I'm so glad you could stop by. This is my personal blog of daily life and my journey through life. You will find a strong emphasis on family and friends as well as finding my ancestors through genealogy. Unlike my other blogs this blog is more of a catch-all so any topic is fair game.
Boarding the Chi-Cheemaun
August 7, 2013
It was still raining when we boarded the Chi-Cheemaun that would take us from South Baymouth to Tobermory. Boarding is quite impressive! The vehicles are lined into rows on the dock then each row proceeds into the ferry as directed. Once inside and parked, passengers are instructed to lock their vehicles and proceed to the upper deck, cafeteria or lounge for the hour and forty-five minute journey.
Boarding completed without a problem. We were one of the first loaded so made our way to the second floor lounge. The lower level cafeteria was open so many enjoyed a snack en route. The upper lounge is enclosed with ample seating, rest rooms and tourist information. Towards the front of the lounge gives the best view of the journey as it is over the bow of the vessel. There is a open deck around the lounge for viewing as well as an outdoor seating area. We went out for pictures but it was too cold and rainy to stay out.
Chi-Cheemaun Arrival
August 7. 2013
We were scheduled for departure at 9:10 AM from South Baymouth to Tobermory by car. Our vehicle had to be on the dock an hour before departure otherwise we would lose our reservation. My husband took the car over to the dock at 7 AM then came back to the motel room. We didn't have any coffee as neither coffee shop opened until 8 AM so we lounged in the room doing a bit of last minute online tasks. I looked out the window and quickly started powering down the laptop telling my husband we had to make a dash for the car. It was less than a 5 minute quick run across the road just in time to be greeted with a heavy downpour. The skies were dull, heavy with rain and more on the way. Along with the bone chilling cold, it wasn't looking very promising as we started the camping portion of our adventure.
Chi-Cheemaun Dock
South Baymouth, Ontario
August 6, 2013
It was a chilly, blustery evening more reminiscent of late fall weather yet we still took a walk-about. Our motel, the Huron Motor Lodge (just out of camera range to the left of the Wigwam Motel, was directly across from the Chi-Cheemaun dock. There wasn't much to see other than the two motels, their gift shops and each had small coffee shops as well. Our motel was a quaint series of cabins, quite cute really! It had a nice outdoor pool but the weather was too cold to enjoy it.
Our departure time was 9:10 AM the following morning. It is mandatory to be on the loading dock an hour early otherwise you will lose your reservation. We were advised to be parked there by at 7 AM as soon as the dock opened then go for breakfast or back to our room to wait until closer to departure time. We made a few purchases in our motel gift shop then settled into our room for the night. Our room faced the dock so we had a lovely view!
Green Stairs
August 6, 2013
Part of the enjoyment of a road trip is discovering little gems like these wonderful green stairs. I'm not sure how the colour will affect resale value but it sure got my attention! I just love the creativity!
Lucky Moose
OLG Sault Ste. Marie Casino
August 6, 2013
I always get a chuckle out of character statues often painted up to bring a smile or chuckle. It's nice to see the OLG Sault Ste. Marie Casino offer a good luck token to their patrons in the form of this cheery
lucky moose. Unfortunately he only brought luck to the casino this trip...
Canada Straight Thru
August 6, 2013
We crossed into Canada at Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. around lunch time. We knew we would have a bit of extra time after we crossed. After clearing customs, we stopped at the OGL Casino in Sault Ste. Marie
then did a bit of shopping for a few things we would need camping like
dark chocolate before getting back on the road. We followed the Trans Canada highway
to Espanola, Ontario then turned down towards our final destination for
the day. We stopped for a lovely fish dinner at a quaint little diner
in South Baymouth. Once at the motel we unloaded what we would need for
the night, took a walk to the gift shop and the ferry landing then
settled into the motel.
The weather had already turned
cold enough to turn the heater on in our motel room. We had hit rain on
and off, with more on the way. I have to admit the tiny bathroom with
its vintage pink fixtures looked rather enticing knowing we would have
no shower facilities until we arrived home. Oh sure, if we were
desperate we could drive in from the campsite to Tobermory to use the
paid showers. I fretted about the cold and wet forecast because I know
that combination is a bad trigger for me. Other than that we chatted
about the day, celebrating our anniversary on the road and what the camping trip held in store for us.
Crossing the Straits of Mackinac
August 6, 2013
We spent the first night of
our road/camping trip adventure at Gaylord, Michigan. It had been a wonderfully, relaxing day filled with good food and beautiful eye candy. We had made a brief stop at Turtle Creek Casino before calling it a night. It wasn't a really early start to the day but we managed to cross the Straits of Mackinac before lunch. Our destination for the night was South Baymouth, Michigan where we would catch the
Chi-Cheechmaun ferry the following morning to take us across Lake Huron to
Tobermory, Ontario.
Northbound I-75 in Michigan
August 5, 2013
On the morning of August 5, 2013 we left the comforts of our home on a six day adventure, four of those days were to be spent rustic camping. By rustic camping I mean in bear territory, in tents, no hydro, pump water to cart, outhouses or composting toilets for comfort stations, and no shower facilities. The weather forecast was rain, cold temperatures and more rain. It didn't matter! We were spending two days in the thumb of Michigan then meeting up with our kids and grandkids to camp just south of Tobermory, Ontario. And so the adventure began...
My husband and I decided to do a bit of sightseeing to enjoy the delightful, cheery sights of Christmas. It was daylight but we still enjoyed it. Years ago we bundled up our first born, then only a couple of months old, and went Christmas sightseeing. That was the start of many years of taking one or more Christmas sightseeing trips. We usually do one during the day where we will stop at a Christmas open house or take part in a Christmas home tour then another to take pictures of all the fabulous light displays. We did a historical home tour today. It was amazing so I will talk more about that later complete with pictures.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Aquarium at Cabela's
December 5, 2011
Over the years we have had a series of fish aquariums ranging from small fish bowls to huge 5' x 2' x 2.5' aquarium to hold some of the pond fish over the winter. We have not had aquariums at our last two houses but I am seriously considering setting up one in our new house. I love aquariums! There is just something calming and mesmerizing watching fish gracefully flit around the water. Aquariums bring life to a room! The aquariums at Cabela's are huge, not as big as some of the humongous tanks at some of the casinos in Las Vegas but these are still huge tanks. I could stand there gazing at the fish all day! Yes, an aquarium is definitely in the plans for our new house.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Christmas Sparkles
November 26, 2011
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
I'm sure by now you have figured out we were recently on vacation. We left our primary residence on December 8 traveling south to our vacation home then northeast to visit a couple of kids before returning home on January 9, 2011. Essentially we were gone for a month so I have lots to blog about some of which has been peeking out at you even while we were away. I had internet during our stop-overs, amazing internet at our vacation home and the kids so am kind of noticing just how crappy my internet service is here but hopefully that will change soon with the house up for sale. Anyway, I thought I would give a brief synopsis of our vacation so you will have an idea of what to expect for posts in the coming days or weeks.
- Dec 8 to 9 - on the road, not much sightseeing but saw some great sights
- Dec 10 to 11 - a bit of unwinding, opening up the house, getting groceries, blew up the golf cart battery (not pleasant)
- Dec 12 to 18 - a friend with 8 yr old visited so lots of sightseeing including trips to The Florida Aquarium, Busch Gardens and the Gulf Coast, a lot of great eating too, natural wild life in our community, fixed golf cart (expensive)
- Dec 18 to 29 - took friend with 8 yr old to airport, picked up one of our kids with significant other, visited The Florida Aquarium and Busch Gardens again, made it to the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, hunted for seashells, ate a lot of great food, did a bit of golfing,
- Dec 29 to Jan 5 - crashed a bit, celebrated New Years by actually going out to a paid event for the first time since being married, had an amazing night out with celebrities, did a bit of shopping, closed down the vacation home
- Jan 5 to 7 - on the road, did a bit of sightseeing, ran into an icky and very heavy rainstorm, arrived at the kids, enjoyed great food
- Jan 7 to 9 - crashed at the kids, did a bit of sightseeing, stocked up on cheese to bring home
- Jan 9 - on the road, changed Lucy's voice to something that could pronounce the name of towns properly, ran into rather heavy lake effect snow but kept her on the road, arrived home safe and sound but tired, unloaded the car, called the kids and started putting things away
Garden Gnome
©2006-2011
Up Close and Personal
December 9, 2010
I think I was born about 140 years too late! For some reason the 1870's era really appeals to me. Canada as a nation was in her infancy and progressing quickly. My third great grandparents were busy raising a family while tending their farm. I've always wanted to live on a farm with livestock and land to stretch out. Unfortunately our current house is about as close to living on a farm as I'm ever going to get given my husband's urban tendencies. Since our house is up for sale, I will be saying goodbye to rural living but I can still dream! You don't suppose my husband would notice my new found friend if he just happened to follow me home, do you?
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
The Tickets
November 29, 2010
My husband won two free tickets to see Carrie Underwood perform at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan on
Novemeber 29! [
Update: postponed to December 22] He was quite excited and so was I as it had been awhile since we have gone to a live performance. The last one we went to was Jimmy Buffet when we were in Florida a couple of years ago. The only downside to going to a live performance on a week night is the long commute that makes for a very long day. Still being tired the following day would be well worth it!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
The Snow Storm
November 27, 2010
We made a road trip to visit the kids and grandkids a few days ago. En route we ran into a lovely snow storm due to lake effect snow in the GTA. We ended up driving in the storm for about a half hour and it was still coming down good when we arrived at the kids. And so begins the winter weather in southern Ontario.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Ice in the Field
November 27, 2010
We have had a blissfully unseasonably mild autumn this year. I say blissful because normally by this time of year we have had at least one or more snow falls and the furnace has been going full tilt. With the exception of the last couple of days the furnace has been turned on but not active as the gas fireplace has been able to keep up with the cooler temperatures. We also haven't had more that a light dusting of snow that was gone as soon as the sun was up. Overall it has been quite lovely!
A few days ago we had a fair amount of rain overnight cause the field to flood a bit. The colder weather with high winds resulted in the standing water on the field to turn into an icy delight. Well at least it was delightful looking out from the warmth of the car. It did make for a pretty picture, don't you think?
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
This year we ended up making two turkey runs for a total of 4 turkeys. The total weight came to 78.97 lb at a total cost of $41.67 which works out to 52.7¢ per lb. Not bad! I'll recoup the cost of the turkeys just in the value of the stock from 2 of the carcasses. To get the turkeys at that price we had to spend an additional $20 per turkey or a total of $80. We were very frugal spending that extra $80, ending up with mainly groceries we would have been buying anyway, a pair of jeans for my husband, a shirt for me and a gift. There were a couple of excellent meat deals like a 5 lb pork loin for $7 that really helped stretch that $80. I'll divide that with half being cured for pea meal bacon and the other half as a roast in the slow cooker. Over all this year's turkey runs were quite frugal!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
We made our first turkey run of the season last night. Due to price controls in Ontario the price of turkeys seldom drop below $1.99 per pound. This past Thanksgiving one store had utility and Grade A turkeys on for 99¢ per pound which is pretty much unheard of. That was definitely a loss leader sale! Turkeys go on sale in the US for as low as 29¢ per lb with an additional purchase of usually $20 to $30 the week of the American Thanksgiving. We are fortunate enough to live where we can make a turkey run to the US to take advantage of the savings. Each adult is allowed to bring one turkey 20 lb or under back into Canada per trip but there are no restrictions as to the number of trips you can make in a day. Our major restriction is freezer space. With a bit of careful reorganization we might possibly be able to get 4 turkeys in the freezers, two for us and one each for a couple of our kids. Meijer had turkeys on sale (hens $9 off and toms $16 off) so two turkeys came home with us last night. We still need to make another turkey run this week.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Grandma's Road Trip
October 30, 2010
Much to the amazement of our kids Grandma decided to take a road trip to visit them while Papa was at hunt camp. The grandkids were beyond excited that Grandma was coming for a visit as well. Grandma seldom pays attention to directions when Papa is driving so she played it safe and had Papa set up Lucy before he left. And so
Grandma's road trip began.
Grandma had to pack the car by herself which was a little odd because Papa always packs the car. She purposely waited to get on the road to let the morning fog burn off by playing on the computer while sipping hot coffee trying to talk herself out of going. Visiting the kids wasn't the issue but the length of drive was! So just after lunch Grandma pulled out of the driveway determined to reach her destination. She quickly learned playing the punch buggy game by herself wasn't a lot of fun. She also found herself missing Papa having friendly little chit chats with other drivers when they do a bit of stunt driving. It was all worth the long drive to see the big smiles on the kids faces as two little bundles of joy almost knocked Grandma over in their excitement!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Overlooking the Valley
October 7, 2010
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
