Speedbumps in Life

As our sojourn in Florida continues, we are now spending time in Naples with old friends from high school who have built a lovely winter retreat here. We picked them up at the airport and will spend a week visiting them. Since they are living here for a portion of the year, they have to arrange services, including water, power, cable, internet, phone etc. . . . .

I don't think I will swim here

When we arrived at their house he discovered that the TV was not working, and he decided that a trip to the local TV/Internet/Phone provider was in order. He warned me that it would probably be a zoo there. The provider was notorious for providing slightly less than exemplary service. In fact as we drove up to their storefront service center, he expressed relief that the line-up did not extend outside down the sidewalk.

He did warn me that I might be in for a bit of a wait, but I went along anyway, and as he waited inside eagerly anticipating his number being called, I stood around outside chatting with people as they came in for service.

This being the end of the season here in Naples and many of the “Snowbirds” were headed back north hoping for the arrival of spring in New Jersey, Chicago, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and had to return their Internet routers, TV Receivers, DVR recorders, and assorted other IT bits and pieces. I actually had a good time standing out making new friends in Naples Florida. 

First person I met was a gentleman from Ireland who had seen a condo advertised for sale in Naples on E-Bay. It looked interesting, and on a lark, he put in a couple of bids before going to bed for the night. He woke the next morning to an e-mail announcing that he was the successful bidder and now owned a condo in Naples. Our spirited conversations about visiting Ireland and Nova Scotia drew other people in and the cranky people waiting to complain and bitch about their TV, their Internet or their Phones suddenly started smiling and chatting.

One girl said she had already gone and enjoyed a starbucks coffee, but her number in line was still far enough in the future that the neighboring shop offering pedicures was starting to appeal as a way to pass the time.

Yup . . .  Southern Eatin

Then we all stopped to watch the newest arrival. A man and woman approached from the parking lot. He was clutching a red bag containing his TV receiver and Internet router, and she was clutching his arm. These were serious ‘snowbirders’ determined to spend as much of their golden years down here in the Naples warm sunshine. They slowly inched across the road in front of the office. But between them and their destination someone had installed a speed bump. He hit the bump, but his shuffling gait only got him half way up before he was bounced back. Determined to return his IT gear so it would be here for him next year he made another shuffle at the speedbump, but again was unable to make it up and over. He turned to his wife holding his arm, and she gave him a bit more push on the next attempt and with a satisfied smile he made it over and continues his journey to the shop.

Ask me if I'm relaxed yet?

Now this was extremely funny to watch, but stop and think for a minute. This guy was probably over 90, and had a very difficult time getting around, but he arrived in a car, was returning IT gear from his visit to Florida so was probably returning to someplace colder in the north, and he and his wife were doing it on their own. I say good for them!

I hope I have to tenacity to make three attempts at speedbump ascent when I am their age. Live life to the fullest while you can. 

*** Please note the pictures in the post are just general pictures from Florida - I did not take shots of the Speedbump attempts . . . .  ***

Rolling South

I don’t really like winter. I like it HOT – there is no such thing as “too hot”. I quickly get used to the heat. I also enjoy driving, so driving south to Florida is a very pleasant experience, and I enjoy each kilometer that brings me closer to warm sunny weather. Or at least that is how it is supposed to be . . . . .

Rolling South

This trip it took much longer for the “South” to make its presence known. It was bitter cold when we left, and even though it was officially spring, the temperature was -10° as we left home, and dropped to -15° as we made our way through New Brunswick. There was still snow on the ground at home, and it seemed to take forever to get rid of it. Of course it didn’t help that we were fleeing a huge storm that was coming up the coast against us. We avoided it by going in-land, but it spread snow all the way south to Virginia.

Trees in Bloom

Rolling south brings temperature changes as you progress down through the states. Normally the temperatures gradually increase, but this time it took much longer. Leaving Connecticut it was -7°, and although it did get up to 0° as the sun came up, it remained at 0° way down to West Virginia. From there it slowly came up a bit to +4°, but when we stopped in Virginia for the night Regis had to scrape not only our windshield but also the lady’s car parked next to us. She was not prepared for the -5 that morning and didn’t even own a scraper. It didn’t actually warm up until we reached South Carolina when it got up to 10°, but the real warmth did not arrive until we got to Georgia when things finally started climbing, and by the time we hit Florida it was finally up to 20°.

The other thing you look for as you roll south is the changes in the vegetation. At home everything is dull boring, brown, but as you roll south things slowly start to green. First come the farmer’s fields fertilized and prepped for the year to come. This appeared first in West Virginia, but as you got to southern Virginia even the highway mediums were starting to green up. Finally in the Carolinas the trees start to bloom and green buds appear. As we got to South Carolina even the trees started to leaf out, and finally in Florida things are actually green.

Florida at Last

Of course the other change that occurs as you roll south is the clothing. Before Virginia it was all winter clothes and boots. The first T-Shirt did not appear until Virginia, and he was pushing it in my opinion. The first pair of shorts appeared in South Carolina, and the flip-flops did not arrive until we hit Florida, where the bikinis and pink surfer shorts also made an appearance.

I’m hoping that I stay here in the warmth long enough that I do not have to roll north into freezing weather again . . . .

Doing the Snowbird Thing

We have had a pretty bad winter this year, cold, snowy, and generally miserable. Spring has arrived, but there is still more winter type weather to come. We just got word that the “storm of the year” was headed up the coast to dump more snow on Nova Scotia than we have gotten all winter. I think it is time to escape to someplace warm. Last year we went to Portugal, and spent a month is Spain the year before, but this year we thought we would stay on this side of the pond and give Florida a try. You know, do that Canadian Snowbird thing.

We discovered that we have a lot of friends who have “places” in Florida and they all seemed very keen to have us come to visit. In fact, as we started looking into this option, we discovered an excess of places we could stay – we had too many people wanting us to come south. We had friends who bought a house during the real estate crisis in the US, we had friends who had timeshares, we had friends who built their own southern retreats, we had relatives who lived in Florida, and we had friends who were renting places in the warmth. Why get our own place when we had lots of people to visit?

Regis found that she had over 20 % of her pickleball partners living down in one resort in Florida, and as one of the EDCC Pickleball ambassador  she felt it was her duty to go and see how they were doing.  Me, I am just going to sit in the sun and see if I can find some decent beer down there to sample. So my travel blog this time will follow our trip south to Florida.

Wandering Ottawa After the Storm

Waiting for Spring

It snowed yesterday in Ottawa, there was even a “Snowfall Advisory” which is something for Ottawa where I believe it snows almost every day in the winter. There was a parking ban, so I had to find some place to park the truck, and the kids who live in houses without parking had to relocate their vehicles as well. 

This morning the snow was over, and the sun was shining. It was a

Golden Ice Sculpture

 good time for a walk, for the fresh snow gives everything a clean fresh coat, and city is buzzing with activity with everyone cleaning up from the storm. The city of Ottawa does snow removal very professionally, and they mobilize an army of men and equipment to clear the snow and bring the city back to normal. Ryan and Alisha live on a busy major thoroughfare, and I’m sure during the storm and following it, some sort of city snow removal machine goes by every 30 minutes, and around the corner from Ryan’s house, a neighbour dressed in safety reflective jacket has had his snowblower going since early morning, clearing sidewalks and neighbours parking spots. Don’t know if he gets paid or if he just enjoys it, but he has been going at it all day.

Snowed In

I went out for a walk through the streets of Ottawa taking pictures. Sometimes the new snow creates interesting subjects, sometimes I just notice something new. I enjoy doing these walks every time I come to visit, and always find photographic subjects. For example I found a building with steam seeping from wood trim of the roof, and dripping onto the frozen ground creating golden ice sculptures. That much moisture leaking out of the roof can’t be good for the building and I have no idea what was causing it, but it was interesting.

And, it is strange how these Ottawa walks always seem to end up close enough to the Manx Pub that I find myself unable to resist the call of one of their cold amber ales . . . . 

Back to Bangor

Bangor Riverfront

I have visited Bangor probably more than any other city in the US. I however knew very little about the city. I recall many many years ago actually walking around the downtown, but that was probably over 30 years ago. Since then, Bangor has become a convenient stop on the way to other US destinations. It is the city where route 9 from New Brunswick joins up with the I-95, and although we might stop for cheap US gas or a meal, usually we are usually eager to make some miles and time on the interstate on our way somewhere else.

Interesting old houses

The other reason to visit Bangor is cross-border shopping and it has become a yearly ritual to take Regis' Mother to Bangor so she can do her Christmas shopping. Regis' parents came here for years for a weeks visit to get maximum customs allowance, returning with the car crammed with Christmas gifts for everyone. Since her fathers death Regis and I have been taking her mom on this annual trip. I do the driving, Regis takes her shopping. We don't come to visit Bangor however, we come to visit the malls and discount stores.

Interesting buildings

This year I went back to actually visit Bangor. On the first day, we went to Paddy Murphy's Irish Pub for lunch (Excellent little pub BTW), and while waiting for my meal I picked up a book decorating the window well by our seat. It was an old historical book about the Architecture of Bangor. I was amazed at the buildings in this city. Many of them are still here. I decided to spend an afternoon to actually see the city while the girls were shopping.

Waterways

 

Bangor is an interesting city. It is built where two rivers join, and there are many canals and waterways. The downtown area has retained many of the old buildings including the old Market area, and a walk up many of the streets leading away from the central area reveal some amazing old houses, with interesting windows and rooflines. There are many interesting little parks and the city has done an admirable job of building boardwalk along the waterways. Here are some pictures of the city.

I spent an interesting afternoon, although I have to admit I did do some shopping in some of the interesting little shops downtown. Next time you travel to the US, plan your trip so you can spend a little time in this city.

Market Square

Serious Weather

I discovered that Kansas does weather really big time. Should have known, after all, this is where Dorothy started off from when she took a tornado to Oz.

Before we left the ship. I saw a weather clip about a storm front moving through the Kansas area, but at the time I was more concerned about the weather in Ft Lauderdale. I did check the temperature in Kansas however, and it was supposed to be 90F on Thursday when we arrived. Wow, that was the temperature in Panama.

Before the Storm

Friday morning I was off to the track with sunshine and HOT temperatures again close to 90F. T-shirt and shorts weather, but as the day progressed I started hearing about the expected storm. It was supposed to be extreme and there were multiple warnings issued for the area. I was staying at the track for the evening ARCA night race, and as the sun went down and the track lights came on, I could see the darkening skies on the far horizon. I had been speaking to another fan sitting behind me who was from the area, so I asked him about the approaching storm. He got out his phone, and calling up a weather app, he showed me pictures of the storm. I was concerned that we might lose the race tomorrow, but he said this was not a problem; the storm would be a wild one, but would come through overnight and be gone by morning.

By the time the evening's race was over, you could see the black skies to the west and as I started walking out of the track the lightning was providing a vivid light show. I called the hotel shuttle and joined the crowd of people waiting for a ride at the road outside the track. The majority of people were taking a track tram to the various campgrounds around the track, but there were also five or six hotel shuttles coming and going.

My shuttle did not arrive in the promised 15 minutes. Those dark clouds were climbing higher into the night skies.

Fifteen minutes later, the crowd was mostly dispersed, and the sky was half dark with black clouds and the lightning was getting much wilder. The sky to the west was constantly lit up with flashes.

As the lightning got closer and closer, the police came and advised the three girls directing traffic to get into their vehicles instead of standing on the road. I was starting to get worried, so I asked one of them to call again for my shuttle. She was told it would be a while, because the driver was stuck in traffic. This was not looking good. The skies were completely black right overhead, and the violent lightning was all around. I could see the black skies clearly with the wild light show provided by the lightning. I looked around, trying to recall my limited experience with lightning, am I better to be out in the open hoping the lightning is attracted to the light poles and the elevated speedway structure close by? The tent providing shelter for folks waiting for the trams was held up my metal poles. If I went under the tent would the lightning hit the poles and be directed to the ground through them rather than me?

Welcome to Kansas Weather!

Then the rain started; hard pouring rain. Ok, I decided to take a chance under the tent.

Fortunately, my shuttle arrived soon after and I survived the storm, but back at the hotel it was only minutes later when the storm hit hard with lightning and torrential rain for hours, but by then I was safely relaxing in a nice hot whirlpool bath, watching the light show out the window.

My friendly fellow race fan was correct, and the following morning day dawned bright and sunny. BUT gone was the nice 90F temperatures; it was down to 50F. A 40 degree drop in temperature, welcome to Kansas!

People You meet

One on the nicest things about travel is the people you meet. This trip has been especially good that way. We spent the first ten days visiting friends and family, and it was nice to reconnect with people we had not seen in a while. You discover that most people do not change much. Even if you have not seen them in years you usually just start up where you left off as if it has only been weeks. But for this blog, these “friends” don't count because we already know them.

You meet the nicest people on a cruise

On the cruise, it is hard not to meet people. There are 1400 people together on a ship for almost 20 days; unless you hide in your cabin, you have to meet people. We ate in the main dining room every night at the same time at the same table with three other couples. I don't know how the cruise lines do it, but we always seem to be seated with very nice people who we get along with very well. As we got to know these people we had dinner with, we did more and more with them, often meeting up after dinner for the shows and other events. As we parted ways on the last day, everyone exchanged contact information and promised to keep in touch.

Or on shore excursions

You meet people wherever you go on the ship. Whenever you go in to the dining room for breakfast or lunch you are asked if you want to sit with others, and so we always met different people at these meals. Even if you eat in the Lido Buffet, you often share tables. You also meet people in line for coffee in the morning, at special programs, or sitting in the show at night.

We met a woman from Texas one morning. She had been living in Texas for forty years and had lived in New Jersey before moving to Texas. You would have thought she might have developed some accent during that time, but no, her German heritage still overcame all her time in the US. She even had lots of helpful advice on Kansas City for us because her son lived there. Her advice on the Airport shuttle was perfect.

Then there was the couple who we met at lunch one day who after a pleasant chat over our meal, said that with all the people on the ship, we probably would never see them again, but in fact we saw them over and over again, including on one of our tours and in the airport as we were flying to Kansas.

And of course "What happens on the cruise . . .

Now with the fierce debate over the US government shut-down, and Obamacare, we often were faced with questions about our Canadian health care system. The interesting thing is that the supporters of the democrats want to hear about how long we have to wait for things, and the Republicans want to hear how everyone has good care at no cost. They all love to talk and debate the Health Care issues and compare Obamacare and Canadacare, but no matter what you say, it doesn't seem to change anyone's opinion. We actually tried to avoid these discussions whenever we could, saying that we really do not know much about it, because it works so well we don't even think about it.

Arriving in Kansas, we discovered that although different in many ways, the natives of this city are much like good old Nova Scotians. They are friendly, cheerful and always willing to help. One interesting thing we noticed is that like Maritimers they always apologize for things even if it's not their fault. Two people stepping out of the elevator at once, and both say “Sorry” and step back to let the other go first. Two people come around a corner almost running into each other; two “Sorry's”.

My first day at the Kansas Speedway, I had to call to arrange the hotel shuttle. I had no cell phone, but the man sitting behind me in the grandstands gladly called for me, and when I had been standing out by the road waiting for a while, and started to worry about the violent thunderstorm getting closer and closer, the lady directing traffic, called again to check on it for me, and even left her number for them to call back when the shuttle was closer. The security guard walking by was probably thinking “What is this crazy guy doing standing out in the open waiting on the storm? Does he know his is indeed still in Kansas?”, but what he said was “You have a pleasant evening?” Walking to the bus stop the gardener for the hotel inquired as to where we were going, and when we told him about going downtown, he suggested visiting the Steamboat museum down by the river. I did, and it was the highlight of the daytrip to KC.

Yes, you really do meet some nice people.