TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:)): Wingham Ontario

Showing posts with label Wingham Ontario. Show all posts

Thursday, June 10, 2010

SHE WAS 101 YEARS OLD SO I HAD TO DRIVE CAREFULLY!!

STOPPED TO TAKE A FEW RURAL PICS FOR TONIGHT'S BLOG ON MY WAY HOME TODAY

The mobility van job has kept me busy the past couple of days & I will be off again tomorrow morning. Transported a 101 year old lady in a wheelchair today & that is the oldest person I have ever had in the van. Had to be extra careful to avoid potholes in the road & made all my turns slow & wide.

CORN ROWS WANDER OVER THE HILLS

The other retired 'full time' driver will be back from his month of holidays next week & that will pretty much spell the end of my hours for the rest of the summer. Too bad because I've always liked the job but it's just the way it is!!

Chow time at our house is always a bit of a 3 ring doggy circus. Checkers is on a medicated type of dog food & little Cora's food is a smaller kibble making it easier for her to chew. The two big guys, Max & Checkers wolf down their food so fast it makes lightning look like slow motion. Cora, aka Motormouse, is a slow eater & likes to have a drink of water with her kibble & this is where Kelly or I come into the food picture. We have to rigorously defend Motor's food dish until she gets back from the water dish. When she is eating, the big guys hover very close by like a couple of buzzards with their eyes zeroed in on the little Motor's food dish. They are hoping she will leave some for whoever gets to her dish first when she walks away....... Yep, always a big 3 ring meal time circus alright.

PLEASE DAD, DON'T LET THESE BIG GUYS GET MY SUPPER AGAIN.......

Only ever had one serious incident over food sharing though. Couple years ago while boondocking in Borrego Springs Kelly dropped a piece of chicken on the floor. Both Checkers & the little Motormouse lunged for it. That resulted in a very nasty scrap & by the time I got the two of them separated blood had been drawn on both sides. We could tell they both felt really bad about the whole incident & we're not sure who apologized to who first but they have been their usual best pal selves ever since.

HAD TO LAY FLAT ON MY BACK FOR THIS PHOTO & THAT'S MY RIGHT FOOT AT BOTTOM RIGHT

I was surprised to see we had two new 'Followers' today. Things have been really slow in that department since returning from the west a few months ago so I really do appreciate both followers for climbing aboard the Bayfield Bunch travel blog. A really big thank you to Karen & Jedsmom. You gals know how to pick up a feller's spirits alright. Hope the blog doesn't get too cranky for you sometimes.

FIELDS OF BEANS

My van travels on Wednesday took me through a little burg with the name of Molesworth. Now, I don't really know how much a Mole is worth on today's market but I bet the few people living in Molesworth do.

WE ARE A MAINLY FLAT TYPE AGRICULTURAL LAND HERE

My travels today took me to the town of Winghan Ontario. I was on the early side so rolled into Tim Horton's parking lot to set a spell. Counted 19 cars lined up going through the drive-thru & I'm sure that daily morning line up was repeated hundreds & hundreds of times all over the area at every other Tim Horton's as well. They sure do a booming business.

LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THE LOCAL REGULARS HEADING IN FOR HIS MORNING COFFEE AT TIM'S:))

SQUEAKING INTO THE DRIVE-THRU LINE..."MOVE OVER YA BIG BUNCH OF MOSSMAGATORS!!!!"

An email just came across my desk & maybe across yours too. Haven't had a chance to read it all but I think the gist of it is having to do with RV Parks & RV Park reviews etc. Has something to do with iPhone access too. (I'm still on rotary dial 101) As you all know, we are not big RV Park people but I will include the link here if you want to have a look at it. I'll take a second look at this later....RVparking Just figured all you RV Park folks might be interested.

GROANER'S CORNER We are born naked, wet, and hungry. And then we get slapped on the ass. And then things get worse.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

"UNTIL ONE HAS LOVED AN ANIMAL, PART OF THEIR SOUL REMAINS UNAWAKENED"

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

Thursday, April 01, 2010

NICE DAY FOR A WORKING DRIVE

A RESTFUL STOPOVER IN WINGHAM, ONTARIO TODAY (don't ask me what the French writing is on the side of the van.....haven't a clue)

Have been having a few problems getting the wood splinters out from under my fingernails because I have been sitting here scratching my head trying to come up with a blog topic tonight.

As some of you know I drive a mobility van part time in our area when we are home from the southwest. Started with the company about 6 years ago & did a lot of driving for a few years even keeping one of the vans here at home for awhile. But, then we started going south in the winters so I was replaced by another driver. It was only logical. The company has kept me on as a part time driver when we are home though & I fill in for other drivers wherever needed. We transport mainly elderly folks in wheelchairs to doctor's appointments, hospitals, medical centers, dentists, etc. Sometimes to weddings, funerals, visits to friends, shopping, groceries, etc. I've always liked the job so have hung in there the last few years despite the lack of worthwhile driving hours. Think I made enough last summer to buy about 3 tanks of gas for the motorhome. But, not to complain.

Today I had a nice run in the one non-wheelchair van the company has & I enjoyed just getting out into the countryside for a drive. Picked up a lady in a town north of here & drove her to a Doctor's appointment in another town 20 minutes away. Had a one hour wait so spent that in a Tim Horton's parking lot sipping away on a Timmies. I was back home by 3:30 this afternoon. A drive through rural Ontario is nice at any time but to get paid for my time is always a nice bonus. But far more important than the money is the fact of having something to do. A purpose. A reason to get up in the morning. And working with elderly folks in wheelchairs is also doubly rewarding because at the end of a day you go home with a feeling that you have done something very worthwhile that day. And, you have done it right. And, you know it's something that a lot of other folks would rather not do. Just one of those things.

A PAIR OF CANADA GEESE

Another nice thing about being home is not having to be subjected to night time television shows. In the motorhome our computer desk is directly under the television. Kelly likes her shows & I can't stand them so when doing the blog each night in the rig I have my Sony headphones on & my stored computer library tunes cranked so I can't hear the sirens & gunfire going on over my head. At home here our television is in the living room & the computer is in the sunroom so it is much nicer for both of us. I have a big view of our entire front yard with all it's birds, bunnies, frogs, squirrels, chipmunks, & any neighbor's driving by. But, more than that, I am totally free of night time television shows. Don't have to wear my earphones & keep my head down. I have an on-line music station I listen to with continuous uninterrupted music playing through a computer stereo system. No sirens, no victims screaming, no soap opera dramatics, no bad acting or gunfire. Just nice soft, groovy, ambient music filling the air around me. And the station I listen to is called, SOMA fm If you go there, just click on 'Groove Salad' & that's what I will be listening to.

I have complained about CNN news before with it's habit of tunnel visioning a particular news item of interest to them & repeatedly playing clips over & over & over & over. And the seemingly never ending commercials!! I'm convinced CNN is really an infomercial channel with a few Wolf Blitzer bites thrown in for good measure. But, I sure would prefer CNN when we are on the road compared to the other totally stupid (IMHO) network moronic newscasts I have to endure every morning. What multi-million dollar executive ever came up with that imbecilic idea of hauling the newscasters outside & standing them in front of a crowd of screaming, yelling, waving, & jumping up & down, people. And by the way, I'm sure they are cued to scream, wave. & jump, upon command. It doesn't bother Kelly at all but it drives me totally bonkers & I sit there in my chair with my hands over my ears when the cue cards go up. Kelly likes the morning news & I would probably sooner thrust my hands into boiling water. And I would appreciate the news better if there was just one mature newsperson at the anchor desk!! Why does there have to be a whole 'gang' of people do the news. That just turns the news cast into a jousting match of childish silliness with each participant trying to out-funny the next person. Whatever happened to the maturity & no nonsense news broadcasting of the Walter Cronkite's of the world. Two grown up newscasters I can handle but any more than that & it's kindergarten time.

Ok, that's enough out of me for today. Those wooden splinters under my fingernails are actually smoldering now so I'd better slip outside & stick my hands in the frog pond. Not to worry, there's no frogs in our front yard pond yet so no frogs will be harmed as the result of my little rant...............10-4!!!!