Kelly Date June 29, 2009

I had a lovely day here in Beaconsfield, Quebec with Randy's Dad and Mom (Arnold and Anne Marie).  Beaconsfield is a beautiful community located on the west end of the same island where Montreal is located.   I arrived yesterday evening and had some time to visit and catch up but today we went to do some sightseeing.  St. Anne de Bellevue, Baie d'Urfe, and Pointe Claire.  I've included some pictures from each of these three places.  The shops, homes, and people were colorful and welcoming.  

                     

St. Anne de Bellevue           Baie d'Urfe

   Arnold and Anne Marie 

Oh, I almost forgot they treated me to a famous Montreal Smoked Meat sandwhich at a local deli/restaurant for lunch.  Wow, are they good!  I'd never had one before and I enjoyed every bite.  It has been great to spend some time with them and get to know them a bit better.  I also enjoyed getting a few nice pictures of them and have included one taken at Baie d'Urfe. This evening we are sitting around watching some television and Finnigan has made himself at home in Arnold's lap.  He seems quite content - I'm not sure which is the more content lol.  

Next Stop:  Montreal 

Daily Distance:  Zero 

Quality Time with Chelsey & Niagara Falls, Ontario

Hey I got to see Niagara Falls today. They are truly beautiful and I was delighted to spend a whole afternoon there. It actually took us three hours to get there from Oshawa with the heavy traffic but we made it and I think I got some decent photos. There were a lot more people there than I had realized there would be, but I guess and nice June day with good weather and of course there will be lots of people. Silly girl lol.

The whole area is developed beautifully with lots of open areas and many many places to view the falls from different perspectives. The Canadian side is definitely more substantial with the horseshoe shaped form of the falls. The American side is very cool as well and they have these nifty steps that you can take all the way to the bottom which you can't do on the Canadian side. We went down to the tourist area as well and had a nice meal at one of the many restaurants. It's very disneyland like with rides and ripley's believe it or not type places. Again I was surprised in the sense that I prefer a more natural setting, but regardless we had fun. We even went into one of the casinos and Chelsey and I dropped a grand total of $5.00 a piece for the experience. Trevor spent $20.00 and we departed. It was fun but I find these places so boring - never could see myself spending significant periods of time in these places.

We spent a lot of time trying to find a higher vantage point to take pictures from but were none too successful. All the higher points have been built on and access is either costly or impossible. Whatever, I think I did okay and I did get a couple more nice pics of Trevor and Chelsey and yes one of myself and Chelsey - oh yeah we're cute! It was a fun day and I can take that off my list of things to do and places to see lol. I'm either going to have to live longer or speed up my sight seeing activities significantly. I had a great day and slept all the way home.

Next Stop: Montreal, Quebec

Daily Distance: None at Trevor drove.

June 25 and 26, 2009

25th: Well, I made it to Oshawa on Thursday around 2:00p.m. It was a bit of a journey as I got turned around in downtown Toronto and ended up on Young Street and for the life of me could not figure out how to get back on the 401 east. I finally found a gentleman with the ability to give good directions and was able to sort things out after that. I didn't get a chance to look around very much while there as there was a crazy storm at that same time. Seriously, I ran 15 feet across the the sidewalk and was drenched.

I did make it to Chelsey's place though and had a great time seeing her new digs and meeting Trevor's (the bfriend) family. They took me for a walk down by Lake Ontario which was very interesting and very beautiful. It was such a nice day and the sun was out and we saw a huge turtle on the shoreline trying to get out onto the beach. I can only assume to lay eggs, but if that is incorrect let me know. Trevor and Chelsey also took me out to dinner and we had a great time sitting and chatting and just getting caught up on everything.

26th: Not much to report other than the fact that I got to sleep in this morning. Yea! But once up Chelsey and I made plans to go job hunting for her and that we did. We are supposed to be going to Toronto this afternoon but I have a feeling that might not work out. So I'm getting caught up on a few things at her place. I can't connect to the net from my computer here though so pictures will have to wait until I cant get access with my laptop. Just so you know, the weather is good and I'm starting to get a decent tan. :)

I can think of no other things to blog about so I'll sign off until tomorrow.

Next Stop: None
Daily Distance: Zero

Devil's Lake, Wisconsin

23rd:  I had a wonderful time at Devils Lake, Wisconsin.  Mine and Finnigan's last day there was spent lazing around and trying to stay cool.  Finnigan had a brief visit at the lake - he's not into the water thing so much but did walk out to his shoulders which is unusual for him.  We even managed to put in a two hour hike in the afternoon and visited the 'Devils Doorway' and the 'Balanced Rock'.  The scenery was again amazing but it was a difficult climb in the heat and the endless stone steps one has to traverse to get to the top and back down again.  I've included a couple of pics as I thought they were so nice. 

                  

24th:  This was a driving day and I managed to go from Baraboo, Wisconsin to Attica, Michigan.  About 800 kilomters in all.  I'm not sure why but I was into driving and made pretty good time.  I did manage to get lost in Chicago area briefly but took the first exit and headed for the nearest hotel which was fairly easy and got back on track soon enough.  Thanks to Randy who gave me great directions and an IPod Touch to help me stay on track.  I have no finger nails left though.  Yikes, way too many vehicles for me.  

By the end of the day the Finmyster and I had both had it and tried to get some sleep.  With the doors closed and locked though it was so hot I had to open the door to get some fresh air.  That didn't work at all so I turned on the air conditioning.  Much better and I looked over to see how Fin was making out - he had his face about four inches away from his vent and his ears were blowing back off his face, flapping in the wind.  He was loven it lol.  Crazy dog.

All in all a good day and I'm looking forward to seeing Chelsey tomorrow.  

Next Stop:  Oshawa, Ontario

Daily Distance:  786 kilometers. 

Kelly Date June 21 and 22, 2009

Since it is late Monday evening I'll combine yesterdays and todays blog posts.  I didn't do much yesterday (Sunday) except re-cooperate from all the driving and stress of flat tires, crazy highways, and cracked windshields.  I spent most of the afternoon sleeping even though it was horribly hot, but felt much better for it and took a shower as well.  I had picked up a few groceries earlier that morning and went about making some lunch/dinner and just hung out playing around with the camera.  Still trying to work through the technical stuff.  There is a lot to learn.  I spent the late evening down at the chateau doing the chat thing with Carissa first and then Randy, but had to depart as the mosquitoes had discovered my hiddy hole.  All in all it was a great day.  

Monday was great and I went on a three hour hike with Mr. Finnigan.  Three hours may not seem like much but when you throw in the humidity and heat it was pretty brutal.  But the pictures and time spent just being in any other position than sitting worked for me.  Fin was not overly impressed by the end of it though.  I did manage to take some nice pics though and one in particular of and eagle on the east bluff I think is pretty nice. Let me know what you think?

The hike done, I hit the showers - believe me it was not pleasant being anywhere near me and a shower was high on the priority list.  After that we went to town to look around and take some pictures of the houses I'd noticed in that area.  A couple in particular were nice and I have included one in the blog of the front stoop of a FLW home in Bababoo I thought was cool.  Even better I had asked the fellow in the back if I could take a picture and he said I could, but then the lady of the house came out just as I was getting ready to leave, chatted for a minute and invited me and the Finmyster to dinner.  Her name was Sandra and I had the privilege of meeting as well, Pam, Victoria, Bruce, and Laura and several others whom I cannot recall their names.  They were having a 'cookout' and I enjoyed brattworst(sp?) and potato salad and baked beans in their company.  A wonderful group of people who made my time in Baraboo that much more memorable.  If any of you do check out the blog site - thanks again for a great dinner.  

   

The door stoop and Sandra.

So, I'm doing the blog thing at a little dinner called the "The Barn" and will shortly head for the campsite to go to bed.  Hopefully, I don't get a repeat of the lightening and thunder storm that occurred last night.  It kept me awake and I had to air out blankets all day today to get them dry again.  

Next Stop:  None

Driving Distance: 30 kilometers 

Kelly Date June 20, 2009

This will be a short blog as my whole day was spent driving from La Crosse to Baraboo, Wisconsin.  The plan was to stay at the Devil's Lake State Park, but it was full so I headed back to spend the night at the Ho Chunk Casino.  I spent the night in the parking lot with the rest of the parkees lol.  The rest of the day was trying to find wifi service.  I'm amazed at how many people don't know what wireless internet is.  I've received many questioning looks and a few 'well you can't hook into my system' - too funny.  It took me two hours to track down a place where I could connect.  I don't even have any pictures to share.  I did find a great little drive through though called Culvers.  Anybody familiar with it.  It's similar to a McDonalds, but a lot nicer I think.  I got a burger and shared with Finnigan outside.  Did I mention it's really hot here?  

But I'm now signed up for the next three nights and plan on doing some sleeping, hiking, photography, and some swimming at Devils Lake.  This is a place Randy suggested I go to as he has fond memories of it from when he was a Boy Scout.  So far, I can see why he liked it so much.  I might even go to the extra effort to get one of the boats off the car and go paddling.  Yep, just might have to do that.  I like the little town of Baraboo.  Quaint, old school buildings that for the most part are very well kept.  Some are very nice and I will take some pictures today to share with you.  This is also the hometown of the Ringling Brothers Circus so I'd like to go there today or tomorrow and see that. Apparently, there is a World Crane Foundation here as well that come highly recommended and I'd like to check that out as well.  

If you have any other suggestions let me know.   It's raining so I have to go.  Sitting outside and getting wet.  

Next stop:  None

Daily Distance:  547 kilometers

Kelly Date June 19, 2009

This day started out great and ended great, but the middle part was highly questionable in my mind.  I started out at the furthest western point of Wisconsin on the I90 and made my way east.  The plan being to get to the township of La Crosse to camp.  However, I had another flat tire (the rear passenger side this time) and of course the resulting delays.  Ground control, i.e. Randy, called ahead to La Crosse to set me up with a tire dealership who could outfit me with two new rear tires on very short notice on a Friday evening.  Chaos ensued as I made my way via phone directions to the store, but everything went amazingly well all things considered.  (Thanks to Randy for this else I’d have been stuck until Monday morning.)  

But this was not the end of my day.  I figured out albeit painfully how to get to the Goose Lake Campground which is just south of La Crosse and signed myself away to a night of fun and campfires lol.  Half the fun of camping though is the campfire so I was determined to have one even though it was raining and they were predicting storms overnight.  So, thinking I was being quite clever I packed the logs onto the top of my car, on top of the kayaks actually so I could make my way to site #61.  Half way there one of the logs fell onto the windshield of my car shattering one corner.  This was a particularly duh moment and I spent the next hour berating myself for being so incredibly thick headed.  But I did feel good about getting the fire going with wet hardwood. 

A shower, that’s the ticket to feeling better as it is so hot and sticky here, so I collect three quarters so I can cleanse myself body and soul....so to speak.  All set to climb in and get wet only to discover I’ve brought three Canadian quarters that won’t work in the machine.  I have one tiny, lonely little American dime to cover the cost.  )(*&%^&%*$^$*&^(*^&%)  I had a total of two minutes to shower. I planned the maneuvers all out in advance to save time and did amazingly well but I didn’t quite get it all covered lol.  I was in the shower cursing under my breath and feeling very sorry for myself when Mr. Finnigan snuck his nose up from under the next stall to see what was wrong.  I  burst out laughing - how could I not.  Silly creature! Totally love that dog.  

As the evening progressed I realized the windshield could be replaced, I didn’t get creamed on the highway as I could have and I was in this amazing place that I never thought I would ever see, enjoying the company of a charming lady Linda, who had offered me quarters for the shower earlier but had turned down.  I was able to take incredible pictures of the sunset on the Mississippi River with some fishermen in the foreground to make things complete. Did I mention there are a LOT of mosquitoes here - yuk.  

I am thinking that I could make a calendar and use it to provide me with another source of funding over the fall months at school.  Any thoughts on this?  I could sell them at conferences and other places to cover costs.  Let me know what you think.  I would appreciate some feedback on this. All in all I had a great day.  

Note:  Thanks to Anne Marie for letting me know that is was President's Washington and Madison that I wasn't able to recall from the Mount Rushmore group.  

Next stop: Devils Lake, Wisconsin

Daily Distance: 587 kilometers