Day 6 at Sherkston Shores

We had a lot of wind and rain overnight. We had a wind gust before I went to bed that knocked the TV satellite out of kilter. According to Gordon it was way off not just a little off.

It was still raining this morning so no walk then but it did clear up early in the afternoon and we both got to go down to the beach. Here are a couple more photos of Lake Erie.


Also another photo of the quarry.


This morning I finally got the refrigerator defrosted so my job jar that I wanted to complete before we left Ontario is now empty! I also got the bathroom cleaned, vacuumed the place and washed the floors. I'm ready to roll!

We also went out this afternoon to fuel up as there is nowhere near the campground that has diesel fuel. We have to go to either Port Colborne which is closer or Fort Erie. We went to Fort Erie as Gordon felt there would be less rain there. He's become a weatherman!

On our way back into the park I saw this sign. The park is called Sherkston Shores but for tonight it's Shriekston Shores. Since the park closes next Friday the 31st they're having their Hallowe'en party tonight, I guess. No, we're not going. Cute sign though.


That about does it for today, hopefully all goes well and tomorrow I'll be writing from Delaware, OH.

Day 5 at Sherkston Shores

We've been looking ahead at the weather forecast and today would probably have been the best day to leave however Sunday right now is not looking too bad. Sunday night, however, has snow in the forecast so we need to get out of here on Sunday morning!

This morning wasn't too bad as far as cold was concerned. It was 8C (46F) and still mostly cloudy. I really like it here, too bad it's been so cold. It's hard to enjoy the beautiful outdoors. There are so many places here to walk. I've discovered more this year than last. I just love the area down by the lake. They have park models for rent by owner down there. Wonder how much that would be in the summertime? There are numbers to call but with our own RV I'm not really that interested.

This was about the extent of our sun today.


Today was supposed to be a beautiful sunny day but instead we had clouds. It wasn't all that cold at 12C (53F) but our plan to go to Niagara Falls was nixed. Although cloudy weather is best for photographing the Falls, it is always misty there and it would be cold so we'll go another time.

An old shipwreck just off the shores of Sherkston Shores.



Instead I started a new easy reading book by Mary Higgins Clark and that kept me occupied. I finished it just before dinner.

The end of an exciting day!

Day 4 at Sherkston Shores

These days every morning when I bundle up for my walk I remind myself of those little kids that parents bundle up in their snowsuits so much that if they fall down they can't get up, kind of like a turtle on its back. Sure hope I don't fall down! It was cloudy again this morning but I did have a sunny peep or two. Here is a photo of the sun shining on the white birch.


I needed to pick up some groceries and other stuff in preparation for crossing the border so today we drove to Welland, Ontario which is about 18 miles or so away from the RV park. Welland is famous for the Welland Ship Canal and here is a photo of us preparing to drive under the canal. The Welland Canal was built to get ships around Niagara Falls.


Welland is also a fair size city at 51,000 people. One of the purposes of today's trip was to see if we could get a flu shot at the walk in clinic but the vaccine isn't available yet and they aren't starting flu shots till November 8th so we'll have to get ours in the U.S. and pay $50.00 for them instead of getting them here for free. Bummer!

We got our business taken care of in Welland so came back to Port Colborne, ON where the Welland Canal begins coming from Lake Erie. We were lucky enough to see a Canadian ship going through the canal (photo below).

Here is a map that I took off Wikipedia showing the canal path.


Today turned out to be a beautiful day with a high of 16C (60F) so after unpacking the groceries I took a short walk around the park. It was just gorgeous in the sun. Tomorrow is supposed to be another nice day to prepare us for the rain forecast for Saturday.

Feels like time for a nap.......

Day 3 at Sherkston Shores

It was cooooold last night but we were toasty under our electric blanket. We had some more rain overnight but by the time I was up this morning it was mostly over. I did have a few drops when I was out for my walk. I walked a long way this morning and was gone about 35 minutes. I took a different route to get to the beach. Here are some photos that I took along the way.

This is the mall which has restaurants and a coffee shop, the laundry and store entrance are around the side on the right. It's closed at this time of year which is probably one of the reasons why the RV sites are so cheap!


Another platte of park models

The church (sorry about the power lines)

The ferns in the woods are turning yellow

Lake Erie

I walked on the beach a ways to get from one area of park models to another.


Sherkston Shores is a huge place and there's lots of different areas to walk which I like very much!

I spent most of the day trying to stay warm (or get warm) and watching TV which is something I rarely do during the day. If I tried to read my hands were freezing so I thought watching TV under my quilt was a good thing for today. It's supposed to warm up a bit the next couple of days, thanks goodness. Our high today was 4C (40F) and I hear they had snow flurries in Toronto!

Day 2 at Sherkston Shores

It rained quite a bit overnight but was still really windy and not as warm when I got up this morning. Again I bundled up and braved the weather to head down to Lake Erie. There were white caps on the lake this morning as you can see from the photos below and pretty clouds. I had some sun during my walk. Gordon went down to the beach when I got back but the weather turned cloudy again.

The Lake




The Quarry



I had some odd jobs on my list to get done this week. One was to call our credit card company and let them know we'll be south this winter, another was to get my hair coloured. Those two items accomplished, I sat down to read and then get on the computer. That leaves defrosting the refrigerator and going into town to get items that we need before crossing the border.

This afternoon I lay down to read, then decided I should make some necklaces so made two before packing things up. That's one problem in such a small space. You can't leave your crafts out, they gotta be put away, otherwise no room for dinner at the table!



No walk this afternoon, just too cold. Our high today was only 6C (42F) and it's supposed to be colder tomorrow. We need to go out and get propane, we're down to one tank now.

As it got colder this afternoon I bundled up under a blanket and a quilt. I'm saving my warming throw for tonight but had a nice nap!

Day 1 at Sherkston Shores

Here a sunset photo from last night. It was quite pretty.


Often by the time I sit down to write the journal I've forgotten what's happened during the day. Usually it's not much that's interesting but yesterday I forgot that just as we were leaving our site at Double M RV Park in Lindsay we heard a chirp chirp in the cedar trees beside us. I looked up and there was a beautiful red cardinal. Now, when my Mom was alive she had all kinds of cardinal stuff that she had bought or people had given her so we say that when my Mom passed away in 2002 she came back as a cardinal and she was there to say good-bye to us and wish us well on the next leg of our journey. I think it's a nice thought.

It was much warmer this morning at 11C (52F) but it was windy so I bundled up as I knew it would be cool down by Lake Erie. There is a shortcut pathway that we took last year to get to the water but when I got to the top of the hill there was all kinds of brush across the path. Not to worry, I attempted to go around it but instead fell around it coming down on my right knee on the ground and on my right arm. I got a little muddy but got around the brush. I guess next time I'll take the road.

My first sight of the lake this morning

Lake and beach photos


Park models on the bluff overlooking Lake Erie

Anyway I got down to the lake and walked on the sand for a bit, did my exercises down there. The area by the lake has all kinds of park models on the bluff above but they have right of ways every so often so that you can get down to the beach. It's so nice having something different to see and different places to walk. Even though we've been here before it was only once so I don't know the place that well. Guess I'll get to know it over the next week.

I also got the bed changed and the laundry ready to go to the laundromat. There is one here at the park in the little mall. I didn't like it much last year but it's convenient so decided to try it again. There are some laundromats (and believe me I've seen a lot) that think of their customers, others are just there to collect their money or provide a 'service' for the people who use it.

Take for example the one in Carleton Place, always clean, three couches to sit on while waiting, all sorts of magazines to read, preventive maintenance being done. This one is probably the best laundromat outside of a campground. The worst one as I recall was in Rockport, TX. We were staying at Goose Island State Park so had to go into town for laundry. There was a bum sleeping on one of the folding tables. A lot of the machine tops had rusted off. All the chairs (plastic lawn chairs) were broken and dirty. Not a pleasant experience at all.

The one here at Sherkston was terrible, dark, floors needed painting, no washroom and no place to sit. So I set out to find another one that I had seen last year. I couldn't find it on the internet but had a good idea where it was. This pretty little laundromat is in the town of Ridgeway and is called 'The Laundry Basket'. It is filled with green and flowering plants, clean machines, huge tables for folding with a place built into the tables for hanging clothes, benches for sitting and lots of reading material and a clean washroom.

Once the laundry was over with and put away, I set out for a long walk around the park. This is a HUGE park, most of it being park models. There is the odd RV tucked away. I walked in an area that I hadn't seen before today. I started out by walking around the end of the quarry and took a photo across the quarry from the RV park then I walked toward the lake. There were all kinds of people down at the lake kite surfing. I watched them for a while and looked down when I felt something watching me. It was a yellow lab and he had dropped a tennis ball at my feet. So I threw the ball for the dogs, there were 2 yellow labs and a german shepherd. The yellow lab kept bringing it back and dropping it at my feet. When I got back I was tired so lay down to read a bit and have a nap.

Park models



Looking across the quarry at the RV park

The quarry beach

Kite surfing


Two of my beach buddies


RV park photos






When I got up Gordon had gone out with his camera as well so I expect if there is a sunset, he'll have some photos.

It's been mostly cloudy here today but very, very windy. It did get to about 16C (60F) and the wind was quite warm so it was enjoyable being out and about today.

The Second Leg

We left Double M Campground & RV Park at Lindsay this morning at about 10:45 a.m. under bright sunny skies and 10C (50F) for the second leg of our journey south. Since it was as low as -3C (27F) overnight we didn’t rush to get away as everything was cold and we don’t like to travel until it has warmed up to above freezing.

We arrived at Toronto, On around the noon hour and considering it was Sunday, traffic was fairly heavy. We were just happy that we had chosen to come through Toronto on a Sunday instead of a weekday. We didn’t stop at all since most of our travel was through city and there really was nowhere to pull off.

Here are some photos that I took along the way.

Along the way



We're gettin' there!



Commuter train that goes into Toronto from the east encompassing Oshawa, Pickering, Whitby, Ajax etc.



There are signs all along the 401 through Toronto telling you what's happening ahead

Lots of traffic



Steel Mills at Hamilton


It was a good trip considering and we arrived at Sherkston Shores at about 2 p.m. and got checked in. We have a nice site with a view out our back window of the quarry (as seen below). That is as long as someone doesn’t come in and park in the site behind us. We could have taken a back-in site and been right on the quarry but pull thrus are so much easier! Our site is paved with a concrete pad for the picnic table, level and long and we have 50 amp service so we’re happy campers, all for $129 plus tax for the week. This is a really nice jumping off point for us to leave from next Sunday. It’s about 20 minutes into Fort Erie and then across the bridge to Buffalo then west on I-90 and we’re away.

Our site


View from our back window


Gordon had a problem getting the internet satellite set up this time. He couldn’t get the five lights to come up on the modem but all the numbers were good. This is the first time we’ve had a problem for a long, long time. He was on the phone with tech support but couldn’t identify the problem so we were working off campground wifi when all of a sudden he realized that he had the wrong latitude put in. As soon as that was corrected, we had 5 lights and were away!

When we arrived I had a terrible case of heartburn. Rolaids and tums didn't help so I took a shot of apple cider vinegar. Hopefully that will work!

That’s it for today!