Detroit River Princess

The entire Cox clan made the trek across the border to celebrate Dave and Anne's 50th wedding anniversary in style - a riverboat cruise about the Detroit Princess. The converted former Mississippi River casino boat plies the international waters betwixt Windsor and Detroit, offering up buffet fare and live music, in addition to the scenery.

We took the Windsor Tunnel for the first time, crossing under the Detroit River and smack dab into downtown Motown, rather than the usual Ambassador Bridge route. The first thing we saw exiting the tunnel was the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral, whose legendary bell chimed till it rang 29 times, for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald.

Perfect weather helps, as you can see from the photographs, making for one memorable cruise up to the mouth of Lake St. Clair and back. Painless border crossings without cavity searches help too! It was in fact the first time we have ever entered a new country under water.....and without a straw or hollowed out reed or SCUBA gear or anything!
 

Detroit Princess moored in front of Joe Louis Arena

Windsor from the American side

Hiram Walker distillery in Windsor

Two ships passing in the night, er, day

Windsor, to the left - Detroit, to the right

The GM Building defines the Motown skyline

More Detroit architecture

The "border"....under water.....in the middle of the river

Rawk the Coop V

The August long weekend saw Rawk the Coop come and go for another year, with great company and mostly great weather. Thanks to everyone who made the trek, from distances both short and long.

There are tons of great action shots, but I don't want to get anyone fired or post anyone's children on the internet. If you were here, ask me about the pictures! If not, you'll have to see the pics below and use your imagination to fill in the people and pets. Go ahead, make a game of it.

Also makes for a memorable birthday, surrounded by good friends and the starry Wheatley night sky.

Backup facilities to spare the septic tank

Tent City

Those pools were full of  kids AND adults later....

Fish Fry!

Mmmmmm.....fresh Lake Erie yellow perch!

Bonfire of the Insanities

Is it me, or is that a flaming figure walking in the fire pit???

Marshmellows away and out come the guitars!

Let's all go to the Drive In!!!

This weekend saw the long awaited opening of Stevie Rae's Southwestern Drive In Theee-a-ter in Tilbury. We waited until the Sunday to let the lineups die down, before making the 9-minute trek to see Batman - The Dark Knight Rises. There was also a second movie, but given the late start waiting for darkness, it was already nearing 1am on a school, er, work night.

Still using a temporary concession stand and washroom trailers until the main building is complete, and they also plan to add slope for parking. Just glad they are open. The old Barrie Triple Drive In is one of the few things we miss from our old lives.

The drive in is located right near the 401 at Tilbury exit 56. Apparently they plan to play current releases on weekends, and take requests for theme nights on weeknights!

Juke can't believe how excited we are

Bring on the popcorn and licorice

"I'm Batman!"

I'm Down with AC

Yeah, you know me.

On the coldest day of the summer so far, our new AC arrived and was installed by a friendly and competent local HVAC guy, Luciano from Wheatley. After several nights of sleeping downstairs in our lazy boy chairs with two fans keeping us alive, we welcome the return to central air.

The outgoing model certainly didn't owe us anything, after nearly 40 years of service. A fond adieu. Now we are armed and ready for the return to sweltering conditions, and likely at a more cost-efficient energy level. 

The hardest part of the day was making sure Luciano didn't drive away with any cats in his work trailer, as they would not stay out of there. You know what they say about curiosity and cats.

It Ain't Easy Being Green

The new red-brown roof has finally spelled the end for the mint green latex hue that has graced our place for our entire time here - Jane was never a big fan anyway, but at least with green shingles it was acceptable.

Welcome if you please the new hues of parchment and chocolate brown, courtesy of a paint-splattered long weekend of sweat and sore calf muscles. Progress is slow in this heat, but we plug away in the shade as best we can. Mandatory weeding also occupies some time, in order to pain right down to the ground in spots.

Compare to the last post showing new roof but old green paint, or posts as far back as summer 2007 to see full green rendition with shingles.

To borrow an apt phrase from the deserving Gord Downie - I do the rolling, she does the detail. Inspecting the reddish roof and yellowish walls, even the notion "Ruby, honey are you mad at your man?" works.

Ten Thousand Words

Don't be frightened, it's not REALLY ten thousand words. Just doing the math on ten pictures, each being allegedly worth a thousand words....ipso ergo sum. Some pics from our recent week-long excursion to eastern Ontario....there, and back again!

1,2 - Birdhouse City in Picton. Yes. Exactly as it sounds.

3,4 - got roped into helping a neighbour of the family farm in Prince Edward County into unloading four wagons of square hay bales. Oh that takes me back. Or hurts my back. Can't remember which.

5,6 - homemade BBQ at The Farm with my Uncle. Patent Pending.

7,8 - A few days of relaxation back at The Cabin in the Ottawa Valley.

9 - arrived home to a new metal roof! Now we just have to paint to match. Or turn the house into a Pizza Hut, which is I think Jane's fiendish plan.

10 - the nest of baby swallows spilleth over! Got home just in time, by the next day they had flown the coop.

Add in these little helpful comments, and you're actually looking at almost 10,200 words!!! Go, you voracious reader, you! Your literary rapacity knows no satiety.


 

June Miscellany, Part Deux

OK, for those of you that already saw this post in it's initial and very flawed state (Hi Val!), I have apparently resolved the wonky photo issue by deleting and re-posting. And now, without further ado....June Miscellany, Part Deux!

Some random pics for your own particular amusement. The first pic is taken from roughly the same vantage as a shot from May 2007 from before we bought the place, feel free to look back in the blog archives and see the difference five years makes! Some other random shots on a lazy hazy June weekend - our neighbours, the best attended (Old Colony Mennonite) church in existence; homemade draft beer in cool wooden mugs; cats enjoying the out of doors; baby Swallow's first meal request....and of course cat making meal request trying to get at baby Swallow.