5 years ago I wrote about planning ahead for retirement, which included a fair amount of travel. Trudy and I like to call our travels 'adventures'. Well, those days are closer than ever now and it seems each week the focus and detail becomes clearer and clearer.
Very recently, when discussing this with friends, I was encouraged to blog about our adventures, much like our daughter Lisa did while in Europe for 18 months. So, here goes....
As I begin writing this I am sitting at Tim & Anne's breakfast table in Wellington, Prince Edward County, Ontario looking out over the rocky shoreline of Lake Ontario...it's a beautiful warm Fall day and a beautiful view. It is perhaps fitting that I should resume my blog here, as my last blog, in 2011, concerned a trip to Scotland with Tim.
A few years ago Tim & Anne bought an older home with good bones here. Through a series of renovations they turned it into a lovely, lovely home, complete with guest suite on the lower level and sauna shack, pronounced sow-na by Anne (she will correct your pronunciation). Later this evening Tim and I plan to use the sauna and then take a plunge in Lake Ontario. They rent out the lower level from Spring through the early Fall.
Prince Edward County is a hidden gem of a place. It was one of my late mother's favorite spots to visit. This smallish triangle of land just west of Kingston juts out into Lake Ontario and benefits climatically from the lake effect. It's been a fruit growing region for a century. In the last couple of decades wineries have been replacing the orchards. Following the wineries have been restaurants, cafes, bistros and galleries. Toronto has sort of discovered PEC but the 'county' as the locals call it, remains very agrarian, its chill and its and its charm.
PEC is a virtual island, separated from the mainland by the long, narrow Bay of Quinte. Although there are several roads you can take to get onto PEC, the best way to do it is to take the ambulatory drive down the Loyalist Parkway from Kingston to the Glenora ferry. That short, 10 minute ferry ride across to Glenora is like walking through a doorway from chaos to calm. It's not unlike how we feel when we leave the house and walk across the patio to our gazebo at Wits End. Your worries are left behind.
Tim & Anne are doing well and enjoying their life here. They have gone 'local', as they did in Riverview, and I suspect everywhere they've lived. Tim has resumed bee keeping and now has a couple of hives at a friends farm and art gallery...Mad Dog. I must say that the artwork in the gallery and the gallery itself was awesome.
Today the gals and guys went their separate ways. Tim and I headed into nearby Trenton to the National Airforce Museum of Canada. I didn't know the place existed but I'm glad we went. It's a nice, volunteer run facility with good indoor and outdoor displays. Of particular note are the WWII Halifax bomber and Hurricane fighter. Only a few of these planes remain. They also have a 1948 RCAF Flyers Olympic hockey team jersey that was the inspiration for the Winnipeg Jets emblem.
Today the gals and guys went their separate ways. Tim and I headed into nearby Trenton to the National Airforce Museum of Canada. I didn't know the place existed but I'm glad we went. It's a nice, volunteer run facility with good indoor and outdoor displays. Of particular note are the WWII Halifax bomber and Hurricane fighter. Only a few of these planes remain. They also have a 1948 RCAF Flyers Olympic hockey team jersey that was the inspiration for the Winnipeg Jets emblem.
After the museum we headed back to the county for wood fired pizza at Norman Hardie winery and a glass of wine of course.
That was followed by a tasting at one of Tim & Anne's favorite wineries, Rosehill Run. Nice whites! I like the fact that most of the wineries here are unpretencious. We then drove down a number of back roads past corn fields and stands of old growth hardwoods to arrive at 66 Distillery for a tasting. Unfortunately, the distillery had recently changed owners and the new owners do not yet have a liquor licence....bummer! So back to the house for a nap and PEC prosecco on the deck as the sun sank into the lake somewhere near Toronto.
Well, the sauna and dip in Lake Ontario happened and was very refreshing. The water in the lake wasn't that cold really...I'm sure my testicles will drop soon. Tim has a salmon on the BBQ and in a moment I'll go get a glass of wine.
That was followed by a tasting at one of Tim & Anne's favorite wineries, Rosehill Run. Nice whites! I like the fact that most of the wineries here are unpretencious. We then drove down a number of back roads past corn fields and stands of old growth hardwoods to arrive at 66 Distillery for a tasting. Unfortunately, the distillery had recently changed owners and the new owners do not yet have a liquor licence....bummer! So back to the house for a nap and PEC prosecco on the deck as the sun sank into the lake somewhere near Toronto.
Well, the sauna and dip in Lake Ontario happened and was very refreshing. The water in the lake wasn't that cold really...I'm sure my testicles will drop soon. Tim has a salmon on the BBQ and in a moment I'll go get a glass of wine.
Tonight, well the night is young, as they say. Apparently there's a hot new piano bar in town that's worth a look. Not sure if the sauna thing is going to happen - it's windy and the waves are up...but who knows...life is full of possibility.
