And Now It's the Cottage in Lanoraie, QC

We made it up to the cottage in Quebec in time for the main holiday of the year - St-Jean Baptiste Day! We went to a party at our very good friends' home. Here are some shots of the event.






We've known May, our friends Claude and Nicole's granddaughter since she was 4 years old. She is a very lovely and very smart girl. She'll go far!



Nice St. Laurence River background for a very nice couple!

Marcel, Allen, Claude and Benoit in back; Sandra, Nicole and May in front - the L'Archeveque Family.







Bon St-Jean Baptiste!!!

Bye Bye USA!

Last stop before the Canadian Border

Leaving New York

We learned how to hail a cab like New Yorkers do - we were told "Get in the street and do like the Statue of Liberty". Stan learned well!












At that point, in Penn Station on our way back to Wilmington, Sandy and I were very happy to be leaving NYC - a little bit too much overload. But in retrospect, we'd go back in a minute!







Phil enjoying his Dr. Pepper!

Phil's Highlight - Yankee Stadium

Phil had been looking forward to this day the whole trip. I think it lived up to his expectations!

New York New York!

We decided to take the train from Wilmington to New York City and it was a very good decision. Very lovely train ride and no parking problems once in New York!






Our friendly conductor!







We stayed at the Portland Hotel around the corner from Times Square and really got immersed in the hustle bustle of the city. Being our first time in New York, we felt that booking a 48-hour hop on/hop off tour would be a good way to get an overview of the place and it was really very worthwhile. We certainly did get to see most of the must-see sights; we even went on a night tour of the city which was fabulous. Some of the things we saw and did included: Times Square, the fabulous architecture, Central Park, Harlem, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, a trip over the Brooklyn Bridge at night, Ground Zero, Yankee Stadium, shopping on Canal Street, Bloomingdale, Macy's, the Today Show, etc., etc.





Al Roekker getting his latte!

Rehoboth Beach, DE

We drove up the coast from Wilmington to Rehoboth Beach on the Sunday. It was a great day and one of the highlights of the trip. Bought cowboy hats, the guys got tattoos (temporary!), ate ice cream and had dinner at a great pub - the Dogfish Brewery.





Hey there cowgirl!








Nothing better than a cone on a hot day---->





Cool Dudes!

Fitting End to a Great Day--->

Wilmington, DE

We left Washington to go to Wilmington, DE on Friday to stay at PJ's house for a couple of days prior to taking the train to New York on Monday. PJ had left for the farm for the weekend. Had a great dinner on Friday night at Febey's Fish House. Had breakfast the next day at the girl's favourite diner - the Post House - and it more than lived up to its colourful reputation! Then more shopping - this time at Christina Mall to be capped by a Blue Rocks baseball game at the stadium.





The Blue Rocks at Play





Enjoying the Game

Washington, DC

Washington, DC didn't disappoint! And believe it or not, the song "Proud to be an American" was playing on the car radio as we drove into the city. We amused ourselves on the way by trying to remember all of the 50 States and got most of them. Pretty good for Canadians. There was a great debate though about whether DC was a state or not. We spent three days in Washington and it being our first time there, we tried to see as many of the sites as possible. We stayed at a wonderful hotel obtained through Hotwire.com at a very reasonable price - Capitol Hill Suites - just a couple of blocks from the national mall. We loved our stay in Washington.




Lincoln Memorial












Vietnam Memorial










Dinner in a Washington Sidewalk Cafe

On our way to Washington, DC

We rented a Grand Caravan for our road trip which turned out to be so comfortable for four adults and luggage. We left the farm in Uxbridge, ON on June 13. Our first night was spent in Binghampton, NY. Beautiful travelling weather and we enjoyed the first of many shopping stops along the way.

Phil and Sandy Enjoying Caberneigh!

Phil and Sandy arrived in Uxbridge, ON from Vancouver, BC on June 8th. We were all looking forward to their visit. They spent a couple of days at the farm before going to spend the weekend with old friends in Belleville, ON.


PJ made pepper steak to die for on Friday night - Phil's all-time favourite. He is still talking about it. That is Stan supervising the cook.

Phil was very brave and rode both Jimmy and Stan (the horse!) - the two big boys - and he did very well at that.

Back after a Very Busy Summer

Well, we're back home in Vancouver after nearly five months away. The slowness of dial-up internet at the girls' farm (but I have been promised satellite connection for next time - it is coming to the area) and the total lack of access from the cottage are the reasons why our blog has been silent throughout the summer. And not, because we've been idle. There's a lot to catch up on and we're working on it. Thanks for all the comments on the past posts. Appreciated.

Home on the Range!

Well, it has been a couple of weeks now and we are getting in the groove. The weather has been mainly warm and sunny with the exception of a few days of rain. There is always a lot to do on a farm - mainly in the spring - so we have been busy. Nicole and PJ have been away at horse shows every weekend and are going again this Sunday. Nicole is showing four horses at various levels this season so she is hopping - the Big Boys (Stan and Jimmie) are on this weekend. Last week, it was the babies' turn (Nicky and JoJo).

Nicole on Niki in Stadium












Stan has traded in his early morning seawall walks for some time on the treadmill followed by mucking out seven stalls. He is giving Nicole a holiday from barn duty for a while. That should keep him in shape. On nice mornings, we enjoy having coffee outside on the terrace enjoying the peacefulness of the country.

One of the fun things to do here is go to country auctions. There are 3 or 4 a week at any one time in the area. One of our favourites is on Fridays at 4:30 pm and is called Corneil's - it is the real deal as far as country auctions go. You don't have to need anything in particular to go - believe me you'll find something you can't live without and it might cost you all of $3 or $4!

This is Corneil Senior doing his thing!







We're leaving for the cottage in Quebec on Tuesday to open it up for the summer. We're looking forward to seeing our Quebec friends again. We'll be there for about 10 days and be back here around the 25th of May. Nicole is driving down to Wilmington for the Memorial Day weekend on the 26th and, with the help of a few other people, we'll be looking after the farm then. Hope all the horses are on their best behaviour!

Heading to Eastern Canada!

Once again this year, we are heading east for the summer. We fly out to Toronto on Monday, May 1st to spend some time at the farm with Nicole and PJ and at the cottage on the St. Laurence, in Lanoraie near Montreal. Phil and Sandi are coming to join us on June 8th - it will be their first time east of Calgary. We have lots of things planned for when they come, spending time at the farm, showing them a little bit of Ontario (Phil can't wait to go to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto), going to Washington, New York as well as to Wilmington, DE where PJ works and lives during the week. Then, we'll head back to Canada towards the cottage, spend time there and explore the Montreal and Quebec City area. It will be a very full 3 1/2 weeks! We have sublet our condo for some of the time that we'll be away and know that Ginny, our renter, will have a wonderful time here in Yaletown in the summertime. We've yet to experience it ourselves since we bought the condo four years ago having gone East every year since. Maybe next year! In the meantime, here are some photos taken on our initial trip to the cottage, to open it up for the season. We are very happy that the municipality has extended the water main to our area and have connected up to it. Stan and I dug the trench and Claude, a plumber by trade, helped us with the connection process. We also had one of the large maples cut down to give us more sun and minimize the fall clean-up. Our very good neighbours helped us with the cutting up of the wood and cleaning up.




Stan digging




Claude connecting





We had a terrific tree cutter who did the job in 1/2 hour!





Clean-up time




Job well done!




Stan reading one of the rare and very previous English newspaper.

Weekend on Whatcom Lake

This weekend saw our first-ever house swap taking place. We exchanged homes with Chris and Barbara from Bellingham - their lakehouse for our yaletown condo. It was also their first time. From all reports we all had a great time - beginners' luck I guess - and are planning to repeat the experience. Phil and Sandi came down on Saturday. Here are some shots.