Breaking out the camping gear!

We had our first official camping trip of the season at The Pinery on Lake Huron, near Grand Bend. Now we’ve swum in two of the five Great Lakes, since we camped on Lake Superior during on cross-Canada honeymoon adventure. It fascinates me to swim in a non-salty body of water that you can’t see the other side of. And the sandy shore lent itself to frolicking and frisbee. We also went on a lovely nature walk in the woods. (To call it a “hike” would be to deny my BC roots.) And even though it was the first camping experience of the summer, we didn’t forget anything important like the tent or frying pan. Packing the sleeping bags did come as an afterthought, but it was such a warm weekend that we would have survived without them anyways. And other than a few whiny kids around our campsite that needed a good spanking and some yapping dogs that needed a good euthanizing, our little spot in nature was very pleasant.

Why the 401 Highway is Stupid

The 401 is the scar of southern Ontario. The following list refers specifically to the 150km or so that span from Oshawa to Kitchener, with the deepest wound (perhaps a clogged artery?) being through Toronto. Now I'm not saying I have a solution to the 401 injury, except to question why anyone would want to go to Toronto anyways. (OK, we're both exceptionally bitter about all the time and mental energy we waste in traffic.) So here's why the 401 is stupid:

1. There are too many lanes.
2. There are too many cars.
3. There are too many incompetent drivers.
4. There are too many accidents.
5. People drive too fast.
6. Driving on it causes tension between driver and passenger(s).
7. Verbal and non-verbal obscenities are often exchanged between vehicles.
8. It increases human stress levels enough to spoil a perfectly good road trip.

Friends, the North, and a new couch

The day after my folks left, three friends from Montreal came and crashed at our place for the occasion of another friend’s wedding. Jeff and I had to miss the event, however, because we were “up north” on a speaking tour, (Jeff speaking, me touring…). I say “up north” because when you live in southern Ontario, everywhere else in Canada is north. Then the day we got back, our neighbor below us was getting rid of some furniture since she’s moving. So we went to make an offer on a couch, and she offered it to us for free! It’s retro enough to be stylish again and still in great shape. Jeff has been wanting a “comfy couch” for a while, sighing that our apartment just didn’t feel like a home without one. Now he can’t stop talking about how cool our place is. Well, technically it’s only been cool since yesterday when we bought and installed an air conditioner.

"Up North" in Sudbury, at the giant nickel


view from the giant nickel (Can anyone explain the giant nickel to me?)


Further north in Larder Lake


Thankfully, we don't have bikes, skidoos or dogs...




our "new" and "comfy" couch