My new plan

Since making plans to be more active, read more, write more, etc. doesn't really last much longer than a week or two, I've decided on a new strategy.  I'm going to 'sit less'. That includes sitting in front of the TV or on Facebook. I know I have to sit to read or write (usually) but I figured if I plan to be less in-active, I'll have to find ways to fill my time.  I'm hoping this will lead me to stick with the push-up plan, read more each day, and even start my summer reading for English Seminar (ha).  I might even sit and stare at my phone less!

My plan (formulated at about 3:15 today) has gotten off to a good start. But don't they always?  I've done a push up workout and my squats exhaustion test.  And I've posted my blogs from my trip as well as found a new project for the week.  I found a short writing contest to enter (thanks Mom) that has monetary and publication prizes.  I only have a week to write it so that may be my lunchtime task.

Well, I've officially spent too much time on the computer so it's time for homework.  Wish me luck!

St. Joe's Island Part 3 - More Bridges!

The trip through Michigan was uneventful (again).  It’s a dull, long trip down 75.  We started listening to The Hunger Games on CD and were hooked in very little time.  When we stopped for the night, with two disks left, Alex wanted to bring them inside and keep listening.  Instead, we cooked spaghetti and then he treated me to Graeter’s, a great ice cream shop that originated in the area.  Soon after that, we were asleep with plans to have an early start.

We didn’t start as early as we had liked, but our trip through West VA would be shorter than the day before.  We finally finished the great book and I took a nap.  This is when Alex started to enjoy the ride.  Apparently we were taking a very windy road that ran (theoretically) parallel to 64 and we traveled a much more exciting and mountainous road.  When I woke up, he went on about the great views, rivers and even a “Mystery Hole” he had seen.  Then we were just about to pass the New River Gorge Bridge in West VA and he just HAD to stop, despite the present downpour.

Somehow he forced me out of the car with only a long sleeve shirt of his for cover from the rain (take note, I was also in flip flops while he changed into his hiking shoes and a raincoat).  It did stop raining long enough for us to walk out to see the third largest steel arch bridge in the world.  And Alex was happy.

Now I took over the driving, which was not a good idea.  Alex kept pestering me to take all kinds of side roads on the mountain.  Then when I refused, he decided to exaggerate every turn by flailing around in his seat, smacking the window and the dashboard.  We started to see signs for Salem and it couldn’t come soon enough.

We ended our wonderful vacation with pizza and ice cream with some friends in Roanoke and a drink at Macado’s.  I finally got rid of him, I mean, had to take him home so he could prepare for camp and I could return home for work.  But what an amazing Canadian (and American) Adventure we had.  

Is it next summer yet?

St. Joe's Island Part 2 - Whiskey Rock

Tuesday and Wednesday were very rainy days. We stayed inside most of Tuesday, napping and reading while it rained on and off. It was hard to even see across the lake for all the rain and fog.  After dinner, Alex taught me how to play Monopoly (as I have never really played the correct way) and then I beat him pretty badly. Not really, we both got pretty tired after a few hours and decided to call it a night. 

The next day started out much nicer.  Larry got his boat out of the garage and we started cleaning it off. (It was COVERED it bat poop.)  Alex was almost attacked by a bat as we were pulling the boat out of the garage. That statement isn’t entirely true but he told me I had to include it.  Larry bumped the bat house coming out of the garage and two flew out, one very close to Alex.

But once we started scrubbing down the boat, it started to rain.  Larry had gone next door to help paint but as that is not much of a rainy-day activity, he quickly joined us back inside.  Then we started up another game of Monopoly.  Larry went bankrupt, followed by Spencer but both tried to keep me strong against Alex before folding; it didn’t work.  Alex accredits his wise business dealings to his vast marketing and business education. 

After our game, Alex and I finished scrubbing down the boat and got ready to head across the island to Richard’s Landing, where we had found a good place to go out for dinner.  We only got a little lost and Karen the GPS helped us out.  We made it to The Lighthouse Grill and enjoyed a great meal outside right on the water.  Alex had the special: grilled whitefish in a blueberry sauce with corn.  I had a roasted garlic burger with fries.  Covered with caramelized onions, roasted red peppers and melted mozzarella cheese, it was definitely the best burger I have had in a while. 

Stuffed beyond comfort, we walked around a little to look at the lighthouse, the boats and the rest of Richard’s Landing.  It’s a bit bigger than Hilton but not much.  It has a small hospital and school, and we got dessert at the Village Ice Cream before finding our way back.

Again, we got only a bit lost on the way home (I think Karen has some trouble with Canadian roads) and found ourselves too tired for much more that evening.

Thursday was the day for boating! We had gorgeous weather all the way through.  First we had to find a way to build a mooring for when we brought the boat back.  Alex and Larry lifted heavy chains and concrete to drag to the perfect spot offshore. I supervised.  Once that was settled we drove the boat to the marina and had a flawless launch. We topped off the gas tank and took her out to sea…or lake!

First we met up with some friends at Whiskey Rock, which is just a giant rock that’s great for jumping.  I didn’t have enough courage to jump off the highest point, but Alex did. I jumped off a lower rock after a lot of peer pressure from everyone there.

After a few hours at Whiskey, Larry took us farther along to a friend of his that has his very own island! It was a large house on a rocky island just big enough for the house, a dock and a back porch overlooking the gorgeous water and the rest of St. Joe’s.  We sat there visiting for a while during which time my pink shoulders turned red. 

The trip back was when things really got interesting.  The boat was giving us a little trouble, but we chalked it up to old gas.  But as we got closer and closer to the dock, the boat was slowing down.  Then we noticed the back of the boat had some water in it.  We made it to shore safely but then we had to figure out just what to do next.  We tried to drag it ashore until we could figure out how to fix it.  However, that was much more difficult than we thought.  We stabilized it enough to go get Larry’s truck and trailer from the marina.

I stayed at the cabin when Alex and Larry went back to fix it.  I wish I had gone with them to witness how easily the boat was fixed.  It was a simply a problem with the plug being loose and the guys easily had the boat back up and running instead of slowly sinking.

We cleaned up and headed next door for dinner with the Frieses (Alex’s great uncle, cousins and their friends).  Jono, his cousin, is a professional chef and made us a delectable meal which we enjoyed with some red wine.  Spencer made a sweet raspberry crisp for dessert.

St. Joe's Island Part 1 - 980 miles

My Dove chocolate wrapper (thanks Mrs. Fisher) couldn’t be more accurate: You are exactly where you are supposed to be.

A view to never tire of, sore arms from rowing against the waves and pink shoulders from the warm Canadian sun. This is vacation.

After two days in the car from Salem, VA to St. Joseph’s Island, Ontario (St. Joe’s, here), it’s nice to sit a few minutes in the cool evening breeze watching the waves roll in.  Not that we haven’t spent any time sitting watching the same view.  Something about the calm lake and blue skies makes silence quite comfortable.

First, we left Salem at about 9am Saturday morning. We made great time to Middletown, only stopping once for gas and to refill our snacks.  We were in pretty early so we visited with Alex’s Uncle Tom before dinner at Olive Garden with his grandparents and father. It was nice to have a full meal after a day on the road.  Then, when it finally hit us what a long day we had ahead of us, we set the alarm for 5 am and see how far we’d make it.  I drove the first 5 hours while Alex slept on and off, switching CDs in between.  Where West Virginia is fast-paced rolling hills, Michigan is as flat as can be.  Good news is, I only saw one cop, and it seemed he was in a good mood. Again, we only made short stops for gas and made it to the border by 1:30 pm.  We hit the duty-free store and crossed the bridge. Customs was a piece of cake.  (Canadians aren’t as suspicious as Americans, I guess.)  We hit a grocery story before taking on the last hour to the island. 

So Canada isn’t much different than flat and foresty Michigan.  More trees and more flat roads.  But the speed limits are much slower. And, yes, I know it is kilometers and not miles, but it’s still much slower.  Only one wrong turn before the cabins came into view.  I love it here!  Slow-paced and very friendly.  All the families on this part of the beach go back centuries, as they’re grandparents, et cetera, bought the land together.  They were all from Ohio, looking to escape the humitidy of the summer, and they and their descendants have been returning yearly ever since.

Alex’s Uncle Spencer introduced us to all of those people, and his Uncle Larry gave us a tour of the land and the beach.  There’s a few boats, a small beach behind the next cabin where his cousins are staying and plenty of vegetation.  There’s a hotel, General Store and a few bars a decent walk up the road. 

We spent Sunday evening going from house-to-house as Spencer introduced us to anyone around.  Then we made it down the road and were watching all the kids play (yes, there were more than could be counted) play until the mosquitos drove us into a cabin to listen to Larry and a few others play the mandolin, guitar and flute for us to enjoy as the sun disappeared and I got very sleepy.  We walked back along the road taking note of all the stars.  Spencer has a great telescope set up, but we decided to wait until tonight to really star-gaze.  We had officially been up for 19 hours and it was time for bed.

Today, we both canoed and kayaked around a bit, walked into ‘town’ and even took a nap. Now, after a dinner of great spaghetti and pesto, I’m enjoying a glass of Bear Hug wildberry rum and Coke feeling the cool breeze come in off the water right up through the window.  Dierks Bentley is strumming some blue grass; Alex and Larry are reading. I think we’ll soon take our drinks down the boardwalk to water and take some pictures.

Tomorrow might be the day to head over to Richard’s Landing (an hour or so drive across the island) where there is a great restaurant on the water and some more places to explore.