Last Saturday the 25th we went the 25 miles or so up to Midland for a cruise. When we arrived and saw the bitty boat we were a bit surprised but pressed on. This was a 2.5 hour cruise and the day was fairly hot and windy.

 

 

 

As you depart the harbor you see the wonderful painted grain silos. This thing is 80 feet high and 250 feet long, painted by a German named Lentz ... really neat piece of art depicting the relationship of  the Jesuits and the Iroquois Indian population of 1650.

 

 

 

 

This antique wooden boat was in the pic above and is staffed by period dressed sailors and they fired a canon off the bow to announce their arrival. The boats in the background represent the "Tug Fest" which gathers scores of the smaller immaculately restored tugboats at varying locations along the Georgian Bay. We have seen this sort of thing in Parry Sound several years ago and it is impressive still.

 

 

 

 

As our tour boat moved north through the 30,000 islands of this waterway we were impressed with the volume of traffic; this was bow to stern boat traffic for a couple of hours on fairly narrow passages.

 

 

 

One of the historic elements on the route was the Delawana Inn which was started here at the turn of the last century and burned a couple of times and yet the family has managed to keep the Inn going.

 

 

 

 

And after our journey we again came back by the silos and this view of a trumpeter swan. This is a stainless steel version of an almost extinct species saved in the local Wye River Marsh just to the south of Midland. Curious is the gull who thinks more that it is just a convenient place to survey his or her kingdom ... or look for humans offering a tasty french fry or two.

 

 

 

 

As we are aging we keep looking for the perfect RV to suit us in the next few years. Thanks to our friend Pat Hueter who sent us this, we have found an RV for the older generation ... I guess we would have to have two of them to motor in formation, eh.

 

 

 

And then to the subject of home improvement. As you remember we got rid of the hated sofa and went way out of the way to have it replaced. Well the next item on the must replace list was the bath sink and counter. I wish I had taken a picture of this sink as I took it in one hand and crumpled it up ... about six ounces of cheap plastic.

 

 

 

Anyway we went to a local granite dealer and after our sad story they fitted this perfect granite top and sink exactly to specs in our RV no questions asked. The team was professional and treated it as if it were in a million dollar home.

 

The existing cabinet had a unique bow front that proved to be a bit of challenge for the measuring and mounting of the granite surface as well as the nice deep porcelain sink but the team smiled and pressed ahead with the work ... super!

 

 



Here's a nice shot of the Flying Scotsman at dusk. You can just barely see the palm tree which is mounted in the picnic table in the lower left of the picture. Beautiful evening but still very warm ... 60's at night and 80's for the day.

 

 

 

And just to the left above our flag is the first hint of autumn as the poplars and aspens start to turn yellow/orange.

 

 

 

With the silver maples being one of the first to show the fall plumage as well. Our trip home should be really colorful this year as we are planning on departing around the 10th of October; just after the Canadian Thanksgiving.

 

 

 

Then a reminder that the change of weather may mean storms as we had a pretty powerful thunderstorm cell hit. This is pea sized hail and in the bus it sounds like being in a steel drum being pounded on with a hammer.

 

We held our breath as the hail increased in size and the winds peaked at about 40 MPH and then broke off ... whew! No damage to report but it was exciting.

 

 

After Montreal we motored the 120 miles over to Ottawa. Ottawa has many memories as it is where we met some 40 years ago and got married. One of our favorite places to go was north of the city in the Gatineau Park area and a little town called Wakefield.

In previous years they have had a train run from Ottawa up the 25 miles to this little place. Unfortunately the train has had some money and track problems and hasn't run for a while and yet they say it might be fixed by next year. The restaurant in the train station is still functional but was closed on the day we decided to visit which was too bad.



So we stopped by another place in Wakefield called Earle's and it was quite good and very picturesque along the old rail line and river. It was about 75 degrees and a bit humid but still nice for sitting on the porch.



At lunch, European style, the diners sort of tie up the pups on the rail and they are part of the ambiance. This girl named Mushka (sp) was really friendly and a sweet pup.



While in Ottawa one of the visits was to Jo-Anne's Mom's grave in the Beechwood military cemetery. Her dad will be buried here as well and it is their National Military Cemetery and quite beautiful.



Also in Ottawa we met a younger cousin of Jo-Anne's and had lunch over genealogy which was really rewarding. Amanda was able to fill us in on a bunch of family history which we didn't know about and we had run across her in Ancestry.com. After she told us about some more of the grave sites, we visited the Pinecrest cemetery to get more photos of the Martin plots.

For the three days in Ottawa we hit a bunch of our other haunts and again went to this neat pub in the By Ward area of downtown. Super selection and service.

Then we left to go up the Ottawa River about 80 miles to Norway Bay on the Quebec side and to the cottage of a cousin of Jo-Anne's. Jo has memories of this place from childhood as she grew up in Ottawa and came up to the cottage to visit Leslie's family there. Leslie (Martin) Moody is the daughter of Jo's uncle Ed Martin. The cottage faces the river and a small beach and is quite nice

Here's the girls on the pier where they swam many years ago and kids were diving into just off camera.

And old cousins relating family stories.

We spent one night in the Renfrew KOA to make this visit and it was a basic KOA but had 50 amp power and we were parked right next to the office on a flat piece of dirt.

And now we are back in Barrie for a bit!!!

Time to take a break

OK, it was lunch time and we needed someplace to stop. In a small town somewhere in the wilderness between Ottawa and Barrie, I think the conversation went something like this.

As we approached a Tim Horton's, Jo-Anne said .... "TURN RIGHT HERE!" Seeing some sort of pavement initially, I slammed on the air brakes and wheeled the Flying Scotsman in an immediate right turn and ended up on this gravel path that led nowhere.

We haven't had to unhook the car to get the bus turned around in a long time but there was no way to turn the bus with the car attached in this narrow drive ... and you are seeing the end of the driveway just beyond.

Anyhow, after I unhooked the car, Jo went to the distant Timmy's for food as I did multiple back and forth turns to get the machine to where it is parked above. After a good lunch we hooked up and were off again ... fortunately not pouring rain and wind, eh.



As I said Montreal is very French to the exclusion of any English. Had these signs been in France where we have driven many times, they would have been bilingual.



With spectacular cathedrals ... this being their Notre Dame on the main central square of the city proper.

And a metro station reminiscent of Paris. We took the Metro from a park and ride outside the city and it was very efficient. This particular station, however, is the only one that looks like its Paris counterpart.

Then we sat down for a bite at one of the many restaurants in the heart of the old city.

As we have become fond of poutine (some sort of gravy and cheese curd mixture over fries) we munched at this place which is supposed to have started the trend in the 1950's, the Montreal Poutine Resto-Bar.

Below is Jo-Anne as we staked out our corner table with the street view. Weather was a gray 75 and threatening rain. Very New Orleans flavor.

Lunch below was carmelized onions and mushrooms with gravy over cheese curd and fries to the left and brie coated with pistachios and a salad to the right all for about $45.

All washed down with a very nice local dark beer and a California syrah.

Which we obviously hated ... as Jo spears the last cheese curd ...

Then walking back to the Metro station an artists alley ...

And more typical walking mall scenes all filled with flowers and vendors.

Of course you always must ensure that your "circulation is fluide" because I think that if your circulation were to become solid it would not be a good thing ...

We arrived in Montreal on a gray day and about 78 degrees and it stayed that way. We stayed at this Camping Alouette, while highly rated as a 10/10/10 by Good Sam, was barely a 5 for us ... muddy narrow awkward site, power failure, slow management.

Montreal however is wonderfully French and the street scenes reflect it.



We took a bus tour of the city and went by the area that once was Expo 67 a World Fair Site from 1967. These apartments were radical at the time and composed of apartment blocks stacked one upon another ... similar to the method for the Placido del Rio in San Antonio. Jo-Anne attended the Fair here with her parents during that summer of 1967.

We then went over to the site of the Olympics of 1976. Here is the flame for those Olympics and it is lit once during the summer Olympics every four years ... yes it was burning but just not visible with the crappy background.

The funny shaped tower above is amazing as one of the tallest towers in the world and has a funicular car that runs up its back as well as cables that hold up a canvas roof below. The slits in the top of the tower are the observation level that we went up to.

Below is a picture of the city in the goo with the soccer field in the foreground from 541 feet above.

Another shot from the observation deck.

And the former Olympic pool with some water polo trainees.

Then we went to the Insectarium on the grounds ... and yep here's a display case with about 200 beetles glowing brightly.

And over to the Chinese Garden for a neat shot, still hampered by the weather.

And a class in painting by a master ...

And the St Joseph cathedral that tops Mont Real above the city is really similar to Montmartre or Sacre Coure in Paris ... just not painted white. Quite spectacular and massive. Our guide said that 10,000 folks could stand inside the cathedral for a special event.

And to the Japanese Garden where there are artifacts made entirely of paper including this wedding dress.

And a banzai tree that is only slightly older than my father ... 100 years on the tag in front of it.

This was quite a day and I've only hit some of the most memorable ... but there is still more to Montreal that I have to show you in the next post.

Road Trip!

As I said in the prior post we were off on Wednesday on a trip to the east. We departed Barrie and motored east on the 401 as it is known here through Toronto and on toward Cardinal Ontario for about 300 miles. We picked Cardinal because it had one of the higher rated parks in the books we use and was a KOA where we could use some of our points.

Well ... OK. Here we are in the woods in the gravel and oops there is no sewer hookup for anyone here ... surprise! We haven't done this since we were in Phoenix and didn't plan on doing it again but fortunately I'd dumped the tanks before we left and could survive a couple of nights without hookup.



The real reason we picked Cardinal was its proximity to the Upper Canada Village which is one of Canada's premier historical sites. This is a wonderful facility of restored and replicated 1800's structures along the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Here's the entrance as you drive up.

The sawmill was really interesting as these logs are being sawn with a blade driven by water power from a stream below ... really amazing ... and represents the eco-friendly technology of the mid 1800's.

The village has over 20 structures manned by interpreters in period dress demonstrating things like how they made straw brooms. The young people here are part of a summer program called the Time Travelers where they really participate and dress the part.

And the tin smith was equally fascinating practicing the art and science of making a really simple but useful tin cup.

Which then were for sale in the gift shop later.

And a last picture of the holding pond which drove all the water wheel powered equipment including the woolen mill below.

All the structures in the village were relocated here in the early 1960's from the surrounding area and then restored to their original style and function.

Jo-Anne remembers coming here shortly after the place was started on a train as a ten or eleven year old. She has talked about the Upper Canada Village since we were married and now its uniqueness is a reality for me.

Really a true Canadian treasure and worth spending much more time than we allowed.