Road Trip!

Bruce's 50th (OMG) HS reunion (Okemos Michigan) is the first weekend of August so we decided to combine that with a medical/resupply excursion to the Lansing Michigan area.

Because the trip from Barrie to Lansing was about 400 miles we stopped at the Port Huron KOA after another uneventful border crossing across the Blue Water Bridge ... beautiful quiet trip and the view from the top of the bridge is still breathtaking.

We've stayed in the exact same lot as we have before, across from the church and playground ... but this time it was different. We have always been here in early spring or late summer when no one is in the park .... wow ... kids and burning campfires on almost every lot ... all 350 of 'em.

And these things ... dozens of them. The one above must be able to clock 35MPH and the kids go in packs of 5 or 6 together racing around the paved streets.

And below is the more staid family version that we have seen at least 9 people crammed into. Add to those vehicles the rental golf carts, the train, normal trucks and cars, bikes, and people just walking pets ... it was an action packed view out of our front window for the evening.

The next day then we motored the rest of the way over to the Lansing/Okemos area where we settled into the Lansing Cottonwood RV park where we have stayed before. We got a "premium" grass site by the pond where we had 50 amp power but no sewer hookups. The park though does provide a "honey wagon" service for $7 a dump and that works quite well.

Also our lot backs right into a pile of bushes so you can't see the pond directly but we moved our rockers to the back of the bus to get an angle view ... roughing it nicely.

In the evening the sight of the pond was quite nice and we plan to take one of their paddle boats out for a spin.

On Friday will be the beginning of the reunion of all the old guys and gals from Okemos High School Class of 1963 ... where did the time go?! Yikes. 

Barrie Beautiful

The last few days have been really nice with temps in the high 60's to low 70's and light wind. Wednesday we decided to go to the waterfront in Barrie and enjoy some of the sights. Above is a view of the condos fronting Kempenfelt Bay and some of the summer residents.

Then a shot from in front of those condos toward the center of Barrie and the park we were just at and a view of the large marina housing more of the summer residents.

Then up to the main street of Barrie where some of the local bars and restaurants have moved their venues further into the street ... the sign in front of the tiki bar says that Daytona Beach is only 1690 km ... let's go.

The palm trees are in front The Queen Hotel and we have munched in their pub before so went in to graze. Here's Jo patiently waiting while I photo the wonderful chicken cesar wrap and onion soup in front of me and the hefty chicken parmesan focaccia and salad within grasp.

Washed down with a couple of local merlots it was a nice lunch for the ol guys before heading out into the cool air.

Oh yeah ... lastly a couple of those summer residents and their comment on our photography session!

YARD SALE!

OK, so what are the non-believers doing in front of the Full Gospel Lighthouse Church in Barrie. Well ... lets start a bit earlier.

As we moved Jo-Anne's brother Rick into his new apartment he still had one storage unit that was filled with the things that he really didn't need or want anymore and had been paying on the unit for two years ... hence some sort of garage sale.

OK ... We don't have a garage at the RV ... both Rick and Grandpa Martin are in apartments and didn't have a place to stage the stuff. But Rick's friend is the minister at the church above and said that we could use his front parking area ... which fronts on two of the busiest streets near Barrie.

So last Friday we rented the U-Haul trailer, hitched it to the HHR, filled it to the brim, and then on Saturday were in the church parking lot at 8am ... I think we have done this before, eh. In the picture above Jo is in the pink, Rick is just in front of her head, and John the minister is in the lighter green shirt ... really nice guy. As predicted the traffic was great and about 2 hours later, Rick had $1000 cash in his pocket, the trailer was returned, and the ol' guys were ready for NAP.

Still reinforcing our belief in our motto, "Live Well, Do Good, and Die Broke!" We're doin' it!

Niagara Pan

Here's some camera fun. While we were at Niagara Falls in May with Brooks and Leigh, Brooks told me I should try the pan function on my camera.

So I snapped off five pictures in succession on the Canon Power Shot 10 which I am still learning to use. 

Anyhow, I have finally gotten the manual out (305 pages of bitty print) and processed the five pics into the stitched pan view above. The result is actually quite easy and fun to see the program mush the selected photos together. You have to click on the image to see the whole width of the view on your computer.

While there is one very visible line in the pan view due to lighting differences, the entire rainbow is visible from the Rainbow Bridge and the American Falls all the way over to the right and the visitor's center on the Canadian or Horseshoe Falls.

With a bit more practice I think I can really make this function useful and fun. Neat!

Odds and Ends

Post holiday inputs. OK ... here are some pics that have been sitting in front of me but I just haven't had the time nor format to post ... still don't but you'll get them anyhow.

Here are our friends Lawrence and Sandy and the interaction is wonderful. He is explaining why the front-loader tractor would be a great addition to their retirement property in Florida. Sandy's expression is great ... and behind her I am trying to encourage him on the direction his explanation is going ... so far it hasn't worked but ya gotta keep trying, eh. The sincerity of all participants in the photo (life) is what capturing photos and our blog is all about.

This one doesn't need much description except maybe you might need to make it bigger ... while we miss Buster ... this sign says a lot about dogs and RVs.

Here is Bandit looking at the last bottle of Jodar wine that brother Bill sent us from the winery he is the vintner for in California. The moose wine bottle holder was a good idea but since then we have broken off both of the ceramic antlers ... RV life.

And for some culinary excess. While out of focus on the cell phone (fries moved) the meal is something new. At Jack Astors here in Barrie we ran across a new version of the poutine menu item.

It might be difficult to see here but this started as a really neat square pile of fries like a log cabin, piled high with some pulled pork in the middle. Then you put some cheese curd on the top and pour gravy on the whole lot ... and oh, then some fried pork rinds to round out the culinary excess.

To round out this odd collection we are back to animal stuff with Jo and some of her newest friends found at the Elmvale Zoo, about 10 miles north of here.

This facility has a really extensive collection of animals on a large tract of property ... while it isn't the San Diego Zoo it was one of the best we have seen in a long time ... and the goats were happy too.

Happy 4th of July!!

As the 4th is also niece Danielle's birthday we took her out to dinner to celebrate the big 26. Here's Dad Martin, Dani, Rick, Jo-Anne, and myself at Caddy's Steakhouse which has become a favorite.

Also on the 4th weekend we had a real treat. Our good friends, Mike and Mary Ellen from Thunder Bay popped in to surprise us at the KOA. They were visiting his brother near Barrie and after bit of searching lost emails got hold of us and came over for a quick visit; really a neat surprise. Mike was looking especially dapper in his Texas hat; actually not for just our benefit, but he does a lot of outside work and the sun protection is something we all need to look more closely at.

Last year both the Canadian holiday and ours were on the same weekend but this year it stretched over two making for an especially long celebration ... even the KOA management wished us a happy Fourth ... super people!

Canada Day

Happy Canada Day to all our followers. The KOA logo above really says it all as the park was filled to capacity over this long weekend with the 1st of July being the holiday.

Our flag below really is welcomed by our neighbors in both countries as it represents the unique unity our two nations enjoy over a vast piece of North America.

Because the camera (read blogger) had a loss of memory and power I didn't get any pics of our get-together yesterday but it was really great. The picture above is of our super lot that rivals that of any we have stayed at so far and is equal to those condo lots that sell for $50,000 or more.

We did have Jo-Anne's brother Rick and her father over for a typically Canadian dinner at the Flying Scotsman and the day was a bit cool and breezy but nice to sit out for a bit before dinner. Dinner consisted of a really great baked steak and mushroom pie and then for dessert a strawberry-rhubarb pie ... oh yes. Both baked to perfection with flaky crusts and gotten fresh from a local store nearby.