The small-town Ontario experience

I have distant relatives in Ontario, Canada. In 2011, I stayed with them for three months while I was working for a local newspaper. During this time they became more than distant relatives. The majority of them lived in a small beach town off the coast of Lake Huron called Kincardine. Coming from Scotland, I was amazed that this small town was more passionate about Scottish culture than my home country! There were regular bagpipe parades each week, several themed shops, and a warm reaction when they heard my accent.
I was working at the local Kincardine News for a few months before I began studying journalism at university. During this time, I learned how tightly knit this community was. The town itself is roughly three hours away from Toronto, and the nearest major town is an hour away. This isolated town does well though, the majority of people work at the nuclear power plant nearby which generates a healthy local economy. Kincardine also gets a small amount of tourism due to its beaches.
During my three months, I grew close to the family I stayed with. I have only seen a very small part of Canada but it was fantastic being able to experience what small-town Ontario was like, instead of just visiting the major tourist attractions. The small-town feel in Kincardine is fantastic; there are always town events happening during the summer. These include classic car nights where nearly the entire town is out on the main street (Queen Street) to see everything, Canada Day celebrations on the 1st of July, even the power plant puts on a large firework show on the pier for everyone to enjoy. This was one of my favourite parts of my stay, everyone was gathered on the beaches watching this huge firework display. All of these events made me feel like a genuine part of the community.
Since my stay, I have returned to Kincardine every summer. I plan on going there again in July. Also, a lot of my friends have come over to Scotland to visit and to explore. This trip to Canada was what first made me realise I wanted to travel a lot more, particularly around North America. It is such an interesting area, and so different to the United Kingdom.