Beamsville & Jordan Station Aug10 & 11th,2010

Tuesday a.m. was a lazy morning. Managed to get up well ahead of Dale and put his birthday presents & card on the table so he would have a surprise waiting for him when we would come sauntering out of the bedroom searching for his coffee!! It worked...so had fun watching him opening his gifts and enjoying figuring things out.

Left to right: Aunty Verla, Dale, Diana & Zachary

 

Then had to get the cake iced and goodies together in the cooler. We were going to Aunty Verla's for lunch and leaving from there later in the afternoon to go to an outdoor concert. We managed to keep the birthday part of the lunch a surprise until well into it. Diana had invited Jimmy (brother) and wife Sandy, and their two adult children, daughter Sarah and son Tim for lunch,  as well as Diana's daughter Mary Jo,  and Mary Jo's daughter KayLynn( just over a year old), sons Aiden (5) and Zachary (8), along with husband Bob, Aunty Verla, and of course, Dale and I. So a goodly number to sing happy birthday, led by the two young lads.

Left to right: Sandy, Sarah, Tim & Jimmy

Diana and I had connived the day before to have her pick up chicken, buns, salads etc from the deli so neither one of us had to cook and everything would be fresh for when everyone arrived. Needless to say, with that, plus Aunty Verla's sweet tomatoes and pickled beets (hmmm good), and birthday cake, we feasted royally. Had a wonderful visit with everyone, including the kids. They are so polite and so interested in talking to you. Aiden had heart surgery as a baby and was wearing a heart monitor for 24 hours so he and Dale got to compare scars and then he says (remember, this is a 5 years old) " Cousin Arlene" do you like to read books and what do you like to read?" Priceless, and genuinely interested.

After everyone left, Dale went off to find a barber and those remaining, well we just had more visiting time. We left for the park around 5:30 to get our lawn chairs parked so we would get a prime spot. First come, first served. The concert didn't start until 7:00p.m. so a bit of a wait. And it was HOT and it was HUMID and I thought Dale and I were going to expire. We had lots of cold water and umbrellas so managed to survive.

Bob, Diana, Aunty Verla at the concert

The concert was fantastic; "Jazz with a twist". Can't remember the singer's name, Tanya I think, a wonderful voice and kept the crowd thoroughly enthralled.

We were at the top of the slope at probably the "flattest' area with the sun to our left. As the concert progressed, with the sun going down, it was quite spectacular. The concert ended at 8:30 and we were most happy to get back to the bus and into some cool air. Not being used to it, it just seems to drain all your energy.

Sunsent at Lake Ontario

 Wednesday dawned as another very hot and humid day. Decided it was the day to clean up/out the bus. Had only been doing a "lick and a promise" up till now as we had both been feeling so awful. Took a few hours but once again everything is looking clean and shiny. Also, was having Bob, Diana and Aunty Verla in for a BBQ so incentive to get everything done. We didn't have any wine on board so in the afternoon went for a drive and checked out "Flat Rock Winery" just up the road. It is on the top of the escarpment so the views are just breathtaking. They can see Toronto across the lake on a clear day. Unfortunately, it was quite hazy so we didn't get to enjoy the complete views. From there we then drove into Beamsville to go to the bank and the bakery and just enjoy a drive through the wine country.                                        

Back to the bus to get last minute things done and feet up for a few minutes. We had a great visit, and a wonderful BBQ Pork Loin (with garlic,rosemary,dijon mustard crust); garlic rosemaryskewered new potatoes, raisin/walnut/pineapple coleslaw, sweet tomatoes, fresh peaches and cream corn on the cob, buns and for dessert, homemade blackberry pie with whipped cream and of course, a cup of tea. We all ate heartily and enjoyed every morsel.  Diana and I called cousin Denise in Cranbrook to let her know what she was missing so we had a good laugh with her.

 Diana &Auntry VerlaDale & DianaThis is for Denise..Diana's taken the bed!!!

Everyone left around 9:45 p.m., so then had some quiet time to get the galley organized and tidied up. Didn't dry the dishes tho', just stacked them and figured they could dry naturally over night.  It was a humid night so we wound up having to turn the air conditioner on in the bedroom. The slight buzzing sound it makes, makes it hard for me to sleep, plus the dry air makes me cough. A restless night for me, but fortunately, it didn't bother Dale so he managed to get a pretty good nights rest.     

Today, Thursday, was overcast earlier but the sun is doing it's best to come out. With the bit of rain we had overnight, it will definitely be another hot and humid day. Must say we are both looking forward to getting out of Ontario and into some "normal" air. We are told tho' that these temps/weather is more typical for July than August, just an unusual weather pattern for this area, this year. 

Dale still hasn't found the parts for the generator. The YanMar dealers he has talked to either don't stock parts or they sell only to a certain market and won't get parts..has been most frustrating. Has found another couple of dealers within striking distance so will call them today. We don't have good cell service here so have to go out of the park and down the road to make calls. Otherwise we keep dropping them.  Well, that's pretty well things up to date.  Hope you all are enjoying the Blog..will write again soon.