Kincardine Scottish Festival

We headed out in Van Go(gh) for the first official road trip, a summer run up the Lake Huron shoreline to the lovely town of Kincardine, for a four-day weekend of Scottish Festival and camping.

Besides fabulous weather, we were treated to some spectacular musical performances by The Trews, The Mudmen, Natalie McMaster and Donnell Leahy (and kids!), the Screaming Orphans (four sisters from Ireland), Albannach (primal drummers), and a number of other bands.....along with the obligatory pipe band performances and Highland dancing.

John and Julie met us at the Festival, and we even ran into one of Jane's relatives, plus an acquaintance from Wheatley. As an added bonus, the beer of choice at the Festival was Creemore!

Kincardine itself was also a worthy visit, a nice quaint town on the shores of Lake Huron, with shops, beaches, parks, some great dining options, and even a few pubs.

We got a campsite at nearby Aintree Campground, which really only served as a quiet parking spot for the van overnight with us sleeping inside. Nice place, we just didn't get to spend much time there!

We stopped in Goderich along the way back, another fine Lake Huron town, for breakfast and an art show. Voted Canada's Prettiest Town, the downtown is laid out in a circular pattern, with the spokes of the wheel (more streets) radiating out from the central courthouse.

From there, we carried on down the shore and spent a night of board gaming with John and Julie at the cottage in Grand Bend....including a rousing round of Mansions of Madness!

First van road trip = success!

It's time for a Scottish Festival!

A hundred thousand welcomes!

Lake Huron beach

Screaming Orphans from Donegal, Ireland

Frenzied fiddling from Natalie McMaster and Donnell Leahy....

....and their insanely talented kids!

Van Go(gh) with a choice parking spot

Our hotel for the weekend!

Battle of the (Pipe) Bands!

The winning Band - 78th Frasers

Sound check with The Trews

Albannach from Scotland

More Screaming Orphans

The Trews rock the Scottish Festival

Campsite 9 at Aintree Park

Goderich Courthouse

Canada 150

This year's Canada Day weekend brought added pomp and ceremony, in light of Canada's 150th Birthday. Jane was busy with Art at the Marina all weekend in Leamington, but we still found time to enjoy some of the CBC coverage from Ottawa and parts elsewhere across the nation, as well as enjoying some food and beverage on local patios at Rennie's and Freddy's.

The garden received some long overdue attention, as did the lawn and my mandolin. We also took one of the rear bench seats out of the van, to test it out for camping.....and discovered a possible new guest bedroom for visitors!

Happy Canada Day!!!

 Art at the Marina

 Gorgeous sunset

 Getting the van ready for more summer fun

The new guest bedroom!

 A selection of delectable beverages for Canada Day

 Happy Sesquicentennial from the back yard!

The main drag in Wheatley shut down for the long weekend par-tay

Shed Renovations

With the most gracious assistance of John and Julie (and their fabulous collection of tools), we picked a weekend in late June to begin the process of renovating the garden shed into Jane's Ultimate Rustic Art Studio. Having spent the weeks ahead emptying out the shed and gutting the interior in anticipation, the big weekend was finally upon us.

Beyond the cosmetics of colour and trim, much work was needed to shore up some shoddy floorboards, frame some walls inside, repair the existing and disused sliding door and build some new barn doors and grand staircase, and patch and re-shingle the "slightly" leaky roof.

We also took a break from the renovation efforts for the annual Father's Day fish fry, when Dave and Anne stopped in to visit for a few hours on the Sunday. A few barley beverages may also have been consumed along the way, on a rather hot and humid June weekend. The story was never clear. Shade breaks were also the order of the day.

A few rain delays kept us from finishing some tasks, most notably the roof, but three solid days of hard work moved the needle pretty far from the starting point.....these are the days of our lives, as a green shed turns to red!

In the beginning, there was a Green Shed.....

Shed no tears, for she is headed to a better place

The gutted interior

I tawt I taw a table saw

Off comes the old door.....

Better Shed than Red

The old "front porch" is gone!

New barn doors drying and waiting to be hung

Intermission - Battered Lake Erie yellow perch!

Tackling the roof.....being careful to shut the power off first!

A nice hot day to be up on a roof

Rain Delay

An interim fix until we can finish the roof

Thousand Islands National Park

To culminate the trip, we checked in for two days of camping along the shores of the St. Lawrence River, at Ivy Lea Campground just east of Gananoque along the stunning Thousand Islands Parkway.

Given our Sunday/Monday visit prior to the end of the school year, we had our choice of scenic waterfront sites. In a few weeks.....this place will be a madhouse. Lots of great sites though, just nicer without neighbours.

We did leave the campsite long enough to drive the Parkway up to Brockville for breakfast, before taking a more leisurely drive back along the riverside. Recent flooding meant that many docks and cottages had water where they should not.

We also stopped at the Thousand Islands National Park visitor centre, though most of the Park is actually out on several islands in the river. Next time we plan to camp out there, just not enough time this trip. Call it a scouting mission.....a very successful scouting mission.

We travelled back as far as Gananoque for a great lunch at The Socialist Pig, right beside the Gananoque Brewing Company. A short grocery (and ice) run later, we were back at the campground for some serious R&R. I read two and a half books over two days - the autobiography of Alan Doyle from Great Big Sea, Gordon Downie's poetry in Coke Machine Glow, and part of a Robert Ludlum spy thriller. Cold beer, river breezes and the babbling brook rounded out perfection.

Definitely a place we will have to return for a longer visit!

Down by the River

Campsite 117

Our little offshoot of the St. Lawrence - a short brook into a cove

Now to put the Cole in Coleman....

Thousand Islands Bridge to NY State - view from the campground!

Greetings to the Natural World at the National Park

Red Chairs with a view!

Free admission to National Parks for Canada 150

Great brewery in quaint downtown Gananoque

A bountiful bevy of brews for riverside sipping

Beerfest and Dance!

The tour of Kingston area continued with a craft Beerfest at historic Fort Henry in the harbour. Tumbling down the lawn and into Lake Ontario were tents with about twenty craft brewers, a number of stellar food trucks, and some quality live music courtesy of local band Ambush.

A little more shade might have been good, but otherwise an absolutely gorgeous day to be out and surrounded by stunning scenery. I tried a number of new breweries, as well as a few new selections from some more established operations. Plus...Fort Henry!

We got in early, met up with some friends, and got out just before it started getting rather busy and the lines rather long. I did enjoy a rather tasty curry sausage pita from a local eatery.

We also visited downtown Kingston, including a trip to the Grand Theatre where two of my nieces were dancing in their annual gala. The Canada 150 themed event featured great Canadian music and dance numbers with children from 4 to 18, including a wicked tap solo by my eldest niece to "Voodoo Thing" by Colin James. Great show!

Cannons to the left of me....

Downtown Kingston across the harbour

Food and beer....and port-a-potties

We Love Kingston too!

One of the tents of local Craft Brewers

Before the crowds descended

The sign says it all

Ambush takes the stage

We also visited Stone City Ales downtown

Canada 150 theme - all dance numbers featured music by Canadian artists

A Grand Opening

Waving Flag takes us into Intermission