A LAST MORNING WALK BY THE LAKE & WE HEADED HOME

 

KELLY & PHEEBS CHECK OUT A SCHOOL OF MINNOWS ON OUR MORNING WALK

Can't remember the last time I stood by a lake under a starry night sky with Moonbeams shimmering across the water.  But that is what Pheebs & did Thursday night.  A half Moon overhead cast a faint pall of light across forested land but it was sparkling Myles Bay that focused my attention & my thoughts.  Thank you to the one's who made this all possible for us.

THIS IS JUST ABOUT AS CLOSE AS PHEEBS CARES TO GET TO ANY OF THAT WET WATERY STUFF

 
Imagine our surprise when a white CAMP CELTIC school type bus rolled in shortly after 7 a.m. this morning with about 20 exited young kids on board.  Out of the bus they went, across the beach & into the water.  Here's Kelly & I with the furnace running dressed in warm clothes & there's all these young kids in bathing suits out there splashing around in Lake Huron which less than 8 weeks ago still had large chunks of ice floating in it.  And I imagine this shallow bay would have been totally frozen over this past winter.

CHECK OUT THE SOUR LOOKS ON SOME OF THESE KID’S FACES & TELL ME THEY AIN’T COLD
Waited for the Kids to leave before we set out on our last tranquil beach walk.  Said goodbye to all the colorful Kayaks & gave our pet rock a final pat as we strolled by.  Remember the one I had some photos of in Thursday's post.  That big rock anchored in the beach sand with all the circles in it is now my Fav:))

Didn't take us long to rig the coach for travel.  I had already hooked the Jeep up the afternoon before.  We marvelled at how well our 3 days had gone.  All systems worked well & we are totally thrilled with our Big EEE.  Love the 2 furnace idea.  With me sleeping in Zone 1 I can keep it warmer than Kelly who sleeps in Zone 2 likes it.  And yes that is how Triple E describes the areas each furnace heats.  And previous owner Don had never used the built in coffee pot but we tried it & loved it.  Beats having a big old Mossmagator of a Percolator taking up big space on a limited kitchen top Counterator.

WE’RE JUST ABOUT READY TO ROLL
Waved goodbye to our quiet little boondocking spot at 8:45 a.m. & headed off for the little crossroads whistle stop of Ferndale.  Took on a half load of fuel & pointed the rig's nose south for home.  Had it not been a week-end Friday night we probably would have slipped on down to the Cape Crocker area but we knew the week-enders would soon be on the road so wanted to be out of the area before they came pouring in.  A coffee stop at Wifi friendly Tim Hortons in Wiarton enabled me to publish Thursday's post.

TUCKED IN BEHIND WIARTON ONTARIO’S TIM HORTONS

Had ourselves a slow relaxing drive home through our Southwestern pastoral countryside.  A detour threw us a bit of a curve but no problem as the rig's a pleasure to drive & I didn't mind the extra miles.  We were home before 1 p.m.  And we both agreed, even though we had only been away 3 days it was nice to be home again.  Always nice heading out & always nice coming home.  A fine example of a nice/nice way to be able to do things.

WE FACED THE SAME KIND OF HEAVY TRAFFIC CHAOS ON THE WAY HOME AS WE DID ON THE WAY TO THE BRUCE

 

FARMERS ARE TAKING OFF THE FIRST CUTTING OF HAY FOR THE YEAR

GENTLY ROLLING HILLS OF RURAL & SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO CANADA
We have a few bugs to work out but nothing serious.  Have to come up with something to bring in a stronger Wifi signal for Kelly's Blackberry.  The locking gas cap has to go & we will replace it with a standard cap.  Going to have to bungee cord the windshield curtain which ties back beside the driver. (can be seen in photo below)  Driving with my window open a couple days ago the wind ballooned the curtain out wrapping it around my head.  Scary couple seconds there.  Gotta figure out why we have so much static on the Sirius Satellite radio at times.  And here's a unique problem I have with all the light beaming into the coach.  As bright & cheery as it is I can't see my laptop computer screen well enough to correctly edit my photos.  Just too many reflections everywhere.  Even with the day/night shades down. 

YEP, THAT’S AN EGG SALAD SANDWICH ALRIGHT DONNA C

And 'in my opinion' there is a simple design flaw on the EEE's dashboard.  The FM/CD radio & the back up camera screen should have been reversed .  It is the radio that physically & visually demands more of the driver's attention than the much less used back up camera.  Radio should have been designed higher up on the dash with the back up camera underneath, not the other way around.  Heater controls are Okay & easily accessible but not the radio.  Not a serious problem but it bugs me because I keep reaching for where the radio should be easily accessible & it's not there. 

‘IN MY OPINION’ THE RADIO & BACK UP CAMERA SCREEN LOCATIONS SHOULD HAVE BEEN REVERSED

But all & all our shakedown cruise was a major success.  Mission accomplished:)))))))

I’M GETTING PRETTY DARING DAD
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A little boy watched, fascinated, as his mother gently rubbed cold cream on her face.  "Why are you rubbing that stuff on you face, mommy?" he asked.
"To make myself beautiful," said his mother.  A few minutes later, she began removing the cream with a tissue.  "What's the matter?" he asked. "Are you giving up?"

---

One morning, when my son was about 3 years-old, he saw me putting on a pale green face-mask. (Something I rarely do.)  "What 'ou doin'?" he said.  "I'm putting on a face mask," I replied.  "What it for?" he asked.  "It's to make Mommy look more beautiful," I told him.
He stood looking at me in that considering way that small children have, then said as gently as possible, "Well ... it doesn't."

BACON & EGGS IN TOBERMORY

It is the memory evoking woodsy smell that I first detected stepping out of the Motorhome early this morning.  Coupled with the sounds of slow rolling wave ripples coming in off the big lake across the shallow bay I am pleasantly taken back to my camping days of youth 50 & 60 years ago.  Only other sounds were the sweet harmonies of many birds in the forest beside our rig.  And a few frogs. (This post was published from Tim Horton’s coffee shop in Wiarton Ontario.  9:50 a.m. June 6th.)

KELLY OUT WALKING BY THE LAKE THIS MORNING WITH HER BLACKBERRY TRYING TO FIND AN INTERNET CONNECTION…NOTICE THE DUCK COUPLE JUST ABOVE HER HAND

Another quiet morning walk on the sandy beach eased us into another fine day.  Pheebe is loving it here running to & fro everywhere…..except in the water.  She doesn’t like getting her paws wet.  By 8 a.m. we were all loaded in the Jeep & headed in the direction of Tobermory.  A short stop to look at a piece of property & we were on our way again.

PLACID MORNING WATERS

 

ON THE BEACH NEAR OUR RIG IS THE STRANGEST ROCK I HAVE EVER SEEN, NOTICE THE PATTERNS OF CIRCLES…THE BLUE CIRCLE WAS OBVIOUSLY PAINTED BY SOMEONE

It was about a half hour’s drive up to ‘the Tub’ as Tobermory is affectionately known.  A couple stops along the way to check out a couple free day Parks.  Tobermory looked much the way I had remembered it from years ago.  Maybe a little brighter & a little more colorful.  Has more of an artsy feel to it now as opposed to a fishing village years ago.  We were hungry so popped into a little eatery at the end of Little Tub harbor called Craigie’s.  Been awhile since we’ve had us a big mess of bacon & eggs.  Nice little eatery & a good breakfast.  Library was just a stone’s throw away so parked out front & picked up their Wifi signal & published Wednesday’s post.

 

 

NOTICE THE CLARITY OF THE WATER

 

Tobermory reminded me a bit of Bisbee Arizona as we we hung out around the Library area overlooking Little Tub harbor.  Buildings & Shoppe's were colorfully painted & tastefully decorated.  The Village had a folksy feeling about it.  Spring & Fall are the two best times to be on the Bruce Peninsula & especially Tobermory for people like us who prefer things on the quiet side.  This whole area will shortly don it’s summer hat when schools are out & many tourists flood the area.  Glass bottom boats to view many shipwrecks in waters as clear as crystal.  Scuba dive boats coming & going in the harbor.  Sport fishing boats as well as commercial fishers.  Boat tours to Flower Pot Island through some of the deepest waters in the Great Lakes.  And Tobermory is home to the largest passenger Ferry on the Great Lakes.  The CHI-CHEEMAUN accommodates cars, large trucks, & big RV’s.  Had the Chi-Cheemaun been in Port we would have stopped to see it but she was on one of thrice daily runs to MANITOULIN ISLAND.  I did travel the big Ferry to Manatoulin Island one time in my Ford hippy-van back in about 1978.

DIVE BOATS IN LITTLE TUB HARBOR

 

A DIVE BOAT AT RIGHT WHERE SCUBA DIVERS DON THEIR GEAR

TOUR BOATS

 

 

PARKED IN FRONT OF THE TOBERMORY LIBRARY WHERE I PUBLISHED WEDNESDAY’S POST

Kelly & I have done the glass bottom boat & Flower Pot Island tours years ago but it was back in the old 35mm slide film days.  We’ll just have to make it a point to go again & do all the photos over again in digital form.  I would like that:))

 

THE CHI-CHEEMAUN DOCKS AT THE FACILITY JUST OVER TOP THE TOUR BOAT ENTERING THE HARBOR IN THE RIGHT PHOTO

 

LOOKING DOWN ‘LITTLE TUB’ HARBOR TOWARDS THE HUB OF TOBERMORY & A GLASS BOTTOM BOAT HEADS OUT WITH A LOAD OF PEOPLE TO VIEW SOME UNDERWATER SHIPWRECKS

Checked out a few more back island roads on the Lake Huron side of the Peninsula on our way back to the rig in early afternoon.  We have noticed the sparkling waters of Lake Huron are almost mesmerizing as we sit & gaze out over the bay here at our Black Creek boondocking site.  Sunlight playfully dances on happy waters.  A Jogger went by, a couple cars drove in & out, two girls walked by one with a guitar over her shoulder.  I later heard her singing & playing on the beach.  Three school buses from CAMP CELTIC rolled in & dropped off about a hundred young people on the beach.  It was a well supervised group & we could only occasionally here the laughter & squeals as about a third of them ran splashing into the gradually warming lake water.  They stayed about an hour then loaded up & headed out with some of them waving to us as they passed.

THREE BUS LOADS OF KIDS HEAD ACROSS THE BEACH TO A RALLYING POINT NEAR THE KAYAKS

  

SPLISH-SPLASH & THEY WERE IN THE WATER HAVING A BLAST

Another evening walk watching shorebirds along the water’s edge.  Sea Gulls are always easily to identify but not so much the dark little Ducks on the water & another light colored smaller than a Gull bird.  It would fly & dart about 10’ over the water then drop like a rock & dive bomb something lifting off a couple seconds later.  Didn’t have my bird book with me.  Watched as one of these birds flew back to a mate sitting on a rock in the water squawking.  Seemed like the flying bird was feeding the ‘on the watery rock’ bird.

 

 

Past couple night’s have been a bit cloudy but tonight is looking clear for a little Stargazing & we are in the best place of all Southwestern Ontario to do that.  The area between Wiarton & Tobermory where we are has a nearly zero light pollution factor.  Stars can be seen right down to the horizon out over the waters of Georgian Bay to the East & Lake Huron to the West.  The Northern Bruce Peninsula has been designated a ‘Dark Skies Community’.  Oh what a perfect place to see a magnificent display of Northern Lights.  Every week-end from July 4th to August 30th there is a free guided Astronomy program at the Lions Head Marina complete with real telescopes.

Not wanting to overstay our unofficial welcome we have decided to roll out in the morning.  Destination unknown.  There are no signs posted here about ‘no overnight parking’ but it is Black Creek’s Provincial Park’s parking lot, the week-end is approaching & we know common courtesy dictates we move on.  We will probably leave the Peninsula well before all the week-enders begin flooding in from the cities Friday afternoon & slowly head ourselves on home.  Mission accomplished:))  

GROANER’S CORNER:((  During a magazine and newspaper subscription drive, our son Philip, a paperboy, learned about good salesmanship.  His supervisor had instructed the kids to maintain a positive attitude, even when turned down. One potential customer told Philip, "I've got papers and magazines strewn all over the place -- I don't need any more."  Philip's reply? "Well, how about a subscription to Good Housekeeping?"