Monday, August 29, 2011
Wednesday, August 24 dawned overcast and cool, but our plans for a day of rafting on the Grand River from Paris to Brantford with our friends, went forward and we had an awesome time! Gerry and Dia, Harry and Annie, Pam and Alan joined Jack and I for coffee at the "Brown Dog Cafe" in Paris. They have a balcony overhanging the river and as we enjoyed fresh apple fritters (Thanks, Harry) the sun began to peek out and we were excited to get going.
Grand River Experiences rent kayaks, canoes, and rafts for individuals and groups to make their way 12 km down the river. The current is strong, the water is fairly shallow and the scenery along the way is interesting. We saw a bald eagle, cormorants, and cranes as well as families of ducks paddling along while we paddled next to them. The wind was fairly strong and sometimes it pushed us along with the current and at other times we fought with it because it seemed as strong pushing against us as the current was pushing us forward. We laughed a lot and had one "grand experience"!
The river is not deep at this time of the year. We got caught on some rocks more than once. Maybe the ladies at the front were not paying close attention OR the men in the back did not navigate very well but, nevertheless, we all had lots of laughs as we twirled around stuck on rocks. Here Gerry hops out of the raft to pull us off.
Because the wind has been against us some of the time, we had to paddle a bit harder to make headway. We also (hmmm) spent a bit too much time laughing and fooling around, so now we are worried about arriving late for our bus pick up at Brant Conservation Area. Ahead is the pedestrian bridge just before the park. The wind is with us so we rigged up a sail from my jacket, and between the current and the wind, we flew down the river!
We have some very dear friends, Dan and Barb Bloem. They live in Michigan and have visited us each summer for a weekend for 35 years. They also live close by to where we spend time in Mesa, Arizona. On the August 19 - 22 weekend, they arrived bearing a gift of a case of Heineken beer for Jack and he was very pleased! We love to talk and the next few days were full of good conversation, good food and a time to explore on Saturday. We decided to take them to the cute little town of Elora on the Grand River. The gorge is spectacular and the village is full of interesting shops. We enjoyed showing them an interesting part of Ontario!
Tara's 35th Birthday
On Thursday, August 18, our special daughter-in-law Tara, turned 35. We celebrated by going out to supper together with her parents, Andy and Joan McEvoy, our son Greg and our special grandson Dylan. After dinner, we returned to Tara and Greg's home for yummy Dairy Queen ice cream cake. Tara did well with the wishes and candle blowing - assisted by her Dad whose birthday was three days before Tara's.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
An Excursion to Toronto
On Friday, August 12, Jack and I drove Lakeshore Rd from Clarkson - our old home - to Toronto. This followed the way we sometimes took over the 28 years that we commuted to our jobs in the city. Most often, Jack took the GO (commuter train) and I drove on the QEW (Queen Elizabeth Way) but the Lakeshore is a much more interesting road. We plan a time to look up some of the places we went to over those years before retirement and to see how Toronto has changed. We also have tickets to see the musical "Billy Elliot".
We had a very comfortable room with a view of Lake Ontario (if you stood at the very edge of the window and looked to it's far corner). We had a good view from our 14th floor room of the nearby condos and their balconies with nice gardens and and shade umbrellas. We parked our car and left it there for 24 hours while we walked and walked the streets of downtown Toronto. The weather was perfect - sunny and warm with a light breeze. We had a great time!
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