Not our Normal Routine

Sunday, John & Dianne and Ray & Donna arrived in their 5ers to spend a week with us. It is great that RVing friends can meet up almost anywhere! After a quick beverage and some chat, they got set up then we spent the remainder of the day catching up with each others activities. Some over indulging occurred but was only good entertainment for the rest of us! After a feast of lasagna, Caesar salad and garlic bread followed by pie and ice cream, we settled in for some serious – ok not so serious Mexican train until after midnight!

During the days, we played lots of ladder golf, had a few beverages, shopped, more beverages, on Tuesday, we biked along the Owen Sound Harbor and tried to keep cool!

First, we had to stop at WalMart to buy a new inner tube for Ray’s bike. With the use of a couple of screw drivers and a wrench, we complete repairs in the parking lot! It was scary for a second, 3 guys working on the tire at the same time! Now off to the ride! The bike ride along the water is always excellent. We left one truck at the start and took the other one down to the end of the ride at the bridge in Owen Sound. All 6 of us rode down to the harbor bridge – 3.57Kms with a few stops along the way to smell the flowers, literally! The Georgian Bay Garden Club maintains a beautiful garden about the halfway mark on our ride so we stopped to ‘wander’ through the summer blossoms and enjoy some shade. Arriving at our destination we had a short discussion as to if the river water is flowing out into Georgian Bay, then why is the surface water carrying weed debris back up the river! You see, these nonsensical discussions are how we fix all the problems of the world! For our return, 4 of us decide to bike back while 2 thought it best if they took the truck back to the beginning and met us there so we loaded their bikes in the second truck and we took off. The ride back was all up a slight grade so no coasting now; it was peddling all the way! Whew, we’re tired and in need of refreshments! While sitting on the deck laughing at the day’s activities, we see more wildlife - a turtle walking down the road. On closer inspection, it was a baby snapping turtle and Curly, the CG owner didn’t want it getting into his swimming pond so it was scooped up taken off to a different pond for him/her to live a long and happy life!

Wednesday, we toured two of the local water falls around Owen Sound, Inglis and Jones Falls. Inglis Falls was the easiest to walk to but the trails leading away to view the glacial pot holes were a bit more of a challenge so we’ll do that when it cools down some. The view was pretty good and the falls did not disappoint us. When people create these look out points for viewing, why can’t they keep the underbrush cut down in front of the viewing area? Oh, no budget! So it was still early so the 6 of us clamber back in the truck and we wander off to find Jones Falls. It was easy to find if you follow the signage but when ignored; now you start another adventure! But I had 5 other drivers with me – no, not in the back seat, that would be illegal, so in no time, I was quickly turned around and we arrived at the Falls parking lot!

It was a tricky walk through a fairly dense wood. If you were not watching your step, you could easily trip over the many roots above ground or the many mid sized rocks on the path. During our walk back to the Falls, we came across a King Milk snake sunning itself on a rock in the middle of the stream. Finally we arrive at the Falls and again, not many real good viewing spots so we took turns having a look from a small out cropping that looked like it was going to cave into the stream 30 feet below at any time! The best vantage point would have been at the base of the Falls but none of us were in any shape to repel down to it! After a quick look, we started back and found the snake still where we had left it! The sight of the snake drove us all to drink so we had to find a good ‘ole’ watering hole! Barb & Donna were so shaken up that they needed strawberry daiquiris to calm them down while the rest of us ordered beers!

The tourist brochure suggested that the Rocky Raccoon was a great place for dinner so we thought we’d give it a try. Oopppsss, none of us were really into the menu so we politely excused ourselves and headed on over to Montana’s, a place we all know and like! After dinner, the local car buffs were holding their weekly ‘cruise night’ in the parking lot of the Heritage Mall so the ‘boys’ went to have a look see while the ‘girls’ went to WalMart! There were lots of classic cars and trucks but nothing that would pull our rig so I didn’t make any offers on any that were for sale! Heading back to the campground, we were all exhausted but had time for another round of ladder golf and then onto Mexican Train for the night!

Thursday was hot and we all had the air running with no plans of going or doing anything. In the afternoon, we all collected at our rig and we showed them some of Barb’s DVD productions of our various trips to Alaska. When we finished watching a couple of DVDs, it was dinner time again. We had another picnic table along with ours and ate communal style outdoors – this means we’re camping? Everyone brought their own entrée that could be grilled and we all kicked in on the veggies and or desserts.

Friday was another laid back day in the morning and we went to the local winery for a tasting the afternoon. This was a neat find, a free tasting – not too prevalent any more and then an opportunity to have a glass of your favorite wine with an exotic cheese tray sitting back on their deck overlooking the farm land and Georgian Bay! It was a great way to spend an afternoon with friends! Back to the rig for a light dinner then more Mexican Train and more laughs! Their visit is winding down and we are all having a great time. Saturday will be separate entry so stay tuned!

Hope y’all are well wherever you are….