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 Sherkston Shores, Fort Erie, Part II of IIAfter taking our swim, we had noodles for lunch and then made our way to Main Street where we listened to some live music and played a round of mini golf. Appetites returning, we strolled back to the cottage for a massive barbecue of meat. We'd brought galbi and our hosts treated us to pork chops, chicken and shrimp scewers as well as vegetables that they'd picked from their garden in Mississauga. While the first of two mammoth grills cooked (there were only five of us until later after supper), I took a second trip to the water and snatched a few more shots of the sunset over Lake Erie. Returning, we ate until full and then more on top, as our hosts treated us to halo-halo, a Filipino dessert of crushed ice with fruit, red beans and sweeteners - very similar to Korean patbingsu. We were exhausted by the time we drove home, but with it only being about an hour and a half outside the GTA, it was a great day trip destination and a fantastic close out to summer.      Labels: Ontario, photo gallery, travel
posted by Ian at 1:44 PM -
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 Sherkston Shores, Fort Erie, Part I of IIFor a couple of homebodies, we actually managed to score a second day trip for the summer this Labour Day weekend. Without much delay at all, I've got the photos from Saturday's trip to Sherkston Shores. A coworker of my wife gave the invitation and treated us to a day on the shores of Fort Erie. Sherkston Shores is a beach resort along the lake. People can park their RVs or longer term residents can purchase one of the mobile homes set up as small cottages, paying their lot fees annually. The homes are beautiful, with large decks built onto the side to enjoy the summer. We were managed to come on one of the most perfect days of the summer. The one we visited was actually inside a second secured zone, closest to the beach. The site also has an area called Main Street with a restaurant, disco, mini golf and a small water park amongst other attractions. Since it was warm, we didn't waste much time going down to the beach and plunging into Lake Erie for a swim. The water was clear and warm and many were out to enjoy it.      Labels: Ontario, photo gallery, travel
posted by Ian at 1:34 PM -
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 Royal Botanical Gardens, Part III of IIINow that September has arrived, the weather is getting colder. I suppose I was lucky to have gotten out to see the flowers at the Gardens when I did. It seems like we had about one week of hot weather and the rest was rain. Now, I've already spotted leaves changing colour from off my balcony, here in Mississauga. Nonetheless, autumn is an industrious time and I've been making a few changes around here. I hope that I may be able to update the blog more often than once per season from here on in. For now, however, I hope you like the pictures.       Labels: nature, Ontario, photo gallery, travel
posted by Ian at 9:14 AM -
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 Royal Botanical Gardens, Part II of IIIIt was a treat to finally have something fresh to take photos of. The day alternated rapidly between cloud and sun, then back to cloud again. Nonetheless, it's only an hour outside of town and a great break from the city.       Labels: nature, Ontario, photo gallery, travel
posted by Ian at 9:09 AM -
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 Royal Botanical Gardens, Part I of IIII have a bit of time on my hands for the next little while so what better use than an end of summer photo dump? These shots were all taken around the Canada Day weekend, although I know it's taken me until September to post them. We had taken a trip to Burlington and visited the Royal Botanical Gardens. I've selected a number of the better photos and, since I've been terribly amiss at blogging this past year, I'll offer these up to change the ol' blog landscape a bit.       Labels: nature, Ontario, photo gallery, travel
posted by Ian at 8:59 AM -
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 We recently visited my cousins across town and ended up taking a trip through the countryside from Whitby to Brooklin and on through to Enniskillin and back to see the changing leaves (and enjoy some ice cream.) I thought I'd post some of them here as a tribute to autumn in Ontario before it got much colder. This past Friday was the first day of the season that I had to scrape frost off my car and so it's obvious that fall will be passing by quickly and cold weather is coming.  The are has a few rolling hills and the fall colours made everything look rustic and vibrant. On of my complaints upon moving up to Mississauga in June has been the complete and utter lack of topography here. It's just a flat expanse with your view periodically blocked by condo towers. There aren't even any real land marks in Mississauga unless you count the Square One mall.  You probably noticed Whitby appearing in a photo that accompanied my election post last weekend. It was taken on this same trip. For those interested, the ridings we drove through were Jim Flaherty's and Bev Oda's, both of whom were re-elected as Conservative members of Parliament.  Brooklin offers some new development in the form of modern town houses and detached bungalows and the prices are a bit lower than those around here, by maybe $50 or 60 thousand. Of course, everything is changing with today's news that GTA prices have already dropped 15% over last year. We're in the market, but don't expect to purchase until the new year when hopefully they'll have dropped more.  Enniskillin, on the otherhand, is in farm country although you'll see some lovely little executive estates mixed in. Driving through, you'll still catch the smell of manure though, which reminded me a bit of my childhood home.  Perhaps some of Howard Dill's legacy (may he rest in peace) has found its way up here also. We noticed a couple of huge pumpkins at one home.  We parked the car and got ice cream, which we then took with us as we walked around the block, so to speak. The road around the General Store in Enniskillin loops around and makes for a nice 15- to 20-minute stroll.  I didn't get too much of a chance to shoot pictures of wildlife as we really only saw this squirrel. It doesn't matter where you are in the city, I guess. The place is overrun with them.  A few more photos before we left, then it was back in the car to arrive home in time for supper.  Over the next few months, I hope we can take more trips to explore the areas on the outskirts of town. We're not planning to settle down in Mississauga but will be on the hunt for a little community that's close enough to commute from, but that I hope offers a bit of peace and quiet like these lovely little hamlets we passed through this day. Labels: Ontario, photo gallery
posted by Ian at 4:15 PM -
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 Batten down the hatches, ration the Ritalin and lock up your M.L.A.s: the infamous New Brunswick blogger, Charles Leblanc, is traveling West on the TransCanada, roadbloggin' as he goes.
Having posted on Sunday that he was leaving New Brunswick for Ontario, he's been a bit cryptic as to what reasons are behind it or for how long he's going. Nonetheless this is clearly a matter of national importance and dire concern, especially if he reaches Parliament Hill and Ottawa, which by all estimations, he could be expected to do within the next 24 hours.
Charles may be the most well known blogger to hail from the Picture Province. He's well noted for his almost guerilla-style ambushes of provincial politicians, his much publicized grudges with bureaucrats, and his six-month-long campout on the grounds of the New Brunswick Legislature to protest Ritalin and demand a study into its effects on children. Also, in 2006, he was arrested during a protest at a conference for Atlantica being held in Saint John. Police aggressively took him into custody and deleted photos from his camera, despite Leblanc being separate from the protesters (clearly shown by CBC footage of the event) and vocally identifying himself as a "Blogger" and not a protester. His trial for obstruction ended in an acquittal and made for a significant stepping stone in establishing the rights of bloggers as credible media sources.
Leblanc has numerous fans and foes who read his blog, Old Maison, each day. No word on if Ottawa is the destination of his travels, but it should be quite a blogging event if he takes his provincial act and goes federal for the fall.
Bon Voyage, Charles!Labels: blogging, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, travel
posted by Ian at 9:26 PM -
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Wow. In its first month, Ontario's new hyperstrict speeding law has resulted in paydirt for the province.
To discourage speeding, anyone caught travelling over 50 km/h above the speed limit now face various penalties including fines of between $2,000 and $10,000 for the infraction. The law went into effect at the end of September.
How many people have they caught so far? As of Sunday, the total was 1,057, with an average of 38 per day. That means anywhere from between $2 million and 10 million dollars. (That's $2.1 million to $10.5 million, in U.S. dollars.)
Most drivers ticketed were men (at 80%.) Also of note, was that half the perpetrators were under 27 years of age. That's a heck of a tab to add to your student loans, eh?
Watch the turkey shoot yourself, via Ontario highway webcams.Labels: law, Ontario
posted by Ian at 6:34 PM -
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Readers Digest has studied 15 Canadian cities and come up with politeness rankings for the nation. Their finding: Moncton, New Brunswick is the most polite city in Canada. Perhaps it's on account of being from a 'have-not' province and being able to say, "Please Sir, may I have some more..." in both official languages.
Interestingly, the rudest city is also notably bilingual. Ottawa scored that lamentable distinction, the inhabitants of Parliament Hill proving to be an insurmountable handicap in the competition.Labels: Moncton, New Brunswick, offbeat, Ontario, Ottawa
posted by Ian at 7:20 PM -
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 Results are starting to come in and it looks like Dalton McGinty will easily win his own second majority government in Ontario.
Estimates so far are putting the Ontario Grits, under McGinty, at about 70 to 72 of Upper Canada's 107 seats, a slight rise over the 67 they had at dissolution, and the first repeat majority for Liberals there in seven decades.
Final results on the accompanying referendum aren't in yet but sources are suggesting that Ontario has voted against adopting a Mixed Member Proportional system. That's bad news for the Greens and the N.D.P.
In related news, the elections daisy-chaining continues as Saskatchewan will now be getting their own provincial election, slated for November 7.Labels: election, Ontario
posted by Ian at 10:47 PM -
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Three contractors were visiting a tourist attraction on the same day. One was from Toronto, another from Calgary, and the third from Montreal. At the end of the tour, the guard asked them what they did for a living. When they all replied that they were contractors the guard said, "Hey, we need one of the rear fences redone. Why don't you guys take a look at it and give me a bid?" So to the back fence they all went.
First to step up was the Calgary contractor. He took out his tape measure and pencil, did some measuring and said, "Well I figure the job will run about $900. $400 for materials, $400 for my crew, and $100 profit for me."
Next was the Montreal contractor. He also took out his tape measure and pencil, did some quick figuring and said, "Looks like I can do this job for $700. $300 for materials, $300 for my crew, and $100 profit for me."
Without so much as moving, the Toronto contractor said, "$2,700."
The guard, incredulous, looked at him and said, "You didn't even measure like the other guys! How did you come up with such a high figure?"
"Easy," he said. "$1,000 for me, $1,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Montreal."Source: Canadian Club Labels: humour, Ontario, Toronto
posted by Ian at 10:17 PM -
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 The major claim to distinction for the city of Toronto, the looming CN Tower, just lost its status as the tallest free-standing structure on earth.  Of course, most major comparison charts around the world already neglected our inspiring spire. The new champion, and still rising, is Dubai's " Burj Dubai" skyscraper. (The official site doesn't appear to be loading right now, but here's the link so you can check yourselves.) The final projected height of the Burj Dubai is set at over 800 metres which will put it shoulders ahead of Taipei 101 and well ahead of the CN Tower at 553.33 metres.  I'm not about to ignore the symbolism that this has in relation to our national pride. Our country has been diminished in the last couple of decades. With the loss of the CN Tower's distinction, we lose one of the last of our "we're number one" rankings around which national pride tends to congeal, for better or for worse. There's also the geopolitical implication here too. On the day after the anniversary of September 11 and the World Trade Centre attacks in the U.S., a skyscraper in a Middle Eastern country that takes over the top spot. We, in the West, may hope that this is not one more harbinger of things to come. Toronto's not completely out of luck, however. Helping to cling desperately to any remaining shreds of pride, students at Ryerson just held the world's largest dance class a couple of weeks ago in Dundas Square. Way to go, kids. Your country thanks you. Labels: International, national pride, Ontario, Toronto
posted by Ian at 8:37 PM -
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posted by Ian at 6:58 AM -
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