Just to wrap up today, a little about the weather. Today we awoke to about 50 degrees and a light drizzle and this evening the high will be 57, still in a light drizzle. So we are sitting by the fireplace, listening to Frank Sinatra on the stereo and looking at the leaden clouds drift by. It's been a soggy and cold walk with Buster (both of us with rain gear on) around the park for his twice daily outings. The rest of the week, though, is promised to be sunny and maybe in the 60s. Some of the trees have already started to change color and some leaves are falling ... I'll be out with the camera this week to document the process.

Every day as we go to Owen Sound or Meaford we pass by some of the same sights and have watched them change over the summer. One of the most interesting is the chicken house on wheels. About once a week the farmer moves this whole fenced enclosure to a new place on his acreage ... free aeration and fertilizer ... so as we drive by we wonder where it will be next week. I know ... we've been in the farmland too long!




And a really nice typical early last century farm in a picture perfect setting. There is a creek that runs just in front of the landscaped area in front of the house.

These were both shot earlier this summer but I wanted to post them anyway.

For this summer, we have stayed in the same park at a seasonal rate. This is a first for us as before we have moved either from park to park, or at least from site to site in a particular park. The Roebuck Campground is located between Meaford and Owen Sound and is an excellent park. There are 44 seasonal sites at least 70 feet long and 45 feet wide on a nice grassy slope about 800 feet above the Georgian Bay. Here is a shot of the Bay off in the distance (about 5 miles) as I am looking directly east from the park.








There’s 75 acres of mixed use area with all of the recreational stuff you would expect including a 9 post Frisbee golf layout, again with Georgian Bay in the distance.

The big pro for staying put for the summer was the cost as well as a bit of stability and being near Meaford. The seasonal rate is $1300 versus the $30+ we were paying for the daily rates at most parks and the hookup and unhook process for each new place. The resulting con is that we have not traveled as much as we would like when we were in the daily places … I mean we do have weeds and long grass around the place that need serious weed-whacking action.

The place is a couple of miles off the main road and this is our view as we approach the edge of the Niagara Escarpment and the view is of the Georgian Bay. About 100 yards beyond where the road drops off is the entrance to the campground.

All in all, this campground has been one of the best we have ever been in with respect to quietness, large sites, and great management. They do have restrooms which isn't important to us but no laundromat which would have been nice.

On Sunday we were off to our favorite winery, Coffin Ridge; note the little coffin on the table which held our silverware. While Jo-Anne is smiling, it was a bit cold on the patio, reminding us of Europe in the spring and fall. It was about 62 with a fairly cold north wind so we tucked ourselves into the corner out of the breeze. The owner brought us some really warm fake animal hide blankets ... so after that with the wine, the view, and the bread and cheese plate, we didn't think about the cold any more. We had some of their last Baco Noir 2006 wine which was excellent and perfect for a grey, cool, windy day.

While in Niagara on the Lake we went to the Butterfly Conservatory on the Niagara Parkway on the Ontario side and it was a pretty special event. We spent about two hours in the facility and really didn't want to leave ... actualy going around the enclosure a couple of times. These blue guys were really hard to catch them still so I chased them a bit to get the shot.

One looking for the escape ticket out of the place!

Jo-Anne's new hair attachment.

Cool animals and a photographer's dream!

There are happy, spoiled rotten dogs .... and then there are REALLY HAPPY DOGS!!

I couldn't resist Buster enjoying his rawhide chewy thing and obviously savoring every munch.

Because we spend 5-6 months in Canada during the summer, we need to get prescriptions filled in the US at least once while we are here. As in previous years we head for the town of Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, which is about 10 miles from a Walmart across the border in the US city of Niagara. This time, with both cheap US government rates and a free points night, we were able stay at the Hilton Garden Inn, on the outskirts of Niagara on the Lake for a very reasonable rate. Here is the Cenotaph which dominates the main square of the little historic village.





As I turned around from the previous picture I snapped this one of the Prince of Wales Hotel in which you can get a cozy, nicely decorated room for about $400 ... carriage ride is extra.

The flowers and hanging baskets were spectacular and hard to capture because they are everywhere. Here is just a typical street view as we walked along ... it's about 80 degrees and fairly humid.

The Shaw Cafe which is typical of the main street dining places. We looked at the menu here and not being impressed by the items or the price we moved on ...

first to the Irish Harp Pub for our first night there and then to the Olde Angel Inn for the next two nights. Pub crawl .... sure! But for the prices the main restaurants wanted and for their standard fare, we opted for cheaper, and decidedly European munchies. The Angel Inn below was in use from the late 1700s and many a pint of ale has been consumed here, especially during the attacks by the American "enemy" soldiers during the War of 1812.

Jo-Anne had the meat pie of course and I had the bangers and mash; all of which was excellent, especially when washed down with a couple pints of Harp Ale.

As this is Ontario's primary and most popular wine growing region, there are dozens of wineries for sampling and purchasing of the grape juice. We hit a few of the places and some of them reminded us of the California Napa productions ... big bucks and schmultzy presentations. This was the Chateau des Charmes ... neat building but the wine wasn't so pretty.

And at the other end of excellent wine was the Peller Estates. Excellent wine, tasting instruction, and the grounds.

While we are living and playing in Canada, my brother Richard looks after the house in Bryan, Texas. Before we left I noticed that swallows were interested in making a mud nest over the entry doorway to the house and I got rid of the muddy attempt and put up some tin foil to try and deter them.

The foil deterrent was a failure, and as no one has come in or out of the front door for a couple of months, they have been in swallow heaven making a mess out of the front step.

Ta da, drum roll please ... enter "Poop Buster" the fearless pressure washer guru, stylishly outfitted in the latest Hazmat gear, prepared to blast the approximately five pounds of bird guano off the porch.

Hopefully this will again deter the little guys from trying to make my home theirs ... not just the sight of Richard, which is pretty scary, but the actual removal of the mess and their house. Thanks, Bro, for the help!

Time for some left-overs and other stuff from the latest European adventure. First, our old Olympus D-40 camera began to die so we bought a new one before we left. The old one took such tremendous photos for a point-and-shoot camera that it was hard to replace. The new one is a Canon G-10 and it has taken a bit to get used to it. We bought it in Canada and threw it into the bag for Europe and it has taken until now to learn its operation, so some of the Europe shots were not as good as the last camera could do. I am still dilligently weeding through the 347 page instruction manual.

All that having been said here are a couple of outtakes from a couple of weeks ago in no particular order. Below is our favorite olive oil store in Paris on the Ile Ste Louis from which we get a lot of oil and spices.





And in Bernkastle, Germany, I think I take about 10 pictures of this same hotel every time we go there, but the thing is so perfectly German it is too hard to resist; but what a view and such a pretty street.

And for contrast, the little church in Piesport about 100 yards to the right of where the LaVigne's house is on the Mosel River; with the hills a solid carpet of vines soaking up the sun.

In Horrenburg near Heidelberg, this is the LaVigne's rental house, just to show you the style of a nice 3 BR/2BA German house in the suburbs.

And to close out this collection, some metal art shot through a window in Paris; something everybody needs in the entry hallway, eh? I could probably run a caption contest for it and it would be hilarious.

The view from our hotel in Paris to the south included this shot of the Saint Sulpice church that gained fame from Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code.




If you have read the bestselling book you will be familiar with the story surrounding the church and its potentially colorful history. Here is the famous "Rose Line" the copper line imbeded in the floor of the church running up to the obelisk in the center of the picture. You need to click on Wikipedia for Saint Sulpice to get the whole story and the varying opinions concerning this artifact ...





... as well as the inverted pyramid in the Louvre which is the supposed resting place of Mary Magdalene. Fun stuff!

Other than the Dan Brown influence, the church is better known for its beautiful alter and pulpit and is today being extensively renovated.

A couple of days ago we went over to a little town about 16 miles to the east of Meaford called Thornbury. Like Meaford it has a population of around 5000 and is right on the Georgian Bay. Here is a shot of main street with the bay at the end of the street.




And the Thornbury marina which is attracting more and more upscale folks who can buy and maintain all these nice boats. In the center of the picture is a time-share condo which ex government folks can rent through the Armed Forces Vacation site. Leigh and Brooks stayed there one year ... $299 for the week.




Highway 26 as it passes over the Beaver River bridge; looking west toward the center of town.





And the Dam Pub, right above the dam on the river ... they get an "A" for clever names; as well as hundreds of single malt scotches.

This is what we came back to in the campground up on the hill. We are at about 1200 feet above Georgian Bay and the storms seem a lot closer and more exciting in the Flying Scotsman.

For the last couple of months the Roebuck campground has proven to be excellent with nice open, wide, gravel sites and a management crew that really cares. This will be our home until late September.

While in Paris we hit a place we hadn't been to before and that was the Conciergerie where Marie Antoinette was held prior to her execution in 1783. This is a picture of the Palace of Justice on the Ille de la Cite looking west toward toward Pont Neuf. The spire to the left is of La Chapelle which is renowned for its stained glass windows. Notre Dame would be to my rear in the photo if I were to turn around.




As you go into the museum of the Conciergerie (look it up) there are a lot of really realistic displays. If you were Marie, this guy would have met you, taken your street clothes, issued your prison garb, and assigned your cell among the 800 other prisoners in the place ... smelly, dark, foul place 200 years ago.



Here is Marie's cell as it supposedly looked for the 76 days she was held here in the summer of 1783, with her seated to the left.




And then she and 11 others (12 would fit in the cart to the gallows) were taken to this courtyard where she and the others had their goodbyes. And then they were taken to the Place de la Concorde (in front of the Louvre today) to be executed by guillotine. Hundreds each day during that period followed her footsteps.

We had been past the place many times and had eaten lunch across the street at least three times but had not seen the museum. A tragic part of history and a real must see if you are in Paris.