PART 3 - A Weekend In Orillia - John & Cheryl's 25th Anniversary Party

Four More Artsy Pics

I always love old machinery, especially when it is in stark contrast with natural settings. The rusted old railway swing-bridge in the "Narrows" which is probably looked on by some as an eyesore, hearkens back to a bygone era and (to me) stands as a symbol of how futile and temporary mans assault on nature really is. I'm sure in a few years all traces of this artifact and ones like it will be gone forever. There is no permanence in the world. In our warped attempt to preserve some monuments to history, society considers other fine examples as just  junk. Who makes the decision? Click on a picture to enjoy a larger view.

All man-made items, no matter how well built, eventually crumble away. In the big picture, historians, collectors and preservationists only minutely slow down the process. I figure in a hundred years, it's possible someone might still enjoy viewing my images that few others bother to capture. Wow, what a statement of self-importance that is! Ha ha.
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PART 2 - A Weekend In Orillia - John & Cheryl's 25th Anniversary Party

Saturday Boat Ride

Click on my artsy picture of a boathouse on Lake Couchiching. I liked the architecture amidst the rich, green foliage and the reflection in the crystal clear water. The weather on Saturday was perfect for exploring this beautiful lake. We spent four hours in our trusty little dinghy drinking in the scenery.

My "Rockwellian" fishing dock watercolour. Somebody had to have gotten a fish-hook caught in their ear with this much activity in one spot. I counted eight rods.

The whole town was abuzz both on the shore and on the water because this was the last day of the 31st annual perch festival.  It runs from April 21 to May 12 and there are sixty tagged fish to be caught, each worth $500, in Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe.

We motored north from town; up the shoreline past some gorgeous homes with a never-ending variety of out-buildings and dock arrangements. The weather was so nice, people were getting jobs done that would normally wait until the May 24th weekend.

This is the boathouse that inspired my "artsy" picture. See how I changed/aged the roof shingles and lost the motion detectors. Wendy said "That green and black, tar-paper dock box and those white, plastic chairs have got to go!"

It looks like some young people have captured the timeless lines of our old Sea Pig in the design of their houseboat. Some things never change. I hope they are having as much fun as we did.

An old picture of my dad waving from the Sea Pig (likely around 1980). If you want to see more old Sea Pig pictures you can CLICK HERE.

 A large vacation resort with many smaller cabins, all in red and white. You can see how wonderfully calm the lake is this afternoon. What a day!

We did a little boat shopping from the comfort of the dinghy at the big marinas at "the Narrows". This is the neck of the lake where Couchiching meets Simcoe.

Dozens of fishermen on the last day of the Perch Festival.

So ends our thoroughly enjoyable day on the calm waters of Lake Couchiching. Back to the hotel to get ready for the party tonight.

I'll post the party pictures soon.
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PART 1 - A Weekend In Orillia - John & Cheryl's 25th Anniversary Party

Our Hotel

We stayed right downtown in Orillia. The old Hotel Champlain was in an excellent spot for walking the main drag, shopping and since it is also near the waterfront, the park is only footsteps away.

As Cheryl's dad Al told us; "Great spot to be in a tornado." The hotel was constructed of solid concrete and the walls are a foot-and-a-half thick.  This made it very difficult to modify the rooms' physical sizes during the extensive renovation a few years ago.

The rooms are neat and tidy, although on the small side, the bathroom is large, clean and modern, and they offer a "free" hot breakfast included in the price.


Friday Night Pub Crawl

Cheryl with her wonder-dog "Magic".

Earlier in the afternoon we met up with Cheryl and John at Cheryl's parents home. Her dad Al graciously allowed me to leave my dinghy on the trailer in his large driveway. Later we picked up Cheryl, John and met Cheryl's cousin Davina.  I drove everybody back downtown and we left my car at the hotel so we could walk to the pubs on the main drag.

Pete would never ham it up for the camera, would he?

Cheryl and John's son Josh suggested Moe's for wings, so that was our first destination followed by Brewery Bay a few doors down.

Good wings, lots of good beer and a good time was had by all. How's that for good good good?

John's cousin Davina flew in from BC for the Anniversary Party tomorrow.

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All That's Left Of The Phoenix

 
I took this picture of the only things left from our fine old boat the Phoenix, that burned up just before Christmas. CLICK HERE to read about the big fire. Use your "Back button" to return.

The side curtains I removed last fall with the intention of having new zippers sewed in, and two used air filters from the big 10 liter Caterpillar 3208 diesels. Tomorrow they will be included with our household garbage collection.  These items are now totally worthless but somehow its hard to see them in the trash. Oh well, I've still got the dinghy and the Mercury outboard motor that I removed and put on the trailer in case I wanted to use them before the Phoenix was re-launched. Good thing I did eh?

Tim's Note: When it came to putting the junk at the curb, Wendy couldn't do it. We still have the side-curtains!

... And the fabulous memories.
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A Walk In The Newport Forest - The Bluebell Walk

It was a fairly busy weekend for us as we drove out to Wardsville after our enjoyable visit to Longwoods Conservation area this morning. Our daughter Erin was leading a walk at 1 PM at the Newport Forest a beautifully unspoiled resource that was owned by Erin's friends Professor Kee Dewney and his wife Pat. The annual Bluebell Walk is by invitation only so we were very pleased to attend. The 115 acre site is not normally open to the public. About five years ago (2007) Kee and Pat donated the property to the Thames Talbot Land Trust so that the land will be preserved in its natural state in perpetuity. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE NEWPORT FOREST



Play the video for more details on how this all evolved. Video prepared by the London Community Foundation.

Wendy and I arrived a little early (around 12:30 PM) and explored our way to Kee's trailer. On the way we noticed lots of deer footprints. Although we have never been here before, we feel like we have because we read Kee's email newsletters at least every week.

The first thing Kee did when he arrived was check the rain gauge. "It looks like 23 millimeters of rain. Don't let me forget that." As he emptied the gauge.

Birdhouses and raccoon boxes adorn the surrounding trees.

On our tour of the forest, Erin leads the way describing many of the features found along the trail.

An American toad poses for the camera.

Late spring is a wonderful time to explore since there are very few mosquitoes out yet.

The Thames River meanders though the back of the property.

Today's tour was called the Bluebell Walk and we weren't disappointed. The bluebells were out in their glory. Erin explained that the flowers come out first in the forest before the leaves in the trees block out the sun that gets to the forest floor.  Once the leaves block the sun, the flowers disappear and different plants take over.

There was a couple dozen people on the tour and everyone seemed to be enjoying the perfect weather.

Erin shows a Trillium and describes how the White Trillium comes in different colour variations. Even though they are different colours they are still called White Trilliums. An exception, Erin tells us are ones with green stripes. These markings are caused by disease.

Jane Bowles made some artsy Bluebell cookies

After the walk, Kee and Pat entertain us in their outdoor living room.  Snacks and drinks were a welcome treat.

Wendy meets Kee's friend Steve.

Wendy snaps a picture of Pat.

Kee and Erin deep in conversation. Read a snippet about Kee Dewdneys colourful life CLICK HERE 

Check out Erin's Blog CLICK HERE
Check out Keewatin Dewdney's  Web Site CLICK HERE

If you are in the area next weekend check this out:

Public Hiking Tour - You're Invited

Coming up May 12 @ 1 p.m.

Thames Talbot Land Trust

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