A LITTLE BIT OF RAIN & A LITTLE BIT OF SUN

IT'S HARD TO THINK OF THIS VESSEL AS A 'LIFEBOAT'

I have decided to put Sunday's tour of the Coast Guard vessel into a Picasa photo album instead of the blog.  You can access that album here....CAPE DISCOVERY  & my post for that tour is here....VERY LARGE LIFEBOAT

 

HE HAS THE WIND IN HIS SAILS & FOR THE REST OF THE SAILING PICS CLICK...SAIL & CANVAS

With only minutes to spare after the first clap of thunder this morning I was able to zip outside in my PJ's, get the cover on the motorcycle & the motorhome door closed.  The rains were quickly upon us just as I slipped back inside the patio door.  By the looks of the weather map, we could be in for a very wet day.  But, that is OK because rainy days are good for getting caught up on inside stuff without feeling guilty about not being outside in the nice weather.

HEADING OUT INTO LAKE HURON

Not being a big city feller I'm not used to those taller buildings where you vertically travel up & down from one floor to the other in those small fancy moving rooms.  On Monday we moved my Uncle Harry out of his assisted living quarters on the 4th floor of a building in Woodstock Ontario.  That meant a lot of trips up & down in an elevator for me.  Three times with loads of stuff under my arms I stepped off the elevator when the doors opened only to realize I was on the wrong floor.  I would then quickly make a lunge for the button before the doors closed & the elevator sped off to who knows where for another bunch of minutes.  But, it was when I got on the elevator sometimes deep in thought about the move, & stood there for 30 seconds or so before realizing the elevator wasn't moving that bugged me the most.  Press the button dummy!!  Darned fangled contraptions anyway!!

KID'S AT PLAY ALONGSIDE BAYFIELD'S PIER

My Uncle is on the ground floor of the new facility he is in so luckily for me I did not have to try jockeying any elevators from floor to floor when we got there.  Elevator stress can be rather bad news for a small town boondocker oriented older feller if you know what I mean!!

   

 

BOAT FOLKS

And just a note about home care facilities.  It has been my experience over the last number of years either because of family members or with my part time mobility van job, to be in & out of many various care giving places.  Without exception I am always impressed with the staff & how much care & concern goes into looking after all the folks in their care.  When my Dad was dying of cancer at home many years ago I saw first hand how the ladies coming in from the Victorian Order of Nurses went all out to make his final months & days as comfortable as possible.  I will never forget that.

WATERY REFLECTIONS

Compared to our move on Monday this day turned out to be a very quiet Tuesday.  A little bit here  & a little bit there with not much of this & not much of that thrown in for good measure.  Some members of Kelly's family were up to Bayfield this past week end staying in a couple of the Deerpark cottages.  I slipped over Saturday night to do a bit of socializing with the folks but of course I was careful not to overdo it.  Wouldn't want people thinking I am some kind of a wild party animal.  Took me a lot of years of hard work to live that reputation down you know.....:))

SABRA, ONE OF KELLY'S TWIN DAUGHTERS HOLDS ONE OF HER 2 BOYS

And this is my second attempt at posting this blog tonight.  Error 400 sank my first effort again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GROANER'S CORNER:((  You know your getting over the hill when your idea of weight lifting is standing up or it takes longer to rest than it did to get tired.  Maybe our memory is shorter and your complaining lasts longer too.  How about when your sitting in a rocking chair and can't get it going.  And here's the one that really hurts....It takes twice as long to look half as good these days!!

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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/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

IT WAS A LOOOOONG MOVING DAY

BAYFIELD'S SUNDAY REGATTA JUST OFF SHORE

Today was the day we moved my Uncle Harry from his assisted living place in Woodstock Ontario to a nursing home in Mitchell.  It was a very looooong 10 hour day but everything went better than expected & Harry was a true trooper as his whole world changed around him in just a matter of hours. I am soooooo totally tired tonight that I'm going to make this a short blog.  I will post some comments about today's activities in a later blog.  But first, a couple of things. 

 

HARRY'S LAST 3 GAMES OF POOL AT PARK PLACE WITH A STAFF MEMBER THIS MORNING....& HE WON ALL 3:))

I had hoped to post a second blog tonight with the photos from my time aboard the Coast Guard vessel on Sunday but that is going to have to wait until tomorrow now.   I also have to get to the bottom of my blog publishing problems!!

 

RESCUE SPECIALIST JAMIE OAKLEY POINTS OUT SOME ELECTRONIC GEAR ON THE UPPER DECK OF, 'CAPE DISCOVERY.'

For all you Live Writer users out there, be sure to read RICK'S blog today.  He clears up some questions people have had & explains in easy terms the workings of Live Writer.  In fact, Rick is probably going to do a second follow up blog because of additional questions coming in.  I am hoping WAYNE & ROBERTA are reading this because they had emailed me about a week ago with the very same question Rick has answered so well in today's blog about photo sizing.  I've been feeling bad that I hadn't got back to them:((  Rick for sure is the 'Go To' guy for anyone out there with Live Writer questions.  And I am for sure the 'Go To' guy if you need to know how to build yourself a great soy shake for breakfast in the morning:))  Of course there might be those of you who would disagree with that I'm sure..:((

THE LITTLE MOTORMOUSE GETS HERE NAILS TRIMMED

Ok, gotta go rest my weary bones.  Hopefully I can get caught up on my blog reading tomorrow as well.............Oooooga Booooga:))

THIS IS LANGDON, ONE OF KELLY'S COOL & GROOVY 'GRANDS:))'

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if
green vegetables smelled as good as bacon & did you know a raisin is nothing more than a grape with a sunburn!! 
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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/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

ABOARD A VERY LARGE LIFEBOAT TODAY

Had a big problem tonight with my old nemesis Error 400 & the blog would not publish so I have had to go back & take all the pictures out again except for two which I'll try now to publish.  Monday night I will publish the rest of the photos from tonight's blog & hope that works.  Wished I knew why I am having these ongoing problems with either Blogger or Live Writer.  Didn't use anything from the external hard drive so that isn't the problem this time!!!!    11 P.M. here goes!!

 

I headed down to the harbor area this morning just in time to see the Coast Guard vessel pulling in from it's home base in Goderich.  While they were docking & getting set up I watched about a dozen sailboats a quarter mile off the end of the pier zig zagging & criss crossing amongst themselves in some kind of contest or race.  I could here someone blowing a whistle occasionally.  People were scrambling around on the decks & the sounds of large wind driven sails could be heard flapping in the stiff on shore breeze.  I know absolutely nothing about sailing but thought some of the boats seemed to be uncomfortably close to each other. 

After a few minutes I noticed they had the Coast Guard boat secured so walked back down the pier & waited by the gang plank.  A uniformed crew member waved me on board & it was apparent right from the start that Rescue Specialist Jamie Oakley was the first of 4 courteous crew members on duty today.  A narrow steel walkway with a white hand rail led back to the aft deck & up a short ladder to the top outside bridge.  Jamie pointed out the state of the art electronic navigation & communication equipment-gyro stabilized radar, electronic charts, RDF equipment,VHF intership communication & VHF AM air to ground communication systems.  All this equipment & more is replicated one deck below in the wheelhouse where I caught a glimpse of Capt. Greg Kingston on his way to an even lower deck.  He too was busy with the tour.

From the upper bridge it was back down the  rear ladder, around a tight corner & into the enclosed deck below.  Practically every inch of space is utilized & this was where I saw a lot of weather gear hanging.  Heavy coats, jackets, & coveralls.  Janet Elliot, the boat's engineer was in this small space & happily opened a second hatch door facing rear & downward.  This was the engine compartment with it's 2 large gleaming Cat 3196 geared diesel engines.  900hp drive 2 fixed pitch 4 bladed propellers & the boat can reach 25 knots.  Janet seemed especially proud of the gearing system located under our feet.  She pulled up a couple deck covers to reveal the transfer cases & one of the propeller shafts facing aft.  I have a feeling this gal likes to get in there & get her hands dirty:))

Another small hatch opened forward through the bulkhead to reveal another space with a lot of canisters, piping & tubing.  CO'2 containers were stored here with a lot of other things I didn't recognize.  And again, another small heavy metal door led forward into the bow space.  By the way, you do not walk upright through these doors.  You pretzel yourself up, grab an overhead hand rail & somehow unceremoniously launch yourself through the opening.  Large black plastic containers held more gear in this bow area but I have forgotten what kind of gear.  Not a lot of room to stand up in some of these spaces & there I was lugging around my long 300mm lens bashing it against this & thumping it on that.  Both Jamie & Janet were eager to explain things & I was trying my best to come up with some intelligent sounding questions for them.  Bit of a stretch for me you know!!  It wasn't until later that I wondered if they had some kind of washroom of sorts on board.  Or a pull down cot for a quick snooze maybe.  Or a small fridge for snacks & drinks.  What about a coffee maker & where did they stash their on board peanut butter!! (I couldn't go to sea without my peanut butter)

From the gear room it was up a short ladder with a squeeze through into the interior bridge.  This small space was crammed with all kinds of electronics.  I have seen Jumbo Jet cockpit pictures that looked like this.  Two captains chairs were in here & it looked like it would be a bit of challenge to even get into them.  Jamie did allude to the fact about the interior design not being optimized to it's full design potential.  Directly behind the seats another short ladder led up & out onto the exterior bridge above where we had started the tour.  Crewman Jason Hamilton was there explaining the bridge electronics to a few more folks.

There were a fair few people gathering on the boat for the tour now so I was anxious to free up some space & get myself back on the pier.  We RV folks are used to tight spaces but our rig is a palatial palace compared to the tight quarters aboard this Coast Guard Vessel.  Jamie & Jan filled me in on the names of the crew members before I debarked & with a firm handshake & an armload of pamphlets I was across the short gangplank & back on the pier.  A big thank you to all the crew for the tour:))

Here are a few additional stats on the "Multi Task Medium Endurance Lifeboat."  It is 14.63 meters long (47ft) with a breadth of 4.27meters.  Carries 1560 litres of fuel & 22.7 litres of fresh water.  Space enough to seat 5 survivors & this boat has the technology & ability to right itself if it rolls over in heavy seas.  This class of vessel has a medium range with moderate to high speed capable to operating in all weather conditions.  The crew does not live on board but is based out of a shore station which in this boat's case is Goderich Ontario just up the coast from Bayfield.  During the winter this vessel is dry-docked in Sarnia Ontario.  You may have noticed I haven't referred to this vessel by it's name & I am embarrassed to say that is because I never thought to look on the side of the boat for her name.  And here I am, an old Navy guy from way back in the 60's & I didn't even get the name of the boat I was on today.  Geeeezzzzz!!  But wait, I just did a little sleuthing on Google & I am guessing the name of today's boat was......Cape Discovery:))  In fact, once I had a good look at today's pics I did notice that I had caught the name on the side in one of the pics.               

Spent the afternoon working on the days photos & found some time to take all the furry guys over to Deerpark for a swim on the beach.  Both Checkers & Max love the water but the little Motormouse won't have anything to do with it.  Members of Kelly's family spent the week-end at Deerpark & I'll blog about that with some photos in a later blog.  All & all, thanks to the Canadian Coast Guard, I had myself.......a good Sunday:))

JUST KIND OF A NOTHING SATURDAY:((

Only pics I have today are a few from this mornings excursion to the Ritz Lutheran Villa Nursing Home in Mitchell

Rather than rabble & babble on about nothing & bore everyone to tears I will today just keep this blog to a slight hand full of short paragraphs.

Feels like the summer weather is finally upon is.  All the local beaches will be crowded on the week-ends, traffic will increase, boats are all back in the water, restaurants are in full swing & parking places at the local grocery store will be non existent.  Summer is a good time for Al to just hide out in our cool pine forest away from the touristy downtown crowds.

Kelly & I slipped over to the little town of Mitchell this morning to have a look at the Nursing Home facility we are moving my Uncle Harry to Monday.  Very nice.  Beautiful grounds with lots of flower gardens.  The inside is bright & spacious & there are a lot of activities going on for everyone.  I remembered being there a couple times back in the late 80's when I did a couple slide travelogues for the folks.

                 

Some of you may remember a photo contest I entered here in Bayfield a couple months or so ago for the upcoming 2011 Bayfield Calendar.  As stated at the time I was reluctant to enter because I have never cared much for any kinds of contest things.  And, as expected, I was not one of the winners.  I am not at all connected with the downtown artsy Bayfield social network you know:))  Just thought the judging committee could have shown some consideration to at least notify by email the non winning folks who took the time & made the effort to enter their contest.   Aw, yes indeed, tis a great little place this here wee Bayfield town.....................10-4:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And in keeping with last night's Oxymoron theme....If Webster wrote the first dictionary, where did he find the words.....Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack......Why does "slow down" and "slow up" mean the same thing....Why do "tug" boats push their barges.....Why are they called "stands" when they are made for sitting.....Why is it called "after dark" when it really is "after light".....Doesn't "expecting the unexpected" make the unexpected expected.....Why are a "wise man" and a "wise guy" opposites?

And, by the way, I'm not the guy who thinks these things up, I just stick them in Groaners Corner from time to time:((

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/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

I NEED MORE DAYS LIKE TODAY:))

MORNING ON THE LAKE IN WROXETER, ONTARIO (Canon Powershot A720)

The early morning cool air gave way to the sweet smell of new mown hay as I cruised through our emerald green rural farmland on my way to pick up the day's first passenger.   Some farmer's were already on the land cutting & raking the long winding rows of clover & alf alfa grasses.  No rain in our forecast for awhile so the freshly cut hay will rest on the ground drying in the warming sun waiting for the farmer to return in a few days with his bailer.  Soon, big round & smaller rectangular bails of hay will dot the countryside over hill & dale.  No majestic mountains here but we sure do have ourselves a pretty countryside in the late spring, summer, & early fall.  OK, wintertime can be pretty too......sometimes!!

         

A FEW QUICK SHOTS THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD OF FRESH CUT & BAILED HAY

Just as I do not like being here in the winter I would not like being in the deserts of the southwest in the summer either.  I was in Florida for a week one time during the summer & that was the worst heat & humidity I have ever experienced!!  Cold northern winters can hold a person captive in their own house just as easy as the hot blistering summers can do the same thing in the southern States.

QUICKLY PULLED OVER & TOOK THESE PHOTOS BEFORE PICKING UP MY FIRST PASSENGER THIS MORNING

Well, we finally received the phone call we have been waiting for.  The call could have come weeks ago, today, or a year from today.  It was an unknown factor.  A room has come available in an area Nursing Home & my Uncle Harry's name was next on the waiting list.  Not sure about the States but here in Canada this process happens very quickly.  In fact we only have 48 working day hours to have him moved about 40 miles to the new facility.......lock, stock, & barrel.  Both Kelly & are working all day to day so bright & early Monday morning we will take both our vehicles to Woodstock Ontario & begin Harry's move to a town much closer to us called, Mitchell.  This will not be an easy move for my 94 year old Uncle.  He has been in the assisted living facility in Woodstock for nearly 8 years now & has made a lot of friends there.  It is going to be a difficult day for everyone.

Took our new Toshiba laptop with me on my work travels today & managed to finally get a good start on some backed up emails while sitting in a hospital parking lot in the town of Listowel Ontario. Transported a lady here from another small town so I have some waiting time. The back seat of this Mini-Van offers the most room so here I am stuffed into a small bucket seat with the side doors open & a cooling breeze flowing through.  And luckily, I am parked in the shade of a big old Maple tree.  I have our new Toshiba laptop with me which has Windows 7 on it. Our other two, & currently more used computers at home, are both running XP so it's always a bit of a re-learning curve whenever I use the newer operating system.  Aging brain cells & the ever changing rapid growth of new electronic technologies do not always make for a happy AL camper!!

              

FIRST TIME I EVER SAW A TIM HORTON'S LOCATED IN A COMMERCIAL BLOCK OF BUILDINGS.....Listowel Ontario Canada

Turned out to be a long working day today since I left the house at 7:15 this morning & never returned until 6:15 tonight.  Had a nice van to drive & I got to see even more of our lush June countryside than I usually do.  Even managed to get myself on a few more roads that I have never been on before.  I like when that happens & I really need more days like today...........:))

I HAD A NICE LITTLE VAN TO DRIVE TODAY WHILE SLIPPING THROUGH OUR BEAUTIFUL GREEN COUNTRYSIDE:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Why do you press harder on the buttons of a remote control when you know the batteries are dead & why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle.  And while we're at it.......If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay you to do it?  Just a few of the more important parts of my life that I thought about today.

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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/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

NO HEAD SHAKING STUFF IN TONIGHT'S BLOG:))

MOM, DAD, & THE KIDS AT THE BEACH TODAY (Painted Turtles)

First thing this morning the Ophthalmologist office phoned to cancel my appointment for today.  The eye Doctor guy was sick so my appointment was rescheduled for next Thursday at noon.

LITTLE MOTORMOUSE DOESN'T LIKE TO GET HER PAWS WET IN THE EARLY MORNING GRASS

Spent a couple hours over at Deer Park Lodge again this morning trimming shrubs & clearing some brush.  It was the first time I had ever used a gasoline powered weed whacker.  It sure makes my little electric one here at home look like a wimpy bowl of soupy porridge.  Luckily a lawn cutting guy was there & was able to show me how to start the darn thing or I would still be there trying to figure that out.  Had a short mobility van run this afternoon & that was about it for the day.  I have a busy day on Friday with the company mini-van so that should keep me out of trouble for the whole day.  Might be a good idea to take the laptop & get caught up on some emails between stops.

IT'S NOT OFTEN WE MEET ANYONE ON THE TRAIL

I thought KAREN IN THE WOODS had a particularly interesting blog post today on 'Rustic RV Camping.'  Maybe not everybody's cup of RV tea but Karen explains why they enjoy camping with their Class A in rustic RV Parks deep in the wilds of the Wisconsin woods.  She knows that some folks won't understand why they would do that......but I know why:))

SPOTTED THIS GREEN HERON BY THE WATER'S EDGE THIS MORNING

For all you truck & fifth wheel jockeys out there you might want to check out HOMER & LUCILLE'S post on their new Pull-Rite Super Glide hitch and Fifth Wheel Airborne pin box  This sounds like quite a space age hitch they have just had installed in their Dodge 3500 dually.  Comes with a bit of a Space Age price tag too but Mike sounds mighty happy with it's performance.

                                 

THE HERON TAKES FLIGHT, LANDS AMIDST THE TURTLES, & THEN TAKES FLIGHT AGAIN UP INTO A PINE TREE (click to enlarge)

I am way behind on my email responses again so Wilf, Nellie, Phil, & a few  of you other folks who have emailed in questions, I have your emails rounded up here on my desktop now & will be answering them very shortly.  I enjoy corresponding with people but my biggest problem is remembering to do it so I have to figure out some kind of fool proof system here so that I do not forget people.  I know I have forgotten emails in the past.  I know what is like to send someone an email & not have it answered:((

Janie & John over at FLAMINGO ON A STICK have an interesting post on their transition from house to apartment to RV.  It will be of particular interest for folks in the various stages of 'downsizing' before hitting the road full time.

<<<< SPOTTED MY FIRST WILD STRAWBERRY TODAY

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

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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/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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

WE ARE A MINORITY ON OUR OWN BLOG

THAT IS A SALT WATER POOL AT DEER PARK.....I cut those Cherry tree limbs off a week ago & Kelly stuck a couple birdhouses on them:))

Again I am short of photos so quickly cracked off a few shots at Deer Park Lodge where Kelly works.  I was there today trimming a lot of overgrown shrubs etc.  The rest of the pics are from my photo files.

NOTICE THE LADDER ON THE LEFT WHICH I FORGOT TO MOVE OUT OF THE PICTURE (plus the garden hose).....I HAD STOOD ON THAT LADDER TO TAKE THE TOP BIRDHOUSE/POOL PHOTO FOR THE POST

Grand Bend Ontario is a small village on the shores of Lake Huron about 20 minutes south of us here in Bayfield.  On the Southside of the river in 'the Bend' is the Grand Bend Yacht Club with it's dockside buildings & moorings.  One of those buildings is a taller replica light house.  In the winter time that lighthouse acts like a beacon for us although we may be up to 3,000 miles away in the Arizona or California desert.  With a few magical clicks of our computer mouse we are able to instantly check on the weather back home with an actual bird's eye visual view of the Grand Bend harbor area.  And how is that possible??

On the top floor of that light house, inside & out of the weather behind a window, sits a live webcam mounted on a tri-pod.  This cam takes a photo once every minute 24/7.  From the warm comfort of our Motor Home in a windblown desert location we can see how much snow is on the ground or ice in the river at any time.  Are they having a snow storm or is it a bright sunny day back home.  Sometimes we see people & cars on the screen.  Maybe even a sea gull or two sitting on a post by the river.   We can even see a partial sunset out over the lake some evenings.  In the springtime when we check the camera I particularly watch to see when the ice breaks up in the river because once the ice is gone we know it's time to start planning our journey home.  Here you can see the live view from that GRAND BEND WEB CAM

  (click to enlarge) 

Be sure to read LAURIE'S POST about their visit to the Memorial crash site of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania a few days ago.  The fourth plane hijacked on September 11th, 2001.

I think it was TRAVELS WITH EMMA who had a question a couple days ago about how I decide which camera lens to take with me when I head out the door.  Our morning walk takes us through a pine forest with a few open spaces here & there.  Anything moving is likely to be small & of the wildlife nature.  That lends itself to a telephoto lens so that is generally what I carry.  I have been trying for the past couple of years to get a picture of a flying Kingfisher near the pond so every morning I have my camera & telephoto lens locked & loaded as I approach the pond but so far he has just been too fast & elusive for me.  For hiking I carry two cameras with 2 separate lenses that covers all the basis from 18mm wide angle right up to 300mm telephoto.

<<<< FILE PIC WITH MY 2 CAMS & OLDER 55-200MM LENS (June 2009)

While reading a few blogs this morning I came across some folks talking about blog followers & how some followers come & some drop away for whatever reasons.  As human beings we are all so vastly different yet so much the same with our many varied interests, preferences, & ideas.  As RV folks we all have a common bond in our love of travel & an alternative lifestyle different from what is considered 'the norm' by the majority of house people.  Full Timers of course are way out there on the leading edge & we Snow Birders are not far behind with our winters in the south.   Week-end RV campers bring up the rear with shorter get-aways whenever they can.   Within the RV lifestyle are many mini lifestyles as well & quite awhile ago something occurred to me about our blog which concerned our, 'blogs we follow' list in the right hand column.'  I realized we are in a minority of our own, even right here in our own blog.

JUST ONE OF THE MANY COLORFUL LITTLE SHOPS ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

As anyone knows who has followed The Bayfield Bunch for any length of time, we do not fit 'the norm.'  (and we are quite happy with that) Not only at home here but in the RV world as well.  And I emphasize the word 'we' when I am talking about all of this by the way.  The vast majority of RV folks are RV Park people which means they prefer nice level concrete sites with full hook-ups & all the comfy amenities like pools, spas, & shopping malls.  We prefer to boondock in out of the way quiet places & enjoy the natural world around us.  A lot of folks like to go from point A to point B & stay there for the  whole winter.  Three weeks in any one place is plenty long enough for me!!  Most east coast folks prefer Florida, Georgia, & Texas but our preference is New Mexico, Arizona, & California.  RV people are an extremely sociable lot with constant visiting & socializing.  We as a rule prefer to hang out by ourselves & avoid all that pressure.  We like to hike & go places by ourselves & not in groups.  We are not 'food' people & heading out on restaurant excursions in search of fine foods is not up our alley.   Seems most of the folks love to have the 'Grands' come for a visit.  I'm still trying to figure out what the heck a 'Grand' is.  Got a fair few religious speaking folks on our list too & once again we find ourselves in a minority.  Most RV people are animal lovers though so we definitely made the normalcy grade there but it's no wonder I get myself into hot water sometimes on the blog here when I express my thoughts & opinions from time to time.  (like tonight for example) As I said before, in an odd sort of way, we are a minority on our own blog............................

GROANER'S CORNER:((  And did you know that very bad decisions generally make for very good stories:))

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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/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/ (a work in progress)

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