FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 57 - 60 July 18 – July 21, 2010 Oakville, Ontario to Peterborough, .Ontario

We packed up this morning and headed for Oakville and parked the camper at Dennis and Nancy’s Place. They have a big driveway so it was not a problem. Upon arriving we were given the tour, had brunch and then went for a ride along the Lake Ontario Waterfront. They have done a marvelous job of making the lakeshore a fun place. We rode up and around Bronte Harbor before heading back to the Clarke residence.

Dennis and Nancy were having a dinner party on the Sunday night and we were going to get to see a few people we had not seen in a long time. It was a wonderful night and really fun to reconnect with them and find out what been going on in their lives.

Our Hosts:  Dennis Clarke & Nancy Osberg

Jim and Irene Ecclestone

Dale Cholik and Carla Hanna

Pam Fallow

I eagerly arose on Monday morning, early Monday morning as Dennis, Dale and I were playing golf. That in itself is exciting but this morning we were playing Glen Abbey, home of the Canadian Open. Fortunately Dale was able to get us a tee time (Thank you Mr. Cholik) at a very respectable price and to make it even better, Dennis treated. Thank you Mr. Clarke. It looked like it might rain when we first got there but it turned out to be a glorious day. The sun we shining, the course was in excellent shape, the company was exquisite and we were playing Glen Abbey. Enough said about our golf scores. Actually we all played quite well on the front nine but my wheels fell off on the back nine, but who cared, I was playing Glen Abbey

After enjoying a nice lunch on the patio overlooking the 18th green we headed back to Dennis’s for a little nap before going out to dinner. We ended up going down to Bronte Harbor and sitting out on the patio. The evening ended with a short walk and a stop at Tim Horton’s for ice cream. It was a good day, a very good day.

On Tuesday we headed towards Beamsville as we had plans to visit Marc and Chrystine Seguin later in the day. We left the camper in Oakville as Dennis had graciously lent us his car for the day. This gave us the opportunity to take a leisurely drive through the Niagara Wine Region before stopping at the Seguins. We stopped at a couple of Wineries and even bought a bottle or two before arriving at the Seguins. Marc, Kathy and I all worked at GWG for a short period of time and Marc and Kathy worked at Levi's until Kathy retired in 1999. It was fun catching up and finding out what had been going on in their lives the last ten years.

Chrystine had prepared an excellent meal and we had a very nice evening with two very nice people. The time passed very quickly and before we knew it was past midnight so we said our goodbyes and headed back to Oakville.

The next morning we were heading to Peterborough but we enjoyed a cup of coffee with Dennis and Nancy before heading out. We had a magnificent time with the two of them and their hospitality was beyond compare. They are two very special people who have hearts of gold and we will miss them. However the road is calling and Peterborough is next on the agenda.

We arrived at the Kasperski’s in the early afternoon and managed to get the camper backed into their driveway and plugged in. Kathy and I as a couple have known John and Kim Kasperski for over 20 years. However Kathy and Kim have been friends since the 10th grade and I am not allowed to tell you how long ago that was. Naturally they had a lot of catching up to do and that relegated John and I to just being eye candy.

Kim and John Kasperski

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 52 - 56 July 13 – July 17, 2010 Stouffville, Ontario to Oakville, Ontario

Tuesday night we headed downtown to Joe Badalli’s restaurant where we met up with a group of people (and spouses) that Kathy worked with while at Levis’s. I had also got to know them through various functions and social events over the years. We were a little early and had a chance to walk around the lower end of downtown. There were a few changes, mostly new condo’s and different stores but not anything significant. At 7PM we headed over to the restaurant.

We had not seen any of these people since we moved to Dallas so that makes it at least 10 years. Everyone looked really good and were enjoying life. Glenn and Sherri’s (Matsuba) kids were almost grown as was the same with Suzanne and Julian’s (Savory). Bob and Molly (Goodish) had a new addition since we saw them last and their baby in now 5 years old. Janet (Melendez) has become a birding and photography enthusiast and the combination have become a good hobby for her.

It was a great evening and really good to see everyone again. It would be nice to do again the next time we are in town.

We said goodbye to the Smiths and Stouffville and headed for a RV park in the 427 / Finch area. We set up for a couple of days before we headed to East York for dinner with friends we had not seen in around 8 years.

Brendan played on the original “Yesterdays Legends” slowpitch along with Tom Smith and myself.  However, that was in a different lifetime.

June cooked us a wonderful supper and we spent the evening catching up. On this trip we realized that it’s not the city we miss, it’s the friends we had made during our stay here. Brendan and June are definitely two of those people. We had a lovely night and hopefully we will see them again soon.

Thursday afternoon we headed over to Bill and Janet Potter’s house for dinner. The occasion was that Brian and Phyllis Balkan had a planned layover on their return trip from Newfoundland to Edmonton. Phyllis is Kathy’s sister and Brian is Janet’s brother. Bill and I were the eye candy.

We had seen Phyllis and Brian last September at Jolene’s wedding but we had not seen Bill and Janet since February of 2008 in Las Vegas. They have a lovely home in the Jane/Bloor area with a beautiful back yard where we spent most of the evening. Dinner was lovely and we had a chance to learn all about Brian and Phyllis’s trip to Newfoundland. They had a great time with the exception of the black flies. We called it a night around midnight and headed home with plans to meet up the next day.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

After arriving at the Potter’s the next day it was suggested that we take the subway over to Spadina and walk down to the waterfront. So that’s what we did. It had been around 15 years since I had been on the subway when I think it was about $ 0.90 to ride. It is now $ 3.00. Once over the shock we boarded and got off at Spadina and headed south through The University of Toronto and into Kensington Park. Kensington Park looked exactly the same and as you can see by this car things move slowly. I did stop and buy a hat.
 

After leaving Kensington we continued south on Spadina through China Town and passed 185

Spadina Avenue which is the first building I worked in when I was transferred to Toronto with GWG.

Shortly after passing through China Town we turned east on Queen Street and came across the famous “Horseshoe Tavern”. I had to go in and have a look around for old times sake.

A lot of big names have played there over the years. After leaving the “Horseshoe” we found a restaurant and had lunch on their patio. Lunch was good and the people watching was better. It is always fun to people watch in Toronto. After lunch we headed south passing by Sky Dome until we came to Queens Quay. Here we leisurely strolled along the boardwalk taking in the water, the boats and the people. We did stop for refreshments on the patio of a waterfront restaurant and it was good to rest the pieds.

Once we were refreshed we started north up Yonge Street and the Eatons Centre. It had not changed much and was still as busy as ever. Bill and I ended up getting a pair of sandals as the Rockport Store before heading over to Yonge and Dundas. Wow, what a change. I would not have known where we were if I did not know where we were. Definitely for the better. It is Toronto’s Times Square.

We hung around for awhile before heading north on Yonge to Bloor Street where got back on the subway to return to Bill and Janet’s. Once there we had a very nice dinner of Salmon cooked on the BBQ and again we had dinner outside. Once the mosquitoe’s got bad we headed inside and Janet pulled out a game called “ In the Box “. At least I think it was called that or something close. I won’t go into all the specifics of the game but I must point out that all the answers that were in the gutter came from the female portion of the participants.

We soon realized it was after midnight and we needed to get going as I need my beauty sleep. As Brian and Phyllis were heading out the next day we did the goodbye thing tonight. It was really nice to see both couples and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. We would also like to thank Bill and Janet, two very nice people, for their hospitality. You do it up right and we really appreciated it.

Saturday morning found me heading to Aurora and the Westview Golf Club. I was meeting up with Brendan Casey for a round of whap f__k. We got in 18 holes just before it started to rain and then adjourned to the clubhouse for a beverage before heading out. It was a really nice day and it was good to see him one last time before we head back to the States.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I left the golfcourse and headed back to the RV park to pick up Kathy as we were meeting friends for dinner in Oakville, Ontario. Dennis Clarke has been a friend of my since the early 70’s and Kathy's since the early 80’s as we both worked with him at GWG. His partner in crime, Nancy Osberg, we have known for about 12 years and we still can’t figure out why she is with Dennis. Just Kidding.
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

 
  
 
We met up at their place before we went out for dinner. They have a lovely home in Oakville south of the QEW. We decided to go out for Authentic Chinese Food and it was wonderful. The food was good but the company was exceptional. Dennis and Nancy are exceptional people and we always enjoy our time with them. Once dinner was finished ( They treated, Thank you ) we called it a night and headed back to the RV park. Tomorrow we are headed back to Dennis and Nancy’s with the Truck and Camper. We are going to park it in their driveway for a few days. It should be a lot of fun.

FROM Y'ALL TO EH!!! Day 38 - 51 June 29 – July 12, 2010 North Bay, Ontario to Stouffville, Ontario

We headed south on Hwy 11 towards Toronto, waved at Bruce and Chris as we passed Burk’s Falls and pulled into Barrie late in the afternoon. Tonight we are staying with Tom and Lyse McDonough, we are parking in their driveway. Tom and I met in 1973 when we were both working for GWG and even though I left GWG in 1982 we have remained friends. They are both doing well and we enjoyed a nice evening out for dinner. It was good to catch up.

The next day we headed over to Midhurst to have lunch with Kent and Rebecca Osborne at their home. Kent is a consultant and worked with Kathy at Levi's. They have a beautiful home set back in the woods that really gives them a lot of privacy. They are very charming people and we had an extremely nice visit.

After leaving Midhurst we have planned to go to Shelbourne, Ontario to visit with my aunt but the closest park we could get was in Cookstown. So we settled in there for two nights as we were going to visit on Friday. Aunt Donna was married to Uncle Leo who was my dad’s younger brother. Donna moved to Shelbourne from North Bay after Leo passed in 2005.

It was good to get all the gossip on the rest of the family which is all over the country. We thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. We also got a chance to visit with Cathy, Donna’s daughter and my first cousin.

Once we left Shelbourne we headed for Stouffville to visit with the Smiths. Tom and Ruth have been friends since I met Tom playing baseball a number of years ago. We only planned on being here a couple of days but here we are 12 days later. It is reminiscent of when we were renovating our house in the Beaches. We needed a place to stay for a short time while I finished enough of the house so that we could move in. I told Ruth it would only be about 2 weeks, 4 months later we moved out. Amazingly they are still friends.

We have really enjoyed out time catching up and having a break from the camper. We also got to see 2 of their three kids. Joe is on holidays so we missed him but we did get to see Sunny and Dylan. The last time we saw them was in Mexico when Dylan and Dawn got married.

The Wedding, Cancun, Mexico  April 2008

They have been busy since the wedding.

The little one in the middle is Avery and she is the new boss of the Smith Clan. She has GrandPa and GrandMa wrapped right around her little finger.

Tom and Ruth are two of our closest friends and we have really enjoyed our time with them. They have made us feel very at home and I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it. We will be sorry to leave.