IT WAS A WORKING SUNDAY

'SURFING'.....BAYFIELD STYLE

It was a working Sunday & my travels took me about an hour & a half north of Bayfield to a little town that was in the Canadian news a lot about 10 years ago.  E-coli contamination had found it's way into WALKERTON'S water supply & 7 townspeople died with many more being very sick. We were living in the old farm house near Fullerton at the time & I remember the big orange & white air ambulance helicopter flying over the house on it's trip's between Walkerton & the hospitals in London.

KELLY ALWAYS HAS LOTS OF COMPUTER HELP IN THE MORNINGS

It's August 1rst already & I am totally amazed at how fast these past 31 days have flown by. A month from today we will be into September & bearing down on the Labor Day week-end. Only one holiday week-end after that & it will be just about time to head for the southwest again.  (got my fingers crossed)

D'YA THINK SILVER GREY IS A POPULAR CAR COLOR....THAT'S OUR SANTA FE ON LEFT....DEER PARK LODGE PARKING LOT

I'm not going to get into a big grumble about this long hot summer sitting at home but let's just say I am still patiently counting the days to when we can get the big wheels rolling again & get the heck out of here!! We still have to switch the towing gear from the Santa Fe to the Jeep & that means we will have to take both cars to London soon. We have had a 'Sterling Road Master' towing set-up for the past 3 years & are quite satisfied with that system. Will probably wait until late September or early October before looking at new Motor Home tires.  That will be one of the last items on our pre-trip list.

CRASHING WAVES ON BAYFIELD'S NORTH PIER

We have now had the Jeep for just over a month & I have a few more observations. I must admit, my feelings were a bit apprehensive when we made the decision to get ourselves a Jeep. We basically knew nothing about them except it was the vehicle of choice among a lot of folks in the southwest. We have no desires for cliff climbing or swamp bogging.  No need to purposely get ourselves into situations where winches, tow trucks or heavy lift helicopters will be required to get us out of situations.   We just wanted a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle to take us further into the deserts & mountains where our little Santa Fe just couldn't go. Many scenic sites can only be accessed by 4 wheel drive vehicles in many parts.

OUTDOORS AT BAYFIELD'S LITTLE INN

Yes, there are lots of other perfectly fine 4 wheel drive vehicles with far more creature comforts than a Jeep, but a Jeep kinda has that same mystique a Harley Davidson motorcycle does. I have had a lot of domestic sleeper vehicles over the past few years & just wanted something that was going to be a fun vehicle to drive for a change.  At this stage, I have far fewer vehicles in my future than I have had in my past.  Just wanted to gently grab hold of the fun tiger's tail again:))  Y'know, this Jeep even sounds more fun.  I've had a lot of off-shore vehicles over the years that sounded like sewing machines going down the road so it's kinda nice to hear a tiny bit of good old North American muffler for a change.

'FIELD OF BEANS'....IF YOU PLANT EM..... THEY WILL COME

The Jeep sure reminds me of my very first car which was a 1961 Volkswagen Beetle. The close proximity of the flat rectangular windshield & the long gearshift are two similarities. The quick & short turning radius coupled with a bumpier ride & small interior brings back 'old bug memories.' I can reach across to the passenger side & roll the window up or down, open the door, or lock it. Same as the Beetle. Smaller exterior surfaces make it much easier to wash plus I have always preferred small vehicles. I was driving Volkswagens when small cars were not in vogue. All the guys were driving around in their big muscle cars & families were booting about in big 4 door dinosaurs & Station Wagons. I loved my little 'bug' & subsequent bugs & now, nearly 50 years later here I am again driving a bouncy funny looking little thing with a long stick shift on the floor & roll up windows.   The removable top reminds me of the sports cars I've had too.  I'm as pleased as punch with this little Jeep & have even got used to the bumpier ride.

GRAND BEND'S BEACH AS SEEN FROM THE PIER

Somebody recently enquired as to what a Mossmagator was.  I use that word in my blogs occasionally & remembered blogging about how that word came about awhile back.  With the help of the search bar on our blog I was able to locate my post from last October & you can read about MOSSMAGATOR here.

STORMY SKIES & ROUGH WATERS OVER BAYFIELD'S PIER

With all the on -going medical & technology advancements I wish they could come up with a simple computer chip that could be inserted into the human brain to take care of memory functions.  How nice would that be to have instant recall.  Maybe they could figure out how to use a persons finger as a mouse & their forehead as a mouse pad.  Close your eyes, blink twice & a computer screen appears in the darkness of your mind just behind your eyeballs somewhere.  Simply scroll your finger across your forehead to check your brain cells for memory files or whatever else you have stored on your super cranium chip.  The possibilities are endless & the advantages are many.  Awwwwww, what a marvelous un-bumbling life we could lead eh:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((

A man appeared before St Peter at the pearly gates. "Have you ever done anything of particular merit?" St Peter asked.
"Well, I can think of one thing," the man offered. "Once, on a trip to the Black Hills out in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of high-testosterone bikers who were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen.
"So, I approached the largest and most heavily-tattooed biker and smacked him on the head, kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground." I yelled, "Now, back off biker boy or you'll answer to me!"
St Peter was impressed. "When did this happen?"
"Oh, just a couple of minutes ago."

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UN-AWAKENED"

It's not the concept of God I have a problem with.......it's his fan club!!

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.