IT WAS A TRAIN KINDA DAY, WENDY’S OPENS, AND PHEEBS AND I WERE THERE……TWICE

A DREDGING BARGE ON THE MAITLAND RIVER WHERE IT MEETS LAKE HURON AT THE SIFTO SALT MINE 

Had it in mind to be at a grand opening in Goderich this morning and despite a steady rain Pheebs and headed off to be a part of the new Wendy's first day.  I was especially interested to see if they brewed a good cup of coffee.  Been a bunch of years since the last time I was at a Wendy’s so I had no idea what to expect.  I remember Wendy’s was one of the favorite places a fellow RVing Blogger used to like before he passed away.  I thought of Rod Ivers this morning.

NICE TO SEE THESE CROCUS FLOWERS BESIDE OUR HOUSE TODAY

The route we generally take to Goderich crosses the same railroad tracks 4 times and this morning we encountered the same freight train at all 4 crossings.  We then came across the train again down at the north side of the Goderich harbor.  Guess it just turned out be kind of a train day.

CROSSING NUMBER 1 ON PORTAL HILL LINE (I’M THE ONE SITTING ON THE CROSSING)

CROSSING NUMBER 2 AT BLACKS POINT ROAD

CROSSING NUMBER 3 ON ORCHARD LINE

CROSSING NUMBER 4 ON BLUEWATER BEACH ROAD AND HOLY SMOKES I HAD BETTER GET GOING

Passed our usual coffee stop at McDonalds and rolled a short distance up the road to Wendy’s.  I was surprised at the empty parking lot figuring there might have been a skad of people already there.  It was 9 o'clock when I walked through the two doors and immediately heard someone inside say 'oh-oh'.  Almost before the staff member was upon me I knew they must not be open yet.  And they weren't.  I was pleasantly told to come back at 10:30 when they would officially open.  I was back at 10:36 but in the meantime Pheebs and I headed  back to McDonalds for a coffee to go and then down to the harbor we went.  Still raining.

DIDN’T KNOW AT THIS POINT WENDY’S WASN’T OPEN YET

ON MY OUT I DECIDED TO DO A DRY RUN THROUGH THEIR DRIVE-THRU AND CHECK THE MENU

“I’LL BE BACK”

At the harbor we did manage a short walk in the drizzle before driving back up through Goderich's northwest end and following highway 21 north a few miles to see what kind of progress was being made at a housing development at 'Huron Haven’ called 'The Bluffs Of Huron'.  Been kinda watching them work on this development for the past couple years.  I don't mind the type of houses they are building but we could never live in a development like that soooooo close to so many other people.

PHOTO TAKEN FROM THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE HARBOR

NEADING DOWN TO THE NORTH SIDE OF THE HARBOR

IF I COULD HAVE SEEN A COUPLE AIRPLANES FLYING BY I COULD HAVE ENTITLED THIS PHOTO ‘TRAINS AND BOATS AND PLANES’

NOTICED THE COAST GUARD CUTTER CAPE DISCOVERY HAS RETURNED FROM WINTER HIBERNATION TO THE PORT OF GODERICH

WORKMEN IN THE RAIN AT ‘THE BLUFFS OF HURON’

We diddled and dawdled around before returning to Wendy’s in the south end of Goderich and this time there were about a dozen cars in the parking lot.  Ahhh,  a good sign so in I went.  Well, the brand new staff were having quite a time with themselves as I stood behind two people at the counter.  I'm sure I had a wee smile on my face knowing full well the jitters everyone was experiencing.  I remember when I managed the Colormat One Hour Photo store on Wellington street in Stratford Ontario back in the mid 80’s and how we once muddled our way through an opening day as well.  In line at Wendy’s I could see there was already a problem at the cash register.  The person on the other side of the person ahead of me had tried to pay with a credit card and all the computerized cash registers had froze up.  There was a lot of frantic senior staff activity going on around that register on the counter.  The person in front of me finally turned around and walked out but I was Okay because I wasn't in a hurry and I sympathized with the staff and their unexpected glitch.  I'm a people watcher at heart and I enjoyed watching the kitchen staff scurrying about.  They were kinda going around like the Keystone Cops but I knew it wouldn't take long for the folks to iron out the bugs and begin to gel as a finally tuned team.  The fella in front of me finally got his stuff and off he went.  I stepped up and quickly said I would be paying by cash whereupon I may have heard a collective sigh of relief.  Took them a bit to get my 'Dave Burger' organized and the lady at the till had to break open a few rolls of coins but eventually I had my burg to go and so out the door I went.  Pheebs and I ate our burg in the Jeep outside in Wendy’s parking lot as more cars pulled in.  We were about half way home when I realized I had forgot to get a coffee.  Oh well, I'm sure we will be back.  All the best to Goderich's Wendy’s and their new highly motivated Keystone staff:))

INSIDE THE NEW WENDY’S IN GODERICH ONTARIO

VERY SPACIOUS AND I ESPECIALLY LIKE HOW NICE AND BRIGHT IT IS

It was one month ago today we arrived home from our winter travels in the South.  Still feels good to be home and I haven't had my usual urge to get back on the RVing road again.  Could I be talking a bit of contentment here??  If so I am welcoming the feeling for a change.  Way to early to be thinking of next winter's travels but must admit my mind is still in a seemingly hopeless muddle about all that.  Haven't even got this past winter's dirt washed off the rig yet.

THIS TRAINMAN BLENDS RIGHT IN WITH THE MOVING TRAIN ENGINE

WE RACE THIS TRAIN TO THE NEXT CROSSING AND CAN YOU FIND THAT SAME TRAINMAN IN THIS PHOTO??  LOOK CLOSE

YEP THERE HE IS RIDING ON THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE AS THEY PULL HALF A DOZEN HOPPER CARS UPHILL FROM THE HARBOR

LOOKS LIKE THE TRAIN BEAT US TO THE CROSSING

I HAVE NOW TURNED AROUND AND AM HEADING BACK

TRAIN HEADS UP A STEEP GRADE

‘BYE BYE MR. TRAIN’

With the cold, cloudy, and wet Spring this year my Kindle sure has been a mainstay in keeping the blues away as I have finished several more great books and especially so with the last one which I finished Wednesday.  Awhile back looking for a book entitled, 'A Piece Of Cake' about a Halifax bomber pilot in WW2 I stumbled across a similar titled book, 'Life Is A Piece Of Cake' by Donald Wright.  I almost passed this book over but luckily clicked on and downloaded it.  It's a true story of course about about a young boy’s life and dreams on an eventful journey to finally becoming in his adult life a high flying U2 pilot.  Here's the book's description. : : : :  ‘Pilots who have flown the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft have two things in common: The courage to take her up and the skill to bring her home. This is the story of Captain Don Wright, U-2 pilot 192, and his journey from South Buffalo, NY, at the depth of the Depression to the stratosphere at the height of the Cold War. At 12 he traveled alone to post-war Europe, at 15 he learned how to survive in the wilds of Mexico. Three Continents and 20 schools later, he finished high school in Japan. In between, he dreamed of becoming a fighter pilot. He joined the U.S. Air Force at 21, earned his wings and flew the F-86, the jet of his dreams. In 1965, after serving as an instructor pilot on the T-33, T-37, and T-38, he was chosen to fly the U-2.   At 70,000 feet, Don has seen the earth from a unique perspective. In this engaging memoir he offers a different perspective – the tale of one man’s life against the backdrop of history.  Don Wright went on to be a successful Airline Captain flying for American Airlines and also as an instructor on the MD80 and 727 as well as the Airbus 300/600’………… I know I have a few aircraft buffs as readers and I think they might enjoy this book.  Lots of aircraft info and history to boot.

DINING ON ‘THE CATCH OF THE DAY’

If we southern Ontario Snowbirds complain about coming home to Winter's snow sometimes you should see what IVAN came home to again this year way out there in that Alberta Canada place.  We're talking snow shoes here.  Big ones too!!

DUCK’S ON OUR PARK’S POND THIS AFTERNOON

‘EH WHAT DID YA SAY’

A PAIR OF DUCKS AND A CANADA GOOSE KEEP A LOW PROFILE AS THEY TRY TO BLEND INTO THE BACKGROUND

I BELIEVE THIS TO MAYBE BE A BELTED KINGFISHER

Surprisingly, on our way home from Goderich earlier today the Sun pushed it's way through a solid overcast and brought an overall sense of Spring with it.  With warming temperatures I even saw small whiffs of mist overtop melting patches of snow along the road.  Arriving home around 11 I soon had myself out in the front yard on the end of my lawn rake, pitch fork and wheelbarrow.  How nice to be outside finally working on our Spring clean-up but after an hour I was disappointed in myself when I had to stop because of tiredness and sore muscles.  Darn this aging thing but I've got nobody to blame except my very own self for not keeping this aging body of mine in better shape………...

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Ponderings::

- I couldn't repair my brakes, so I made the horn louder.
- Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?
- How do you tell when you run out of invisible ink?
- What happens if you get scared half-to-death twice?
- When I'm not in my right mind, my left mind gets pretty crowded.
- I intend to live forever -- so far, so good!
- Ambition is a poor excuse for not having enough sense to be lazy.
- Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

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“People are choosing cremation over traditional burial. It shows that they are thinking outside the box.”

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A husband and wife were shopping when the wife said, "Darling, it's my mother's birthday tomorrow. What shall we buy for her? She would like something electric."  The husband replied, "How about a chair?"

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ALL THREE OF US IN THE JEEP THIS MORNING

Another in a series of cold damp gray days complete with more snow in the air.  All three of us in the Jeep this morning with a couple A&W breakfast coupons.  Our travels took us to Goderich and back.  And that was it for the day. …………

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A Bible study group was discussing the unforeseen possibility of their sudden death. The leader of the discussion said, " We will all die some day, and none of us really know when, but if we did we would all do a better job of preparing ourselves for that inevitable event."  "Everybody nodded their heads in agreement with this comment."  Then the leader said to the group, "What would you do if you knew you only had 4 weeks of life remaining before your death, and then the Great Judgment Day?"  A gentleman said, " I would go out into my community and minister the Gospel to those that have not yet accepted the Lord into their lives."
"Very good!" ,said the group leader, and all the group members agreed, that would be a very good thing to do.  One lady spoke up and said enthusiastically, "I would dedicate all of my remaining time to serving God, my family, my church, and my fellow man with a greater conviction."  "That's wonderful!" the group leader commented, and all the group members agreed, that would be a very good thing to do.
But one gentleman in the back finally spoke up loudly and said, "I would go to my mother-in-laws house for the 4 weeks."  Everyone was puzzled by this answer, and the group leader ask, "Why your mother-in-laws house?"  Then the gentleman smiled sarcastically and said, "Because, that would be the longest 4 weeks of my life!"

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APPOINTMENT THIS MORNING WITH MY UROLOGIST ABOUT MY PSA NUMBERS

You would think an early morning 8:10 a.m. appointment would be on time but nope by the time my Urologist, Doctor Bukala saw me it was going on 9 o’clock.  If my appointment was that late first thing in the morning just think of how backed up the poor folks coming after me would be and especially by late afternoon.

GULLS STANDING ON STIFF WATER

For the past 5 years or so my PSA numbers have been on a slow but steady rise and after my latest blood test a week ago my numbers have…..gone down.  What, well that was sure a surprise.   Good news for me for sure.  Next PSA blood test will be in early October.

IT MAY NOT FEEL LIKE SPRING BUT IT’S SLOWLY BEGINNING TO LOOK LIKE SPRING AS WE MAKE OUR WAY TO GODERICH

LAKE HURON WAS SHOWING HER COLORS TODAY

STILL SOME ICICLES LEFT

I BELIEVE THOSE RED BRANCHES TO BE DOGWOODS

SPRING CLEAN UP ALONG ROTARY COVE BEACH

NICE TO SEE THIS OLDER FELLA WORKING OUT ON THE BEACH

Following my Clinton Hospital appointment this morning I headed back home, picked up Pheebs, and headed off to Goderich.  The Jeep was needing a good hosing off with last weeks accumulated road salt still hanging on plus I was needing some peanut butter.  Never want to run the risk of running out of peanut butter. 

RECENTLY ARRIVED IN CANADA THIS IS THE NEW CHINESE BUILT SHIP ALGOMA NIAGARA ON IT’S FIRST VISIT TO GODERICH FOR A LOAD OF SALT

FIRST THING THAT CAUGHT MY EYE ABOUT THIS FREIGHTER WAS HOW WIDE IT WAS

LIKE FATHER LIKE SONS

Today’s sunshine lifted my Spirits a tad and I’m sure a little warmth in the air one of these days will lift them even more.

THERE ARE TWO DUCKS IN ALL THREE OF THESE PHOTOS

GROANER’S CORNER:(( This example shows the importance of accuracy when submitting your tax return. The IRS returned the Tax Return submitted by a New York City man implying that he answered one of the questions incorrectly.  In response to the question, 'List your dependents”, you wrote: '12.1 million illegal immigrants, 1.1 million crack-heads, 4.4 million unemployed deadbeats, 80,000 criminals in over 85 prisons, at least 450 idiots in Congress and those who call themselves Politicians.' The IRS responded that “this is unacceptable!”  The man's response to the IRS was: 'Who did I leave out?'

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A motorist caught by a speed camera received notification of a fine in the mail, plus a picture of his vehicle. Duly impressed, he sent back the notification along with a photo of a $100 note to pay the fine.

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Little eight-year-old Nancy was in the garden filling in a hole when her neighbor peered over the fence. Interested in what the youngster was doing, he asked: "What are you doing there, Nancy?"  "My goldfish died," Nancy sobbed. "And I've just buried him."  The obnoxious neighbor laughed and said condescendingly: "That's a really big hole for a little goldfish, don't you think?"  Nancy patted down the last heap of earth with her shovel and replied: "That's because he's inside your cat."

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A MILD CASE OF NOTHING

SOAKING UP SOME WARM SUN

Some people are better at doing nothing than others.  Some do nothing very well while others have to work at it.  Doing nothing when there are things to do is sometimes the hardest.  With nothing needing done mixed with a desire to do something is not so swell either except when a desire to do nothing when there’s nothing to do comes along and makes everything Okay again.  And in this mix of confusion somewhere is where I found myself this morning.  Didn’t want to go outside, didn’t want to stay inside.  There were things to do inside and outside but I had no desire or motivation to do either one.  Guess you could call that a mild case of nothing……… 

EARLY SPRING FERTILIZING

Warmed up the Jeep against the morning’s below freezing temperatures and with less enthusiasm than a Gazelle at a watering trough of Crocodiles Pheebs and I ventured out for a wee drive.  Even my Tim Hortons coffee wasn’t interested in perking me up.  Snapped a couple pics along the way and almost before I knew we had left the house we were back home again.  And that’s it for another wintery cold Spring day:((

GROANER’S CORNER:(( For a couple years I ‘ve been blaming it on lack of sleep and too much pressure from my job, but now I found out the real reason: I’m tired because I’m overworked!!
The population of this country is 237 million. 104 million are retired. That leaves 133 million to do the work. There are 85 million in school, which leaves 48 million to do the work. Of this there are 29 million employed by the federal government, leaving 19 million to do the work. 2.8 million are in the Armed Forces, which leaves 16.2 million to do the work. Take from the total the 14,800,000 people who work for State and City Governments and that leaves 1.4 million to do the work. At any given time there are 188,000 people in hospitals, leaving 1,212,000 to do the work. Now, there are 1,211,998 people in prisons.  That leaves just two people to do the work. You and me. And you’re sitting at your computer reading blog jokes.

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“My wife found a twenty in my pants pocket after she washed and dried them. I had to turn her in to the authorities for money laundering.”

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MIGHT AS WELL FLAP MY ARMS AND TRY FLYING TO THE MOON………

DESPITE AN ICY COLD WIND IT WAS A NICE LOOKING AFTERNOON FOR A WALK

Breakfast at the Bayfield Berry Farm this morning with our good friends and neighbors Gayle and Richard. 

A PAIR OF CANADA GEESE ON OUR PARK’S POND

Overcast, cold and windy with snow flurries for the start of day but clearing skies early afternoon at least brought us some sunshine.  It’s the second day in a row Pheebs and I haven’t been out for a Jeep ride but did manage a few photos on a short cold afternoon walk around the pond and pine tree trail.

NO ICY WINDS IN THE FOREST BUT TEMPS WERE STILL BELOW FREEZING

PHEEBS MEETS UP WITH HER BEST PAL DEXTER WHO HAD HIS DAD GERALD OUT FOR A WALK

Some days words and photos flow free and easy while other days I might as well flap my arms and try flying to the Moon…………

DOWNIE WOODPECKER

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A young girl who was writing a paper for school came to her father and asked, “Dad, what is the difference between anger and exasperation?”  The father replied, “It is mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean.”  With that the father went to the telephone and dialed a number at random. To the man who answered the phone, he said, “Hello, is Melvin there?”  The man answered, “There is no one living here named Melvin. Why don't you learn to look up numbers before you dial”.  “See,” said the father to his daughter. “That man was not a bit happy with our call. He was probably very busy with something and we annoyed him. Now watch….” The father dialed the number again. “Hello, is Melvin there?” asked the father.  “Now look here!” came the heated reply. “You just called this number and I told you that there is no Melvin here! You've got lot of guts calling again!” The receiver slammed down hard.  The father turned to his daughter and said, “You see, that was anger. Now I'll show you what exasperation means.”  He dialed the same number, and when a violent voice roared, “Hello!”  The father calmly said, “Hello, this is Melvin. Have there been any calls for me?”

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The shopkeeper was dismayed when a brand new business much like his own opened up next door and erected a huge sign which read BEST DEALS. He was horrified when another competitor opened up on his right, and announced its arrival with an even larger sign, reading LOWEST PRICES.  The shopkeeper was panicked, until he got an idea. He put the biggest sign of all over his own shop-it read…MAIN ENTRANCE.

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Answering Machine::  Rod Serling imitation: You're dazed, bewildered, trapped in a world without time, where sound collides with color and shadows explode. You see a signpost up ahead -- this is no ordinary telephone answering device... You have reached, "The Twilight Phone".

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WHAT DO MY POSTS 3 PHOTOS HAVE IN COMMON??

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT ALL THREE OF MY POST’S PHOTOS HAVE IN COMMON TONIGHT??

With below freezing temperatures under gray sullen skies this morning not even Pheebs could convince me to venture outside and fire up the Jeep.  Spent a good chunk of the morning tucked away in my cozy sunroom corner reading and it wasn’t until an unexpected short lived ray of sunlight suddenly beamed down through our skylight and alighted on me that I stirred.  I grabbed the vacuum cleaner!!

Last time I vacuumed the Jeep’s interior was probably late last Fall sometime and with potatoes growing out of the carpet I figured I had better get that job done regardless of how cold it was outside.  The Jeep’s floor looked like a herd of cows had been living in there for the past 4 months or so.  Huron County gravel, Muffin crumbs, dog hair, and Rotary Cove beach sand all mixed in together with generous helpings of Southwest desert dust, prickly pear cactus barbs, half a bale of grass from Arizona’s Sonoita grasslands, thousands of miles of road grime, coffee juice, and half a dozen french fries from a time long ago.  Finishing that nasty little job I also began our carport’s Spring clean-up which I will finish at a later date when my hands thaw out.

ANSWER:: I TOOK ALL THREE PHOTOS ON THIS VERY DAY…………….6 YEARS AGO:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The animals were bored. Finally, the lion had an idea. "I know a really exciting game that the humans play called football. I've seen it on T.V."  He proceeded to describe it to the rest of the animals and they all got excited about it so they decided to play. They went out to the field and chose up teams and were ready to begin.  The lion's team received. They were able to get two first downs and then had to punt. The mule punted and the rhino was back deep for the kick. He caught the ball, lowered his head and charged. First, he crushed a roadrunner, then two rabbits. He gored a wildebeest, knocked over two cows, and broke through to daylight, scoring six.  Unfortunately, they lacked a placekicker, and the score remained 6 - 0.  Late in the first half the lion's team scored a touchdown and the mule kicked the extra point. The lion's team led at halftime 7 - 6. In the locker room, the lion gave a peptalk.  "Look you guys. We can win this game. We've got the lead and they only have one real threat. We've got to keep the ball away from the rhino, he's a killer. Mule, when you kick off be sure to keep it away from the rhino."  The second half began. Just as the mule was about to kick off, the rhino's team changed formation and the ball went directly to the rhino. Once again, the rhino lowered his head and was off running. First, he stomped two gazelles. He skewered a zebra, and bulldozed an elephant out of the way. It looked like he was home free. Suddenly at the twenty yard line, he dropped in his tracks. There were no other animals in sight anywhere near him. The lion went over to see what had happened. Right next to the downed rhino he saw a small centipede.  "Did you do this?" he asked the centipede.  "Yeah, I did." the centipede replied.  The lion retorted, "Where were you during the first half of the game?"  The centipede replied…..."I was putting on my shoes."

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