These days this actor heads to the cottage in the summer like everyone else, but that wasn’t always the case.

During the CTV Fall Preview celebration earlier this year, Ben Ayres gave CTV.ca a little insight into what his summer has been like this year, and what he used to take as a winter vacation instead.

Ben Ayres plays Mike on “Dan for Mayor,” a businessman who was set to marry his fiancé, Claire (Mary Ashton), until Dan (Fred Ewanuick) attempts to win her back by running for mayor of Wessex. Then things got horribly complicated, as evidenced in the show’s season one finale that aired earlier this year.

Besides “Dan for Mayor,” Ayres has recently appeared on “Less than Kind” and “Vampire Diaries,” as well as playing the Cancer Cowboy on the television adaptation of “jPod.”

“Dan for Mayor” will return for a second season on CTV.

CTV.ca: So what’s your favourite thing to do in the summer?

We just moved to Toronto from Vancouver about a week ago, so we went to a cottage last weekend, and then this weekend, my best friend has a cottage up in Bracebridge, so we’re going up there. That is the best thing in the summer.

CTV.ca: Best summer vacation you’ve ever taken?

I never really took summer vacations. I used to take winter vacations. For four years, every winter for five months I’d go to Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Australia, Vietnam, Fiji. I worked at a golf course at the time, so I’d work in the summer and get laid off in the winter.

CTV.ca: Favourite summer song?

I don’t have a song. The last Beach House album is a great summer album. I was just in L.A. and I listened to a lot of it. The best new summer album that just came out is by Caribou, this Canadian guy, and the whole album is supposed to represent water. It’s fantastic.

CTV.ca: Favourite flavour of ice cream?

Coconut and chocolate. If you go to Costa Rica or Mexico, their Coconut ice cream is the best.