Golf and his Carrot!

Here's Golf and his Carrot!!

Thanks Jack.

Packing Janie For My Next Trip!

Janie missed me so much while I was away in Canada that she has decided to accompany me to Dallas and San Antonio next week.

I have tried several ways of folding her so she'll fit in my suitcase and have found she fits best laying flat, lol!!!!

Me and Uncle Dave

Here's Uncle Dave and I at the Guelph Storms game Friday evening.

Guelph played Brampton and won 3-2 in overtime.

It was a great evening. Thanks Uncle Dave and Mark.

For more on the Guelph Storms visit: http://www.guelphstorm.com

Hockey Night

Uncle Dave. Mark and I attended a Guelph Storms hockey game Friday evening. Here I am with Spyke Guelphs Mascot!

All Day Play Day For Sandy

Sandy's Mom is having a new water softner installed today so Sandy gets to spend the whole day playing with Dad!

Belwood's St John's United Church

The 150 year old St. John's United Church in Belwood Ontario was established in 1925, formerly Presbyterian.St. John's Presbyterian Church was established ca. 1856; it joined the United Church in 1925.

Fonds consists of records, including baptisms, 1859-1890, marriages, 1812, 1843-1862, burials, 1813-1824, 1843-1891, of St. John's Presbyterian Church, Belwood, 1812-1918; records of St. John's United Church, Belwood (includes St. John's Presbyterian Church), 1919-1959.

Belwood War Memorial

This is the Belwood War Memorial dedicated to it's brave sons who gave their lives in WW-1 and WW-2.

The Train Cellar

One of my Dads favorite trains store is the Train Cellar in Mt Forest Ontario.

Owned by Barry and Beth its a great place to shop for trains.

For more visit: http://www.trainscellar.com

Osprey Eagles

This Osprey Eagle nest located near my parents home is a new addition to the area. The Osprey is endangered in Canada.

The scientific name comes from the mythical king of Athens, Pandion, whose daughters were turned into birds, and the Greek words halos, which refers to the sea, and aetos, meaning an eagle. The common name is from the Latin word ossifragus, meaning "a bone breaker." Ospreys have also been called Sea Hawks and Fish Hawks.

The nest is made of sticks and other material in trees, on cliffs, on man-made structures like power poles, bridges, buoys, and elevated platforms, or on the ground. The female lays 2 - 4 eggs that are incubated for 35 - 40 days. The chicks tend to hatch sequentially, 1 - 5 days apart. The young fledge at about 7 - 8 weeks of age, but are usually dependant on the parents until the fall migration. Ospreys become sexually mature at about 3 years of age.

An Osprey’s diet is almost exclusively live fish, and includes a wide variety of fish species. The Osprey uses low, slow flights over water, and occasionally hovers to search for prey. When a fish is spotted, Osprey make dramatic dives from heights of 30 - 120 feet to plunge feet first into the water after their prey.

Lake Belwood Ontario

Belwood lake today is empty as it's a flood control lake part of the Grand River Conservation Are

Lake Belwood was created as a result of the construction of the Shand Dam, in 1942. The Shand Dam was the first of its kind in Canada, being built for both water conservation and flood protection purposes. The Shand Dam offers visitors spectacular views of the Grand River valley. It also offers various swimming opportunities for the whole family.

Belwood Lake Belwood Lake Conservation Area (CA) is a great place for fishing, swimming, canoeing, sailing, boating, water skiing, hiking, cycling - and ice fishing! It has a one-acre cool spring-fed quarry below the dam, with a beach and a fenced-in swimming area for little kids. The 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) long lake is the perfect spot for all your recreational activities. The Conservation Area is 1,348 hectares (3,329 acres) large, and includes about 350 seasonal private cottages.
Belwood Lake Conservation Area (CA) is only 3 kilometers east of Fergus, on Belsyde Avenue (Wellington County Road 18). It is governed by the Grand River Conservation Authority, which was established in 1966 through the amalgamation of the Grand River Conservation Commission and the Grand Valley Conservation Authority. 2006 marked their 40th Anniversary.

Mike and William

Here's my cousin Mike with William enjoying some dinner.

Mike seems to be enjoying dinner more than William who was a bit unhappy with the seating arrangements!

Sisters!

Here's Mom and her sister Betty.

Aunt Betty plays 18 holes of golf 5 days a week in La Salle Ontario where she lives.

Home Coming Dinner

Dave and Mary made a fantastic home coming dinner of ham, cabbage rolls, baked beans, salad and cheese cake.

While not all heart smart it sure was good!!!

This is a picture of the table setting before dinner.

You Old Rattle Snake!

Uncle Bill and Princess enjoy a visit with the family.

Cheese Cake

Here's Jack and I sharing Cheese Cake.

Jack is the two year old son of my cousin Mark and his wife Rhonda. Jack is named after my Uncle Jack who died many years ago from cancer.

If Jack grows up to be half the cook his name sake was he'll be a famous chef!

Aunt Susan, Aunt Betty and Aunt Mary

Here's Aunt Susan, Aunt Betty and Aunt Mary having girl talk about France and Florida.

At The Kids Table!

Here's Mark and Rhonda at the kids table enjoying dinner.

I got to sit with the adults, lol!

Uncle Dave and William

Here's Uncle Dave helping William enjoy his Ralph's home coming dinner. William had several helpings!

Hornets Nest

During our walk around Pine Meadows today we happened on this vacant hornets nest hanging in a maple tree.

We were glad the hornets had already moved on to Florida for the winter!

Mom, Dad and Sandy

Here's Mom, Dad and Sandy today during our walk.

Fall in Canada

It's a perfect time to be in Canada as the leaves are changing.

This is a Maple and Fire Bush just outside Mom and Dad's house.

Port Of LA

Shortly after takeoff from LAX on my return trip home we flew over LA's famous seaport.

The Port of Los Angeles features broad diversification in its seaport operation. Port visitors can watch longshore workers operating container cranes towering more than 200 feet high, Los Angeles City fireboats providing a dazzling waterspray escort for arriving vessels, seals basking and playing in the clean harbor waters, and much more. A cruise of Los Angeles Harbor provides an excellent waterside view of these kinds of activities at the busiest seaport in America.

Beautiful Day To Fly!

As you can see it was a beautiful day Tuesday to fly non-stop 1st class to LA!!!

View From My Hotel!

This was the view from my hotel room at the LAX Holiday Inn.

The spacious Holiday Inn LAX airport hotel provides the latest amenities for both families and business travelers. Keep in touch with loved ones and colleagues with free high-speed Internet access, available in all guest rooms. Need to send a fax or make a copy? Take advantage of our 24-hour, self-service business center. Vacationing with the family? Kids eat for free at Landings, our bistro-style restaurant, featuring fresh California cuisine.

LA Traffic

The average American will spend almost a full work week in traffic, according to a new study by the Texas Transportation Institute. The 38 hours per year the average commuter spends stuck in their car every year means 26 extra gallons of gas and $710 per person.

And, if one full work week wasted in traffic isn't enough, the still reigning champ of American traffic congestion has that number almost doubled. Commuters in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas will spend approximately 72 hours a years stuck in their cars - and some are saying that 72 hours/year might be a low figure - by as much as 40%, lol!!!

I was there for 3 days stuck in traffic the whole time!

LAX Landmark Gets A Facelift!

I bet you've seen this building in at least a dozen movies?

At the center of Los Angeles International Airport stands the landmark Theme Building which is home to the spectacular Encounter Restaurant and Bar. With 135-foot high parabolic arches and a futuristic design, the structure is certainly unique and has become one of the most recognizable buildings in the U.S.
The building is surrounded by lush gardens, including a courtyard with plaques commemorating the opening of the new jet-age airport in 1961 and LAX's first employee in 1928, Henry Bakes. The Theme Building was completed in August 1961 at a cost of $2.2 million; and the Encounter Restaurant, with its space-age interior and spectacular exterior lighting, opened in January 1997, serving fantastic cuisine and offering 360 degree views of the airport.

For more visit http://www.encounterlax.com

Famous LA Landmark

While in LA this week I had to stop at Randy's Donuts!!!!

The big doughnut at Randy's Donuts, Inglewood, CA, is a few miles north of LAX Airport off the 405. Trees and brush obscure the freeway view more than they must have in 1953, when the Big Donut Drive-in chain opened. Once up the exit ramp and on the cross-street, the 22-foot diameter snack appears poised to roll off an otherwise uninspired drive-thru store.

Randy's is a destination with Hollywood star status. It appears over and over as movie backdrop or in obliquely angled atmospheric LA montages. The big doughnut needs a regular smog and soot scrub -- a black grime is caked across the top and settled around the texture nubbins. The neighborhood itself is a little grimy.
But.... the doughnuts baked at Randy's are fresh and tasty -- honey-glazed, chocolate drenched, and fat bearclaws acquired at the drive-thru window from friendly staff. Randy's sells souvenir hats, and a T-shirt featuring an illustration of the building.

For more visit: http://randys-donuts.com

The Devil Made Me Do It!

Final they buy me something that suits my personality!!!

This is much better than Easter's Chicken Suit!

Hartsfield and Atlanta

This week took me to San Antonio Tx to visit a new CVS Pharmacy.

On the return flight to Atlanta today I took this great picture of Hartsfield International Airport with downtown Atlanta in the background.

If you double click on the picture you'll see clearly why Hartsfield makes claim as being the busiest airport in the world with the largest number of passengers annually. (1998–2006)
Most arrivals and departures ("operations") annually. (1999–2000, 2005–2007).
Most destinations served.

For more visit: http://www.atlanta-airport.com

Upgraded Ghost

Years ago Beth and I made this scary ghost to put outside for the Halloween season to ward off small children from approaching our house! It didn't work very well as they still assaulted our house in search of candy!

This year to increase the scare factor we installed orange lights around our creation causing it to emit a creepy orange glow sure to frighten any candy searching children!

So far so good! I haven't seen a small child yet!

New Look!

Last Sunday Beth and labored all day to replace the old white shutters on the house to new black ones. We also painted the front door black and added a new brass door knob and knocker.

We also bought a brass kick plate for the bottom of the door however ran out of daylight so that install is on tap for this Saturday morning.

Next project is wooden floors down the hallway!!!