Happy Birthday to Me!

This is a cropped photo of the blue jays

This is our new massaging cushion

I'm 58 years old today! I can't believe I'm that old!

This morning dawned damp and cool but I still went for my walk. Not a very nice day for my birthday weatherwise but there have been worse like our first year of RVing in 2004, it poured rain all day from one of the hurricanes that was passing through.

This morning we went to Carlingwood Shopping Centre to see if we could get the sneakers that Gordon wants. They didn’t have them in the store so we’ll have to order them from the catalogue. We also tried to find a tripod for our StarChoice dish at The Source but they didn’t have anything. We had a coffee at the Food Court, then stopped at GNC to get some stuff. While there, Gordon had a free massage in the massage chair that they’ve had in their store for a long time and suggested we buy one as we both have back problems so this is my (our) birthday present as Gordon’s birthday is next Saturday. The price with my GNC Gold Card was fairly reasonable. See it pictured above.

We came home for lunch and settled down to watch ‘Bite the Bullet’ with Candace Bergen and Gene Hackman. It turned out not to be something we wanted to watch so Gordon went for a nap and I watched some sitcoms till I fell asleep so I turned off the TV and then couldn’t sleep so went for my second walk of the day around the campground. The sun was out so I walked back into the area that’s now closed off hoping to see some deer but all I saw was a groundhog and on the way back near our campsite, two bluejays on the grass. I took photos but they were too far away for my camera.

Tonight we just relaxed and watched a movie on TV.

Back in Ottawa

Today was a beautiful sunny day with some cloudy periods. We packed up and left Double M RV Resort and Campground at 10:43 a.m. and arrived in our campsite at Ottawa Municipal Campground at 2:45 p.m. We were set up by about 4:00 p.m. just in time for the cloud to set in. We sat outside in our lawn chairs for a while to get cooled off as it had gotten to be 27C (81F) on our arrival. It hasn’t been that warm in Lindsay for a while.

The trip was a good one with only one car holding Gordon up enough so he had to pass her (on a 2 lane highway). It’s pretty bad when a 38 foot fifth wheel passes a car for going too slow! She was the type of driver that would slow down, then speed up again, really annoying! Anyway, someone on one of Gordon’s forums had asked him the other day if people up in our area painted their barns or not. So, on the way to Ottawa I surveyed the barns along Highway 7 and over twice as many barns are unpainted as are painted. That’s today’s little bit of trivia.

It’s quite windy here so we’re not putting out the awning tonight. The ground is really hard with underlying rock so it’s difficult to get the stakes in the ground to hold the awning. Maybe tomorrow! We got a thunderstorm around 5:30 p.m. so we got set up just in time.

We're back in the same site that we were in when we stayed here in June.

Boat Trip!

Betty and I in the bow rider just after we got gas in Bobcaygeon (photo by Gordon)

The photos below are some of the scenes taken on our trip today. You can see with the rocks in the pictures that we are in the Canadian Shield.

The entrance to Catalina Bay is only 28 feet wide!

The plan today if the weather was nice enough and Sturgeon Lake wasn’t too rough was to go out in the boat. Gordon had never gone through a lock so I thought that we would go through a lock, toodle around a bit in another lake and come back. Betty called early this morning and indicated that all systems were go. When we got to the cottage we found out that Garth had decided to take us to Catalina Bay where we were to go last Wednesday but couldn’t because of the weather.

So with layers of clothing on (it wasn’t that warm at 10:00 a.m.) we headed out. Sturgeon Lake was fairly calm and got to Bobcaygeon. The lockmaster saw us coming and opened the gates almost right away. Another boat came in behind us so it took no time at all for us to get through the locks. Garth stopped to get some charts of the area we were going to but they didn’t have what he wanted so we headed into Pigeon Lake, then Big Bald Lake and Little Bald Lake and got to Catalina Bay without much of a problem. However when we got there we found out that Crocodile Bob’s is now only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The plan had been to have lunch there and head back. It only took 45 minutes from the time we pulled into Pigeon Lake to get to Catalina Bay so we headed back to have lunch in Bobcaygeon. Again, on the return trip we had little problem finding our way, stopped for gas, got through the lock as after Labour Day they close at 3:30 p.m. and then went to the El Toro for lunch. Wouldn’t recommend it but it’s just across the street from the lock so it was a nice location. Betty and I took a quick look through some of the shops and she bought a T-shirt that she had looked at when we were there a couple of weeks ago.

Sturgeon Lake was getting pretty choppy as we headed home from Bobcaygeon and I got a little wet but it’s better to get wet on the way home than on the way on an outing!

We saw a couple of osprey which Gordon photographed and some loons but other than seagulls no other bird life.

We arrived back at the cottage at about 4:00 p.m., only stayed for a few minutes and then headed home to get started packing up. We got some gray water dumped so we can do dishes and stuff tonight as we’ve been full for a few days, packed up chairs, BBQ etc. so we’ve got a head start on tomorrow morning for our return to Ottawa.

Happy Birthday to Michelle, Lots of Errands and Dinner at Pleasant Point!

Betty and Garth on their dock at sunset

Our name plaque is finally up!

Misty morning on the Scugog River

Happy Birthday Michelle! Gordon’s daughter turns 30 something today so he called her this morning to wish her well. Their son, Luke (almost 4 months old) apparently wasn’t thinking of his Mommy when he woke her up about twice last night!

Busy day today! I started out by getting up about an hour early. There was a possibility that we would be going for a boat ride but it all depended on the weather and Betty was to call me around 8:15 a.m. I looked outside and it was foggy. Not a good sign for a boat ride. Gordon was out taking photos so I walked around the park and took some as well and then went on my walk. I was back in lots of time for the phone call. No boat ride today – 70% chance of rain. I had no sooner finished the call than it did start to rain but it didn’t rain much. So, tomorrow is supposed to be a nicer day so we are going to try for our boat ride tomorrow.

I called this morning and got our medical appointments set up for next year for our annual physical, got a dentist appointment for me for next week and called Brian Sanderson at Sanderson Insurance to get our US travel insurance.

Since tomorrow is sort of planned and I wanted to get laundry done, I packed up the laundry and headed to the Laundromat. After that was done, I stopped at a First Choice Haircutters and got my hair cut. I again thought about getting bangs and again decided against it. It’s taken so long for them to grow out that if I decide I don’t like them, it will take another 3-4 years to grow them out again. Then I went into Lindsay and got our US medical insurance cards from Sanderson Insurance as they are located here in Lindsay. This is the same company that had our insurance last year and they paid up for my hospital stay in Cincinnati and it was the same price as last year. But, you have to be stable with no changes in medication or anything for 6 months. I’m ok (at least at this point) but Gordon started another medication in June so we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed there. If you’re not stable for 6 months, you’re not covered (for that malady). Then I stopped and got some more groceries and came home.

When Betty and I were out shopping yesterday my back started to bother me again. I’ve been hearing things about how to wear a backpack properly for the school kids lately on TV so wondered if my purse might be creating a problem. I started carrying it in my hand and my back was much better. So, I’ve shortened the strap and hopefully that will help. If not, I’ll have to think about downsizing my purse. After about 50 years of carrying a purse that has everything in it you need, that would be very difficult.

We arrived at the cottage just before 5:00 p.m. and went for a walk down by the boathouse as Betty said their blue heron had returned. We did find him but he flew off just as we arrived. We had a really nice dinner and showed Betty and Garth some photos of the grandchildren as I had taken my computer over to show them information on a condo they hope to rent for two months this winter.

We got home around 9:00 p.m. Lights out! Tomorrow will be another full day!

Shopping in Port Perry

Another cloudy day. I’m starting to feel like Texas in the winter of 04/05 when all we got for about three weeks was cloud!

Gordon hung our plaque with our names on it this morning. Not bad – it’s only taken since Mesa, AZ to get it done. It’s hanging quite low right now as we have to adjust the front end to make the RV level so the front end is quite low.

Today, Betty picked me up at Double M RV Resort at 1:15 p.m. and we went shopping in Port Perry. Port Perry is a pretty little town but it’s not on the Trent-Severn Waterway. We didn’t buy much but it was a nice afternoon. We sat outside at a little coffee shop in town and had a coffee. It didn’t rain and the sun came out on our way home.

Our time here in Lindsay is coming to a close. It’s been great to spend some time with Betty. They are planning on being in Florida for February and March 2007 so we may see them there!

No photos today. I didn't even take my camera with me as it was so cloudy.

Lift Locks and Zoo

This is photo #1 the boat is in position

Photo #2 you see the boat basin coming down and the other basin going up

Photo #3 the basin the boat is in is now lower and is almost in position to release the boat

Photo #4 - the boat continues on its merry way!

Barbary sheep at the Riverview Park & Zoo. He's so cute up there on his perch

Vietnamese pot-bellied pig

Today was mostly cloudy and about 19C (66F). A lot of people were leaving the campground today. Summer holidays are over and the leaves are starting to turn. It seems awfully early this year. Gordon had mentioned a while ago that he wanted to go to see the lift locks at Peterborough but we hadn’t done it yet so I suggested we go today even though it was cloudy.

So about 10:30 a.m. we headed for Peterborough (about 22 miles) and drove to the lift locks. The sun came out! Just as we were walking toward the locks the loud speaker came on announcing that the locks would be operating soon as there was a boat in the lock waiting to be brought down. So, we were just in time. We got photos of the lock moving and then the boat moving on down the canal. Interesting. We then stopped at the Chamber of Commerce as we had seen a sign for a zoo. We found out where the Riverview Park and Zoo was located and that it’s free! So off we went. It’s a nice little zoo and has a huge playground. Not a lot of animals but a couple of really big camels, cute little monkeys, some deer, emus, kangaroos, a pot bellied pig and some donkeys. There were other animals and reptiles as well.

We got home about 2:30 p.m. just in time for a nap.

Wimpy's

Today when I took my walk it was raining but not that heavily so I didn’t need an umbrella. If it had been that heavy, I wouldn’t have walked.

I was just settling into my book when Betty called to see if we wanted to go out for breakfast. We had eaten but since by the time we got there it would be almost lunch time, we went for it. Gordon had photoshoped one of Betty’s photos of their Amazon cruise to fit their Christmas card so we stopped at Staples to get it printed and met them at Wimpy’s. Wimpy’s is a 50’s diner and has all kinds of coke memorabilia around. Gordon’s topic for his photo club this month is Coca Cola so he photographed a lot of the stuff that they had.

We had breakfast and a chat and then went our separate ways.We stopped at Valu Mart and I picked up makings for a stew. It’s that kind of weather again! When I got home I made the stew and put it on the stove to simmer for a couple of hours. We won’t be having dinner tonight as we went out today but it’s better when it sits for a day.

The rain had stopped by the time we returned to the campground so Gordon put the awning out again and after my food prep, I did some interneting and then settled down with my book. I’m reading John Sandford’s Dead Watch. It’s also a pretty good book Betty brought me another one by Lee Child called The Hard Way. I want to get all the hardcover books read so I can give them to Danica before we leave to head south. They take up lots more room and are heavier than paperbacks.

The rest of the day was a quiet one.

I didn't take any photos today so the one above is from our trip on Wednesday to Six Foot Bay.