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.
I would like to take this moment to wish each and everyone a very Merry Christmas! May the peace, joy and magic of the holiday season be with you always.
We spent October at our vacation home in the sunny south, returned home for almost three weeks then back south for another five weeks. Like many others traveling home for the holidays, we were on the road for two days arriving home Monday evening. That left us Tuesday to finish up any Christmas shopping, do a massive grocery shopping and start prepping the house for Christmas. Our large family gathering is on Boxing Day (Dec 26). We are spending a quiet Christmas Day together, wrapping presents and finishing up the house. We have steaks out for dinner. Barbequing in the snow is very much a holiday tradition for us. After dinner we will bundle up and take a drive around our little corner of beautiful Ontario, enjoying the gorgeous Christmas light displays.
We've all been there! Anyone who has driven anywhere can relate to...driving along the highway, happily discussing the fault of other drivers while admiring our own driving skills, noticing every traffic sign including the one that says left lane ends ahead a mile or more before the next warning...when out of the blue some inconsiderate, self-absorbed driver jams their vehicle in the barely are car length space you left between you and the driver ahead right where the lane ends. Hey, it happens all the time...
Today is Remembrance Day in Canada, a day we honour those who have served our country and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to serve our country. Because of their sacrifice, we are free! We have the freedom to do as we in our beautiful country. We are blessed to be able to freely move about our country and travel outside our country. We are beyond blessed to live in a country of abundance that our veterans fought so hard for and continue to do so.
November in our little corner of Ontario, Canada is always dull and grey. It's rare that the sun peeks it's way through. November 11 quite often is very cold, rainy or snowing or threatening to do so. It is never is pleasant weather to be out in for things like Remembrance Day services. In perspective, our veterans had no choice whether or not they wanted to be out in the weather. They couldn't just say 'Hey sarge, I'm taking a sick day.' or 'I'm staying in because this weather will mess my hairdo.' or any number of excuses we, who live in a free country can come up with for not going to a Remembrance Day service. We are beyond blessed to have folks who serve our country proudly, unselfishly and so giving of themselves to make it a better place for all of us. There is no excuse not to attend a Remembrance Day service! Lest we forget...
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.
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.
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!
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!
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...
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.
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.
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...
'Tis a special day, the birthday of an heir to the throne of England...
Congratulations to Prince William, Duke of
Cambridge and Catherine Elizabeth Kate, nee Middleton, Dutchess of
Cambridge on the birth of their first child, a son!
Happy Birthday Little One! May your life be filled with love, peace, hope and faith...
We spent most of May at our vacation home in sunny Florida. As is customary, I go for a golf cart ride around our resort after dinner. There are many interconnecting small lakes and ponds so there is an abundance of wildlife. One evening, my husband and I decided to take the ride together. A few roads from our house we spotted a snake. I'm not fond of snakes by any stretch of the imagination especially any larger than about six inches long. I immediately knew this was a poisonous snake but wanted a picture anyway. Let me tell you, it was hard for me to get a picture because I was shaking, hoping we would not spook it enough that it would strike. The picture was taken from inside the golf cart about twelve feet away from the almost four foot long cottonmouth snake. Needless to say we gave this snake the respect it deserved, took our pictures then scurried off looking for more photo opportunities!
I have been in a blogging funk since the end of 2012. As a result, I have not been blogging as much as I once was. It's time to change that! I am going to bring back Wordless Wednesday posting. As per my previous style for these posts, they generally consist of a photo that has some meaning to me along with a short caption and date the photo was taken. Sometimes I use a cartoon but not very often. So, look for those posts starting tomorrow...
I am a wife, mother and grandma who enjoys the many aspects of homemaking. A variety of interests and hobbies combined with travel keep me active. They reflect the importance of family, friends, home and good food.
"I have called this principle, by which
each slight variation, if useful, is preserved,
by the term Natural Selection." —Charles Darwin from "The Origin of Species"
