Doyle Lawson & QuickSilver

Sunday, August 18, 2013

My old buddy Tom Packham told me a couple of weeks ago that Doyle Lawson and QuickSilver were coming to the area in a few weeks. That day was today!

Lynn and I drove to Princeton (not far from the Walters Family Theatre) to attend the Conestoga Gospel Bluegrass Festival. 

Entry fee was $20 and we were treated to some of the best Bluegrass Gospel Bands in Canada and the USA. 

The show went from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. 

The event was extremely well organized. They had two huge tents erected.

We met up with Tom and his wife Anne under the tent. It was a beautiful sunny day and the tents provided much needed relief from the sun. Lynn thoroughly enjoyed the show.

We moved up to the stage when Doyle Lawson came on and had front row!  He is a living legend in Bluegrass Music Circles and did not disappoint. He had a crackerjack band with him. 

Here's an excerpt from his show. 

 

After the last performance we were invited back to Tom's cousin Doug's trailer for some tasty desserts. 

Tom with his great wife Anne.

Doug and his wife Christine are widows who got married a year ago. Christine is Doug's daughter-in-law's Mother, soooo....... his son is also now his son-in-law!!!!Christine says that the interesting thing is that they both already shared the same Grandkids!  She was very excited that Lynn and I had met as she has gone through the same experience and is glad to have found happiness again.

 

Another great day and probably the best value I've had for $20 in a long, long time.

Homeward Bound

Saturday, August 17, 2013

We woke up this morning to a beautiful misty morning. The first time we've been up early enough to enjoy this view :)

We packed up early and headed to Wheeler's Pancake House. 

A beautiful building made from the beams of 5 century old barns. 

The pancakes were huge but expensive although I think we got our money's worth in Maple syrup!

The van has been a great tow vehicle!  Significantly better mileage than the old van and pulls effortlessly. 

So much so, I even let Lynn take the wheel!

We had to get home early to get to the Walter's Show.  We had to be there earlier than usual as Shirley Walters had invited Lynn to come for a visit before the show. 

The outside of their beautiful home. 

The inside is amazing!  It's being featured in Toronto Homes this month. 

The highlight for me was seeing their studio. Tommy Hunter and Rita MacNeil have recorded here. 

There's a separate room for the drummer and vocalists. 

We had a great visit with Shirley, Daughter Kim and Grandson Schyler.

Lynne's friend Barb, Shirley and Lynn. 

The greatest thing about the visit is seeing how down to earth they all are despite their success. 

We left the house and went to the barn to enjoy another great roast beef dinner and then the show which tonight was A Tribute to the Singing cowboys (ie. Roy Rogers, Gene Autry) and Western Swing. 

The band featured a blind accordion player!!............of course the FishGuts have one of those too!!

Here they are performing "Ghost Riders in the Sky", a FishGuts standard.

Another real full day!!

Last Day!

Friday, August 16, 2013

This is out last day at Calabogie. We decided to go fishing again to see if we could improve our catch from the other day!

Lynn looked great in her fishing outfit!

It took a while, but the BASSMAN finally came through!! 19 1/4" and 4 Lbs even.  Lynn did a great net job. 

When we returned we loaded the boat and got this final shot of the resort. 

We got organized and left for Calabogie Peaks on the other side of the lake. This weekend was a RibFest and Blues Festival.

We only went for the ribs, so when we found out we had to pay $25 just to get in before buying any ribs, we decided to pass and went over to the  bar and grill and enjoyed tasty burgers and fries. 

We finally found time to go for a swim in the pool.  Very warm with a spectacular view of the lake.

 

We've had a wonderful and relaxing week here at Calabogie. It's passed all too fast, but its time to head home. More things to see and do.

Museum of Civilization

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Today we headed to Ottawa for a visit to the museum of Civilization. It's located across the Ottawa River in Gatineau.   We passed the Rocket Richard monument on the way there. 

We started on the ground floor which was full of totem poles from BC. Notice the roof is in the shape of a canoe and the support columns are in the shape of paddles..

It was a very interesting place and we spent 6 hours there!. The view outside across the river was spectacular.

We met up with Andre and his new friend Pearl for dinner in the Byward market and had a very enjoyable visit. 

Remember the locks from a few days ago?  We had to go to Renfrew on the way to Ottawa this morning to pick up the locks I left on the counter of the store. 

The last time we were here we noticed all the locks on the Corktown bridge that crosses the Rideau  River just down from Parliament Hill. 

Here's a link that explains the tradition:

Corktown Love Locks

We placed three locks on the bridge, one for each of our visits.

They are located on the top row, just to the right of the middle of the bridge if you're ever there. 

Another memorable day on this wonderful trip. 

Fishin'

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Started the day picking up a couple of pressure treated 2x4's for the trailer bunks. 

Had to head up to Burnside for the lumber. We followed the picturesque Madawaska there. 

We finally got out fishing for the first time. First we did a tour of the lake. It was pretty windy and by the time we got to the far side of the lake it got pretty rough. I was surprised that Lynn stayed as calm as she did.  

You can see Calabogie Peaks Ski Resort in the distance.

We got into grassy bay and Lynn started off with this puny pike. See how big the lure looks in its mouth!!

I finally got on the board with this lunker!!!

That's all she wrote for the fishin'

We were treated to another sensational sunset. We've been spoiled by the beautiful sunsets we've witnessed. 

Renfrew

Monday, August 12, 2013

Went for a trip to Renfrew today. It's a nice little town of about 8000. Picked up a new loon mug that Lynn bought me. 

Bought 3 locks that were on sale at Scott and Son Hardware store (more about those later), and realized after the store was closed that I left the locks on the counter of the store!

Looks like we'll be making a return trip!

Enjoyed a great home cooked meal when we got back to our unit.

Another great day!

Chillin'

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Decided to have breakfast at the restaurant on site.  A nice relaxing way to start the day. 

Sunsets here are spectacular!!

Calabogie Lodge Resort

Saturday, August 10, 2013

We left today for a week at Calabogie Resort on Lake Calabogie, located an hour north of Perth and an hour West of Ottawa. 

The new van pulled the boat effortlessly and my gas mileage pulling it improved from 15 mpg with the old van to 20 mpg!!

I ran into a few problems when I launched the boat. No electrical to the GPS and depth finder.  I thought I had this fixed. It appears to be periodic, so will need to work on it when I get home. 

After launching the boat, I noticed that one bunk was broken and the other was also rotten. That will have to be repaired before coming home.

Here's a tour of our unit.

We were greeted with a spectacular sunset to start off a great week.