favourite things about Long Point Provincial Park.

I have an announcement that might shock my readers: My husband is a pharologist. But not to worry! While it may sound ominous, a pharologist is not the same as a philanderer - not even close! A pharalogist's love affairs are confined to lighthouses and pharology is the scientific study of lighthouses and signal lights.

Ryan's pharaological tendencies are strictly of the amateur kind, falling in love with lighthouses all around the world. But we don't have to travel far from home to see them. Canada has hundreds of lighthouses - and not all of them are on the ocean coast! A handful call Ryan's childhood stomping ground of the mighty Lake Superior home and one in particular, Thunder Bay's Porphyry Lighthouse, is an especially fine destination.

If you've been following along on our social media channels, you'll know we have been stirring the travel pot and have a big trip to Europe in the works. And I mean BIG! This is officially the longest amount of time that we've been on the road together. Five weeks is nothing to sneeze at!

Long time readers might remember that we talked about doing this trip back in the fall of 2015 but for a number of reasons we just had to postpone things. They might also remember that the letter "S" figures prominently - Sweden, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland! We swear, this is just a coincidence (...... or is it......?)

As we make our way through an alphabet's worth of countries, we can't wait to have you all along for the ride. Here are five neat things you need to know about our five week trip.

When we first conceived of the$200 Challenge - can two people travel for two days and spend just $200? - we knew a key factor in our success or failure would lie in our ability to target the right destination. We needed destinations that were slightly overlooked in favor of more popular neighbours. We needed destinations that were a little less trendy and a little less touristy. We needed destinations where our dollar would go just a little bit further. And Portsmouth ticked all those boxes - and a little bit more. If you're wondering what to do in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and you're on a budget, this is the post for you!

Occasionally in the shadow of its neighbors, Boston and Portland, Portsmouth had been described to me as a city with an actual working port, not just a waterfront attraction. A city where the shoulder season moves at a slow, leisurely pace. A city with loyal fans but also one that plenty of people haven't even heard of.

​I was immediately drawn to this combination of seaside town, working city, and slowly emerging tourist magnet. I knew I would love Portsmouth - but would my budget? And could the $200 Challenge possible succeed in pricey New England?