Art by the River

The last big art show of the summer brought fabulous weather to Amherstburg for Art by the River - warm but not hot, and more importantly sunny - a far cry from last year's storm-shortened event.

As usual, the show was held at Fort Malden on the shores of the Detroit River - which for the purposes of our Canada 150 goals also counts as a National Historic Site! The Fort played a very significant role in the defense of Upper Canada during the War of 1812.

Both days were busy, long and tiring, on top of Friday night setup.....resulting in dinner on the patio at Renny's two nights in a row! Who feels like cooking after all that?

Thankfully, the addition of The Van this year also made things a lot easier!

More importantly....only one week remains before we set out on an epic road trip to the West and North!

The Open Door

Sweet spot for an art show!

Cannons!...to the left of me....

The British are coming! The British are....going?

Upbound for Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron

Busy August

Following the long weekend of shed renovations, we met August headlong with more art shows and a trip to eastern Ontario to help my mother move into her new house. In the meantime, we found a few spare minutes for some local diversions to mark our ten-year anniversary as newbies to the area.

Our usual summer storm season did not disappoint either, with a tornado touching down not far away in Thiessen's Apple Orchard. We got some nasty clouds and pretty rainbows out our way, but otherwise escaped unscathed.

We did manage to get out to the drive-in to see Dunkirk, along with an epic wipeout by Jane just outside the concession stand....people (and insurance companies) were concerned, food went airborne, and ketchup ended up on her glasses. Otherwise no lasting harm done!

We also made it to our first WAMBO - the Wallaceburg Antique Motor and Boat Outing - to see some classic cars and festival type shenanigans. The day included a stop in Chatham on the way home to check out the new Sons of Kent Brewery, which did not disappoint!

Tilbury Art in the Park

Rainbows over cornfields!

About the same time a tornado was hitting Thiessen's Orchard.....

Ominous beginning to a night at Boonies Drive-In

Harbinger of the evening to come!

The beaches of Dunkirk

WAMBO in Wallaceburg

Convertible Cougar

Beautiful Beaumont

GTO and Mustang share the spotlight

Boats on the Sydenham River

Crowds await the cardboard boat races!

One entry sank right at the start.....

...and the "winners" made it halfway to the finish!

William Wallace, the town's namesake

Classic Tractors

Soapbox derby and ramp races!

A flight of samplers at Sons of Kent Brewing

All taps lead to....my mouth!

There and Back Again

The tentative plan for the Canada 150 Road Trip:

THERE.....




....and BACK AGAIN!






5 Provinces, 2 Territories, 5 States - for a total of 14,769 kilometers (give or take)....and including
11 of Canada's National Parks!

The maps are interactive so feel free to zoom in!

August Long Weekend

I rang in my birthday in the usual style....chillaxing at home in fine company. We had visitors for the long weekend - Vanessa and Carly made the long trek to hang out and assist Jane with Art on the Boulevard in Erieau; and John and Julie came as well to help with ongoing shed renovations and general merriment.

The weather was great, so we made time around work for bonfires and boardgames, beverages and BBQ, and of course tunes. There was also an appearance on the patio at Renny's for some delicious smoked meats and Bayside honey cream ales.

Some interesting rounds of Codenames also developed....L, 5! Corner, 4! Jane and I also pulled off the rare Water, 5. Nicely done.

A few weekends before, we also visited the trailer for a Cox gathering and pseudo-birthday celebration - complete with cake, steak, and birthday DVD's. Relaxing drives along Highway 3 and quiet evenings at the trailer were supplemented with fresh fruits from Pardo's (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries and peaches!) and possibly the world's best butter tarts in Palmyra.

We also picked up some great pallet chairs along the way, made by a local craftsman in Merlin for $25 each, which looked even better after a quick coat of wood stain.

Loving the corn fence

Full moon bonfire!

Pita takes flight!

Never did see any enforcement.....

Serene setting

She-Shed takes Shape

Great chairs made from old pallets

Momma is an outdoor cat for the summer

Ants continue to disassemble the old ash stump

A more grounded Pita