Tobermory, Paul and Judy Brown cottage on Lake Huron

Plymouth

New York 26.8.10

Here we are on the 15^th floor of Peters hotel, opposite it is his work place at American Express, Its a beautiful day, we are looking out on the Hudson River, its sparkling and the all manner of busy water craft are passing up and down.

Back to Niagara, We spent the whole day ,walking the legs of our little guys. Drove to the Falls and parked the car $20, and headed for the Falls , spectacular, thousands of people on the board walks. We walked to Marineland, and had a long day, seeing all the whales dolphins etc. The shows were great, the boys liked the big killer whale, he was trained to do all sorts of tricks, swam round and round the pool, flapping his tail, and drenching the crowd!! Not that anyone minded as it was sooo hot. Harry has a great knowledge of all wild life, he loved it all, and Tommy tried every hurdy gurdy, by himself, as Harry wasnt so game. The water park was top favourite!!

We left Niagara and headed to the Border at Buffalo, with all our documentation to show we werent highjacking the boys. We were told to park the car and go inside. Ushered into a room with at least 100 others ,waiting for an interview. We waited 2 hrs, the boys were so patient, then interviewed by a very nice young man for 5mins photo taken and fingerprints, and off we went , they weren't even interested in our letter for the boys!!!

So we were 2 hrs late getting down the road to our next stop Lake Carugo in up state New York . About 7 hrs on trh road, we had to do a quick shop for supplies,enroute, Oh you should have seen us trying to find things the boys would like, in a strange supermarket . We arrived at the lake on dark, then had to dinghy over to the bach on the lake. This lovely place was owned by a good friend of Kates Dad. John took vern and the boys fishing,no luck!! Harry rowed Vern around the bay. The morning we left, it was raining!! so got the boys into their swim suits, and all our bags in rubbish bags, and off we went across the lake, and off down the road to Plymouth,again a slow trip because of the Sunday traffic!! All 5 lanes chocker!!

Next high light was 24^th August , and Tommys birthday. We went over to Peggys (kates Mums place) the night before, she had kindly organised a wonderful party, with her 2 sisters, and Jen and her family,9 the boys cousins) and peggys lovely girl friends. Then the next am, we walked round down town Hatford, with Kates Dad ,Chad ,and his friends at 7am.

The birthday party was at Chads, beautiful home with swiming pool and hot tub. A real joy to see the cousins having the time of their lives together. Hamburgers and hot dogs and huge birthday cake and games .

We stayed on another day and played golf with Chad and Peggys sister Bonnie, I must add importantly the girls WON!! then Chad took us to New Haven, 1 hr drive, to catch the train to New york. Peter was there with his work, so this was a real treat. stayed at his very plush hotel in the financial district, round the corner from Ground Zero.

We had dinner with some great women Peters work mates, during the day we cycled all round Manhatten all round Central park and up beside of the Hudson River. Even have stop /go lights and cops on some of the cycle tracks.

Back to Plymouth with Peter on Friday night, weve had some very special times meeting their friends and swimming in the pond with the boys and Louis, the Golden doodle!! He is a great dog, and is great to walk with,and loves the water.

Peter is training for the New York marathon, had to do a 2 hr run on Sunday, so Vern and I cycled with him, through a forest reserve with great cycle paths.

Liz ( my NY sister) and Rick, came to visit us on Sat to Mon , We had such a good time, the boys particulary loved playing along with Rick on his trumpet, and they on the drums and guitar.

Today, Kate is recovering from a nerve procedure on her back, we are so hopeful it will relieve her back pain. Peggy has been here for 2 days with us, sorry to say goodbye today to her. Peter is in Atlanta for work left here at 5am , home tonight about 9pm. Vern is happy doing the DIY here , and the boys and I have been at the pond swimming its 90 degrees

Niagara

Niaagra Falls 18.08.10

I am sitting in a very noisey indoor water park,at our Hotel!!! The boys are having a ball, They are in the hdro slide, huge thing which they slide down on blow up tubes!!,There is wave pools and basketball hoops and floods of water everyhere .

We returned to port Elgin with judy and Paul, and had a couple of days before the boys arrived. Oh what a wonderful welcome they gave us, they dived out of the car with huge hugs. They are amazing after a 14 hr drive!! Peter,survived, and then went for a run, hes training for the New York marathon in Nov.

We spent most days at the lake, lots of people, and lovely sandy beach, the boys stayed in for hours,they had their surf boards, some days were very windy, and they loved the waves. Not so pleasant for granny and vern on the shore. We cycled through the woods with the boys, sorry to leave our lovely friends and Lake Huron .

The drive to here , 4hrs, passed hundreds of acres of corn and beans, until we got nearer to here, then very urban.

Tobermory

Tobermory 9.8.10

We have had 6 lovely days here,just Vern and I, have been sooo lazy, rising late!!,can you believe it. Both finished the books, dragon tatoo and girl with fire!!! Not bad for kay eh! Margret!

Its been hot, and yesterday am ,had good steady rain. We have been cycling , and hiking in the National park, yesterday we walked round the Cyprus lake, about 3 hrs, mainly in the shade of the fir trees. This trail borders the Georgian Bay, part of Lake Huron. Campers everywhere,enjoying the warmth after their long winter. All have camp sites amongst the trees, with their own open fire, to sit round in the evenings. They were swimming,diving snorkling ,having a wonderful time.

The snow lasts from October to April. Through the fields and forests are snow mobile tracks, Paul has a snow mobile and he goes for miles,cruise at 80 kms an hour , can go 140 kms an hour, and will often go several hundred kms in a day,just for leisure!! sounds too bloody cold for me. Heated seat and handle bars and the right clothing of course.!!

From this cottage, the bay in front freezes over, and the boats have to be lifted out of the water. The little town is buzzing,at the moment, the bars, coffee and gift shops are full of people,but in the winter no one is here..

The library has wireless connection, but last night it was closed, so we went to the pub for a beer after our walk and tried the connection, and managed to get a signal from across the bay!! Was hoping to skype some of you but no one was on line. !!

Tobermory

Calgary Airport 1^st august.

We have just dropped the rental car and are waiting our flight to Toronto. The drive from Vancouver was great. It took a long time to leave the city, seemed to head south almost to the US border. Then north to Kamloops. Very hot there , enjoyed a swim and in the cool of the morning we had a lovely walk along the river, before we drove to Golden. Their was a huge bush fire somewhere, so everything was hazy. Stopped several times along the way to walk and take in the local scene. We followed the railway,most of the way, huge freight trains, one we counted had 130 wagons,and they told us that was a short one!! Beautiful rivers and lakes and of course the native spruce etc. As we were driving out of the forest, a huge black bear, jumped over the barriers and into the bush on the other side of the road.

Golden was on the edge of the Banff Nattional park, so we headed to lake Louise the next am. Beautiful spot with the glacier at the head of the lake. A magnificent hotel there , built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. Hundreds of tourists and us!! They charge $16. to walk in the park, We walked up to Lake Agnes, about 400 kms up ,a well worn track, even saw a couple walking up with 4 little dogs, one in a mountain buggy!! We went onto Banff, for lunch, again 1000s of tourists, very pretty, found the golf course for a sit in the shade,got talking to young guy whose job was to hurry the players on, and he was from CHCH.!!

Drove down to Calgary, and found the Fergussons OK. Phew !!what a huge city. They gave us a wonderful welcome, and Kims sister and family came to see us, that evening, so lovely as we had heard so much about them. They were driving to Vancouver the next morning. We did it in 3 days, they in 12 hrs!!( Kim lived in our flat with us for over a year, she was my OT work mate,)

It was very special to be with Eleanor and Alan, they spent all day showing up the city, full of green parks and wonderful cycling trails,sorry not to be staying longer.

Off to Toronto next, a 4hr flight, and 2 hr time change. Judy and Paul there to meet us. Phew another huge city, very hazy,. We headed straight to Port Elgin, 3hrs I think, with a stop at Tim Hortons drive through for coffee, then dinner on the way.

They live on the shore of Lake Huron, full of summer visitors, the beaches full of sun bathers and swimming, its hard to believe that it is a lake,it looks like an ocean, islands, boats etc.

Judy and pauls home is beautiful, wish you could see it, they have a wonderful flair with art and interior decorating. Paul is a retired police inspector, and has built several spec homes since he retired. Judy was a school teacher.

They had a welcome party for the kiwis, with 30 of their friends and family ,the night after we arrived. Oh it was wonderful, canadian flags, balloons, napkins etc Out on the deck!!, phew it was hot. Even had a white and red cake, with a photo of the 4 of us at Parker St on the top.!!

Now we are at their holiday home at Tobermory ,1 ½ hr drive away, all flat land , with native pines and farm land.

This is a beautiful spot too.A tiny bit like the bachs at Lake Rotoiti, hid amongst the trees. We are right on the lake, 20 mins walk into the town, where a ferry like the interislander leaves with cars and people to the other side of the lake

It has been a busy sad time , Pauls Mum died the day before we arrived and funeral is on Friday. She was nearly 92 and lived the last few years in port Elgin. They visited every day they were home, so will be a big gap in their lives.