Twas the morning before Christmas, and all through the house, ain't nobody home, cause Lady Di's heading South.
Here I am driving along...when suddenly I realize something is dreadfully wrong...I forgot my bikini, along with some other stuff....oh well, guess I'll just have to swim in the buff.
All is going fine, when traffic begins to slow a bit...I look over to the side and see Santa's sleigh in the ditch. Figurin' on doin' a bit of sleigh fixin', I realized it wasn't the sleigh, but Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen.
As I was looking at Santa's reindeer lying in the ditch water that was so murky...lo and behold, along comes the butchers meat wagon....looking to make some Christmas Jerky.
I stopped in Virginia to get some grub...a cute little waitress in an elf suit asked, "Merry Christmas, what can I get ya honey?" I told her, "Bacon and Eggs, and oh by the way, did you hear that Santa's reindeer are being ground up for money?"
I finally hit the North Carolina border while listening to some tunes that are kinda sad...when all of a sudden, Michael Jackson starts singing my song....I'm Bad.
As I'm driving along, I'm taking a mental inventory of the "beverages" I can count....I search for "Liquor or State Store" in the GPS...and it says, "dumb shit, you're in the South". So I think it's time for this Interstate and I to depart...and start looking for the local WalMart.
Here it is now Christmas Eve, looking for a place to stay the night. Hoping Santa finds some more reindeer, so he can find my site. Tyler will be looking for some presents come Christmas morn, and if there's none, I'm sure he'll be torn.
As for myself, there's nothing I want under the Christmas tree.....oh, except for that 6' tall muscle bound Cabana boy, sent here to serve only me.......oh and for all my friends and family to EAT, DRINK and BE MERRY.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!!
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Monday, August 11, 2008
Canada Vacation 2008
Two glorious weeks in Canada, out on the lake fishing, back at the cabin drinking and visiting with old friends is just the best vacation one could ask. This Blue Heron was our special visitor just about every morning, and Tyler even took to some "bird-watching". The "pirate ship" came into the bay on the last day we were there. Tyler and Paco enjoyed their time together too. We didn't have quite the excitement that was had in 2006 (see Canada Vacation 2006), but our cabin neighbor Donny had his boat capsized by 4 big yachts that went through. He said it was like a 6' tidal wave and with his little boat, it just took it right over. Luckily there were some people fishing close by, and they got Donny and the boat pulled to shore. Donny lost the fishing pole that his father gave him right before he passed away last year and his tackle box, he was unharmed but extremely shook up. We too are glad he only lost some material things and not his life.
The fishing was not good at all. Trolling through the water was like dragging a rope. No bites or nibbles at all. We were lucky enough though to catch enough Walleye, Bass & Perch to have several fish frys with my mom & dad and friends Steve & Gloria.
Once again Tyler was barefoot and barechest for the whole 2 weeks. I don't think he even had his shoes in the cabin. He did meet a friend, 9 year old Anna, a cute blondie with which he built sandcastles with, went fishing off the "boat" while it was docked, and just played in general. It was nice for him to have someone to hang with for a week. He was quite bummed the day she went home, he moped around the whole day!!!
Owners of the Perfect Vue Resort, Larry & Joanne are great hosts. They let Tyler do lots of things he might not get to do like hit golf balls into the lake. Along with Gloria who got a small lesson in golfing from Larry, he hit most of the balls into the weeds alongside the lake!!!! Larry & Joanne also let Tyler hang out with them in their house and he even helped tend the store. My mom went over to the store to get some eggs and out comes Tyler and says, "what can I get for you?" Mom says, "eggs", so Tyler rings for Larry in the back room so he can come and ring up the sale. They said he was a joy to have around.
Tyler caught quite a few small perch off the pier ranging in size from 3" to 6". None big enough to keep and eat, but we caught enough for him to get his fill of perch throughout the 2 weeks. None the less, he had a fun time catching these little ones all by himself.
Gloria and I had made plans to have my dad take us out fishing so we could go on the lake where we wanted to go and to catch all the fish, so we could say na na na na naaaa na to the men. But we didn't do well at all. I think I caught a few but nothing impressive, so we had to go in with our heads hung low. We decided then that we would do a bit of socializing and with too much socializing, Gloria felt the need to dance...lol.
Saturday the 2nd was the annual Legends of Perfect Vue Fishing Derby. It's $20.00 per person to get in the derby, and they payout 3 place for the 4 heaviest fish from 14" - 22". First prize is usually around $700.00 on down to about $300.00 for 3rd place. And for the 2nd year in a row we were within ounces of winning 3rd place. Oh well, maybe next year. They cook hamburgers and hotdogs after the derby and there are tables upon tables upon tables of things (wine baskets, beer baskets, personal care baskets, tackle boxes, t-shirts...etc) and every name is put in the hat and everyone gets a prize. It is a well done Derby and one we look forward to every year.
Sunday the 3rd, I was invited by the locals to play Newfy Shoes. This is I am told, the National Game of Newfoundland. I thought it was just something the locals made up, cause it doesn't look like no National Game of Anywhere. There are two square milk crates with a 6" high piece of 4" diameter plastic pipe mounted inside. You toss heavy 2" diameter washers about a distance of 20' and try to get them in the pipe (5 points) or milk crate (3 points). It's kind of like horseshoes, easy huh?, nope, it's a LOT harder than it sounds.
It's $2.00 per person to enter and they draw for teams so there are no two ringers that are paired up, maybe by chance though. There were about 25 teams in this round of Newfy Shoes which came to about $50.00, winner take all. Of course I was a beginner at this, and I was paired up with another beginner that never did it before either. Tammy and I did okay though, we skunked our first opponents 12-0, it was great taking out a couple of locals (men no less...lol, talk about an ego buster). We went down to the last 3 teams, but got skunked ourselves in that last game. It was great fun, and I'll be making a set for myself and the drunks that I know (oh did I mention that the more you drink the harder it gets!!!). Thanks to locals Jack & Donna for inviting me to play along, it was at time I'll not soon forget.
For 2 weeks we had thunderstorms on and off, and one night it poured sooooo hard the roof leaked right in my bed. I was getting dripped on my butt while I slept, I thought I peed in the bed. You could sit and watch the thunderstorms come in from afar. It was kind of cool to watch. The weather probably only reached 80 degrees every day, with a few cooler days. It was wonderful weather for this time in Canada.
One of the last days, Tyler was out on the boat in the back cove of Mallory Bay and he had his big boy fishing pole and he was so excited he caught, hooked and reeled in a 3 pound Bass all by himself. It was quite a thrill for him.
It was the first trip to Canada that we took without Emily, but Paco came along and she met a few friends of her own. Steve & Gloria's new Bichon Frise puppy, Samuel Adams, was a playful if not sometimes downright pain in Paco's tail, companion and they played together quite a bit. Paco also got to play with Larry & Joanne's new Labradoodle puppy Irish who would come over to our cabin just about every morning for a romp with Paco. Paco's other companion (well not really) was this DSH cat that had two kittens about 8 weeks old. She was very protective over her babies and when Paco showed an interest in playing with them, momma cat decided to stalk and chase Paco around for a while. We watched in hysterical laughter Paco running with tail tucked between her legs and momma cat chasing her. It was way too funny.
I'm already looking forward to next years trip.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Canada Vacation 2006
My Canadian Adventure
For the past 4 years, my hubby, Tyler and I along with my parents, take our annual trip to Ontario, Canada and go Walleye fishing for two weeks on the North Shore of Hay Bay (a fresh water lake) in Nappanee, this year was no exception. Our trip started out on July 29th normal enough, we drove the 6 hours up, got to the cabin and started fishing. There was a beautiful North-easterly breeze all week, the fishing wasn't too bad, and we caught enough fish every day to eat. On Wednesday, hubby, Tyler and I went out about 6 pm to do our evening fishing and the waters were a little wavy, maybe about 1 foot waves (perfect for the walleye to bite).
We were fishing in a little cove off the South Shore about 2 miles SW of our cabin, and it is usually pretty calm in there, but with a storm coming and the waves getting bigger, we knew getting across to our cabin on the North Shore would be a chore. We started for “home” and once out in the open water it was VERY rough, “and our tiny ship was tossed” (Gilligan’s Island theme - sorry, just had to do that), and the waves were now peaking at about 4 foot. We have a pretty sturdy 16’ boat, and we were still taking on some water from the crashing waves. Needless to say, Tyler was hanging on to the front of the boat where we tie the dock lines to, Paco (our new mix breed) was right beside him on the floor, I was aside of them holding on to both Tyler & Paco, Emily (the spoiled princess Whippet) was under the console where hubby was driving the boat.
It’s now about 8 pm, and maneuvering in the water was tough. We were ½ of the way back to “home” and I spied a boat kind of behind me over my left shoulder. I took a glance because #1, I’m nosy and need to see if it’s anyone I might know, and #2 it looked like too small a boat and motor to be on THAT rough water. As I’m looking over my shoulder, I hear hubby say, “Is there someone on that boat”. I said, “I don’t know, but we’d better go have a look”. We drive over to the boat, with 4 foot waves crashing over the side of our boat, lightning in the sky and a HUGE threat of rain hovering over us. We get there, and there is no one in the boat, AND THE MOTOR IS STILL RUNNING!!!!!! My stomach immediately fell to my feet, knowing someone is overboard. I noticed another boat coming by, so I frantically waved them down and they came over, told them there’s a boat with no one in it, and they said that it’s probably a break-away boat (from a dock), and I told them no, the motor was running.
My hubby said that that boat had been docked at our camp all week, and he’s seen a guy fishing in it (always by himself), so the two guys we flag down start heading to our camp with the stray boat. Hubby and I circle a few times to see if we can find anyone bobbing or waving in the water. After a few minutes of looking and hoping, we made a decision to head for camp so they can call 9-1-1. When we get there, I jump out of the boat onto the dock, run over to the office and tell them the situation. They think they know who owns the boat, he is one of three brothers that are in a cabin two doors down from us. Low and behold, it IS one of the brothers.
The coast guard was called, helicopters, water police and land police. Hubby and I both gave statements around 9:00 pm as to where the location of the boat was found, as we had looked to both shores to see where we were at, just in case. We did what we could do, and thought that was the end of it.
It’s now about 11:00 pm and hubby & Tyler are off to bed, Mom & Dad are off to bed, but I stayed up a little, as I was a bit shaken. Around 11:30 pm the police come knocking on the cabin door, and they want me to go to the docks and tell the water police about where the location of the boat was found. Hubby stayed in bed and I told him the water police wanted to talk to me, so off I went to the dock.
Well it ended up I and a local permanent camper, Jack, who knows where the shoals and low spots are in the lake, got on the police boat and we headed off to see if I could find the spot where we found the boat. Now this lake looks so different in the dark, dark night with rain pelting down on us and the water, but with Jacks help with knowing the terrain and shore lines, the police put a marker down where I thought the spot was.
We then were escorted from the police boat to the Cape Hearn, the Coast Guard ship that was called in. Jack and I both got aboard the Cape Hearn, sat and talked with the Coast Guard Captain for about 20 minutes, then back onto the police boat and back to the docks, but instead of going back into camp, we searched the North Shoreline for about 1-1/2 miles past camp, eventually turning around and getting us back to camp at around 1:00 am. While walking back to my cabin, the two brothers are just sitting at their picnic table looking out at the water, both clutching a bible (one of the brothers was a chaplin).
On Thursday, while heading out to fish in the late morning, hubby states that I marked the spot pretty close. A plane was called in that does search & rescue, called the Hercules, and they were flying up and down the lake for ½ the day. They did drop a smoke bomb at a spot, and upon the police checking they found the mans’ white tee shirt amongst a bunch of ripped loose weeds (this was about a mile SE of the spot I marked). They brought in diving teams and more police, but nothing. They searched all night Thursday, again nothing. Again, all day the brothers just sat around looking out over the water.
Friday morning they brought in two helicopters as they can get closer to the water than the Hercules could. The choppers were equipped with some kind of sonar device that can spot a mass of something under the water. There were several spots marked and the divers started diving at these markers. Fortunately and unfortunately, they found the body of the man about 50 yards SW of the spot I had originally marked. He was tangled up in a weed bed 29’ down from the surface. I say fortunate because the remaining two brothers have some closure, but unfortunate because he was not found alive. To look at the man, you’d see a very fit 42 year old, but he did have a heart condition which runs in the family.
This is a trip I will NEVER forget, both fun and sad. Fun because of the experience I had on the Police Boat and the Coast Guard Boat (something I really hope I never have to do again, unless it's just for fun), and sad because of the outcome.
We have since gone up to Canada, and will be leaving again in 2 weeks from today, and we always talk about that day. It is something I will remember for a long time to come.
For the past 4 years, my hubby, Tyler and I along with my parents, take our annual trip to Ontario, Canada and go Walleye fishing for two weeks on the North Shore of Hay Bay (a fresh water lake) in Nappanee, this year was no exception. Our trip started out on July 29th normal enough, we drove the 6 hours up, got to the cabin and started fishing. There was a beautiful North-easterly breeze all week, the fishing wasn't too bad, and we caught enough fish every day to eat. On Wednesday, hubby, Tyler and I went out about 6 pm to do our evening fishing and the waters were a little wavy, maybe about 1 foot waves (perfect for the walleye to bite).
We were fishing in a little cove off the South Shore about 2 miles SW of our cabin, and it is usually pretty calm in there, but with a storm coming and the waves getting bigger, we knew getting across to our cabin on the North Shore would be a chore. We started for “home” and once out in the open water it was VERY rough, “and our tiny ship was tossed” (Gilligan’s Island theme - sorry, just had to do that), and the waves were now peaking at about 4 foot. We have a pretty sturdy 16’ boat, and we were still taking on some water from the crashing waves. Needless to say, Tyler was hanging on to the front of the boat where we tie the dock lines to, Paco (our new mix breed) was right beside him on the floor, I was aside of them holding on to both Tyler & Paco, Emily (the spoiled princess Whippet) was under the console where hubby was driving the boat.
It’s now about 8 pm, and maneuvering in the water was tough. We were ½ of the way back to “home” and I spied a boat kind of behind me over my left shoulder. I took a glance because #1, I’m nosy and need to see if it’s anyone I might know, and #2 it looked like too small a boat and motor to be on THAT rough water. As I’m looking over my shoulder, I hear hubby say, “Is there someone on that boat”. I said, “I don’t know, but we’d better go have a look”. We drive over to the boat, with 4 foot waves crashing over the side of our boat, lightning in the sky and a HUGE threat of rain hovering over us. We get there, and there is no one in the boat, AND THE MOTOR IS STILL RUNNING!!!!!! My stomach immediately fell to my feet, knowing someone is overboard. I noticed another boat coming by, so I frantically waved them down and they came over, told them there’s a boat with no one in it, and they said that it’s probably a break-away boat (from a dock), and I told them no, the motor was running.
My hubby said that that boat had been docked at our camp all week, and he’s seen a guy fishing in it (always by himself), so the two guys we flag down start heading to our camp with the stray boat. Hubby and I circle a few times to see if we can find anyone bobbing or waving in the water. After a few minutes of looking and hoping, we made a decision to head for camp so they can call 9-1-1. When we get there, I jump out of the boat onto the dock, run over to the office and tell them the situation. They think they know who owns the boat, he is one of three brothers that are in a cabin two doors down from us. Low and behold, it IS one of the brothers.
The coast guard was called, helicopters, water police and land police. Hubby and I both gave statements around 9:00 pm as to where the location of the boat was found, as we had looked to both shores to see where we were at, just in case. We did what we could do, and thought that was the end of it.
It’s now about 11:00 pm and hubby & Tyler are off to bed, Mom & Dad are off to bed, but I stayed up a little, as I was a bit shaken. Around 11:30 pm the police come knocking on the cabin door, and they want me to go to the docks and tell the water police about where the location of the boat was found. Hubby stayed in bed and I told him the water police wanted to talk to me, so off I went to the dock.
Well it ended up I and a local permanent camper, Jack, who knows where the shoals and low spots are in the lake, got on the police boat and we headed off to see if I could find the spot where we found the boat. Now this lake looks so different in the dark, dark night with rain pelting down on us and the water, but with Jacks help with knowing the terrain and shore lines, the police put a marker down where I thought the spot was.
We then were escorted from the police boat to the Cape Hearn, the Coast Guard ship that was called in. Jack and I both got aboard the Cape Hearn, sat and talked with the Coast Guard Captain for about 20 minutes, then back onto the police boat and back to the docks, but instead of going back into camp, we searched the North Shoreline for about 1-1/2 miles past camp, eventually turning around and getting us back to camp at around 1:00 am. While walking back to my cabin, the two brothers are just sitting at their picnic table looking out at the water, both clutching a bible (one of the brothers was a chaplin).
On Thursday, while heading out to fish in the late morning, hubby states that I marked the spot pretty close. A plane was called in that does search & rescue, called the Hercules, and they were flying up and down the lake for ½ the day. They did drop a smoke bomb at a spot, and upon the police checking they found the mans’ white tee shirt amongst a bunch of ripped loose weeds (this was about a mile SE of the spot I marked). They brought in diving teams and more police, but nothing. They searched all night Thursday, again nothing. Again, all day the brothers just sat around looking out over the water.
Friday morning they brought in two helicopters as they can get closer to the water than the Hercules could. The choppers were equipped with some kind of sonar device that can spot a mass of something under the water. There were several spots marked and the divers started diving at these markers. Fortunately and unfortunately, they found the body of the man about 50 yards SW of the spot I had originally marked. He was tangled up in a weed bed 29’ down from the surface. I say fortunate because the remaining two brothers have some closure, but unfortunate because he was not found alive. To look at the man, you’d see a very fit 42 year old, but he did have a heart condition which runs in the family.
This is a trip I will NEVER forget, both fun and sad. Fun because of the experience I had on the Police Boat and the Coast Guard Boat (something I really hope I never have to do again, unless it's just for fun), and sad because of the outcome.
We have since gone up to Canada, and will be leaving again in 2 weeks from today, and we always talk about that day. It is something I will remember for a long time to come.
Monday, March 24, 2008
My New Travel Website
I've researched this business for quite some time now and decided to take the plunge and like the Nike slogan says, "just do it". Travel is something we all do from time to time and if you are like me, you are always looking online to find the best price available. The prices on my site are very competitive and you can book all your own travel, send flowers, book flight, hotel, car and cruises, weekend trips, all inclusive trips, and your favorite golf vacation.
Please come take a peek at my new site, sign up for the weekly hot new travel deals, and I'd really appreciate if you would book your next vacation or travel on my site. http://www.dlmvacations.com/
Have fun and enjoy your spring!!!
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