4 Days without internet...

Blessing?  or curse.

We've come to rely on internet in much the same way as turning on a light switch.  After almost five days without either land line phone service or internet a technician was out and spotted quite by accident it seems, a burnt wire and short in a junction box. Of course he had to drive and inspect many such boxes in the 20 km area where our service runs.



Sometimes it's almost a cursed thing, this WWW... but could we do without it today... I have my doubts.

The remainder of my drive home was very familiar.  Ontario is such a huge province and has such a wide range of scenery, it simply amazes me.  From the moose country of Hearst, to the hills of Superior in and around Wawa, right past the capital, Ottawa.

As was my very first ride 41 years ago through Montreal and many subsequently, that city was an absolute nightmare!  It took me just over 2 hours at stop and go 30+ temperatures, fighting commuters every inch of the way, in virtual gridlock... from one construction zone to the next.  How can anyone live in that city?!

I was glad to cross the St Lawrence at Trois Rivieres.  Once back on highway 20, I almost felt like I was home.  Communities are more distant and the highway is efficient.  An overnight in Montmagny followed by a  familiar and very pretty New Brunswick.



N.B. is perhaps my favorite province to travel in.  There are remnants of mountains, an excellent (the best in Canada) Trans Canada highway system, little traffic and the secondary roads are scenic and plentiful.  It's a wonder more people don't live here?





I pulled into my home driveway at 6 pm on a very pretty and warm Friday night.

The R/T performed flawlessly, was fun to drive, even played with the "6 speed" manual shift transmission a few times!

I'd driven just over 5300 kilometers ( 3300+ miles) in 5 road days.

Canada is one heck of a beautiful country.

Leduc

You'll see everything motorized at RAM.  If you're in the hood, GO!

THINGS look positively scary in Oil City central.  Leduc and Nisku are home to pretty much any and all oil field equipment repair and distribution for the west.  Every lot is overflowing, I'm told that Americans are coming up by the train load to cart off dozers and skidders and derricks and trucks at an alarming rate to transport back south.  With the dollar exchange and the virtual "dead" stop in the industry, it's not surprising that so many Canadians are out of work.

Right throughout the country from West coast to St John's NFLD... thousands, no tens of thousands are out
of a job.  We can even see it on our little Island.

I've heard tremendous criticism about FM and it's huge oil sands deposits for years.  Most times after News? coverage of some celebrity bad mouthing the industry, while they fly there in private jets and are carted around in Hummers or chauffeur driven limos.

What a joke.

Fact is a hell of a lot of people have earned top wages working in some level of oil and gas in this country and that money has translated into living conditions unheard of prior to the oil sands.

So I drove to Leduc for a couple days of visiting with eldest niece Liz and her family, well not her entire family as Jesse was indisposed at the time.  I did get to cart around little Madison though and shy at first we did okay for the short time I was there.

Got Liz's Suzuki Savage started with some repair work, it toured me round western Canada last year for several thousands kilometers and at 65 mpg, a heck of a lot cheaper to ride than Arnold's H 1.

There never quite seems like enough time to see everyone but I did get in a visit with long time ago friend Merv S. at his nice home in Wetaskiwin.  Back in our "Yute's" Merv and I did some crazy things.  Privacy laws don't allow me to go into any of it, but I will say that both of us can still laugh about some of the antics we were involved with back in the day.

From there Liz and I traveled to the famous Reynolds Alberta Museum, for a quiet stroll,
some photos and a low pressure visit. A few years ago Reynolds hosted a 2 season motorcycle display that rocked. Called the "Life and times of the Motorcycle" it was perhaps the best display of bikes I'd ever seen before or since.  I was all set to do a story for CB during the press launch, first of May 2005 when I ended up in the Foothills after a heart attack and triple bypass.  Of course I missed the press launch, the cardiologist deaf to my pleadings to patch me up so I could attend!!  I did get top service in the O. R. and to this day the old ticker is still tick
















Fooled you!

Still ticking!

I made up for missing the launch with a personally guided tour some months later, the story of which appeared in the November 2005 issue of Canadian Biker.

The Reynold's Alberta museum.  If your in the hood, a must see.

Mach III Kawasaki's first real Superbike Taken 2005

Taken 2005 My first motorcycle was one of these!  Honda S 90

Taken 2005 Indian Chief

While there I picked up such a cute little official RCAF flight jacket for baby William.  I'm sure his daddy (Rick) who is a pilot himself was just a tad jealous and proud at the same time!

Trouble making love to Williams new flight jacket!

Cute or what?!

Really... how cute is this. The jacket I mean...

The next day, the car loaded with my meager possessions and four winter tires on rims, we headed off east, across country, connecting to the Yellowhead highway on my way to Ed's home in southern Saskatchewan.  Ed's long time wife and partner on the family farm, Gail had passed on a couple of years ago and I wanted to stop for a visit.  Several years back he restored a BSA Bantam (post war DKW) that he'd purchased from the Nicholson Brothers in Saskatoon new in the mid fifties.

It was going to be a very hot and sweaty drive but for those of you that think Saskatchewan is flat and boring, nothing could be further from the truth.  There are many deep valleys and wandering rivers and shallow lakes to keep one entertained.  At least in the northern reaches of the province... the trans Canada # 1 I admit, is a bore to travel, but this time at least I had fond memories of my very first XC trip in 1975 when I stopped for a bite in Lanigan.  The place hasn't changed much in 41 years...

At Yorkton I turned south on route 9, finding my way via GPS to Ed's country road and farm.

He looked great, I'd only met him a couple of times, they were the parents of my daughter Holly's best friend Gillian.  We walked around the property (not all of it of course) and Ed recounted much of the history of this little homestead.  I met the freindly little kitty that keeps him company, and had to admire his resolve to stay there on his own, miles from any center of civilization.

Some people value fame and fortune, some looks and celebrity, others yet baubles like the aforementioned Hummer or jewels or $$.  Ed is quite content to have a piece of land, a home that has been added to over the years to meet the family needs and of course, his kitty.

I was actually sad to leave, wish I had another day to kick back and just talk, seems we are always on the move to somewhere from someplace... but I wanted to be back on the Island if possible, for Brenda's birthday at the end of June.  Last year several weeks in advance, knowing I would be away west for 6 weeks, I'd prepared a treasure hunt for her and Anna as a birthday greeting.  Of course Anna found the edibles well in advance of the actual hunt and Brenda was left with bits of a maps with clues on them.  It's hard to engage Anna in some of the more simple and finer points of life.

English River motel, clean spacious gorgeous setting.  The right place at the right time!

I hooked up with the TCH and turned left towards Manitoba and Ontario. You know you're on the Prairies when your GPS says 'go straight for 647 km, then turn left'. 

I was hoping to find a little sweet spot for an overnight and in Dryden I had a bite to eat, got the dust from Ed's access road washed off the Dodge (I always feel better driving/riding a clean machine) and made it all the way to the English River INN half way between two nowhere's... Ignace and Upsala, on Ontario route 17.  It was the perfect spot for an overnight after another 1000km day traveled.

Not hard to wake up to this...

"It's a BOY!!!"

Enjoying a quiet moment

I left Ottawa early morning and by 9 am I was getting off the plane in the somewhat familiar airport at YYC.

Prince William!

Somewhat, because even though it's only been 4 years since I lived there, much has changed.  There is lots of new construction, road closures delays and traffic is worse than ever.  There are also many people out of work, vacancy rates for rentals are skyrocketing, equipment auctions are rampant and the current economic forecast for the Province is pretty bleak.  Driving across Canada I found that many (many) people have no clue how much this downturn and bickering and politicking is hurting the country.  It seems everyone has an opinion sometimes based on what their neighbor has told them or some 60 second news clip.  We're hurting!

Can't start him too early

Okay, there's my rant for the day... back to the reason for being in town in the first place...

My very first impression of William was, "geez he's quiet!"  Of course he was in his elaborate stroller asleep, which explains it. 

Over the next couple of weeks I would get to know him a wee bit, after all his vocabulary is limited to "crying/crying and more crying..."  punctuated by periods of smiling and maybe even some go gooing!

Rick and I while walking the pooch were mistaken for a May/October gay couple with adopted son and dog .

MY primary 'job' while there was to take a little pressure off both Rick and Lisa.  I walked the little guy up and down stairs, from front to back, took him for stroller adventures (like the time we went over Niagara Falls in a barrel, man that was refreshing) and secondarily I kept Jagger company, taking him out to the dog park, and adventures like panning for Gold in the Congo!

Meanwhile, Jaxie just chills...

It was brutal hot the first couple of days and having the A/C in the Flex driving to the off leash (for dogs not babies) park gave us a cool break.

'Can we go for a walk can we huh, can we?'

I fully remember the days of infancy, how tough it can be for new parents especially those that work.  It's fortunate that now a days a family member can take time off a job and stay at home during those critical first few months.  Speaking of which, I got involved in a conversation (unwittingly) while in Quebec city about the low birthrate most western countries are experiencing.  At the center of the conversation (with people I just met) was this refugee thing.  People have amazingly strong feelings about these things and as our family were also refugees coming from a war zone (Hungary 1956) At the center of the discussion was the low birth rate hence the immigration aspect.  Seems to me that since families (both parents)  have had to work to survive and day care was taking over raising children I thought, 'wouldn't it have been great about 30 years ago to have government implement a long term plan to pay a parent to stay home instead of spending billions on welfare systems that often get abused.'

Hold on for a moment would  you guys...

"soft background music plays"

Okay, I just had to go out and burn my soapbox, but don't worry I'll build another one later I'm sure.

While in Calgary I saw some old friends.  Yes we are getting old aren't we! 

The hot weather cooled substantially during my stay and in fact for a few days I actually had the comforter on the bed! 

This was not only my first introduction to {Prince) William but also to the Golden's new home.  Lots of room and lots of stairs, no need for a stair climber there! 

The NEW Bowness Park

We had a chance to visit with Holly several times and learned she had  been accepted to a firm working from Seattle.  As I write this, she is packing her bags to be there for work Monday morning!  Many long years ago I had a conversation with her about what the world would look like in 30 years. I remember telling her that she may not finish school all in one place, would likely live far from her birthplace (Fort McMurray) and could even end up working in another country altogether.  Kevin and her have certainly proved that!

My couple of weeks were fast approaching an ending and it was time to pack my little kit, load the winter tires in the Dodge Caliber and begin my drive back to my home on the east coast while making a couple of slight detours.  You see, the flight was a one way.  I would be driving Lisa's low mileage AWD R/T home, but not before I stopped over in Leduc and southern Saskatchewan for a visit with Ed and his BSA Bantam.

Ottawa

The name comes from the Algonquin native "Adawe" meaning 'To Trade'.

Taking a breather...

Of course the city is the Capital center of Canada, where our parliament and National heart are located.  Sitting across the Ottawa river on one bank opposite the city of Hull which by the way... is located in the province of Quebec, it's home to over a million people of which 900,000 must work for the various levels of government! 

The streets and hills contain embassies from around the world...

These 'lectric bikes are everywhere.

You'll find a trendy downtown that has boutique stores and homeless shelters within a few blocks of one another. 

It was Queen Victoria herself that proclaimed the city as the capital of Canada.

Brenda was attending the national conference of Fairvote Canada, of which she is one of two volunteer VP's while Anna and I sparred as we normally do.  I was hoping to visit the National Aviation and Aerospace Museum, you know that I am just about as keen on aircraft as I am on motorcycles!  Unfortunately the arranged respite helper cancelled just about the time we drove into the downtown core!

Ahhh, our ship has finally come in...

The skipper..."three hour tour, no problem!"

Disappointed as I was, we did however take a very leisurely and informative boat cruise of the Ottawa river with our bilingual young tour guide filling us on the the sights.

Gilligan?

Of course there is the Parliament buildings on the south bank, the National Research Counsel building and let's not forget 24 Sussex Driv, residence of the PM and family hidden by trees among other famous Ottawa landmarks.

In edition, from our base of operations on the 14th floor of the University of Ottawa residences, we walked the lovely and romantic Rideau Canal built in 1826, as well as the downtown core.

The University residences from the canal.

Ottawa is home to trendy restaurants, tourist attractions, the CFL football team known as the Ottawa Red Blacks ( a name which confuses me) and construction... lots of construction.  In fact the day after I left the city a MAJOR sink hole opened up in the core, streets which we had walked a number of times over the 4 days we were there!

Not a clue...

Although the first actual settlement didn't happen till 1800, the indigenous people trapped and fished the area much longer than any politicians memory... the first European was not Samuel Champlain as some history books incorrectly pointed out but rather Etienne Brule in 1610, followed by the more famous Champlain in 1613.

A different view of the Parliament buildings and the Laurier

When the treaty of Paris officially ended the 100 years war between France and Britain after the defeat of General Montcalm on the Plains of Abraham high on the bluffs above the Saint Lawrence in Quebec City, France lost it's foothold in the New World and the British took control of the huge new dominion that later was to become... Canada.

Museum of Civilization... Hull PQ

Looking towards the pedestrian overpass to the south.

Of course French Canadians struggle to keep their province unique and in some ways punish English speaking Canadians by what I and many would call, unfair practices forcing business' and of course literally every product sold in Canada to be identified in both official langauges!

Super expensive Chateau Laurier where an Executive suite will set you back a cool $1699/night... two years from now!

As a young man I attended a session of parliament in 1975.  I was on my return to western Canada after a month long motorcycle ride to the east coast, when to my absolute horror I witnessed grown (?) men and women behaving like delinquent school kids, hissing and booing and throwing tantrums and other items across the floor of the house of commons!  I remember thinking, "these are the people running the country!?" 

But I digress...

Being the capital of this country, it is certainly worth a visit, you might even bump into someone famous, like Mike Duffy or Pamela Wallin or the PM hisself, Justin Trudeau! Remember though, if you bump into any of these people with the grill of your Ford F 150, you could possibly be arrested!

After a thrilling weekend, Brenda drove me to the airport in the wee hours of Monday morning, June 6th amid remembrance of the D-Day landings in northern France, 1944 from where I continued to Calgary for a visit with my girls Holly and Lisa and their spouses and of course... for an introduction to William, my first born grand baby!



Onward and westward!

The Rideau Canal looking north to downtown Ottawa at dusk.

I'm baaaaack!

JUST landed after a western road trip that began in Ottawa.





Stay tuned, a hundred things to catch up on but this BLOG is one of them...



HAPPY BIRTHDAY CANADA!!!