Fun Times in a Small Spaces

This past week has been fun! We started out by removing the bathroom vanity so we could start taking up the floor – again! Of course, you can’t remove any trim without breaking at least one piece but we did better than that, we broke two! So here we are, trim off, door off and the entire floor up. There is no room to do any cutting inside so we have to dodge the rain to cut outside! I’m sure you’re picturing the fun, drawers pile throughout, a door standing some where, trim and floor strips stacked neatly all the while we carry on in our rig! The good news is we found the source of our squeaks – the sub floor was too big and was rubbing in various places so with my handy little jigsaw, we did some trimming and glued and screwed the sub floor back down but not before we had to run out for more glue. The head contractor – (me) didn’t calculate enough! This can’t happen once we move to laying the laminate so I picked up some extra just in case! According to the directions on the floor glue, it had to be left for 48 hours before use – hey it’s our bathroom floor, how can that happen? Use the ‘public washrooms? Not!

So now we start to relay the laminate. Barb is our laborer here! She is down on the floor dry piecing it as she goes to ensure I am handing her the correct one – she knows me too well! It is going great until we get to a straight wall section and we realize we’re off just a smidge and the strips are not quite fitting! Thank heavens the glue doesn’t set too quickly and we are able to move it just enough to get us back on track. We’re sure you are chuckling as you try to imagine us two oldies working together on our hands and knees in the small space of our bathroom! We finally get the last piece in place late Sunday night and sit for a beverage before heading off to bed.

We decided to improve the drawer slides from the originals and went uptown! The bad news is the drawer openings have to be cut larger so the new drawer equipment will fit! We just have enough room on the vanity face to do it and the drawer fronts will still cover! The drain needs to be altered so the drawer slides will reach the wall for the top drawers – oh such good times! It’s never just a simple task! As I’m working on the wall brackets for the drawer slides, I notice a drip coming from the sink tail pipe! Now what? I finish the drawer slide wall brackets then disassemble the sink drain, clean everything and reassemble it to find it still leaks! Disassemble again and take off the new putty and re-do it again – with a little more this time and all is good now.

Now the moment of truth – fitting the drawers back in and see how they slide and if they close properly! They slide great but with too little resistance, what’s going to happen when were going down the road and have to brake? The fronts don’t line up 100% so I have to tweak the wall brackets for better alignment. To make the install seem a little easier, I tried installing the wall brackets on plywood and then attached the plywood to the wall. Wrong! It was more work doing it my way! After some experimentation, I finally got all brackets adjusted and the drawers are working great. With all this fun stuff, Barb even got all 7 bears assembled and ready for stuffing and jointing when the parts for the arms & legs arrive!

Sunday, while Irene pounded the eastern seaboard, we woke up to no water! The park had a major leak and had to shut the system off while the owner dug a huge pit to find the problem. I helped him hand bomb some clay back in the hole for him to stand on while he fixed the pipe. He found a small sharp piece of shale that had worked its way through the plastic water line! Unbelievable!

In the afternoon, Barb & I hiked about 2kms from our site to an overlook that looked toward Meaford and the waters of Georgian Bay. We will be sure to go back later when the leaves are turning, I’m sure the colors will be spectacular!

We hope that if any of our readers were in the clutches of Irene that they escaped without harm. We wish you well, wherever you are…..

Surprise!!

You probably thought that I was going to start out by telling the story of when we stayed at the Walmart in Surprise Arizona, on our way to the Escapee Park in Congress! But you’re wrong. I’m going tell a story of my Bride’s birthday surprise.

Terri called to say they will stop by on their way to Killarney on a canoe camping trip! Wow, that’s a long way off their route! I took the call and didn’t tell Barb about the plans. Things happen and Terri and Mark were having technical difficulties with their Koi pond which had to be fixed before going away. So Terri drove all the way from their cabin in New York on Saturday to have dinner with her mom for her birthday. That was a neat surprise for Barb. Terri ended up staying over and we chatted and played cards into the night! Barb was thrilled with this surprise.

Monday we completed our 5K walk and after we decided to update our passports since they expire at the end of September – wouldn’t want to have any difficulties going south in the winter! So, after we got our pictures done, the government paperwork completed, we head to the bike trial in Owen Sound. This time we went east, back toward the highway. OMG, it is all up hill and by the time we reached the 3K mark, our legs were on fire! Thank goodness the trail was downhill back to the truck or we may have had to call a cab! After dinner, our neighbors asked us to join their campfire. We agreed and the campground owners joined in and we had a great time talking about just about everything. Curly told us it took him over 10 years to get his campground approved through the town council! How frustrating would that have been? Wow!

Barbie’s birthday was her regular quilt day but we went touring instead! We only had 2 more water falls to see in the area, Weaver and Indian Falls. Weaver falls was ok but nothing too dramatic but an easy walk. Indian Falls was much better and the walk definitely not to be considered easy! A short path of rocks leads us down to the stream and then we had to walk over rocks and tree roots. Soon, the path lead us up hill about 45 meters but the steps were the kind that someone had cut into the terrain and most were a stretch to get to. Once up top, the path was a bit better but you still had to watch for the tree roots! The view from the top of the falls was pretty good. After getting all the pictures, we decided to go back and walk into the falls from the bottom. Finding an appropriate access onto the stream and up toward the falls was sometimes difficult but we made it. We had to stop a few times to let young folks by on their way to swim in the pools at the bottom and stand under the falls as it cascades over the rocks. By the time we got back to the truck, we were ready for a nap!

Since we were part way up the west coast of Georgian Bay, we decided to continue along the Scenic Drive on Grey Road 1 to Wiarton. We’re sure it was a scenic drive sometime but all we saw were big houses and lots of trees. Every now and then we’d get a glimpse of the water through the openings of driveways. We stopped at the boat ramp at Big Bay to stretch and get a few pictures. We learned it was the unofficial ‘Rock Skipping Capital of Canada’! The beach was covered in round smooth rocks just right for skipping. After a few throws, we decided we were out of practice and took a walk out on the breakwater. IMHO, anywhere around Georgian Bay is just beautiful. We continue to be thankful for this lifestyle, to be able to see and experience this!

The next day we relaxed by cutting grass and weeding the gardens and the tomato box! After some awning time, Barb and I continued on our crafty projects. Barb is cutting out 7 bears from that coat and I have finished my chairs. The next blog entry will highlight our fun re-doing the bathroom floor – again!

Hope all is well where ever you are…..

More of the Same

After a whirl wind trip to meet up with friends from the Plantation, we settle in and continue our walks and stuff. Wednesday is blood donor day which I try to do as often as possible. The Canadian Blood Services like my O neg blood! I finally found someone who will look at our DVR that got smoked last December during our power surge. Yes, we did purchase a new one but I figured if not too expensive, we will have a recorder for the bedroom TV system! We’ll see where this takes us!

Barb is embarking on a new project and we stopped by the fabric shop in Owen Sound to pick up a few things. We had planned on launching the kayak at the beach there but the wind was up and the waves a bit too choppy for us so back home.

The weather is not warm enough so Barb picked up this fake fur coat to keep her warmer! I know, you’re wondering why I can’t do the job - right? Oh! She is just cutting it up to make teddy bears! You better get your orders in quick! This ‘fur’ is in great shape and will look great as bears! While Barb was doing that, I started my second chair! It is symmetrical with equal holes on each side and front and back so it may be a little easier to cane!

On Saturday, we were up earlier than usual and headed on in to Meaford to wander through some of the yard and garage sales going on. Thanks Dottie for the inspiration! We got to 5 of them but all were selling toddler and kid’s clothes – not what we’re looking for! We drove by the beach and the lake was as calm as a mirror so what the hell, lets launch! We followed the shore along the lake for about 3 kms and viewed many nice homes and cottages. Apparently we were not the only ‘smart’ boaters taking advantage of the beautiful conditions; there were lots of pleasure boats out and lots of fishermen. We also met a couple of young adults on their paddle boards heading toward the Meaford Harbor and back. So, our up and out early was not wasted!

Monday is our usual 5kms walk and after lunch, we took a bike ride from Thornbury to Lara Bay along the old rail tracks. Except for not being along the water, it was a pleasant ride. After, we rode over to the river and viewed a different fish ladder. The ladder is a different design – to us anyway and we have seen several, all the way out to the Hell’s Gate on the Fraser River in BC. Anyway, this ladder is a separate canal built beside the dam that has natural looking pools built with rocks and the fish can jump up into each level as it winds back and forth until it reaches the top. I’m sure the pictures explain it better than I do!

Wednesday’s are our normal travel and site seeing day but it was wet, cool and miserable here so we ‘squirreled’ up inside all day.

We decided to mosey over to see my brother Larry at his boat on the east coast of Georgian Bay. The views from the top of the Blue Mountains toward Georgian Bay are always spectacular on clear days and today (Friday) they did not disappoint us! Larry is at a different marina this year and is enjoying life on his boat. After some chit chat and lunch, we headed out the south end of Beausoleil Island, around to the north and back through the north channels and back to the marina. It was a nice trip and even on a Friday, the waters were busy with lots of other water craft! With all the coves and bays, this would be an excellent place for our kayaking adventures. We’ve looked around in the past but did not find a suitable RV park – we think the Escapees have raised our standards!

Hope all is good where ever you are…..

Back to Normal!

Well, after the past week of excitement, we are trying to get back to normal. The humid weather has taken its toll on my bride but we are doing what we can. Barb has resumed her sewing and finished one project and onto another. Me, I am still working on the same chair. Thanks goodness, I’m not depending on my memory as I would still be wondering what strip of cane goes where!

Some folks moved in across the street and were having some problems disconnecting their tow vehicle so I went over to assist. They were newbies and needed some coaching on a few things about their rig so falling back on my ‘walk through’ experience, I tried to help them out. All that talking is exhausting so more time for me in the lounger under the awning!

We didn’t do any touring this week as we spent all day Thursday in Toronto. I had a doctors appointment, we stopped to have lunch with Larry, stopped at Corrie’s to see Mack & Nate, stopped to see Terri & Mark’s new pergola and had to go to A1 Electronics to get a part for the fridge. Whew, what a busy day.

The fridge has a fan in the back to help cool the condenser which increases the efficiency of the fridge. It runs from a thermister that is mounted on the condenser. The fan has not been coming on and after a little trouble shooting; I determined that I needed to change the thermister. Friday, I replaced it and now the fan runs fine so we’ll see if it really does improve the cooling of the fridge!

The long weekend is here and the park is quite full. They held a Karaoke event Saturday night and no, we didn’t go and punish all with my dulcet tones! Even with all the added campers, it is still quiet. This gave me more time to finish ‘the’ chair. Yes, that’s correct, finally completed one of the pair!

I checked on the fan in the back of the fridge in this heat to see if it was working and wouldn’t you know it’s a DC motor and when you reverse the positive and negative leads (hook it up backwards), the fan runs backward! It was blowing air down the fridge and not up! So I had to make a quick change there!

Tuesday, we met George & Dottie (friends from the Plantation) at Walmart in Guelph as they passed through Ontario to get to Maine from Michigan. Thanks goodness, they have a generator and could put on the A/C as we sat and chit chatted! After an enjoyable sit, we wandered over to Montana’s for lunch/dinner. When we came out, the weather had changed and threatening rain but somewhat cooler. Dottie is more than paranoid about big cities and heavy traffic when traveling in their motorhome. They asked when would be the best time to go through Toronto! We gave a short laugh and said the Hwy 401 is busy all the time, even the wee hours of the morning but after 10am would be a good time. And of course, this is construction season so roll the dice! After a fun visit, we were on our way back north and arrived home about 9PM!

Another long day for a couple of retired RVers. We hope all is well with you, were ever you are….

An Elvis Sighting in Collingwood

So it is true, Elvis lives! If I hadn’t seen him with my own eyes, well, you know the story. While we were sitting around on Thursday, we learned that it was the annual Elvis Fest in Collingwood. I asked if anyone was interested in driving down and having a look see and without hesitation, the ladies said yes! The parade with Elvis started at 9AM so we had to leave by 7:30! We loaded our lawn chairs and all the Elvis fans into the truck and our first stop was Timmy’s!

We roll into Collingwood with time to spare we made our way to Main Street to find a suitable place along the parade route. The shady side was full so we sat in the sun but it wasn’t long before the fire trucks came along. Another Elvis, wow, look at all the Elvis look-a-likes. They came from all over the world and the winning Elvis came from London, England. Now that is a mile or two from Memphis! All the Elvis’s sat or stood in classic cars. Some had their own cars like Roy LeBlanc. He had a stretch limo and was standing out of the sun roof serenading the fans as he made his way along the parade route. One was on his Harley and he also sang as he proceeded down the route. We were only 6 of thousands standing along the parade route and walking along Main Street. Di, Donna and Barb even got their picture taken with a tall Elvis in white. Boy all they talked about after was how great he smelled. Our St. Thomas group knows Roy LeBlanc, an amazing Elvis impersonator, who is singing at Blue Mountain Village. We head to Blue Mountain but go to the hotel instead of the village and using our GPS we find we are only 500 meters away. Parking was hard to find and we had a lengthy walk but still got to the village common with plenty of spare time. No shade and high temperatures but we persevered and watched most of the concert. One lady got real lucky as Elvis pulled her out of the audience and danced with her. I think the three ladies with us would love to have danced with him too!

The village was very busy, not only for the free Elvis concerts ongoing through the day but also with mountain bikers.

People were riding the ski lifts to the top and some more adventurous and possibly younger, were riding their BMX bikes down the mountain! I’d be okay with the ride up but I’d also be bringing the same ride back down!

We all agreed it was time to take to the shade and have some lunch so off to a neat little road house, The Beaver and Bullfrog in Collingwood. After, we went back to the rigs for more ladder golf, beverages and to kick back!

Sunday, Barb & I did a ‘hitch up’ breakfast for our friend’s departure! It was a great week with friends and we were all sad their visit came to and end! Larry was at his boat so he drove over from Honey Harbor to visit and have dinner with us what a great treat!

Well, we’re back to our normal routine albeit moving slowly through this humid weather. We hope you’re able to keep cool where ever you are…..

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….