Fun Side of Life | Cottage and Cabin Owners | Cottage Insurance

- [Jim] "The Fun Side of Life" gives me a chance to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city and brings me to beautiful Muskoka, Ontario, where my friend, Emily, gives me a tour of a serene lakeside cottage. I finally get to experience what the cottage lifestyle in Muskoka is all about.

- [Emily] Come on in.

- Oh, what a beautiful place.

- And here we are in the loft bedroom.

- This ceiling is incredible. Wow.

- If you love the cottage, wait till you see the lake.

- The Fun side of life brings me to Muskoka where I'll be visiting a famous bakery. Everything I imagined. Touring a beautiful cottage. This place has character.

- [Emily] Exactly.

- And blasting across the water. I've been told that when in Orillia, a must-try spot is Mariposa Market. I don't know what to expect, but I'm super excited to check it out. Let's go. Classic dipped, and the recreation of The Homer Donut. You cannot go wrong with that. You know the Mariposa Bakery delivers the goods, the baked goods that is, but if the baked sweets aren't enough to satisfy you, then you'll find what you need in the aisles of artisanal preserves. And if you need even more sweets, Mariposa Bakery even has a candy shop; dentists everywhere are rejoicing. Mariposa Market, Orillia, Ontario; it's a jewel of the community. People come from miles away just to get the whiff, to get the smell of the bread and the desserts. The community loves it. You can tell no one's really in a hurry to leave. Everything from breads to candies to preserves, this place has it all, including this guy right here: the quintessential Homer Donut. Well, look at that. The donut icing even matches my shirt. It's sweet, sweet destiny. A match made in sugar heaven. Everything I imagined. Oh man, I had to get out of Mariposa Bakery before I ate my body weight in donuts. Anyway, it worked out because now I'm meeting my friend, Emily. She's kind of my tour guide here in Muskoka, and she's at a family friend's cottage and thought I'd wanna stop in and check the place out.

- [Emily] Come on in.

- Oh. ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪

- What a beautiful place.

- [Emily] Isn't this gorgeous?

- [Jim] Oh.

- First thing that you notice, of course, is the huge vaulted ceilings. You cannot help but look right up.

- [Jim] This place has character.

- [Emily] Exactly.

- The attention to detail is immaculate. It feels super cozy, super inviting.

- And come check out the sunroom, or as we call it here, the Muskoka Room.

- [Jim] Oh, the Muskoka Room.

- [Emily] Yeah.

- [Jim] You know, what I love about this room is you're surrounded by trees.

- Yeah, and you open those windows, and you can hear a little waterfall out there. It's so relaxing.

- Perfect for napping.

- Yeah. Welcome to the heart of the home.

- I love, love this kitchen.

- [Emily] Isn't it charming?

- Well, again, it's the attention to detail. It's the spice rack. It's the bread box. They don't make islands like this anymore.

- No, this piece is solid. It's made out of barn board, and it really will fit the entire family around it. All right, check out the main floor bedroom. You wake up and the first thing you see is the lake.

- [Jim] Wow.

- Let's go upstairs.

- [Jim] Cool. ♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah ♪ ♪ Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah ♪

- And here we are in the loft bedroom. Isn't it completely unique?

- It's awesome. This ceiling is incredible.

- It's peg construction. It's super unique and beautifully crafted. And this is where the owners enjoy a coffee in the morning.

- Wow.

- If you love the cottage, wait till you see the lake.

- A last-minute call from work meant Emily and I had to say goodbye, but that's okay because Jay, Sandra, and the kids were happy to hang out with me by the water. It's just another gorgeous day for them in Muskoka. Guys, beautiful cottage. You could say a mouthful, but how about one word to describe the experience of being here?

- I would say serenity is a good word. Every time we come up here, you know, you leave the hustle and bustle of your whole life in Toronto.

- Do you feel like you're living your best life every time you come up?

- Yeah, absolutely. An average day is this beautiful, serene thing where we read and have a little bit of wine, take our time making dinner. They stay in the water all day, and we join them occasionally, so it's perfect.

- When can I invite my friends? I interpret that response as some time soon. In the meantime, Jay and I are saddling up and hitting the lake like a couple of fresh-water cowboys. What an awesome day in Muskoka. A beautiful bakery, a one-of-a-kind cottage, and an epic day on the water. I'm living the life in cottage country. Take care.

- Bye.

- See ya.

- The "Fun Side of Life" brings me to an early morning boat tour of Lake Muskoka, a humbling round at Taboo Golf Course. Missed it by a good two weeks. And a tour of a gorgeous modern cottage. Join me on my cross Canada RV tour as I discover the fun side of life. A couple of old friends of mine, Angela and Duane, are spending some time off in cottage country. They've booked a relaxing morning boat tour on Lake Muskoka, and since I was in the area, they invited me to come along. This is the first time they've been to Muskoka. So, the whole family was excited to be there. Guys, amazing boat ride.

- It was absolutely breathtaking out there. I mean, I can imagine waking up to this every day all day. That's just amazing.

- [Angela] It was really fun, especially, like, with the kids, and see their faces and sitting 'em in front of the boat. And we went fast. Oh, that was the best for them.

- [Jim] Our boat ride inspired Angela and Duane to consider owning a Muskoka cottage of their own.

- We've rode past a couple of these docks, looking at each other like, I think I could check my emails from that position right there.

- It's been fun hanging out on the water with Angela, Duane and the kids, but I've gotta get going. I've got a tee time later today, and to make it a special day, I'll be traveling to the course by boat, not something most golfers ever get to do, and access by boat is only one of the things that makes Taboo Golf Course a special place. I'm ready to hit the links. Oh, boy. Okay. So that's a mulligan. That's a lot of pressure, being a host, but after a few quick tips from one of my crew members, I'm ready to try it again. That was a beautiful. Blue sky, fluffy white clouds, lovely rolling greens. This is the life. Before my round, I got the chance to ask Tanner from the pro shop some questions about Taboo Muskoka. Tanner, what makes Taboo such a special place?

- For me, it's how it feels like your own private course out there. It's just so spread out that you're never really seeing other groups on the course, as well as kind of what Muskoka is known for is just some of the granite outcroppings that are built into the course. Those just make it really special to me.

- So, if you're a good golfer, then, you have no witnesses, but if you're a bad golfer, you also have no witnesses. Golfing in front of cameras is a lot of pressure. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to anyone. See how this goes. Oh! Missed it by a good two weeks. If you're like me and pretend to know how to play golf, you gotta get to Taboo. But I think it's best for everybody if we leave the cameras behind and I continue on my route. Once I left the cameras behind, I definitely elevated my game. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. It was time to meet my friend, Emily. She's a real estate agent in Muskoka, and she told me she had an incredible place that I might wanna check out. I'm always looking for the fun side of life. And this cottage definitely seems like it's a lot of fun. Emily, where do we start? What a gorgeous place.

- Isn't this stunning? This is a chalet feel, post and beam, cathedral ceiling, the rock fireplace. It just, it's warm and it's inviting, but it's grand at the same time.

- [Jim] Beautiful, natural light.

- You feel like you're in the treetops.

- Emily, I gotta be honest with you. I wasn't expecting this type of kitchen in this type of cottage.

- It's a clean, minimalist kitchen, but the beadboard and the warm timbers overhead keep it from being cold. Every good party ends up right here.

- You and maybe 20 or 30 of your closest friends.

- [Emily] There's room for it.

- Emily, the fact that I can take 10 full strides into this bathroom, I mean, come on.

- This bathroom is completely on trend, double sinks, heated floors, seamless glass shower. It's very minimalist. It's very on trend.

- Feels like I'm in a high end hotel.

- Absolutely.

- A boat tour, golf and a visit to a cool cottage. It's been a big day in Muskoka, but I think it's time to just sit back and enjoy the view. I'll see you next time.