Drone Flight over shores of Lake Ontario

Jamaica Vacation - 2014

On February 24th we left Toronto on a one week vacation to Montego Bay, Jamaica. We had an enjoyable seven days of warm sunny days with all you can eat and drink at the recently renovated #Royalton White Sands Beach Resort in the Parish of Trelawny, a 45 minute drive east of Montego Bay.

The weather was perfect with one or two early morning showers of rain but the rest of the time beautiful blue sky's. Mid day temperatures averaged in the low 30’s while nights were in the low 20’s Celsius.

The people at the hotel were extremely friendly and went out of their way to please us. With the exception of a few small “teething” problems with the room, we had an excellent time at this resort and give it two thumbs up for recommendation.

Here are some of the pictures we took on our visit.

Entrance to the Hotel

View looking over the pool and beach area

Looking back at the beach from Jetty

Barman at the pool bar

Talking to other guests at pool bar

Sack race at the beach

Private island off the main beach

Kite surfing at the beach

Jamaican & Canadian flags on the beach

 

Old canoe pulled up on the beach near the hotel

Weeds growing in an old abandoned canoe on the beach

Hobie-Cats are free for the taking by experienced sailors

Me out on the hobie-cat

Going down the kids water slide with Go-Pro

Shots, shots & more shots

Plate of jerk chicken & rice & peas

Jerk chicken being cut up

We left Sangster International Airport on March 4, 2014   

Ice Storm – Toronto 2013

On our way to visit the kids over the holidays you could see the results of the ice storm the closer we got to Toronto as we drove down Highway 400.
Here is a short video clip taken at the Esso gas bar located just 15 Kilometers north of the City.

End of the sailing season 2013.

I have now taken the boat out of the water and it's snugly tucked away in my back yard. The summer seems to have passed far too quickly. I did not make all the trips I had planned and thought about last winter. Most notably I did not make it to Beckwith Island which is a small island in the chain just north of Penetanguishene between Christian Island and Giants Tomb. I have heard the beaches there are breathtakingly beautiful, rivaling some of the beaches in the Caribbean. O well, there is always next year.

I did however make it out to Steers Rock which resulted in an all day motoring trip as there was little to no wind that day and it was pointless raising the sails. I had heard from sailing friends in Midland that there was some exceptional bass fishing around the Island, however I caught nothing. I was fortunate however that the conditions were favorable to visually detecting shoals and rocks in the water as I found it quite challenging picking through some rather treacherous areas where it became quite apparent that the lake bottom was quite prepare to "eat my boat" if I was not paying attention.

Here are some highlights of some of the things I did do and places I visited:

Gin Island, south west of Beausoleil Island

Visited Brian & Donna's cottage- Roberts Island

On the way to Brian & Donna's cottage

Caught me a Pike

Fall colors - October 2013

Out for a sail

On the way to Steers Island

Those dreaded shoals

New Boating Season begins 2013

Fishing for Pike in Henvy Inlet - Georgian Bay, Ontario

Spring is almost here!

Looked outside this morning and saw a true telltale sign that spring is here with no turning back. Actually, the weather outside is still cold, but the sun is out and if you sit inside with the sun streaming through the window the heat radiating from the sun feels o-so-good.

So the Robins are back in our yard. There were two of them, likely a pair. They were scratching the ground for worms or insects but I felt kind of sorry for them as the ground is still frozen.

O well, temperatures are forecast to stay above zero in a day or two. Can’t wait to get working on the sail boat & getting it back in the water.

In the meantime just sitting at the window watching the Robins and just waiting.