Riding the Rails

A recent trip to Kingston allowed me to step back in time a little and ride the rails eastward from Chatham, with a brief layover at Union Station in Toronto. As much as I enjoyed the trip from a cultural perspective, and even managed to get lots of work done along the way (Via offers wi-fi on board these days), I could not help but reflect as we approach Remembrance Day that many men once headed east on trains, bound well beyond Kingston.

As the train arrived in Chatham from its origins in Windsor, the first leg of my journey included stops in London, Woodstock, Brantford, Aldershot (Hamilton) and Oakville before arriving in Toronto.

The second train, after a transfer at Union Station in Toronto, was literally full, involving reserved seating and relatively few stops at Whitby, Belleville and finally Kingston before the iron horse continued on to Montreal without me. Special thanks to my sister for not only picking me up at the train station in Kingston, but also suggesting a dinner of hoagies at a local landmark near the Queen's University campus.

All in all a very introspective voyage. Perhaps I should have been concentrating on writing fiction on the train instead of work-related matters.

Eastbound from Chatham

The 10:21am train from Windsor, right on time

Southwestern Ontario scrolls past

Dinner at a Kingston landmark

Random Stuff

Hadn't posted in a while, not many pics taken lately despite a bunch of travel around the province. Keith and Kevin also made the trek down recently to catch a UFC event at a local beverage room, as we watched Lesnar get Brocked Out. Yes folks, that goes down as a TBO or Technical Brock Out on yer score cards.

Figured some random pictures would suffice in the meantime until our lives become more entertaining....

Autumn weather spells chili goodness!

Jean survives a harrowing hawk attack!

Autumn weather spells grapey goodness....wait...wasn't it chili goodness?

Fill in as necessary. Laugh. Repeat.

More vacation miscellany!

A few more random pictures from our recent sojourn to Prince Edward County and the Ottawa Valley....

Rural Splendor

Uncle Kevin's homemade BBQ

Abandoned mill - ghost town of Balaclava

The truly disturbing Kinmount Shoe Tree(s)

Bonnechere Caves

We opted for one day-trip away from the cabin, to the nearby Bonnechere Caves between Douglas and Eganville. The Caves flank the Bonnechere River, and run about 100 feet underground into limestone and water.

The main passages are at least dimly lit and laid out with boardwalks. From there you can (and we did!) venture down side tunnels, some of them becoming quite low and narrow, to become a true spelunker. Adding to the experience were stalactites, stalagmites, and a few sleepy bats.

Well worth a visit if you're ever in the area!

Bonnechere River outside village of Douglas

Bonnechere River grotto action near the Caves

Enter if you dare!

Descending....

A Spelunker says what?

Residents of the Caves

Chillaxing at the Cabin

We opted for a cheap vacation this time around, essentially amounting to the gas money it takes to drive a wee but laden Honda the length of the province to the Renfrew area of the Ottawa Valley. There stands the old Byers family log cabin, the very building in which my great-grandfather (on my paternal grandmother's side) and ancestors before him were born.

No hydro, no running water....just an outhouse and a whole lotta peace and quiet on 67 acres of majestic looming pines in Canadian Shield country.

The Cabin

New sleeping area at rear - added by relatives that hunt!

Waiting for that first cup of coffee....

Wild turkeys could not drag me away from this place

Shores of Erie Wine Festival

The weather cooled off just in time for the annual Shores of Erie International Wine Festival, prompting the mental switch from "beer weather" to "wine weather". The event is held in Amherstburg on the idyllic shores of the Detroit River, on the grounds of the Fort Malden national historic site. Yes folks, yet another strategic locale where we repelled American invaders enough times that they eventually stopped trying.

Good enough reason to celebrate with a wine festival?

About a dozen of the local wineries representing the Pelee Island and Lake Erie North Shore VQA designations were on hand for sampling, as were many fine restaurants from Windsor to Leamington providing culinary delights for food pairing.

This year's musical entertainment on the Thursday "rock" night were Steven Page (formerly one of the Barenaked Ladies) followed by the headliner, east coast rockers Sloan. Both were excellent, as were the wine and food! All on a peaceful autumn evening on the banks of the river...

Random Old Man and the Detroit River

One of the historical buildings at Fort Malden

Wine booths - so many wines, so little time....

Steven Page rocks some Barenaked Ladies classics

Sloan

"....I know that I'll be livin' it in Canada!"

Deep Thoughts

Thought to be used by Nelson Mandela in his inaugural address speech in 1994 to end apartheid in South Africa, but actually quoted from Marianne Williamson's "A Return to Love":

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”