The Pinery July 27-29 2012

Life is GOOD!
We had another great week-end away. Friday
evening we had some rain but we sure do need it.
Through the night there were loud thunderstorms
that rolled through but it was all clear and dry by
morning.
Saturday we headed down to the beach via the
Burley campground since we had not been
through there in the daylight. We walked the
beach and I took a number of pictures along
the way. We then headed to the visitors center
to see all the new exhibits that have been finished.
Next we enjoyed an ice cream while sitting on a
bench along the channel. There were lots of people
out canoeing on the water so we did some people
watching. We headed back to our site and relaxed
for a while before having dinner and enjoying an
evening campfire.
Sunday morning we went canoeing for a couple of
hours and headed to the beach for the afternoon.
The water was warm so we enjoyed our time in the
water before heading home late in the afternoon.
P.S. Some of the pictures below are with my old
camera. Can you tell the difference??


Out for a morning canoe ride.


Lily pads and flower on the channel.


A daddy long legs spider on the hydro post.


The ferns are all drying out with the lack of rain.


Painted Lady Butterfly with its wings closed.


Painted Lady Butterfly with it wings spread out.


Sunset on the grasses at the beach.


Evening sunset on the Beach.


Saturday evening sunset.


A blue heron wading in the channel.


A blue heron on a log on the Ausable Channel.


A couple of boats out on Lake Huron from the beach.


The beach umbrella's at the beach with the color pop
option on my new camera.

A Few of My Practice Pictures.

These are a few of the better shots I have taken
in the first few days with the new camera. I can see
that I have a lot to learn but I am pleased with what
I am learning so far. I could spend hours taking
pictures but then nothing else would get done....


Ian & Brittany's front porch


Sunset driving home from Adencliffe St.


Backyard visitors at the feeder


Mr. Cardinal on the fence


Mrs. Cardinal in the pear tree


Close up of a flower


Coneflowers in the garden


Rain drops on the apples


Spiders web on the clothes line

A New Camera!!!

Sony Alpha NEX-5N Digital Camera with 18-55mm Lens
Plus a Sony E 55-210mm Telephoto Zoom Lens

I will be able to capture even better shots from our travels
with Arista. I will have to do a lot of practice shooting with
this camera to learn all of its functions. I'm looking forward
to seeing all of the great pictures I can capture with it.
Lets see if you can tell from the next few postings which pictures
are from the new camera and which are from the old one.
Good Luck!!!

MacGregor Point July 20-22 2012

Is it MacGregor Point or just a coincidence?
We had a sinking of the motor home last time we were
here and this time it was a very flat tire. Our first flat in
many, many years. Duncan couldn't remember when
he had changed a flat tire last.
We still had a great week-end in spite off this setback.
Friday we went up to visit cousin John and Joanne in
Southampton. We picked up fresh corn and veggies on
the way. We enjoyed a late supper back at camp before
we headed to the beach for sunset pictures. We had a
nice campfire before retiring for our big day ahead.
Saturdays trip to Tobermory was a little delayed. We
had a flat tire on the Jeep that we had to change.
I learned where the jack was in our car and just how to
change a tire. At some point the day before we picked
up a nail in the tire. We had a good drive up to the "Tub".
We stopped at a bakery and got some treats. We went to
the National Park, toured Tobermory and enjoyed fish
& chips for dinner.
Sunday was a relaxing day. We had breakfast at noon,
packed up and went down to the visitors center and
strolled out to Sunset Point. We soaked up a few rays
before heading home. We stopped at Crossroads in
Elmira and enjoyed there buffet for dinner.
Well, do we take our chances and go back to MacGregor
Point or should we be avoiding this park???

Memories of the week-end.

Our campsite for the week-end.


Dinner is almost ready.......YUMMY!!!


Sunset on the Inukshuk's near the beach.


Sunset over Lake Huron.


Feeling "DEFLATED"
We were all ready to head to Tobermory for the day
when Duncan discovered we had a very flat tire. :(


A view of Georgian Bay. I took this photo from near
the top of the viewing tower at the Visitors Center at
the Bruce Peninsula National Park.
P.S. I couldn't make it to the very top as the metal see
through stairs were to scary for me!!!


We hiked on one of the trails out to the waters edge.


A sailboat appears from the left on the blue waters at
Little Dunk's Bay on Georgian Bay.


Looking out over the bay to the right.


The water color was amazing and crystal clear.

I'm playing Hide & Seek.

This is a family game that is being played between Ian and

Brittany's house and our place. This Santa is passed back

and forth and we wait and see how long it takes for it to be

found and then secretly returned to the other house. I

decided I would take it camping and send some pic's to

them over the week-end of Santa's adventures. Since they

were away for the week-end they now have to figure out if

it is back at their house hiding of still with us....lol

or did he melt in the fire???

I think it is going to get very warm here!!!
Was I rescued before the heat melted me???


Inukshuk's galore out on Sunset Point.


The water was pretty calm. This is the best action shot
I could get.

Awenda, July13-15 2012

Let me introduce you to our guest for the week-end.
This is Chippy!!!

Welcome to Awenda Park. This is our second trip here and
it gets better each time we go. Our trip up is a great drive
through Hockley Valley. We stopped at the Stanton General
Store for some of the best fudge in the world and a few other
things.Another stop was just outside of Staynor for some
fresh corn, fruit and home made desserts for the week-end.
When we arrived at the park they had no record of our
booking so I had to get our reservation book and show them
our copy. With a little looking on there part they were able to
find it and we were on our way to our site.
While cooking dinner that evening we had a guest arrive
who seemed to be very friendly. It was Chippy and he
seemed to want to get to know us better. With a small
offering of peanuts the week-end friendship began.
We spent lots of time enjoying his company and he enjoying
the nuts we fed him. By Sunday morning he was there as
soon as we appeared outside but was told it was to early
and he would have to wait. He did wait and was back as
soon as we called for him. I am sure he has a good supply
of nuts to last him a while.
Saturday we headed to Penetanguishene and Midland to
check out the sights and see about taking a boat cruise on
Georgian Bay. The only cruise was a 3 1/2 hr dinner cruise
and we opted to pass as we were not planning to be in town
all day. There were hundreds of boats docked in and around
the marina's in both towns. While in Midland we drove to
the very end of Young St. just so we could say we have been at
both ends of it. If you are not aware, Young St. is the longest
street in the world. It runs from Lake Ontario in Toronto
to Georgian Bay in Midland. We had a great campfire in the
evening and headed off to bed shortly before midnight.
Sunday we were a little later getting going as we slept in a bit.
We visited with Chippy in the morning and I walked the
campground a bit to get some pic's. We headed down to the
beach after we left our site and enjoyed a nice hike to beach
#4. The water was so warm and there was lots of sand to
go for a walk out into the water. The rocks in this area were
large and spread out so you didn't need shoes on. We enjoyed
some time sitting out in the water on the rocks before we had
to head back to Arista for the drive home.
I had suggested to Duncan earlier in the day that he could
leave me and the motor home here and come back to get me
later in the week. I really was enjoying the w/e and didn't
want it to end.
P.S. I was able to get a few videos of Chippy and when I
figure out how to post them I will.

Photos of a great week-end away :o}

The red of the sunset on a log and a tree trunk on our
walk to the beach Friday evening.


Sunset through the trees near the beach.


Sunset on Georgian Bay at beach #1.


This is nature at its best. Fungus, leaves and wood.


This fungus was weeping in the heat of the day.


Fungus along the main road to our campsite.


Morning sun breaking through the trees.


The round morning sun shining on a tree
trunk with the reflection of leaves from
another tree.


Chippy our campsite friend for the week-end. If the
shells were broken open a bit he would just take the
nuts out and leave the shells behind. This way he
could take more in one trip.


His mouth is so full but still he gets more to take with
him to stash for later.


Duncan tried putting one between his toes to see if
Chippy would find it and and he did.


I had to try the toe trick. He tickled my feet when he
took them. You had to put them between your toes
while he was away or he would steal it out of your hand.


Chippy climbed right up on my lap to help himself to
some peanuts. He would eat some sitting there and
take others to his hiding spots.


This is the entrance to the house in the ground where
most of the peanuts were stashed.


This is the log he was hiding some of his peanuts in.


This seagull was hoping to join us for lunch on the
dock in Midland on Saturday afternoon. It was so
hot even he was panting.


Walking through the woods on the way to beach #4.


Sitting on a rock enjoying the view. The water here was
like bath water.


Relaxing in the warm waters of Georgian Bay at Awenda.