May in Canada
[scroll to end for all news and views]
WEATHER:
Amazingly, the sun is shining and the ground has turned green. It was like it happened overnight. One minute, white stuff and ice. The next, the golf courses are open and the buds FINALLY came out on the trees. It's pleasant each day, and sometimes it's just like Melbourne.... 4 seasons in one day. I guess the beginning of May was like a Melbourne winter.. it moved to about 12, then 14, then 16..... and by the end of May... 20!
SCHOOL NEWS:
May was a month of consolidation for the kids and me. One of the many interesting differences is that JK [Junior Kinder] is full time school and the kids start at 3. These kids are our buddies and it's weird going from our floor, where many of the Grade 8 students are larger than me! [and they don't wear uniform, so they look like adults!] downstairs to the 3 year olds who are very, very cute and SO little.
CONDO LIVING:
More and more new arrivals are coming. Adam watches them come with their removal trucks and belongings. The building opposite is almost complete with a sign on one shop saying "dentist opening soon". And then Gogo tours opened a shop. The rest are still storage for all the building work. We would love a cafe to open... not holding our breath. We reckon the condo block has a capacity for 800 at least... still a few more to move in.
ROAD TRIPS:
Ottawa:
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| Tulip Festival... these were the only tulips "out". |
Back again to Ottawa... this time for an official Capital Conference with CLEE -the Canadian League for Exchange Educators. We left school on the Thursday to take the 5 hours needed to get to Ottawa in daylight.... only, like usual, it took us 9. We discovered that if we went the back roads, we'd go through some very special countryside.... so off we went. Turning off at Port Hope, we found some gorgeous historical towns. Wandering along the coast and we found Wicklow Beach. Further along and a ferry ride, we were on Prince Edward County [not to be confused with Prince Edward Island Province]. Beautiful countryside. Another ferry to a smaller island - a local experience for sure... not even a shop and we thought we'd miss the last ferry to get back to civilisation. We stopped at Gananoque, gateway to the 1,000 islands where we ate at a great British Pub and made new friends. Arriving at Ottawa early on Friday, I participated in the school visit - Adam went off exploring the aeronautic museum and other sites. Lunch was at Malone's, right on the water where the Rideau Canal pools. It was tulip festival time, although due to the VERY COLD AND LONG winter, the tulips weren't out yet. An early start on Saturday and we had our own tour of Parliament, a guided tour of the city and Gatineau, Quebec, and dinner at the famed Byward Market AND we got sunburnt. BBQ dinner hosted by the CLEE Ottawa chapter. We stayed with Scott and Nancy, who were exchangees in Ferntree Gully last year. So great to catch up - exchangees speak a language all of their own.
We meandered home the next day through the 1,000 islands and hopped on a cruise through these amazing islands - homes grander than grand on one island, then a simple 'cottage' on the next. All accessible only by boat. Canada on one side, USA the other.
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| Photos of the 1,000 islands, Ontario |
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| Wicklow Beach... Adam is beachcombing and skipping stones. |
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| Only about 6 cars at a time on this ferry. |
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| Downtown Gananoque |
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| PHOTOS OF OTTAWA - PARLIAMENT |
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| The new Prime Minister??? |
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| views from the Peace Tower |
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| Adam.... I told you not to!!!!!!!!!! |
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| Rideau Canal - last pics had ice and snow. |
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| Adam found that there was still ice!!! |
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| A busy beaver had been here! No more tree. |
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| At the Aboriginal Village - a great presentation of culture |
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| Touring the city in SUNSHINE! |
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| Staying with friends made because of the exchange program. |
MIchigan:
We had to cross the border to hand back our I-94 visa cards or we'd be in trouble, so decided to drive over the Sarnia bridge to do some shopping. Of course, we didn't. We were recommended to visit the town of Frankenmooth, a Bavarian town. It was really overcrowded and 'plastic', like a theme town with a big emphasis on Christmas. Having been to Bavaria, I was looking for hills. It was as flat as a tack and the hotel wanted $290 for the night. We kept driving and found a town with a tridge. We had a look and drove back to Canada :-). Driving home along the Lake Huron route was spectacular. The weather was really great and we found some wonderful places to stop before coming home.
DAY TRIPS
- Schomberg Fair - a typical rural Canadian Fair - just like our country shows leading up to the Royal Melbourne Show. We watched the parade, checked out the show entries - cakes, slices, quilts, flowers, kids' stuff, etc, saw the animals and the cars.... it was great.
- Kettleby - a drive around the more rural area north of Richmond Hill - found a great Italian bakery in this really quaint town where the homes all have plaques identifying the history of the houses.
- Blue Jays and Downtown - went to a game! Thought I'd be bored, how wrong! It was excellent. Loved the strategy, the attempts to sneak, the pitcher's evil eye [just like mine in the classroom]. Loved wandering parts of Downtown - still more to do of that!
- Bruces' Mill - a lovely, huge park. We were the only ones there. It was the week before everything 'opened' in Ontario. Lovely walks and grounds.
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| Schomberg Show photos |
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| Watching the Blue Jays WIN their consecutive 8th win!!!! |
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| Downtown Toronto... great when the sun shines. Horrid when it's snowing! |
HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS:
- Pizza Nova
- Our postcode that seems to be GPS's best kept secret!
- Canada Geese
- Presenting to the University of Toronto OISE [Education Faculty] Principal training course and running around the staff area looking for Michael Fullan's office [no luck].
- Dining downtown with Dan and Alice from Minnesota
- Adam playing golf for a few hours... turned into about 9 hours. :-)
- Mill Pond thawed!
- warmer weather
- dropped Samsung phablet/new Sony phone
- Long trains
- condo pets and their poohs and wees and yelping and whining all day and night
- condo heating and cooling
- British names for so many areass: Oxford, Cambridge, London, Stratford, Pickering, York, Waterloo, Whitby, Scarborough, Kitchener.... to name a few.
- Trucks, trucks... and the tow trucks.
- ON routes
- USA hwy rest stops
DON'T FORGET THAT YOU CAN FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK:
MARY AND ADAM IN CANADA
email: contrary33@gmail.com or adsfz001@gmail.com
Where do we live:
370 Highway 7E
Richmond Hill - L4B 0C4.
Ontario
