Huntsville, back to Kingston Dec. 7, 2010

Our day began at the Holiday Inn Express in Huntsville, ON. 

There was much more snow there than we have seen before, but far short of the mega-mountains of snow that most media mentions maintain.










Then it was on to Bracebridge, ON

Downtown in Bracebridge, which styles itself as "The Heart of Muskoka"

There we were hosted by Dorothy's cousin Beth and her husband Bill.  They have recently moved into a retirement residence owned and operated by Chartwell Seniors Housing REIT (the same company that owns the Conservatory Pond where we have been staying in Kingston).

Beth, Bill, Dorothy and "Maggie"

We had a great tour, a lovely private lunch, and shared some stories old and new.

Dorothy pointed out some highlights of life in the Muskokas

Franklin checked out the spacious games room

Then, it was off to Brechin, ON

Brechin, is a small village, but there still survives one of the few Standard Bank of Canada buildings.
Standard Bank operated from 1876 - 1928, mostly in Ontario.  As with most banks of that era, it issued
its own bank notes which circulated as what we call "money" today.
Standard Bank was ultimately absorbed into what is now CIBC

Near Brechin is a resort community called Lagoon City.  Dorothy's brother and his wife had a home there for many years so we have made many trips to these communities.

Former home of Dorothy's brother Al and his wife Anne (it looked a lot neater in their day).
It was here that from January to March 1981,  I completed the final overall redraft of my doctoral dissertation.
At that time, Al and Anne had a winter home in Florida, so I had the place to myself.
It was a great venue to labour away at the electric typewriter completing construction
of my biography of John Brownlee.
Dorothy would drive up from Kingston every weekend with baskets of goodies to replenish the fridge, and
pick up the laundry, then back to Kingston to run our little motel.  It was a busy time.

One more little side trip was to Leaskdale, ON to visit a home in which Lucy Maud Montgomery lived from 1911 - 1926.  It was here, as Mrs. Ewan Macdonald, wife of the local Presbyterian minister, that she wrote 11 of her 22 books, including Anne of the Island and Anne's House of Dreams 

Home in Leaskdale, ON maintained by the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society
[Note to those in Lloydminster - old buildings are sometimes preserved for their historic significance.]

We returned safely to Kingston and had a relaxing quiet dinner at Le Cavelier Room.  We valued the opportunity to visit Beth and Bill, and revisit some of the sites of our time in Ontario.

Kingston to Huntsville - Dec. 6, 2010

Carylanne had arranged for Dorothy to have an exclusive spa experience today from a very accomplished lady who has a private studio in her home.  So, the multi-phase facial, manicure, etc. was a very relaxing, refreshing experience.  It meant though that most of our 5 hour drive to Huntsville was in the dark (actually, quite dark, with some snow flurries).  As a result, we have few photos today.

Kingston had another dusting of snow last night, and we were pleased
that the 1.139 gasoline of the weekend was down today to 1.096 in Kingston
so that it took only $88.00 to fill the tank for our trip today.

Thankfully, though, we reached Huntsville safely about 8:00 PM
We welcomed the queen sized bed after a week with the "doubtful it's a double" bed at "The Pond".

Dorothy has a scratchy throat tonight so we are hoping she hasn't picked up my cold, which has almost entirely left me.

Thanks to all for encouraging e-mails.

in Kingston, Dec. 5, 2010

We were able to join in the worship services at St. Luke's Anglican again this morning.  We were back to "the Pond" in time for lunch, and a little later we were off to Carylanne and Paul's place where we had a bountiful, delicious Christmas-type dinner followed by family and friends decorating the Christmas tree and then playing a couple of what used to be called "parlour games".  It was a very pleasant day with family fun and food.

Family friend Justin, with Carylanne - along with Paul and Andrew
all helped Grandpa, and his scooter, get in the house to enjoy the festivities.

Brayden showed off his Mom's ever growing Christmas Village.

Carylanne's Nativity Scene is simple yet elegant

Brayden and Grandpa played Wii Golf ...

 

 

While Kristen and Andrew amused themselves in the kitchen's office.

The table was set ... and soon everyone was enjoying Carylanne's fabulous meal.

Then, it was time to decorate the tree ...

... where Brayden led the way

So with thoughts turning to Merry Christmas

we say Good Night to ALL ...

in Kingston, Dec. 4, 2010

Well, we're having a little trouble adjusting to "retirement residence" living.  We slept in through the 9:00 AM breakfast.  In fact, we had to scramble somewhat to make the 1:00 PM Lunch sitting, so we could have breakfast.  My cold was much improved so we ran some errands.  One was to pick up dry cleaning at a strip mall that occupies the corner where we used to own and operate a motel.

Hillary's Dry Cleaning is about where our house used to be, while
to the left on the other arm of the strip mall was where our motel
The Lamplighter was.

Instead of "Play & Learn" picture a row of motel units with lawns and a birch tree in front of each unit.
Where the vehicles are parked, Dorothy planted and maintained gorgeous beds of flowers, and
I mowed a half acre of grass on my ride-on mower where the asphalt now reigns supreme.

You can still see the Kingston (Township) water tower ...

but the only actual remnant from our day is a portion
of the lilac hedge we planted behind the motel units
which provided a marvelous bouquet of scent
on a hot, humid early summer night ... long ago.

Our next big adventure was a second opportunity to see Brayden play in a hockey game, this one at the Constantine Arena at CFB Kingston [See http://www.cg.cfpsa.ca/cg-pc/Kingston/EN/Facilities/arena/Pages/default.aspx ]  It must have been because Grandma was along this time because the team had a better result, tying their match.

Hockey Mom and Hockey Grandma were happy with the outcome.

Brayden was in the thick of the action.

Here he is circling the net before heading up ice ...

and Paul was in action too, tending to the injured.

Our day concluded with an opportunity to take our friends Heather and Ellis out to dinner.  They shared stories about their trip in May to Rome and other points.  They used to say "all roads lead to Rome" but my GPS can't seem to calculate a route for us to drive there.  I guess we'll just have to keep pursuing our planned Big Tour,

in Kingston, Dec. 3, 2010

There was entertainment at "The Pond" today, a country duo called "Picket Fences".

"Picket Fences" performed a medley of Johnny Cash standards.

However, we only caught a moment or so of this toe tapping entertainment as we were leaving for our big adventure of the day - a trip to Gananoque to help Andrew buy some new coral and fish for his aquarium.  This was a way of us getting him something appropriate for his Christmas gift.
Gananoque (pronounced Gan-an-ock-way for those of you unfamiliar with Eastern Ontario) is about a 30 minute drive east of Kingston "in the heart of the 1000 islands" on the St. Lawrence River.  Unfortunately, it was dark by the time we got there, so no scenery photos.
Andrew's fish supplier is a colourful chap named Jim who has a business which he runs out of his garage, a few miles out of Gananoque, in the middle of the forest.  He had just got a new shipment in from Montreal.  It all seemed a little surreal, Carylanne got a phone call that "a new shipment had just arrived from Montreal" and we had to rush to Gan. as soon as Andrew was out of school so we could be among the first to select.

Dorothy found an oak leaf in the forest.

Jim's business, http://www.fortyfathoms.net/ is an example of turning one's passion into a business. 

Jim helps Andrew identify some of the possible choices.

And there are LOTS of choices ...

Finally, Andrew made his selections ...

Jim, Andrew ... everyone was happy with Andrew's choices for additions to his impressive aquarium.

After we returned to Kingston, Paul again hosted us to a fine dinner, at Le Cavelier Dinning Room in Kingston, and ... actually no one ordered fish.

in Kingston, Dec. 2, 2010

Oops ... false alarm ... the snow did not survive over night.

Carylanne picked up Dorothy to take her on a shopping expedition to Expressions Fashion Boutique.  Caryanne bought a three piece outfit for Dorothy (for Christmas) and Dorothy bought two tops.

Off they go for a shopping extravaganza

I have developed quite a cold, so I stayed low at "the Pond" ...

Who knew retirement was so cool ...

There actually is a "pond" at the Pond ... a former stone quarry filled with water.

Conservatory Pond - rear - Dec. 2, 2010

Achoo ... drink plenty of fluids, rest, etc.

in Kingston, Dec. 1, 2010

Today's highlight was watching Grandson Andrew's hockey game.  It was a tournament of high school teams - Andrew's school - Frontenac, against Carylanne's former high school, Bayridge.  We donned our Oilers sweaters (thanks to Margaret and Jim) and stole the show - earning many shocked glances.
There are a few photos below but just a reminder to everyone, for most days of our tour, there are additional photos at http://photos.fosterlearning.com in the various galleries there.

Andrew in action

The Foster's are in the building.

Carylanne with a couple of Oilers fans.

Andrew shoots

Grandma cheers

Andrew is right in front ...

After the game, Carylanne talks things over with her little boy.

Who then poses with the Grandparents from "out west"

December 1 also seemed an appropriate day for Kingston to receive its first accumulation of snow this season.