Soccer Season Wrap-up

My second season of coaching house league soccer came to an end today as my U-15 girls team bowed out in semifinals. We reached semifinals by finishing fourth in an 8-team round robin consisting of four games. The girls gave their all in all the games which included a game on Wednesday, Friday and two on Saturday. Sunday morning's game was also very hard fought but unfortunately our opponent scored the game's only goal late in the second half.

My team, however, was still rewarded with a medal for reaching semifinals. I also bought all 14 of my girls a gift card to Marble Slab for a cone of ice cream. Thank you Brooke, Michelle, Katherine, Leah, Heather, Isabelle, Melissa, Megan, Carly, Danielle, Jamie, Kayla, Emily and Stephanie for a wonderful season.

Heather was unable to attend any of the games as she left Friday morning for Sault Ste. Marie to attend her grandmother's memorial. I should have been there too, but I couldn't keep track of all my commitments.

We Are Starting to Move

Today, we finally took a big step in the process of moving our belongings from the condo. A week ago, Heather and I drove to Woodstock after work to reserve a storage space for our stuff and I followed that with a trip this past Friday to make the deal official. The property manager, Stefan, gave me a thorough explanation of the conditions of the agreement and I even managed to leave a couple of boxes there. We chose a location in Woodstock so that the next, and final, move will only be a short distance away from our new house.

We were moving on a Sunday because yesterday I spent the majority of the day at my brother Greg's bachelor party in Toronto. So, with not enough sleep, we went to U-Haul to pick up a cargo van. The first load included a couch, a futon and a few boxes from our condo storage. We then drove just down the road where my mom helped us load all unopened wedding gifts that were still sitting in her basement. After the van was full, we had a small breakfast and left for Woodstock just before noon.

Given the fact that I was paying 49 cents/km, I went into savings mode and tried to take the shortest way by distance. As we were driving down Trussler Road towards the 401 I noticed an unusual thing in sky. On closer look, it turned out to be Snoopy Two, one of the famous Metlife blimps, which have provided aerial shots for many sporting events including the Super Bowl. At home, I did some extra research and found out that the Metlife blimps cover the PGA Tour which will be taking place in Toronto from July 22nd to 25th thus its presence in this area.

Snoopy Two soaring in the sky.

We arrived in Woodstock less than hour after leaving. The unloading went very quickly and without a major mishap. A tiny piece of glass broke off one of the door from our wall unit but we'll worry about fixing that later. From the storage unit, we drove through downtown Woodstock taking in the sights and familiarizing ourselves with various local businesses. We ended up at our future home where we visited the model home and one of our agents who was there.

At the storage space in Woodstock.

Back in Waterloo, we went home with little desire to go back. Heather went for a nap but I changed my mind and braved the heat again and put more boxes in the van. Once Heather woke up at around 4, we first drove back to my parents' house to unload some plants we borrowed for staging purposes. We arrived at pretty much exactly the same time that my two brothers did so we stayed for dinner.

The second trip to Woodstock started just before 6 and this time it took us less than 15 minutes to unload the few items we brought with us. On the way home we encountered yet another unusual sight. A coyote crossed our path as we were on the Cedar Creek Road off ramp on the outskirts of Cambridge. You read that right, a COYOTE. What's even weirder about it was that earlier in the month I read an article about a coyote alert in neighbouring Perth County. Very strange. Heather mentioned that it reminded her of Johnny Cash's coyote on an episode of The Simpsons. Her comment kind of surprised me because it's usually my department to associate everyday events with a scene from The Simpsons (like the blimp sighting) but all I could think of was a scene from Collateral (a very fine movie with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx).

In the end it proved to be a very productive day with only two weeks left to vacate our current home. Stay tuned.

Canada Day Weekend - Day 4

We woke up quite early on departure day but another big breakfast put us on the road at 11am. Today was yet another clear day with temperatures expected to climb over 30C.

The ride home was very uneventful with the usual slow traffic sprinkled throughout our trek. We were safely home at around 12:30pm while our belongings arrived with Remi and Lisa at about 3pm.

During the evening we had scheduled a meeting with our real estate agent and an agent representing a potential buyer. We actually received a call on Friday afternoon but with us out of town and no access to internet or a fax machine we decided to meet tonight. The negotiations lasted 45 minutes and ended up with us agreeing to sell the condo at very close to the asking price. And just like that, we took another step closer to our dream.

The events of the evening capped off a great weekend of fun with great friends. We all hope it becomes an annual tradition.

View Larger Map

Canada Day Weekend - Day 3

Another big game featuring Germany and Argentina was on tap today in the World Cup and we made sure not to miss this one. After a quick Captain Crunch breakfast we were on our way to Kincardine by 9:40am. We found a Boston Pizza just off of Highway 21 and got in just minutes before the 10am kick-off. At the time the Germans scored in the 3rd minute, the bar was still empty but it filled up quickly with supporters of both nations, though mostly German supporters.

Once the game ended just before noon, we drove a short distance to the beach. The beach in Kincardine is much bigger and much more sandy than the one in Point Clark. We left the beach at 2:30pm and, after unsuccessfully looking for a video store in Kincardine, went back to the cottage where we had another barbecue feast. After lunch, we passed watching a couple of movies, Star Trek and When Harry Met Sally, and Lisa and Heather made a trip to a local pie shop to pick up a rhubard pie.

At 9pm, we our third trip to the ice cream shop and for the third time I had the New York Cherry Cheesecake in a waffle cone. The beach in Point Clark was very busy tonight as the locals were putting on their own fireworks display. It obviously wasn't as big as the one in Kincardine but it was still enjoyable. We tried watching the fireworks from the beach but a swarm of mosquitoes and black flies made it impossible. The picnic table in the backyard of the cottage made for a great alternative.

Watching the fireworks display in Point Clark.

After a late supper of chicken breast in a bun and rhubarb pie we were in bed by midnight.

Canada Day Weekend - Day 2

Today's morning plan was to drive to Kincardine to catch today's early World Cup game between Netherlands and Brazil. We weren't able to see it at the cottage since there was no cable or even internet connection. Our only link to the real world was a basic internet connection from Heather's Kindle, enough to see basic text version of some websites.

Unfortunately, because of a late night, nobody got up until almost 11am. By that time the game was half over. Thanks to Remi, we had a great breakfast complete with eggs, sausages, potatoes and bread. In the early afternoon, we all went to the beach to catch some rays. The water was still muddy so me and Remi only dipped our toes in the water before retreating.

An afternoon at the beach.

After an hour or so, we went back to the cottage to leave our beach things then walked over to Lighthouse Gifts for another round of ice cream. With ice cream in hand, we continued to the lighthouse and the adjacent museum. We inquired inside about tours of the lighthouse. As bad luck would have it, on June 30th, a rep from Parks Canada was here and deemed the lighthouse unsafe to tour because of falling rock. Another visit from the feds was scheduled later in the week where a decision would be made as to whether close the lighthouse for the duration of the season. The young girl working the counter was especially bummed since she was spending the summer working to pay school and this was her only income.

Back at the cottage, we spent the evening barbecuing more burgers and sausages and watching some DVDs, namely a movie about Zack and Miri. In between eating and watching the movie, we made another trip to the beach for some sunset photos. We turned almost two hours earlier than last night.

Point Clark sunset.

Canada Day 2010

It's been a busy time around these parts lately. While we've been thinking about buying a house in the near future, it's finally become a near reality. On Sunday June 18th, we drove to Woodstock to look at model houses and immediately fell in love. Heather was eager to make an offer on the spot but I thought that we needed to sleep on it. The following Tuesday we met with the agent representing the seller and made our offer. The next day it was accepted and it was now time to sell our condo. That process included a visit from a stager who helped us organize our condo to show very well. From that point on we spent several evenings cleaning, organizing, painting and prettying up our home. The photos were taken on Wednesday and today the condo was listed for sale. More on that to follow.

But today was Canada Day and the start of our mini vacation in Point Clark, one we've been looking forward to for a while. We were going to spend a weekend at a cottage with Remi and Lisa. Because Canada Day fell on Thursday this year, Heather and I had to book Friday off work in order to get a four-day weekend away from home.

Remi and Lisa arrived at our place around 11am to pick up our stuff for the weekend. Since we were going to ride our motorcycles, they offered to shuttle our belongings to and from Point Clark. We left the condo just before noon and Remi and Lisa took off for the shore of Lake Huron while we went to get our motorcycles. At my parents' place Heather and I had a small lunch and finally left Waterloo around 1pm.

The road to Point Clark is one without many turns and it covers all of Highway 86. We only made one stop and it was in Wingham to get fuel. Fuel that was now 8% more expensive thanks to Ontario's brand new HST which came into effect on Canada Day. We actually also stopped down the road in Lucknow too, but it was only for a brief moment. We made it to the cottage at 3pm without seeing a single cloud in the sky and nearly 30-degree temperatures.

Point Clark lighthouse.

Once at the cottage, we put the motorcycles in the garage and went inside to relax for a few minutes and change into lighter clothes. After an hour or so, we walked a short distance to a small shop called Lighthouse Gifts for some ice cream. The lady running the shop was very friendly and even liked our sense of humour. From the ice cream shop we walked another minute or two towards the beach which also features the town's main attraction, a 152-year old lighthouse.

Lisa and Heather enjoying some ice cream in the sun.

On our way back to the cottage, we strolled along the beach but because or recent rainfall, the waves hitting the beach were unpleasently muddy. Back at the cottage, Remi fired up the barbecue for the first time this weekend. The evening's menu included burgers and smoked marshmallows.

Marshmallow time.

We stayed outdoors for most of the evening. At around 9pm, we packed into Remi's car and drove to nearby Kincardine to see their Canada Day fireworks display. The parking in Kincardine was very scarce but we found a spot on a side street, about a 10-minute walk from the beach. The beach was full of people waiting for the show but we managed to find a spot on a dock, very close to where the fireworks were going to be set off from.

Waiting for the fireworks display in Kincardine.

The fireworks display started around 10pm and was very well done and even featured a sequence of fireworks shot, it seemed, from the water.

The fireworks display.

We were back in the cottage at 11pm and spent the next two hours laughing and joking our way through a game of Pop5. A great day to start the weekend.

View Larger Map

WATER TOWERS