I am heading to Alberta today to visit with my daughter and her family. I haven't seen the Grands since St. Lucia in May. I really miss them.
Twyla is picking me up at the airport in Edmonton this afternoon. No time for shopping though as it is a two hour drive from Edmonton to their farm. Karmen (my horse crazy Grand) has riding lessons after dinner. So it will be grab a coffee at Tim's and hit the road.
Twyla and Joe are having a reception at their farm on Saturday for all the folks that couldn't make the trip to St. Lucia in May for the wedding. A dinner and a barn dance to follow. They have plenty of room so many will be bringing their trailers and motor homes and staying over. Should be fun.
Will update you when I return. Have a great week everyone :)
Tuesday 31 July 2012
Monday 30 July 2012
Trent-Severn Waterway
We were at Grangeways on the weekend and what a beautiful weekend it was. On Saturday we got up, packed a lunch and headed out in the vette for a 7 1/2 hour tour. Heading east and then north we arrived at Gamebridge which is on the east side of Lake Simcoe and near the mouth of the Talbot River. This is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Trent-Severn system stretches 386 km (about 231 miles for my American friends) from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay. They say it would take a week to travel the length of the Waterway by boat. You would pass through 36 conventional locks, two sets of flight locks , two of the world's highest hydraulic lift locks and a marine railway during that journey. Over the years Tom and I have visited most of these locks. Each is pretty impressive.
The first set of locks entering the river from Lake Simcoe are also called Gamebridge. We stopped to take a look and to watch them load four boats into the lock heading up river.
The one at the top right was a 35'-40' cruiser from the US that is cruising the system. When all settled in the two rangers closed the gates behind them. These gates are all operated manually.
When the water level has reached the higher level the front gates are opened and the boats continue their journey up the river
It is fascinating to watch. The locks have lovely picnic areas, wash rooms and some even have showers. The boaters are welcome to tie up at the locks and take advantage of the facilities. We following the river and canal for a few miles, stopping at the Talbot Lock to have our lunch and watch more boats being lifted along the river.
From there we just toured around, stopping at Bobcaygeon for some of the wonderful Kawartha Dairies Icecream...yum!!
From there we continued our drive, stopped near Chemung Lake to visit Tom's brother and then into Bridgenorth for a quick visit with his sister. From there back to Grangeway's.
The sun was shining, the tunes were playing, the wind blowing through your hair, suntans were enhanced.........what more can you ask.
By the way for anyone who has not seen our vette here she is. We never did name her...any suggestions?
The first set of locks entering the river from Lake Simcoe are also called Gamebridge. We stopped to take a look and to watch them load four boats into the lock heading up river.
When the gate is closed behind the boats, the values located at the bottom of the gates are closed stopping the water from flowing out. Then the values under the front gate are opened allowing the water to flow into the lock, raising the boats to the higher level.
From there we just toured around, stopping at Bobcaygeon for some of the wonderful Kawartha Dairies Icecream...yum!!
From there we continued our drive, stopped near Chemung Lake to visit Tom's brother and then into Bridgenorth for a quick visit with his sister. From there back to Grangeway's.
The sun was shining, the tunes were playing, the wind blowing through your hair, suntans were enhanced.........what more can you ask.
By the way for anyone who has not seen our vette here she is. We never did name her...any suggestions?
Thursday 19 July 2012
Celebration of Life
The heat wave has finally broken in southern Ontario, as least for a day or two.
We took a drive this afternoon about an hour and a half west to Brantford (home of Wayne Gretsky). Our dear friend Pat McKenzie from Orillia lost her twin brother Peter Neil on July 4th. A celebration of his life was held at the Brantford Golf and Country Club. Several of Peter's family and friends shared some of their memories and stories with us. Our thoughts and prayers are with Pat and all her family at this sad time.
We had dinner at Casey's in Brantford, along with John and Judy Hollinger, before heading back to the Hill this evening.
Our friends Dave and Helen McAllister have arrived home from their travels. We look forward to seeing them and hearing about their 5th wheel adventures.
Until next time, safe travels.
We took a drive this afternoon about an hour and a half west to Brantford (home of Wayne Gretsky). Our dear friend Pat McKenzie from Orillia lost her twin brother Peter Neil on July 4th. A celebration of his life was held at the Brantford Golf and Country Club. Several of Peter's family and friends shared some of their memories and stories with us. Our thoughts and prayers are with Pat and all her family at this sad time.
We had dinner at Casey's in Brantford, along with John and Judy Hollinger, before heading back to the Hill this evening.
Our friends Dave and Helen McAllister have arrived home from their travels. We look forward to seeing them and hearing about their 5th wheel adventures.
Until next time, safe travels.
Monday 16 July 2012
Yard Sale Success
Saturday turned into a beautiful, hot day. We set up our sale on our back deck to take advantage of the shade under the gazebo. Not on the driveway where we would have totally melted. We had well over one hundred people stop by and we sold approximately $300 worth of goodies. The downsizing continues!!
Sunday The Hollinger's arrived just as the rain hit. Tom and I were at the neighbors helping them fix their fence, which was starting to fall over. John gave him a hand finishing up and Judy and I retired to the deck. Our gazebo is quite waterproof so we were able to sit outside during the downpour and enjoy the change in the weather. We have not had much rain for weeks. And no rainwater got into our drinks!!
This morning the sun was shining again but the grass and plants are much happier.
John gave me a great tutorial on the use of his Ipad. We are looking to solve our internet requirements and they seem to be very happy with this device. We will have to take another trip to the Apple Store and maybe make the plunge. Thanks guys for coming. We love to see you.
Sunday The Hollinger's arrived just as the rain hit. Tom and I were at the neighbors helping them fix their fence, which was starting to fall over. John gave him a hand finishing up and Judy and I retired to the deck. Our gazebo is quite waterproof so we were able to sit outside during the downpour and enjoy the change in the weather. We have not had much rain for weeks. And no rainwater got into our drinks!!
This morning the sun was shining again but the grass and plants are much happier.
John gave me a great tutorial on the use of his Ipad. We are looking to solve our internet requirements and they seem to be very happy with this device. We will have to take another trip to the Apple Store and maybe make the plunge. Thanks guys for coming. We love to see you.
Sunday 8 July 2012
Potty Rooms are not Much Fun!!
Last weekend our rv toilet gave up the ghost. The flush ball would no longer move. Off to RV World on Hwy 400 and 89 to see if they would have the parts in stock. No luck but they had a nice new biffy for $150.00. "Just remove the old one and pop this one on...bob's your uncle". Only one big problem. We had driven the vette to the park this weekend. Even without the box the new biffy would not fit in the trunk. OK - PICTURE THIS!!!
We are in a yellow convertible corvette!!! The top is down. It is a beautiful, hot sunny day. We are driving down Yonge Street, through Bradford, New Market and to the park. There this a woman in the passenger seat of this hot sports car with her arms wrapped around a toilet.........................OMG!!! Kodak Moment. Thank goodness there were no cameras in sight!!!
We got the new biffy back to the park, removed the old one, popped on the new....oops. The old one has 4 bolts, the new one has 2. They do not match up. The flange is stuck to the floor and glued to the pipe going to the black tank. We could drill out the flange to insert new bolts. What if it cracks?? We are in big trouble then. So we call SeaLand to get the part numbers, call RV World to get them to order, put the old one back on and plug the hole with a newspaper. We have company coming next weekend and we are keeping our fingers crossed that the parts will arrive before they do.
Now it is Friday the new parts arrive. I run up to RV World to pick them up and Friday night we head to the park, again remove the old toilet, install the parts. Oh so much fun. Our potty room is very small. Tom doesn't fit. Cheryl gets to lay on the floor, again with her arms wrapped around the toilet the get it back in place. and it works perfect.....Just in Time. (I always get the CRAPPY jobs!!! )
Saturday morning it poured rain. But the sun came out in time for our friends Guy and Ruth Kelly to arrive to meet Tara and enjoy afternoon in the yard. They stayed for dinner and to play some cribbage. Guy and I are the reigning champions (likely only until next time). Glad you two could come up. It was great to see you and hope to see you again real soon.
This morning we did some house cleaning before we headed to RV World to return the biffy we purchased and then home. I am having a yard sale next weekend in hopes of continuing my downsizing exercise. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I get rid of tons of stuff. If anyone out there wants some treasures let me know. Glad to sell them to you cheap!!!
The latest from our friends Dave and Helen McAllister (The Retired Travelers). Dave retired at the beginning of June. They had packed up their 5th and headed to Boston. They did some touring around and then went up into the Maritimes. Dave had a health issue and was hospitalized in Nova Scotia for a time. Helen reports that he is on the mend, out of the hospital and they are continuing their travels as planned. So very glad to hear the news and look forward to seeing them in a couple of weeks when they arrive back home.
Until next time. Safe travels.
We are in a yellow convertible corvette!!! The top is down. It is a beautiful, hot sunny day. We are driving down Yonge Street, through Bradford, New Market and to the park. There this a woman in the passenger seat of this hot sports car with her arms wrapped around a toilet.........................OMG!!! Kodak Moment. Thank goodness there were no cameras in sight!!!
We got the new biffy back to the park, removed the old one, popped on the new....oops. The old one has 4 bolts, the new one has 2. They do not match up. The flange is stuck to the floor and glued to the pipe going to the black tank. We could drill out the flange to insert new bolts. What if it cracks?? We are in big trouble then. So we call SeaLand to get the part numbers, call RV World to get them to order, put the old one back on and plug the hole with a newspaper. We have company coming next weekend and we are keeping our fingers crossed that the parts will arrive before they do.
Now it is Friday the new parts arrive. I run up to RV World to pick them up and Friday night we head to the park, again remove the old toilet, install the parts. Oh so much fun. Our potty room is very small. Tom doesn't fit. Cheryl gets to lay on the floor, again with her arms wrapped around the toilet the get it back in place. and it works perfect.....Just in Time. (I always get the CRAPPY jobs!!! )
Saturday morning it poured rain. But the sun came out in time for our friends Guy and Ruth Kelly to arrive to meet Tara and enjoy afternoon in the yard. They stayed for dinner and to play some cribbage. Guy and I are the reigning champions (likely only until next time). Glad you two could come up. It was great to see you and hope to see you again real soon.
This morning we did some house cleaning before we headed to RV World to return the biffy we purchased and then home. I am having a yard sale next weekend in hopes of continuing my downsizing exercise. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I get rid of tons of stuff. If anyone out there wants some treasures let me know. Glad to sell them to you cheap!!!
The latest from our friends Dave and Helen McAllister (The Retired Travelers). Dave retired at the beginning of June. They had packed up their 5th and headed to Boston. They did some touring around and then went up into the Maritimes. Dave had a health issue and was hospitalized in Nova Scotia for a time. Helen reports that he is on the mend, out of the hospital and they are continuing their travels as planned. So very glad to hear the news and look forward to seeing them in a couple of weeks when they arrive back home.
Until next time. Safe travels.
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