Sailing away!

In our last lifetime, we were very avid sailors.

As members of the Port Credit Yacht Club.......

  ...we made life long friends.....

We strolled the docks.....

and spotted the boat belonging to 'Mike Holmes', 

(of the TV show, Holmes Inspection).

 

A lunch break of local beer and a wonderful lamb burger...

In our early racing years, we had a C&C 29, just like this one...

...but our crowning glory was winning the club championship...

on a Danish-built X-102 we called "Great Dane".....

Such serenity!

Although we miss those days, life now is just as great!

A treat in Toronto

On my business trip to Toronto, 

I was treated to lunch by my colleague and friend Nancy T.

We rode the elevator to the top of the TD Tower.....

....Look up, look way way up....

At the 54th floor, we got off and headed into the panoramic dining room of

 Canoe Restaurant

We couldn't resist the wild mushroom potage...

...and the chef's special of the day; Pork Belly and Pancetta roulade with stacked scalloped potatoes and swiss chard...

What a treat....perfectly paired with a crisp French rose wine

If you thought the food looked great, take a look at our view!

It was truly a special afternoon!

New Forest, Part 2 - Goodbye to the UK and a friend

Our second day in The New Forest started with a hearty breakfast

I needed to work off my meal so went for a walk around the property.

This guy decided to have a little lay down before munching down on the lush grass

I found a very unusual house that was built into the side of a hill!

Must cut down on heating costs!

We dropped the boys off at Beaulieu and stopped to admire a pastoral view

 They must have been pretty itchy as they started the game of 

'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours'

Christine and I headed for Lymington, where they were in the midst of a street market

All sorts of tasty items were on show!

We took a break for a tea in Brockenhurst when we heard the loudest braying -

guess who turned up for a visit.....

 While waiting in the parking lot for the boys to join us we couldn't help but notice a flagrant disregard for the 'no parking' sign

  Our last night with my aunt was bittersweet - it was time to go home but we would miss everyone so much

She had prepared a tasty repast, including a caprese salad

Goodbye to our home for the past week

We were quite pleased with the Premier Inn at Gatwick north terminal

and would recommend it to anyone needing a stopover at Gatwick.

The dining room had a varied menu and the food was great!

Almost home...

Here is a view of the start of the St. Lawrence River

Our adventure this year had many highs and one low.

If you read my blog regularly, at the right you will see that I follow 'Riding the Wet Coast', by Bob Scoot.  I could always count on Bob to write a comment and always looked forward to hearing what he had to say.  Bob went silent at the end of August and we were very saddened to hear that he had passed away while on his adventure with his Corvette.

Goodbye Bob, it was a pleasure knowing you! 

New Forest - Part 1

One of our UK rituals is to visit a lovely spot called The New Forest.

Over 2 days, Netley Marsh and Beaulieu host an auto/motorcycle-jumble (giant flea market for classic car & motorcycle parts) where the boys can cruise through the vast fields drooling over all the bits and parts.

What I like the most is that The New Forest is a haven for horses, cows and donkeys, where they roam free and wander about town with joyful abandon.  They have the 'right of way' over cars, so have been known to create traffic jams if they decide to cross the road, or even go for a stroll!

 We checked into Woodlands Lodge, a charming family run hotel

We shared the parking lot with a loving family

We left the boys to do their meandering while we scoped out a place for lunch

where we dined on tasty sandwiches and cold beer

After lunch, we strolled through the charming village of Lyndhurst

There must be quite a few well-healed residents in the area!

the local car dealership - Ferrari, no less!

Later that evening we decided to stay at the lodge for our dinner.

The boys opted for the steak,

while the girls feasted on lamb...

Next up, more animal encounters and village visits.

Visits with Friends

We have been blessed over the years to have made some very good friends.

Some we see often, but some we have to travel far to visit.

While in Somerset we had a wonderful evening with one of our 'far away' friends.

We were invited to a wonderful meal by the charming lady below, who's son happens to be the producer of the film that was being shot in Kingston

 back in April (see "Hollywood comes to Kingston")

 We were regaled with perfectly cooked salmon and lemon tart with fresh fruit

 It was a lovely evening!

I also had the opportunity to meet up with my old high school sweetheart, 

who I had not seen for over 15 years

We met for lunch in Hindon, at a 13th century Inn, called the Angel Inn

We both agreed that we had not changed in 40 years!

We tucked into a superb lamb burger, then walked around the picturesque village

A final chat on the bench before agreeing to meet up again next year!

Up next; Off to visit the New Forest