Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Mark Twain
Happy Birthday to my oldest boy, Terry (Bear) who turned 42 today!
Here he is with his Mom on his first birthday!
So many wonderful memories over the years.
Your Mom and I are both very proud of you and your accomplishments!
I celebrated the Bear's birthday by watching the Daytona 500 (on TV)........
.......while the Lonesome Pine Gang spent some time at the pool and went out for more shopping. Evidently we missed a few things the other day!!!!! ;)
Once the "new" groceries were put away and the race was over, I introduced them all to Sweet Tomatoes.
It was a great hit!
We returned to the "Entertainment unit" for more SUGARTIME, FaceBook, FaceTime and 5 Crowns in which I got destroyed!!!......... we need to find a new game ;)
Today everyone headed to the pool. One of the pools by the Registration office, so that Ielene and the girls could play Poolside Bingo. I donned my bluetooth headset and did an enjoyable 5 mile walk wandering through the resort to get there. I enjoyed a lot of the efforts of the landscapers along the way.
I finally caught up with the crew. Ielene had won the $185 pot from Bingo....... along with 4 other winners, so she ended up with around $35............... which had to be divided up amongst the "team" of ladies playing, so they all got about $5.
Here we are soaking up the rays! That's me with my legs covered underneath the umbrella :)
After the amazing Bingo Victory we all returned to our units to get prepared for dinner. Tonight would be the Olive Garden. When I called there was no wait, but by the time we had herded everyone together there was over a one hour wait.
I won't go into detail, but because of my quick thinking and the "charm" that I applied to the staff, "I" managed to get us a table for 10 in just 12 minutes!!
You can see everyone in the photo below proposing a toast to their new hero in tribute to my natural talents and abilities 8O)
Going around the table clockwise from left to right we have Chris (Uncle Buck), Ielene, Don, Leanne, the "Elders" (Andrea and Larry), Norm, Debbie and Cindy.
Uncle Buck was sporting his new "burn"!
Supper was great, but dessert was even better!
....... and the service was exceptional!!!
I know people who would kill for these :)
We then returned to our entertainment unit (not mine :) where the ladies all FaceTimed and FaceBooked, while the guys taught me Five Crowns (between SUGARTIMEs!). I laid on a beating in the last game! A great way to retire for the evening!
Another great daywith friends!
When Chris and I had our trailer up at Lonesome Pine Resort last summer, our neighbours, Chris (Uncle Buck) and Ielene Rogers (people you instantly like) mentioned that they were going to be staying at Orange Lake this winter, We talked about getting together when they came down. After Chris passed, we kept in contact and arranged to get together as planned. I managed to get a unit on the same floor in the same building in East Village. Since there was going to be nine of them staying in one unit and me being alone in mine, I invited a few of them to stay with me.
I met them at the airport this morning and they rented a van as well. We got settled into our units and Uncle Buck immediately broke out the Crown Royal!........ they were already down one bottle that broke in Norm's suitcase leaving them with only four!........ there may have to be rations!!
I knew most of the folks from the trailer. Uncle Buck, Ielene, their neighbours and best friends Norm and Debbie, Ielene's brother Don and wife Leanne. Also Ielene and Don's father Larry and his wife Andrea and Ielene's best friend (since the age of 4) Cindy.
It wasn't long before we were at their favourite restaurant (and coincidentally mine), the Alehouse for dinner. We took up two booths.Great food as always.
From there we went to WalMart to get supplies. $385 later we were out of there! 10 adults swarming around the store acting like kids impulsively grabbing everything in sight that looked "good"! Thank God we ate first or who knows what the bill would have been!!
After we packed all the food away in the eating unit, we all took a trip to one of the hot tubs and then what I found would become an evening tradition........ "SUGARTIME!"....... always announced and managed by Uncle Buck........ usually several times a night!!
Had a leisurely morning and finally got underway at 9:30 am. Temps were in the low 50's F
I was only about 15 miles from I-95, once there its just a straight easy shot to Orange Lake.
Stopped at the Florida Welcome Center where we have always traditionally stopped for our free Florida Orange Juice.
Hit Jacksonville about 1:00 pm so drove through the middle of the city instead of taking the by-pass.
Things were heating up nicely!
I arrived at my 2nd home (Orange Lake Resort) around 3:30 pm. My timeshare doesn't start until tomorrow, so I rented a room in the Registration Building for the night and was rewarded with this spectacular view from my window!
I knew Chris' best friend Carol (and Don Dimitroff) were already here in nearby Davenport, so I gave them a call and we met at Miller's Ale House for dinner. I can't think of a more appropriate way to have dinner on what would have been Chris' and my 43rd Wedding Anniversary.
We had a great visit and agreed to rendezvous again soon.
I left the condo and headed for Florida at 3:30 am. This was a new experience having never travelled to or from Florida on my own before. Everything was going well till just past Buffalo. The blowing snow they had called for started to play havoc. It was tough driving from just past Buffalo past Erie almost to Pittsburgh. There was white out conditions and I just stayed in the tracks and kept this Truck's Tail Lights in sight. It was a white knuckle run, but there wasn't much choice. Erie was supposed to get 3-5" of blowing snow, so things weren't going to get any better by waiting.
Things got much worse than this photo!
Once into the Virginia's things improved dramatically. Just put 'er on cruise, relaxed and listened to the tunes and the Stuart McLean Vinyl Cafe CDs that Judy lent me (thanks Judy, they were awesome).
A self portrait. Just chillin' with my cool shades ;)
Once you pass through the second tunnel in the mountains, its pretty much all downhill and you can watch the thermometer steadily rise :)
Seems like every trip I take this shot of Lake Norman, home of fishing legend Hank Parker just outside Charlotte.
It was approaching rush hour, but got through Charlotte with very few slowdowns.
I was still feeling refreshed, so pressed on, past Columbia and made it all the way to Orangeburg, SC, a new first day distance record! Checked into Country Inns and Suites, and because I'm a club member and much revered, they upgraded me to a suite! Gotta love it. Had dinner at the Cracker Barrel next door where Chris and I used to always stop to check out the discounted items after Christmas.
14 hours of driving and 800 miles!
Only 6-7 hours tomorrow and an easy 400 miles.
We got up, had breakfast, checked out and headed back to L'Amabe to do a shorter run that Glen Hagerman had recommended for us today. It was a loop that did a big circle with some nice elevation changes and passed through Coe Hill.
This was another great ride and just our two sleds today. The trail was very scenic and easy to follow and passed several lakes and some high spots that provided beautiful views.
We were on the trail for only a short time when two white tailed deer ran off the trail. Not sure if you can spot them here looking at us.
One of the spots that we stopped just to check that everything was all right.
These trails were just as scenic as yesterday.
We stopped in Coe Hill for a hot chocolate and saw the groomer that Ron Hadley had been working on passing by.
A beautiful view of a lake below. Temperatures both days was -20C, but with the right clothing and equipment, we never felt cold.
We put on about 70 km today and once we got back to the Clubhouse, loaded the trailer and headed back to Brooklin where we enjoyed a great dinner at Swiss Chalet with Andrea and Rachel.
Thank you Pogger and Evan for such a memorable trip. This is
probably the first time that I have embraced winter in 20 years or
longer.
Hopefully the trails will still be open in March when I return home :)
When I was with Paul snowmobiling last week, I had a fabulous time and said we should do it again, but next time do the trails in Bancroft and maybe do Weslemkoon and Limerick Lakes.
After a few emails, he confirmed that it was a go.
He contacted Jennifer Hagerman, Secretary of the Old Hastings Snowmobile Club. She was kind enough to volunteer herself and her son to take us on a guided tour of the sights we wanted to see.
We made reservations at the Sword Best Western in Bancroft and the plan quickly came together.
I drove up to Paul and Andrea's late Friday night and we rose at 5:00 am to head up to L'Amabe, home of the Old Hastings Club. We met Chris one of Paul's employees along the way and then met Jenn, her husband Glen and son Dan and were on our way. Glen Hagerman is the co-ordinator for the club's 4 trail grooming machines, so knows the trails like the back of his hand. He said that there was 22 inches of ice on Weslemkoon and that the trail had been marked across the lake as well as Limerick, so all systems were go!
He also knew our good friend Merritt Wood (its a small world in the north, more about that later).
The trails were awesome, winding their way through the scenic backwoods of this beautiful section of our country.
We worked our way past areas where tornadoes had wiped out sections of the forest back in 2002. It was still a tangled mess and a very humbling sight. We arrived at our first lake. A little strange to be running on hard water.
We stopped for a group shot.
We traveled more trails and a couple of other lakes and finally arrived at Weslemkoon. It took a few minutes to get our bearings, but then headed to the North end of the lake where we stopped for a mid lake lunch.
Here's Paul & Evan in front of Tanglewood Marina!
We then headed down the Lake to the South end with Evan leading the way!!
Once down at the bottom we started to come across lots of old familiar sights. My boat has taken the same path as we did in the video below, in warmer weather :)
The spot we ended up at in the previous video was my old trailer spot at Pinewood Campground (Merritt and June Wood's Camp).
From there we picked up the trail again and headed for Limerick Lake. We got there through Mephisto and Dark Lakes and then arrived at my next memorable stop.
The Loon's Nest, my old cottage, still owned by Cal and Marcelle. I met their new neighbour who had plowed a road the 5 miles across the lake right to the cottage. Everything looked in order.
From there we headed back to L'Amabe and the Club House. Inside the clubhouse we had the honour of meeting Ron Hadley, 76, the founder of the club who was busy working on one of the groomers. Further discussion revealed that he was a good friend of Merritt Wood (boy that name keeps popping up) and had played hockey with him when they were 14 years old!
We loaded the sleds back on the trailers and headed into Bancroft to check into our hotel. It seemed weird to see snowmobiles parked in front of every unit. The place was sold out!
We met Glen, Jennifer and Dan later at our hotel and took them out for dinner at the Granite Restaurant where we had great food and conversation. What wonderful people to hook up with strangers and treat this old guy to one of his most memorable experiences of his lifetime!
Thank You Glen, Jenn and Dan for such an amazing experience. Thank you also for keeping us safe.
I'm sure we would not have ever managed to find all the trails without you.
Talk about a fish out of water!! I am totally out of my element (and maybe mind).
I have realized for some time that I need to start taking better care of myself. If I want even a chance at leading a long and healthy life I need to take action, even if it means getting waaayy out of my comfort zone.
I have to admit that the FishGuts had a lot to do with my inspiration.........my older brother Bud who is quickly approaching 76 is in way better shape than me and gives me hope that if I take better care of myself I might be okay. As for the other members............. well, let's just say that they have been an inspiration from another perspective :) they.....and myself, represent the "Guts" in FishGuts.......... soooooo..... I joined the Grimsby YMCA. Strange looking exercise machines, stupid reciprocal bikes and a nice and warm pool.
Maybe if I stick to it I might be an inspiration for my other "Guts"....... I mean buddies :)
Paul has
been talking about taking me snowmobiling for sometime now. Since I'm
home for some of this winter and there was a snowfall to create a base
for the trails, we decided to go out today.
We drove to his club
(Port Perry Snowmobile Club) and got the sleds off the trailer. The Red
one is Max, an older Yamaha, his first snowmobile. The black one is his
newer SkiDoo, a very comfortable "Old Man" sled that I would get to
drive.
Before
you knew it, we were running the trails and heading to the Horton's on
35/115. Most of the trails ran through the woods and it was very
picturesque.
We came around one corner and saw this!!
A lady was running on it and she saw smoke coming out near her boot. By the time she got off, it was in flames!
Once we knew everyone was all right, got a lowdown on what had happened and the flames died down, we continued on our way.
We made it to Timmies and enjoyed a nice hot chocolate.
On our way back we came back by the burned snowmobile, this was all that was left of her machine.
We then went into Port Perry where we met Andrea and Rachel at Crabby Joe's.
No picture! What's with that? We certainly had enough time to take plenty while we waited for our food!!
We then got back on the machines and returned to Paul's Clubhouse. Evan road back with me. We went over 100 km.
Paul then loaded the machines on the trailer and we returned to Paul's place.
What a great new experience! If you're dressed for it, and have good machines it can be a great time.
I will have to do this again.
Thanks Pogger and Evan for a great day.
With a big winter storm
coming this was my last chance to get my boat into indoor storage. I
had been so busy after Christmas leading up to my first trip to Florida
that I totally forgot to get the boat over to David's.
Now I had one last chance. I zipped down to Terry's, picked up the boat and towed it to David's greenhouse.
Now its safe and sound until sometime in March when David needs the space. By then, the worst of the winter will be over.
Thanks David :)
That night the snow came. I haven't seen snow like that for a long time.
The
benefit of living in a condo and being retired and not having anywhere
you have to be is that you get your driveway and sidewalks shovelled.
