CANADIAN NAVY'S OLDEST VESSEL AND WHY DOWNSIZE TO A SMALLER RV

HMCS ORIOLE

The oldest ship in the Canadian Navy sailed into Goderich's harbor this past Friday so Pheebs and I went up to take a few photos of it this morning.  Not a big ship by any means but it does have a history.  The HMCS Oriole started out as an expensive sailing yacht and is now used by the Navy as a training vessel.  You can read a short article about it by clicking the above colored link.

I'M THINKING THIS NAVAL BUS PARKED NEAR THE HMCS ORIOLE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE SHIP....IT HAS AN ENTRANCE AND AN EXIT DOOR ON THE OTHER SIDE SO I THINK PEOPLE CAN WALK THROUGH AND PROBABLY LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CANADIAN NAVY

IF YOUR CURIOUS TO KNOW WHAT A SUBMARINE LIKE THIS ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE INSIDE BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY POST FROM LAST SEPTEMBER IN RIMOUSKI QUEBEC....HMCS ONONDAGA TOUR

With morning's heat and humidity already uncomfortable by 9 a.m. there was no thought of heading out for a nice relaxing forest walk.  Muggy air brings out biting Deer Flies and pesky Mosquitoes in droves.  A few things at Walmart and we headed straight home for some comfortable cool air.  Only time I went out was to fill our bird bath with fresh cool water.  Didn't take long for a few little birdies to coma a splashin.

Okay so why go from a 37' Motorhome down to a 20' van.  A good question of course which I'm sure some folks will understand and some won't.  First and foremost is our need to simplify things and we feel we are doing that.  As great and easy as it is to drive a big Motorhome I was just finally tired of driving big, big, big.  The limitations of a big Motorhome really came into focus last Autumn when we did the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island.  We simply found it too difficult to stop along the way or even at the lookout points with our size.  Couldn't even turn around to go back and see something.  In all the years we have had RV's we rarely ever used our levelling jacks so they were just dead weight being carried around all the time.  No slides in the van so no worrying about that anymore either.  Better gas mileage with the van and that is a big help.  I like the safety factor of being surrounded by a steel shell instead of a big easily breakable fiberglass box too.  And I like the genuine factory cab area with everything within easy reach plus power windows and easy in-easy out doors.  Easier maintenance and parts plus the van can fit into any normal size garage for service.  And here's a biggy.....Kelly can drive this van as well.  She had no desire to drive the big Motorhome.  If either one of us had a lengthy medical procedure at a hospital we can take the comfortable camper van, drop the person off at the hospital door and the other one could wait in comfort at just about any nearby parking lot.  Stretch out on the couch, snacks on board, cold drinks in the fridge, and an all important washroom close at hand.  Much easier to get in and out of tight gas stations and eating places with 20 feet instead of 37 feet and longer when towing our Jeep with the Motorhome.  We do not plan to tow anything with the van so you can see we have some challenges ahead in adjusting from our previous travel ways.  But we know it's a trade off for maneuverability and ease of driving.  It's funny how we both reached the same conclusion at the same time regarding a smaller RV.  Our good RV friend Ron from Four Seasons Performance offered to sell us our Big E Motorhome back for the same price he bought it from us plus the engine repairs but neither Kelly or I have any interest in large Motorhomes, 5th Wheels, or Travel Trailers anymore. Been there and done all three of those bigger RV types and it was time for us to move on and make some necessary changes.  The age of the dinosaur has past for us.  Of course you all know us well enough by now to know that by next month at this time we might have sold the van already and bought a sailboat with no sails, or a tandom bicycle with no seats, or a hot air balloon without a basket.  Who knows, we have been known from time to time to make some silly decisions.  Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking now but we do feel the Class B Leisure Travel van under our present circumstances is the right move for us at this time.  We'll just have to wait and see how things turn out so be careful how you place your bets:))

FROM BIG ABOVE TO LITTLE BELOW

We will be up with the chickens and off to London's University Hospital first thing in the morning.  Kelly's Doppler scan will take less than an hour and we'll be headed out of the big city and back to the quiet peaceful surroundings of our rural Bayfield area.  You can take the Bayfield Bunch out of Bayfield but you can't take Bayfield out of the Bayfield Bunch.  Ya ya I know......just my take on an old saying:))

DRIVING BETWEEN WHEAT FIELDS ON A QUIET SUNDAY MORNING

SOON THESE ROWS OF WHEAT STUBBLE WILL BE TURNED INTO BALES OF STRAW

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Alice was to bake a cake for the church ladies' group bake sale, but she forgot to do it until the last minute.  She baked an angel food cake and when she took it from the oven, the center had dropped flat. She said, “Oh dear, there's no time to bake another cake.” So, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake. Alice found it in the bathroom … a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in and covered it with icing. The finished product looked beautiful, so she rushed it to the church. Before she left the house, Alice had given her daughter some money and specific instructions to be at the bake sale the minute it opened, and to buy that cake and bring it home. When the daughter arrived at the sale, the attractive cake had already been sold. Alice was beside herself. The next day, Alice was invited to a friend's home where two tables of bridge were to be played that afternoon. After the game, a fancy lunch was served, and to top it off, the cake in question was presented for dessert. Alice saw the cake, she started to get out of her chair to rush into the kitchen to tell her hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, one of the other ladies said, “What a beautiful cake!” Alice sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, “Thank you, I baked it myself.”
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