TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Saturday, June 22, 2013

AND THAT WAS THE END OF ANOTHER SHORT LIVED DREAM

Rains came in the night & lasted till noon. Kelly slipped over to Deer Park Lodge around 10 for about 4 hours. With the Sun’s appearance shortly after 12 o’clock Bumble Buns & I cranked up the Jeep & went for a short hour’s cruise through the countryside. No A/C in the Jeep so we were home again by 1. Remained trapped in the house for the remainder of the day due to the heat & heavy humidity levels outside.

Yaaaay, my blog’s ‘Search’ bar is working again & I am able to access previous posts when needed. No idea what was wrong or how long it hadn’t worked but no matter, all is good now & I am back on an even keel. Doesn’t take much computer nonsense anymore to just simply tip me over the cliff. Remember the big ker-fuffle I was in last summer when our Sitemeter counter wasn’t working properly for a week or two. Scary!!

<<< AIRBORNE

Thursday evening driving home from Goderich Pheebs & I came across a Real Estate ‘For Sale’ sign at a country crossroad. Had an arrow pointing right so we took a drive down the road to have us a look. Like I always say, you just never know & if you don’t look you are probably not going to find. I’ve taken a number of drives out into the countryside these past few summers looking at properties for sale. Most of course are way to expensive for us & the rest are usually an assortment of tumble down old places requiring a lot of work. Sometimes the area itself is just simply unappealing. When I drove by this place the other night it’s location, grounds, & house, just knocked my socks off. My kind of place to a T. Solid brick renovated school house which backs on to a forest, no visible neighbors, big shade trees yet visible skies just a short walk away. One of those places I would just have driven in, walked up, knocked on the door & made them an offer had we been in the financial position to do so. And that was just because of the glimpse I had from the road. Just the ideal setting for us right here in our own area. I already suspected it would be way out of our price range & I was right. Soon as I got home about 10 minutes later Kelly looked it up on the Internet……….$379,000:(( Yeouch!! And that was the quick end of yet another short lived dream. But for anyone with a few extra dollars in their pocket looking to invest in a nice cozy house & one acre property near the lake in South Western Ontario I would sure recommend this place. And if you needed a kindly ‘slightly Senior’ couple to move in & look after the house & property for you………I know just the folks. And they have a really sweet little dog too:))))) HOUSE & PROPERTY FOR SALE

WITH MY LOVE OF NATURAL LANDSCAPING IT’S EASY TO SEE WHY I LIKED THIS PLACE SO MUCH

MY IDEA OF QUIET COUNTRY LIVING

HOUSE IS NESTLED RIGHT UP AGAINST A LARGE FOREST ON A QUIET PAVED COUNTRY ROAD

AND JUST A HUNDRED YARDS EAST OF THE HOUSE ARE WIDE OPEN FIELDS TO VIEW THE STARRY NIGHT SKY

I seem to recall someone asking a question a few posts ago about the nicknames I have for Pheebe. That of course reminded me of a post I wrote back in 2010 when we still had Max, Checkers, & Cora. My ‘nickname’ paragraphs start about half way though that post entitled, SIR FROG-A-LOG, LADY FLOP-A-LOT, & LITTLE WEINERLY BEANS.

NOW GETTING BACK TO REALITY……THIS IS PROBABLY MUCH MORE OUR SPEED

Had intended to write some stuff about my new watch but haven’t been able to decipher the miniscule printed instruction paper that came with it. Couple things I do know though. It’s a ‘sports watch’ & has a stop watch feature which of course holds no real interest for me unless of course I could set that stop watch to see how many seconds it would take me to totally lose patience with trying to figure out all the watch techno stuff. Something about chiming every hour & setting alarms etc too. Only alarm so far is my own alarm at having a watch with a bunch of techno wizardry I don’t need. It was one of the only watches in the case that actually had hour & minute hands large enough for me to see. Awwww quit yer griping AL, the watch is just fine. Hey, wonder if I tossed it out the window I could sit back in my recliner & watch time fly………….:))

Welcome to VAL ROBERTS as our 580th Blog Follower. It’s a slow growing list compared to a few years ago but it does continue to grow now & again. Thanks for dropping by & keeping our Blog Followers list alive:))

I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT BLACK BUG IS EITHER >>>

And here’s a little something of interest sent in a few days ago as a comment by Mr. Ed from the FLIP FLOP RESORT INN at that Port St. John Florida place………………."Supermoon" peaks on Sunday, June 23, 2013.
A supermoon occurs when a full moon coincides with the moon being closest to Earth in its orbit, also known as perigee. The near perfect timing of these two celestial events makes the moon appear larger and brighter in the night sky.
The moon will be closest to Earth at 7:32 a.m EDT on June 23, but you will be able to see the supermoon shining bright on Saturday, June 22 as well.
Sunday's supermoon will appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a regular full moon does, NASA scientist Michelle Thaller tells ABC News.
The June supermoon with be the largest in 2013 — the moon won't come this close to Earth again until August 2014 — but you can expect another supermoon on July 22. The last supermoon was on May 25.
While a supermoon does bring extra-high tides, the extra gravitational force is not big enough to produce any significant changes in seismic activity for those who are concerned that the moon's close proximity to Earth will trigger earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

RISING & SETTING MOONS ARIZONA STYLE…FEBRUARY 25TH & 26TH 2013…FIRST PHOTO TAKEN FROM OUR FRONT YARD & SECOND PHOTO TAKEN FROM OUR BACK YARD IN CONGRESS

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A man goes to a psychiatrist and says, "Doc, my brother's crazy, he thinks he's a chicken." The doctor says, "Why don't you turn him in?" The guy says, "We would, but we need the eggs."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

Friday, June 21, 2013

ALMOST SAVED MYSELF A PENNY TODAY

A THURSDAY NIGHT LAKE HURON SUNSET AT GODERICH ONTARIO

After purposely publishing Thursday night's post on the early side Pheebs & I loaded ourselves in the Jeep & headed out for a drive. Just needed to shake up my routine again & do something different. Grabbed ourselves a coffee & carrot muffin at McDonalds in Goderich & headed down to the beach. Pheebs had herself a nice run beside the lake while I took a few photos of some geese & sea gulls. Enjoyed watching the moon climbing into the eastern sky while the sun set in the west over placid Lake Huron. I nice evening change of pace. Needed that...............

DUCKS, GEESE, SEA GULLS, & CORMORANTS ALONG THE SHORES OF LAKE HURON

Had a few errands in Goderich this morning so all 3 of us headed up that way with our first stop being the BAYFIELD BERRY FARM to pick up a couple boxes of freshly picked strawberries. The berries sell out in hours so Kelly had phoned Thursday to reserve a couple boxes. Or one can pick their own. Now I like strawberries as much as the next person but would I go out there in the fields & pick my own for a few pennies less. Not a chance. I could see folks out there bent contortedly over in the hot morning sun, kneeling with baskets, & crawling on all fours to get at the ground level little red goodies. Glad it was them & not me. The Bayfield Berry Farm has a nice artsy restaurant & is a favorite place with tourists & locals alike. Sitting in the Jeep waiting for Kelly to retrieve her berries I couldn't help but notice the dozen or so cars parked outside. Always easy to tell the tourists from the locals. Even in the hot sun the city folks have their car windows wound tightly up & you can bet your best bunch of bananas everyone of those vehicles is locked up tighter than Fort Knox. The locals however are just as easy to spot. Windows down with the lakes cooling breezes blowing through the car. You can bet there are no locked doors. Bugs, bees, & birds are free to fly in one window & out the other. Ahhhhh, it's so nice to be one of the locals:))

Noticed today the ‘Search’ bar in the right side column of my blog is not working. No matter what key words I type in it will not bring up any links to my previous posts. Says ‘No Results.’ Really too bad because I have relied heavily on my blog’s ‘Search’ feature to find things in previous posts. Don’t know if it’s a problem I’m having here or with Blogger or Google somehow. I did uninstall the gadget & reinstall it but no go. Wondered if anyone else is having problems with their blog’s ‘Search’ feature.

A few posts ago I mentioned about going to Walmart with the express purpose of looking at some garden lights I had noticed in a neighbor's yard. Bought some stuff & totally forgot to look at the lights. Following morning Kelly & I were back to that Walmart to pick up a few things & a reader wondered if we remembered to look at the lights. Yes we did but found them kind of on the pricey side so didn't get them. Guess we were both in cheapskate mode. That very afternoon their was a knock on our door. It was our neighbor Monica with a box under her arm. She had read my post about liking her lights & had gone right up to Walmart & bought us one. Now how kind & thoughtful is that. We do have us some nice neighbors here:))

OUR NEW GARDEN LIGHTS SURE DO LOOK NICE AT NIGHT

And speaking of Walmart, I had a couple more excuses to head back to Goderich after we arrived home from Goderich this morning. First, my watchband broke. Second, the bike needed a run, & third I realized I was on my last jar of peanut butter. The latter of the three constituted an emergency.

Think it was about 3 years ago I bought a new watch at Walmart & it has worked flawlessly ever since. As I remember, it was one of those really expensive $20 watches. Well, it still works fine but noticed the band was ripped about half way through this morning so back to Walmart I went. Of course nobody at the Jewellery counter so someone had to be paged. An older lady reluctantly made her way over from Ladies Wear & I could tell she would have much preferred to stay in ladies wear. Anyway I looked at some new watch bands in a revolving counter carousel thingy. Only two bands out of about 50 were maybe wide enough to fit my watch. One was $16.99 & the other $19.99. Just before the lady had dragged herself over from Ladies Wear I had noticed another revolving carousel with brand new watches for $20.00. It was a 'light bulb' moment. A new watch band for $19.99 or a whole new groovy watch for a penny more at $20. Not an easy decision for a Joe Banana like me but I thought what the heck, why not live dangerously & splurge for a new watch. Decision was made & I had to hurriedly get to a cashier, pay for the watch, & get myself out of the store before I was overcome with one of my cheapskate penny pinching moments in which I may have succumbed to buyer's remorse, returned the watch, opted for the wristband & saved a penny. There have been a few times in my life where a thousand dollars here or there never batted an eye lash for me & other times when a nickel had me on the ropes.

WORK IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY IN GODERICH TO MOVE THIS OLD CPR TRAIN STATION A FEW HUNDRED YARDS NEARER THE BEACH & MAKE A RESTAURANT OUT OF IT…AM ASSUMING THOSE LONG YELLOW ‘LIFTING’ GIRDERS WILL SLIDE THROUGH THE SQUARE HOLES CUT INTO THE FOUNDATION

NICE OLD BRICK & STONE ARCHITECTURE

Tomorrow, if I can remember, I will tell you a little bit about my new $20 watch. That is of course if I can figure the darn thing out. Didn’t notice until I got home that it is a ‘sports watch’. You may already notice the digital time does not match the real mechanical time. Oh woe is me trying to get a handle on this one I bet. And the watch instructions are printed so small I will need to juggle two magnifying glasses at once just to read them:((

TRAIN STATION RESTAURANT WILL BE NEAR THIS SPOT

Hate to admit I have to take a mild sleeping pill every night in order to get myself a decent night's sleep but it's a fact & sometimes I guess we just have to do what we have to do. Whenever I don't take the pill I have a poor night's sleep. My problem is not so much getting to sleep as it is staying asleep once I get there. I have always had an aversion to taking any kind of pill but if I don't get a decent night's sleep I am a total Zombie & the following day is a depressing write off. It is at the end of those kinds of days I have trouble putting a post together.

LOOK AT ME I CAN STAND ON WATER TOO

OK, SO I WAS STANDING ON WATER………ALRIGHTY THEN, ‘BOOOOOOO’ I’LL JUST SCARE YA AWAY

Kelly noticed we had a new Blog Follower this morning so wish to welcome aboard CRAM-A-LOT INN CAMPING ADVENTURES. Near as I can tell we have someone here with a Jeep hauling a Casita trailer. Hmmm, wonder if she knows RV SUE & the crew. Welcome aboard fellow traveler & thanks for stopping by.

AWAITING THE SUNSET ALONG THE BOARDWALK AT GODERICH’S ST. CHRISTOPHER’S BEACH

With the first day of summer our humidity has returned & we have the A/C on again. A/C to us in summer is like a furnace is to us in winter. Definitely a necessity now with the world’s climates so rapidly shifting. I usually take Pheebs out for a walk in the afternoon but we didn’t get far today. Just too hot & humid for this guy. Oh & those freshly picked strawberries we picked up this morning…..Scrumptdiddelyicious:))

HAD A NICE DRIVE HOME THURSDAY EVENING

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Q. Why did the man put his money in the freezer?
A. He wanted cold hard cash!

Q. What did the porcupine say to the cactus?
A. "Is that you mommy?"

Q. What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
A. Frostbite.

Q. How do crazy people go through the forest?
A. They take the psycho path.

Q. What do prisoners use to call each other?
A. Cell phones.

Q. Where do polar bears vote?
A. The North Poll

Q. Where do snowmen keep their money?
A. In snow banks.

Q. What dog keeps the best time?
A. A watch dog.

Q. Why did the tomato turn red?
A. It saw the salad dressing!

Q. What did the grape do when it got stepped on?
A. It let out a little wine!

Q. How do you make a tissue dance?
A. Put a little boogey in it!

Thursday, June 20, 2013

CAME UP JUST A LITTLE SHORT IN MY THOUGHTS TONIGHT

Taking a page out of my own thoughts today I can only say, “It is not so much having nothing to write about as it is not having the interest to write about something”. Oh Gooble Poop, I hate when that happens………………..

GROANER’S CORNER:(( An old woman is upset at her husband’s funeral. "You have him in a brown suit and I wanted him in a blue suit" The mortician says "We’ll take care of it, ma’am" and yells back, "Ed, switch the heads on two and four!"

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

SUPERMAN’S LOIS LANE WAS PACKING A NIKON CAMERA:))

Tuesdays are half price nights at the movie theater in Goderich. It was a spur of the moment decision for me last night to head out & see the new Superman movie. I don’t know what it is in movies that I am looking for at age 68 but needless to say I did not find it again with the Superman movie. I am probably just going to the wrong types of movies. I won’t bother telling you what I thought about the movie but let’s just say if I thought the Star Trek movie I saw a few weeks ago was way over done with fiery explosions, loooooong drawn out Hollywood fight scenes, & people carrying guns the size of train cars, then I had obviously not seen the new Superman movie yet. And then there is all the noise. And obviously being the oldest humanoid in the theatre why would my single opinion matter or carry any weight anyway. Did notice one thing though….Lois Lane was packing a Nikon camera. And, there is also & always a very positive side to movie night….it breaks up my frightfully normal night time routine. And I like when that happens:))

HEY,,,,NOT IN OUR FRONT YARD EH!!

WHO US??

Kelly had the last few loose ends to tie up with Uncle Harry’s estate this morning so she headed off to Clinton. Facing either my recliner, the television, or the computer again, Little Tootely Two Toots & I quickly loaded ourselves into the Jeep & hit the trail. At the risk of sounding dreadfully repetitive again let’s just say we had ourselves an enjoyable few hours in the countryside. Both our pit stops resulted in a couple short walks as well & a good time was had by all.

THIS IS ONE OF OUR FAVORITE PIT STOP PHOTO OP SPOTS

Question from Chris in our Shout Box inquiring if we have ever used a supplemental brake system in our toad while towing. Quick answer to that is, no. When we bought our 03 33’Damon Challenger in April of 07 I figured for sure we would have to have a braking system for our toad at the time which was an 03 Hyundai Santa Fe. Ron, the extremely knowledgeable fellow we bought the Motorhome from said no, we did not need a brake system for our set up. What!! Ron’s business is buying & selling Motorhomes & each one he buys whether in Canada or the United States he picks up himself. He has more towing experience in his little finger than I will ever have so I took him at his word. And he was right. Even with a few ‘emergency’ stops over the years I have never ever felt the need for brakes on the toad. Ron could easily have sold us an expensive brake system at the time but he didn’t. Have always had great respect for Ron’s expertise at FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE ever since. Both our Damon 33’ Class A & 23’ Chevy Sunseeker Class C towed our our 06 Jeep Wrangler just fine as well with no brake system. I know some States have laws requiring toads to have brakes but I don’t know what States they are & have never heard of anyone being charged with no toad brakes.

REMEMBER ME TELLING YOU ABOUT DIRT ON MY NIKON D-40’S SENSOR IN TUESDAY’S POST…TOP PHOTO IS THE UNEDITED VERSION & PHOTO BELOW IS THE EDITED VERSION USING GOOGLE’S FREE PICASA 3.9 PHOTO EDITING PROGRAM

One of the great benefits of being an older guy with gray hair & a white beard is that no one sits beside me at a movie theater. And especially so if they see an old guy hanging off the end of a cane. I always have lots of room with both seats on either side of me empty. Love it. Leg wasn’t bothering me but I knew after sitting in the theater basically motionless for over 2 hours I could be in trouble when I stood up. Taking my cane was just a precaution. As it was, I didn’t need it. Okay, maybe a couple times when I had to poke some baseball caps off the two young guys sitting in front of me. Did they notice? Not a chance, they were too engrossed in the movie & probably just thought it was flying debris from everything getting blown up on the screen. Am I serious? Nawwwww:))

And another thing I was reminded of again last night. I never ever feel lonely or alone hanging out with myself. Never that is until I encounter a group of people. Kind of a strange thing but have noticed it for many years now. If I walk into a room full of people I will immediately clam up, become uncomfortable, & look for the nearest out of the way corner. I try to fade myself into the background somewhere. Standing in the line up for the movie I was aware of all the young folks around me chattering away about their iPods, iPads, Blackberry’s, school, or whatever. Felt like I was standing by myself on the surface of the Moon. Couldn’t wait to get into the theater, find my favorite center screen seat, & slink down into obscurity. Also observed at the end of the movie after exiting my seat how many people were shuffling slowly up the aisles with their faces bent forwardly down staring intently at their glowing palms. In those palms were tiny screens all lit up as people seemed to be panicking for phone messages & texts they may have missed during the movie. And OMG what if one of the Kids had missed a Tweet. Ah, tis a different world we now live in. I kinda prefer the Moon idea thank you very much. Beam me up Scotty, I’m ready to get out of here……………….

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A guy dies and is sent to Hell. Satan meets him, shows him doors to three rooms, and says he must choose one to spend eternity in. In the first room, people are standing in crap up to their necks. The guy says "no, let me see the next room." In the second room, people are standing with crap up to their noses. Guy says no again. Finally, Satan opens the door to the third room. People are standing with crap up to their knees, drinking coffee and eating Danish pastries. The guy says, "I pick this room." Satan says okay and starts to leave, and the guy wades in and starts pouring some coffee. On the way out Satan yells, "O.K., coffee break's over. Everyone back on your heads!"