The day was sunny...
Everywhere we went, people were out - enjoying the sun ... and the beaches on Lake Ontario..
After driving across town, we stopped at the White Mountain ice cream shop.
Then across the causeway...
And on to Brockville and Prescott.
A two-lane bike path runs along the scenic river road. Every time I see it, I wonder how we could arrange to either walk or ride a bike on it sometime - maybe a section at a time.
That could be a lot of fun!
We were recently in Toronto for a few days. We hadn't been there since last October.
En route home, we took the "backroads" from Kingston to Prescott.
Tourist season hadn't begun yet, but there were boats in the water.
Then we had an experience we've never had before... Suddenly a large bird, flying low, flew towards the top left corner of our windshield. Terry and I were both shocked - it happened so quickly and unexpectedly!
I waited for the familiar thud of a bird hitting a window. We hear it at least once a summer as birds fly straight into our windows at home.
Would our windshield crack?!
But no! No thud, no crack. It slid over the roof of the car. The vehicle behind us swerved so as not to hit it.
All I can say is - I hope it survived.
Even so, we do "drop in" for a quick visit from time to time, thanks to FaceTime - an app similar to Skype.
I notice that spring is arriving there, too: The leaves on the trees are filling in! Hope to be back soon!
We are having a very snowy, cold winter.
Early this month we had a "cold snap" - and now... another!
There hasn't been much reprieve...
So I really appreciate the scenes from a warmer climate that I see daily on my virtual walk in Vietnam.
That's probably as close as I'll get to warmer weather in the next few months!
(Every little bit helps!)
A few days after leaving Flagstaff on my virtual walk along Route 66, I find that I'm already in Williams, Arizona.
On my ACTUAL trip to Arizona in September 2019, my son and I, together with his family, flew to Phoenix, then rented a car to drive to Flagstaff. The following day, we drove to Williams...
Or was it Williams Junction? I don't remember...
There we boarded an old fashioned steam train that would take us to Grand Canyon Village and back.
It was an exciting adventure...
And now I'm back in Williams - on a virtual trek.
I'm pinching myself! I can't believe I've walked not only from Flagstaff to Williams, but from Chicago to there!
The first day we arrived in British Columbia, my cousin Cathy discovered a young fawn curled up in her yard...
Not something we see everyday - so we were both curious and hesitant...
Was it alive? Was the mother nearby or had she abandoned the fawn? Should we call the SPCA or the city?
I wanted to take a picture. My granddaughter was concerned that the baby was dying.
What to do?!
A deer watched us, then hid when we approached. Was this the mother?!
The next morning, the fawn was curled up in a different place in the yard - so we knew it was able to move. By the third day, it was gone...
(But there were plenty of others around!) It was definitely deer country!
A tip from Terry:
Now that winter is here, and weather is colder, don't forget to regularly check the air pressure in your tires.
(He has been known to leave notes in car windshields in parking lots, suggesting that tire pressure looks low - to have it checked.)
I'm glad the world has HELPFUL people like him around, to counterbalance those, like me, who simply don't notice!
My mother was a home economics teacher in Alberta, then later in Kelowna, BC.
In her later teaching years who was asked to teach traditional crafts, like knitting, crocheting, spinning and weaving - as they had become popular again.
She took on the challenge with great enthusiasm, taking courses to hone her skills - picking up samples of local crafts wherever she went.
Going through her things recently, I came across these two mats that must have been made - and sold - at Helen Keller House in Jerusalem in the 1960's or 70's. I wonder if it was a school for the blind or simply a place where they could learn to weave.
I haven't been able to find much information online.
The mats are so pretty that I'm going to start using them... after all these years.
What kind of vehicle is that?! I wondered as we pulled next to it at a traffic light...
When it pulled ahead of us, I saw that it only had three wheels!
And the driver is wearing s helmet. Is it a motorcycle? Or a car?!
(I later did some online research : I think it's called a "slingshot"!)
Very cute... It does look like a fun ride!
Terry and I hadn't been to Montreal since before the pandemic - even though it's only a two-hour drive away.
(From 2020 till 2022, our road trips were in the opposite direction - to south-western Ontario, to visit children and grandchildren.)
Even those trips were filled with apprehension... Would we get COVID en route?!
So our recent visit to Montreal, last weekend, was a real treat. So much had changed.
Look! A new elevated light-rail track! Terry was thrilled... Look! The new Champlain Bridge!
It was different! But I felt nostalgic for the OLD Champlain Bridge - the one I had crossed daily to go to work - for almost four years - when we were living in Montreal and I worked in St. Jean.
It's apparently being demolished.
Hmmm. Yet the much older Victoria Bridge, another bridge that crosses the St. Lawrence River - not that far away - is still in use.
The first Champlain Bridge opened in 1962 and was taken out of service 57 years later in 2019. The Victoria Bridge opened 100 years EARLIER, in 1860 - and it's STILL in use.
(What does that say about our progress in bridge building?!)
