The Squamidian Report – Nov. 8 / 08
Issue #337
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
I didn’t bother to tell anyone ahead of time, but we are in Kitchener right now for a visit. Ryan and I flew out early Thursday morning. We drove to YVR where we caught a Westjet flight to Calgary where we would then catch the connector on to Kitchener. Waiting for us in the Calgary airport was Sue. Now how is that for a coincidence? Actually, not a coincidence at all. She was doing a Calgary audit and we had booked the flights to work out that way. However, it does remind one of that phrase, “you can run, but you can not hide”.
We left the west coast in a typical November rain, dark, heavy and persistent. Somewhere over the mountains the clouds opened, giving us some great views of the peaks and valleys, all wintered in and white. Calgary was clear but by the time we were airborne and up to altitude we were over a thick overcast that lasted all the way to the eastern shore of Lake Huron. By then it was pretty well dark so all the lights from the towns and farmsteads shown brightly and lit up the outlines of each place.
The landing at Kitchener was probably the roughest one I’ve ever been through in a commercial airliner. We came in fast and steep and hit the runway so hard that everyone gasped. I think half the passengers will now have stiff necks and sore backs. Once we cleared Kitchener International and had picked up our rental car we headed over to the homestead where Vivyan had a nice roast beast dinner waiting for us. After finishing with some home made apple pie we dropped in on Sue’s parents, then went on out to Paul & Sherry’s where we would be staying during our stay. They were still up waiting for us, a bit bleary eyed but still awake.
Always nice to come back and see farm fields, hardwood forest stands and stuff like that. Not so nice to see all the traffic and crowds of people. Something that always strikes me when visiting Ontario is the flatness. It feels claustrophobic to me. I’m used to seeing the horizon standing up in the distance, sometimes only a few miles away, sometimes a hundred miles away. But I can always see it. Here, I can only see a few hundred meters in any direction. It makes me feel like I’m in the middle of a very shallow bowel. Quite uncomfortable.
So we flew in Thursday evening and then spent Friday adjusting to the time zone difference. Hooked up with Greg for a bit in the afternoon and basically just relaxed and enjoyed.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
I guess that Digger (that’s my nick name for Doug, cuz he digs for a
living), little Digger and Mrs Digger are here on KW soil. They were supposed
to have landed around 5:20pm Thursday at Waterloo Regional International
Airport. How convenient is that to be able to land right here in the region
after boarding the jet in Vancouver earlier this afternoon? Man, we really are
becoming a “big time” metropolis aren’t we? I haven’t heard from Doug yet but
I’m sure I will get a call soon. We are hoping to get out and do our usual
motorcycle shop tour again this time. Not that either of us is looking for a
new motorcycle but it’s always fun to look at the latest offerings of the various
manufacturers. Since Ryan is here as well, maybe he’ll join us on the outing
and who knows, maybe he’ll find himself a new machine while on the tour! I took
my Kawasaki out today for a little ride to celebrate what may be the last ride
of the season for me. I intended to ride for a while in the sunshine and be a
couple of hours. I left home around 11am and I’ll be darned if I didn’t wind up
in Hanover of all places. By the time I grabbed a lunch in Drayton around noon
and then made my way up to Hanover it was around 3pm. I had figured I’d be no
later than 6pm getting home so at 3 in Hanover, it was time to head for home. I
passed about a dozen other motorcycles on the roads and it was a glorious day
for a ride. I could have just kept heading north until dark but that would have
meant that I’d be riding home tomorrow in the rain after spending a night in a
motel somewhere. It made more sense to make it a short one afternoon trip for
sure. Besides, I had promised Carole I’d be home for supper. The ride home was
just as pleasant as the ride away. There was very little traffic on the roads
and the sun was shining in a bright blue sky with a temperature of over +20c
degrees. With many kilometers of open road ahead of me I was tempted to test
that new law that makes you walk for a few months for going too fast. You know
the one I mean, the one that says it’s naughty to go more than 50kms over the
posted speed limit on any road in Ontario. I managed to contain myself and keep
my speed no more than 20 over at times. The usual cruising speed that I stick
to as a rule is no more than 10kms over the limit. I figured there a lot more
drivers passing me at that rate than there would be at 50kms over so the cops
should leave me alone at only a measly 10 over the limit. Anyway, when you’re
cruising along at a nice 90km/h it’s a very pleasant ride. You can even take
your eyes off the road a little at a time to enjoy the surrounding countryside.
It’s really beautiful here in rural Southern Ontario this time of year. I know
that the rain and colder weather are on their way but for now I think what we
have been enjoying deserves a round of applause! When cruising the countryside
of Ontario, I can’t help but think what beauty Doug and Sue are missing by
being restricted to mostly “mountain” views where they ride. Of course, those
“mountain” views are pretty spectacular as well. I just like the fact that
riding here in Ontario affords us such a varied choice of directions and turns
that we can make at any moment. I’m pretty sure that if Doug decided to make a
left turn every 10 minutes where he rides, he’d be either smacking his face
against a huge wall of boulders or flying like Evil Knievel over the Grand
Canyon, down some 6,000 ft drop into one of those lovely Salmon rivers they
have out there! He certainly makes the rides they take sound inviting and I’m
not doubting his descriptions of the incredible mountain scenery one bit. I’m
just pointing out what I think are the advantages of riding here in Ontario. We
have much more varied choice of places to head for when we hop on our
motorcycles for a days riding. I’m sure Doug would and has admitted that he
misses the farm country scenery we have back here. It’s just that we make the
best of what we have when it comes to areas and destinations we’re able to
choose when we ride the motorcycles. I would be totally impressed with the
sights and tours out in the great Rocky Mountains but I do so love the variety
of riding areas we have on this side of Canada. I’ll get out to ride the mountains
one of these years but for now I’ll just have to depend on Doug’s amazing
talent for describing what they see when riding their big HD out west. I’m sure
the scenery is breathtaking and judging by the pictures he’s sent to me and
posted on his website I’d be crashing my motorcycle every half hour due to my
gawking at the beauty of the mountains if I were riding out west. Such beauty
is truly a gift from God to anybody fortunate enough to get a chance to ride
through Canada’s great mountain province of BC. I like to try my best to make
Doug jealous when I talk about riding the countryside of Ontario but I gotta
admit that I’m jealous of his back yard as well! We live in the world’s most
beautiful country and one really doesn’t realize that until they see what
Canada has to offer from the back of a motorcycle. It’s a totally different way
to see the countryside and everyone should have a chance to experience the open
roads on a bike at least once in their lifetime! Today’s ride wound up being a
grand total of just under 300 km in length and when I was back in the city a
few blocks from home, I really had the urge to make another right and head back
out into the rural area for another few hours. I guess I’ll just have to be
satisfied with today’s ride for a while and hope that Mother Nature brings us
some more nice weather before hitting us with winter. Otherwise, it’s into the
garage and on with the cover until April 2009.
That’s about it for this week folks!
Thanks for tuning in and I look forward to talking to you all again next
week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now.. Greg.
PS: Something To Think About>
How many snow flakes does it take to make a snowball?
When posed this question, Einstein quipped “Packed or unpacked?”
Go figure! He was always such a “smartiepants”!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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