The Babysitting Job

This Saturday my sister Kim and my brother-in-law Mike left for Aylmer to attend the wedding of Mike's cousin. They were not planning on taking their 5 month old daughter Jolene with them and had asked Tom and I if we would be willing to babysit Jolene Saturday through Sunday meaning that we would be caring for her overnight. We agreed and arranged to stay over at Kim and Mike's house in order to minimize any disruption to Jolene's regular schedule.

We arrived at Kim and Mike's place on Saturday morning about noon. Every time we see Jolene she is a pretty happy baby! Lots of smiles and giggles and it seems (at least when we were caring for her) that she mainly gets fussy when she's hungry...but really, who doesn't?

I had planned to get a whole bunch of wedding stuff done over the weekend but realized soon after Kim and Mike left us alone with Jolene that my weekend was going to be consumed pretty much with watching Jolene play, sleep, eat etc. I certainly have a lot of respect for Kim who is at home with Jolene all day while on maternity leave.

I think we were pretty successful as Jolene's caregivers for the weekend. We did have a little bit of a struggle getting her to fall asleep on Saturday evening, but once asleep she slept right through the night and we hardly heard a peep out of her. Of course since Tom and I don't have children yet - I was a bit nervous with the whole overnight thing. I think I checked on Jolene almost once every hour to make sure everything was okay...and of course it was :).

Babysitting our niece for the weekend sure allowed Tom and I an opportunity to evaluate our readiness for having kids...let's just say that it definitely is a full-time job and we plan on waiting a few years yet before starting our family.

Our niece Jolene and nephew Adrian are both beautiful babies and we will continue to learn from them and spoil them like crazy - that will be enough to keep us occupied us for the time being!

Jolene's happy hour.

Corvettes are Cool!

Just a snapshot of some Corvettes heading down Franklin Boulevard in Cambridge as we were heading to Kim and Mike's to babysit Jolene. It was pretty neat to see all the different colours. I certainly appreciated the convertible style. Interesting that they have car clubs similar to motorcycle clubs in which regular rides (or drives in this case) are scheduled just for fun!

(Tom's note: The Corvettes were part of the Charity Corvette Show which supported the Cambridge Coping and Bereavement Centre)

All Corvettes, all lined up.

Fry Guys Rally '09 - Day 4

So, the weekend is over and it's time to head home. Today turned out to be a warmer day than both Saturday and Sunday. One of these years, the whole weekend will be full of sunshine. While it was only 5 or 6 degrees when we woke up, the temperature would rise quickly throughout the day and go well past mid-teens. Anyways you look at it, anything was better than last year when we woke up to nearly freezing temperatures and snow.

Looking out on Madawaska River on a cloudless Monday morning

We all had a small breakfast and, after saying our goodbyes, we were on the road not long after 10am. Having filled up with yesterday, Heather and I would only need one stop to get home. That one stop was in Orillia after following the same route as we did on Friday. From Orillia we made a slight change in the route and headed towards Midhurst. Just like last year we would stop for lunch at the Midhurst Coffee House. That Spanish omelet was fantastic.

Getting ready for the final stretch of riding home

From Midhurst, we rode down various highways, encountering traffic in a spot or two, to Orangeville and finally home, where a warm dinner prepared by my mom was waiting for us.

SEASON STATS
Today's trip: 399 km
2009 goal: 8,500 km
2009 to date: 1,517 km (17.8%)
To obtain goal: 6,983 km


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Fry Guys Rally '09 - Day 3

Sunday’s weather wasn’t going to be much different than Saturday’s. But while it didn’t rain, I don’t think the temperature moved into double digits all day. And just like yesterday, the plans for a group ride fizzled. We started the morning by having another family breakfast, this time consisting of the classic B&E (bacon and eggs). Later in the morning we all said goodbye to Kim and Mike who decided that two nights away from home was enough for Jolene. Plus, Jolene wasn't ready yet to experience a full-blown fireworks show that was going to happen at night.

Just before noon we decide to go for a family ride despite the cold weather. All that meant was that we had to wear an extra layer or two. As some of you know, it was exactly one year ago that Heather and I became engaged in the nearby Wilno. Jim decided that we’d go to Wilno through some back roads, then to Barry’s Bay, then back to the lodge. We also thought that it’d be a good idea to take a short cut to Wilno from Quadeville. It turned out to be less than a good idea as the road was a little rough and full of potholes. I even managed hit a deep one that sent me flying up but I managed to keep everything upright. I didn’t like the road but I was focused on doing my best until we hit smoother trails.

After almost an hour, we finally arrived in Wilno. And just like last year, we went to the Wilno Tavern. Unlike last year, we were accompanied by Sandy on today’s trip. At the tavern, Jim selected the Polish buffet, while everyone else chose entrees from the regular menu.

Then as we were about to leave, I encountered another problem. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts at starting my bike, all electricity was lost. Jim quickly traced the problem to the battery and after taking off the seat, he discovered that the wires were loosely attached to the battery. I figured it was either poor maintenance on my part or riding through potholes that caused the problem. Somehow, adventure always seems to find me. Anyways, Jim quickly tightened the screws, re-attached the seat and we were back on the road to Barry’s Bay.

At Barry’s Bay we stopped for gas to be ready for tomorrow’s ride home and also stopped by the historic water tower which is only one of two such wooden structures still standing in Ontario. I’m still researching the location of the second one.

At the water tower in Barry's Bay

When we got back to the lodge, we again tried to pass some time by staying warm before supper which again was great. There was another hour or two of downtime after supper before the fireworks display was set to begin.

The fireworks are usually split in two spots: on the beach and on the adjacent dock. Each location was handled by a team of two.

The lighting crew: Andrew, Matt, Jim, Marc

This year’s show was very well done and probably the best I’ve seen in my three years attending the rally.

Matt firing up a box of fireworks amidst the debris

The evening ended at the Roundhouse, where everyone converged after the fireworks display.

SEASON STATS
Today's trip: 90 km
2009 goal: 8,500 km
2009 to date: 1,118 km (13.2%)
To obtain goal: 7,382 km


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WATER TOWERS