The Shepherd's Farm

O.K.  I'm finally caught up on the blog!

I am now at The Shepherd's Farm, though I don't know how it got its name because the people running it right now are the Cousins.  It is a wonderful family of mother, father, 4 daughters, one son and two dogs.  The oldest daughter is married and has two children.  So far I have met two of the daughters, the son and father.  

I found this place from another one of the clubs I joined.  This one is called Harvest Hosts, which is a collection of farms, vineyards and small museums that have space for people to camp with varying degrees of services.  The usual stays are one or two nights, but if you hit it off with the hosts and want to stay longer that is possible.  I am only to be here for one night, en route to my next spot.  I really wanted to see their operation because according to the on-line posting they have a lot going on at this organic farm, it was on my way to the next campground and they offer 3-way hookups (water, electricity and sewer). 

The second oldest daughter showed me where to set up my trailer.  A while later the father arrived and I offered to help out where I could.  This involved helping the son to load old fashioned rectangular bails of hay onto the conveyor belt that would take them up to the barn loft where the father was putting them away.  Each one weighed about 35 lbs.  It was a good workout.  In the lower portion of the barn I saw some laying hens, other chickens and four pigs.  In a nearby field there is a herd of sheep.

The father and I then went to pick some red fingerling potatoes for a nearby gourmet restaurant.  I helped pull them from the ground.  I felt a bit bad because the potatoes were still rather small and should have been given the chance to grow a little larger.  We picked about 22 pounds worth.  We washed them off and then delivered them to the restaurant along with the tops of some garlic plants, some breakfast sausages and double smoked black forest ham.  In the field where the potatoes were growing there were also a few kinds of berries and some other plants.  Other fields were planted in grains.  They also have some grape vines and a cranberry bog.  On the way back we stopped at the dairy farm the daughter who showed me where to park was working, milking the cows.  The farm has 148 cows to milk twice a day.  They are housed in a very modern barn.  The milking machines are electronic, keeping track of how much milk each cow is producing and how long it is on the milking machine.  The milk travels through piping from the stalls to the tanks.  The cows get lots of healthy feed mix and fresh water.  This was quite an operation and I was given a good tour. 

It was a warm day, around 80 degrees, but with low humidity and a fair breeze blowing it felt cooler to me, more like 72.  

The father gave me two lovely lamb chops, a package of breakfast sausages and some potatoes.  I cooked the lamb and potatoes for dinner.  It was delicious. 

I should sleep well tonight with the fresh farm air and the workout I got. 

Golf Near Cavendish

While staying at the Cavendish KOA I had arranged to play the four courses in the area, Glasgow Hills, Eagles Glenn, Green Gables and Anderson's Creek, in that order on consecutive days. 

Glasgow Hills is set on very high ground with a stunning view of the surrounding farmland. The course is in the links style, mostly devoid of trees and quite hilly, which is makes the name fitting and a challenging walk, similar to many of the courses I played in Portugal.  The bunkers are strategically placed in the fairways and green side, I managed to avoid most of them, my playing partners weren't as fortunate.  The sand is native, red (darker when wet) and could have been sifted to remove stones prior to being placed on the course.  

Practice balls weren't included, but the guy in the shop let me take 6 balls out of one of the baskets to hit on the range, which was next to the first tee, as I didn't have time to hit a whole bucket before my tee time.  

I played with a couple of members who were riding.  They weren't very good golfers so I was able to keep up with them walking with my Lectronic caddy, which is working very well now with the new battery.  We all played from the white tees.  The course was in very good condition, though the greens weren't very fast.  I played very well tee to green, making good club selections allowing for the changes in elevation, both up and down hill.  I struggled a bit on the greens with the putts generally breaking less than I was expecting.  

They have a beverage cart that goes around and around, perhaps a little too often.  On the back 9 the fellows decided it was time for a drink and the beverage of choice was canned Caesars.  I went along with them.   The weather was quite warm and a bit humid.  There was a bit of a breeze, which helped keep it bearable.  In the restaurant , after the round, they offer complementary mussels cooked to order.  One of the fellows I had played with, a retired dentist offered to buy me a drink.  I had a local beer, which came in a 1 pint bottle.  I didn't catch the name of it, but it had a picture of a man on it and it was good.  The mussels, which took quite a while to arrive at the table, though we didn't really mind the wait as we were enjoying the patio and conversation, were cooked in a rather spicy, curry flavored sauce. As my father would have said, "they hit the spot."

Eagles Glenn is also set on high ground but the course is more of a combination of links style and parkland.  The greens were a little slower than at Glasgow Hills.  The conditioning of the course was very good and the mowing was excellently done.  There was great definition between the rough and fairways, collars and greens.  

Practice balls were not included, but the guy in the pro shop gave me a token to get some, rather than have to carry a pail of balls all the way there, seeing as I was walking.

I played with three members for this round, one of whom was celebrating his 65th birthday, and will be retiring at the end of the month.  Once again, these guys weren't very good golfers, but they were good company. 

After the round, the birthday boy had to head off to this nieces birthday party (coincidentally the same day) and then his own.  The other two fellow and I headed a short distance away to Tim Horton's for a coffee and conversation on the patio outside the store and adjacent to a wax museum, small amusement park and paintball place.  

Green Gables is the oldest course of the set and was originally laid out by Stanley Thompson, a course designer I am very familiar with, having played a good number of his courses. 

The course got a bit of a face life a few years ago, but the Thompson characteristics are still notable.  The course is showing its age as there is a lot of clover and broad leaf plantain in the fairways, much more so than the two newer courses I played prior, which detract from the appearance and play-ability of the fairways.  Additionally, the greens had been recently punched, which made them difficult to putt well on.  I wonder when they have such a short tourist season, basically July and August, why can't they punch the greens at a less crucial time of the year?  Perhaps government ownership is part of the answer. 

The driving range at Green Gables was set up with complementary balls. 

I preferred the back nine, which has holes where you have to play more strategically, and also offer views of water. 

Maybe a few too many geese.

For this round I played with a fellow from Galt, Ontario, who recently sold his A&W restaurants and bought a home on PEI for the summers and will spend his winters in Arizona.  He had invited his former teaching pro from Galt Country Club and the pro's 16 year old son to join him.  These two were staying about 90 minutes away.  Needless to say the caliber of golf was higher today.  Once again we all played from the white tees.  The pro birdied the first two holes, but then faltered.  His son can hit it a long way, but isn't always in the fairway, so that made things a bit interesting.  The new local was pretty steady, and I held my own.  I hope to play again with him again, both on PEI and perhaps in Arizona. His wife doesn't golf, but allows him to go out several times a week to play.  

Everyone else had places to go after the round and there were no complementary post round snacks on offer, so I sought out another place to grab a bite.  I found a cafe not too far away and ordered the scallop burger platter.  It was 4 large battered and fried scallops on a burger bun (without sesame seeds) with lettuce and tartar sauce.  The platter includes home made french fries and coleslaw.  It hit the spot. 

The final course was Anderson's Creek.  When I had called to make the arrangements for all these rounds, I left it up to the booking agent to pick the playing order.  I think there was method to the madness, as Anderson's Creek was the creme-de-la-creme.  Everything about the place was top notch, but most notably the plantings around the tee blocks.  I had to take pictures of nearly all of them.  

I played with one fellow who is a member who moved from Ontario to PEI about 7 years ago when he retired from the RCMP.  He said the lady who looks after the flowers is the mother of a golf pro from another nearby course.  He was riding with his friend who was visiting from Ontario, who it turns out I know from my football officiating days, as he was on Jake Ireland's crew for CFL games.  The third fellow who also rode was a new short term member of the course, who none of us would want to play with again due to a number of his idiosyncrasies.  

The retired RCMP officer and the former CFL official and I stayed after the round for a drink and the complementary mussels.  Here they cook large batches and put them in a thermal box and make them self serve.  They were cooked with only the addition of some pepper, I think.  They were more natural tasting than the ones at Glasgow Hills.  

PEI....Here I Come

I left Waterville, New Brunswick in the morning for my ultimate destination.  I was looking forward to going over the Confederation Bridge to PEI.  At 12.9 km long, it is the worlds longest bridge over water that could be covered with ice.  The last time I visited the island it involved a ferry because the bridge had not been built yet, or to be really honest it was so long ago I'm not sure if it was even in the proposal stage.  

I hope to be able to load some videos from my dashboard camera here in the future.

The first 6 nights of my stay on the island were at the Cavendish KOA.  It is quite a large park with a lot of amenities mostly geared for families with kids.  I met some locals who have seasonal sites close to where my site was.  Although I probably could have backed my trailer up onto my site with someone guiding me, I let one of them do it for me.  Most of the sites in this park are on quite a slope so we had to put blocks under the wheels on one side and hike the front up quite a bit as well.  I was able to teach these fellows that if a full board under both tires on one side raises it too much you can raise it half way by putting the second board under only one tire.  I learned that trick back at the campground in Huntsville. 

Once I was set up in the campground, I went out for a bit of a drive with getting some groceries in mind.  I did pick up a few things, but then I couldn't resist having an early dinner at the Fisherman's Wharf Lobster Suppers.  I was really hungry and did justice to the 60 foot salad bar, including clam chowder and steamed mussels.  I selected the 1 lb. lobster for my entree.  Non-alcoholic drinks and deserts are also included for the admission price. 

This was my first plate of mussels.

I was too anxious to get into my lobster to take a picture of it.  It was delicious.  No morsel was left uneaten.

During my stay I availed myself of the swimming pool, hay ride and petting farm.  I didn't go on the jumping pillow or swings.  It was surprisingly quiet at night for the size of the park.  The hay ride (sans hay), so really a wagon ride, with the wagon pulled by a tractor goes all around the camp ground and then into the woods, where they have various stuffed animals set in the trees and on the ground.  The kids get a big kick out of it.  The tractor has a bubble blowing machine on the top of it spewing bubbles the whole way around.  I'm dating myself now, but it reminded me of the Lawrence Welk show.  At the petting farm they had one calf, one goat, one sheep and 4 kittens.  The first time I was in the barn there were was a girl of about 10 trying to convince here mother, who she was speaking to on her cellular phone, that she should be able to bring one of the kittens home.  Mom wasn't having any of it, much to the chagrin of the girl. 

Leaving the Relatives Behind

I am now entering the realm of the unfamiliar...

The next portion of my journey is to get me to PEI safely and without driver burnout.  My research on the internet about traveling with an RV suggests driving between 325 and 485km per day and getting off the road by around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon.  (The suggestions are more catchy when you speak in miles than km.)  So, with little else to go on, I figured I would work on that basis for this trip and then if I feel I can do more in the future I will plan accordingly.  An this basis getting to PEI will require 3 more days/nights on the road.  

The first stop was Trois Rivieres.  I joined an online RV club called Boondockers Welcome and one of their members with a place for people to stay is in Trois Rivieres.  I made contact and was welcomed to stay.  This worked out very well.  I was able to quite easily back into the parking spot and my host gave me a great tour of his organic farm.  He says his English isn't good but we had no trouble communicating.  He mostly grows grains to be used as seed for future organic grain crops.  He also has a small personal garden plot close to the house, from which he gave me the first zucchini of the season.  It made a yummy dinner for the next two nights, with the addition of some ground beef and tomato sauce.  In appreciation for the place to stay, I treated him to dinner at a Thai place he likes and then we went to a park near the St. Lawrence River to watch the sun set.  These activities gave us more time to discuss traveling and other things.  He uses a truck camper, which he gave me a tour of. 

It was about 20 minutes walk at a brisk pace along this boardwalk to get to the shoreline.  Along the way there were some wider parts with picnic tables and interpretive signage explaining about all the various plants, birds and fish.  Unfortunately for me it was all written in french.   

I think the view was worth the walk.

The second stop is Riviere-Du-Loup, where I found Camping Du Quai, which was across the road from a hideous looking Santa's Village attraction, but also the river.  The campsite was easy to get into and set up on.  They had a rule that was new to me, that you had to have an adapter for the end of the hose going into their sewer.  They said it was because if you hose went too far into the hole it could "block up their whole system."  Of course they had them for sale, but seeing as I wasn't in urgent need of dumping I decided to forego the purchase for the time being.  

Seeing as this was my last stop in Quebec and given that I had never eaten Poutine before, I figured I had better cross that off "the Bucket List."  I asked where the best place for it was nearby and was directed to Snack Bar D'Amours, a short distance away.  I ordered the petite portion:

The gravy was a little on the salty side for me, but there were enough cheese curds to have some in every bite of chips.  I guess it was pretty good overall, but I don't think I will be rushing for another Poutine any time soon, as it isn't worth the calories to me. 

The final stop before PEI was Waterville, New Brunswick.  I found a nice family run campground online called Sunbury-Ormocto Park.  It is a nice setting on the lake.  The husband of the couple that lease the park from the Provincial government helped me get situated on my site.  I had to back a long way up a hill, but all went well.  He helped me set up for the night.  I had a nice visit with one of the wife's sisters and her husband and then with the owners as well.  While visiting with the owners, on their screened in porch, I was able to play with their litter of four, 5-week old black Labrador retriever puppies.  I would consider staying at this park for a longer period in the future.  They had kayaks for rent but the sky was threatening so I decided not to do it.  As it turned out it never rained and in fact the weather cleared up quite nicely.  

Go East Middle Aged Woman - Ontario to Quebec

Upon leaving Woodstock, July 7th, I was officially beginning my big summer trip, which focuses on spending time in Prince Edward Island and then going to Pinehurst, North Carolina, with various other stops along the way...  

My first stop was to pick up my power caddy in Mississauga.  It turned out the "new" battery I bought in Kingston was no good.  They replaced it under warranty, tightened up a few other parts on the caddy and for a minimal charge I was back on the road.  

I spent a couple more nights at Glenn Rouge in order to have a massage, do laundry and return a few more items to the storage locker.  I also met up with a friend I hadn't seen for quite a while for dinner. 

Next stop was near Bath, Ontario, to visit with one of my "Ottawa cousins" at his cottage, I hadn't seen him in way to long.  This wasn't all that far from Rideau Acres Campground, where I stayed while playing the tournament in Kingston a couple of weeks earlier.  The trailer wouldn't make it down the last part of narrow country road leading to the cottage so I boondocked (camping without hookups for water, electricity or sewer) in it for the one night, while he drove me back and forth in his car.  The day I arrived we went for a nice cruise, around the lake, on his pontoon boat.  The following morning we watched the men's final from Wimbledon.  Too bad Milos Raonic wasn't able to win.  It wasn't for lack of us cheering for him.  We enjoyed a couple of good meals.  

It was great catching up with my cousin and his new wife.  Next time I visit I hope to go out on the lake in one of his kayaks. 

Later that day I arrived at this cousins brother's house in Gatineau, Quebec.  Crossing the bridge over the Ottawa River marked my arrival in my second Province of the trip.  

He has a very large front yard, and the house is sort of out in the country, so I was able to park the trailer in front of his house.  

We connected the trailer to an power outlet on the front porch, so I wouldn't drain my batteries.  I stayed there for 3 nights.  I took a jug of water out to the trailer for minor needs but showered in the house.  This arrangement worked out quite well.  

The first night it was just the two of us, which gave us a good chance to catch up on things.  I also got to meet his "puppy,"  a one year old Great Dane, named Ace.  

He is a big boy, but we got along well.  I tried to teach him to play fetch, as opposed to tug of war.  In the recreation room there is a vintage pinball machine, I got to try my hand at. 

The second day I spent quite a bit of time working on the blog.  In the afternoon, I hiked up the hill/mountain nearby to the Mackenzie King Estate.  Along the way there was a nice river and water fall.  At the top were nice gardens and well preserved buildings with interesting artifacts.  Well worth the price of admission, which was free seeing as I didn't drive and need to pay for parking.  That night I got to meet his girlfriend, who prepared a nice dinner for us.  Afterwards we went to a nice ice cream shop for desert.  

The following day I was able to play golf at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club.  

Me on the 18th Green

I was paired with three nice female members.  I had an enjoyable round.  The course was in very nice condition.   That evening there were four of us for dinner. 

I hadn't realized my cousin was excellent at working with wood and had his own carpenters shop.   We worked together to create a name sign for my trailer. 

Back to GTA and Woodstock

Once done in Kingston, I returned to Glenn Rouge for a couple of nights.  I had dinner with a couple of friends from my old condo building and played Wyndance Golf Course for the first time, with a friend, just for fun. 

The trailer then went back to where I bought it in order to have a few things looked at, including the furnace that hadn't been working.  I was told a circuit board inside was defective.  The shower door was fixed as was the chair that cracked.  I had roof vent covers added to allow the vents to be open without allowing any rain in.  They also touched up the paint above the king pin that was needed after moving the bolts around, lubricated my hitch and checked the air in all my tires.  I left confident that the trailer is ready for its long summer sojourn, out to Prince Edward Island and down to Pinehurst, North Carolina.   

While the trailer was in for service, I had lunch and a nice visit with my aunt and then visited friends of my parents, who live in the same building.  

Next stop was Willow Lake Park in Woodstock, Ontario.  It is a small family run park with some park units, seasonal campers and space for nightly ones, like me.  I had a nice pull through site with three way connection.  I enjoyed their swimming pool a couple of times during my stay.  They were supposed to have fireworks on Canada Day night but it was so windy they postponed it one day.

Canada Day, I attended the Highland Games in Embro.  I took them up on the offer of having your photo taken with bag pipes:

I'm sure this isn't the biggest highland games held anywhere, but its small size allowed for easy viewing.  I saw a herding dog demonstration, sheep sheering, tug of war, hammer and caber toss, marching pipe and drum bands and lots of highland dancing.  It was a lot of entertainment for $10 admission, which included parking.

Saturday, my friend Phil and I played the mixed event at Brantford Golf and Country Club.  We had played it about 4 years ago.  The prizes are for "the couple" so this year it was my turn to take the gift.  I had a cold coming on, so wasn't feeling well and didn't play that well, Phil was making lots of birdies at the beginning.  The format was stableford, counting both players score on each hole.  We ended up about 10th.  I picked 2 strings of lights I think will look nice on the trailer, once I stay in one place for a longer period of time.  The course was in great shape and the dinner was delicious.  The event could use a few more participants.  Next year it falls right on Canada's 150th birthday. I made it back to the campground in time for the fireworks display, which was rather impressive.

Sunday afternoon I left the trailer in Woodstock and drove to Mississauga to stay with my friend there prior to playing the GTA AM Tour event at Brampton Golf Club.  This was the first night since I've had it that I didn't stay in the trailer.  By Monday morning the cold had taken hold and I wasn't feeling very well, but I had to play.  I ended up tied for 6th place and got a few more points for the Order of Merit. 

Brampton was the first round with the new battery for the power caddy.  Sadly, it wasn't working any better than the old one.  Thankfully the warehouse for them is not far from Brampton so I was able to drop it off for service with the plan to pick it up on my way back through town a few days later.  

I returned to the club to meet up with one of my cousins (by marriage).  We had a nice dinner and caught up on everything that had been going on in our lives since we last saw each other, which was too long ago. 

The following day I played the Women's Invitational/Golf for the Cause, at Craigowan Golf Club.  I ended up the bridesmaid again, like 4 years ago, though it was very close and almost went to a playoff.  I finished second to a member of the club.  I won $100 in the pro shop, with which I bought new spikes for one pair of shoes, a sleeveless top and a pair of socks.  

Kingston and Cataraqui

From Lakefield I headed to Kingston and the Rideau Acres Campground, which not surprisingly is located right on the Rideau River, north of the 401, at the west end of Kingston. It was about a 20 minute drive to Cataraqui Golf Club, where I was to play in their Field Day and then the Eastern Provinces Match Play.  The campground is quite large but is divided into sections that make it feel smaller.  My site was a pull through that was very close to the clubhouse, where the WiFi hotspot was.  If I return to the park I might opt for a site with a view of the river, even though it might have to be a back in site (by next year I should be an expert at backing up).  I found this to be the easiest site to get set up in so far.  Being pull through and very level in all directions, with the post for services in the middle of the left side, and my first site with a sewer drain right there.  I was a really "happy camper" after I was set up, though a couple of days later, someone mentioned that it looked like my road side slide out room was pretty snugly up against the post.  I checked and though it was slightly touching an attachment to the post it wasn't likely to cause any damage and it wasn't worth relocating the trailer further from the post at that point.  Some people are too nosy.  Oh, that was the same guy that sent his wife over to ask me if the "appliance" I had put out on my picnic table was for television reception, because although they had a satellite dish, they weren't picking up anything.  It was my George Foreman grill and I was warming it up to cook hamburgers on!

I had arrived on Tuesday afternoon and was told that there would be a Euchre game held in the clubhouse that evening.  It had been a while since I had played Euchre but I was eager to meet some people so I went.  I didn't win anything at Euchre but I did find a fellow to go play golf with the following morning.  We played Greene Acres, a 9 hole course we played twice.  It is owned by the Greene's, hence the spelling.  Their daughter, Danielle Greene, is a teaching pro at The Toronto Golf Club.  I may have competed against her when we were both younger.  

The official practice round day for the Cataraqui tournament was Friday, but I called and asked if I could play Thursday afternoon, instead.  They said yes, so I went.  This gave me Friday to rest up because there was a chance I would be playing a lot of golf on the weekend.  

I played well on Saturday in the Field Day, I believe I had more birdies in the round than I ever have had in competition, 5.  I shot 76 placing 4th overall.  Par for the course is 74.

I won Low Net of the field, which was $120 for the pro shop, which I put towards a new battery for my Lectronic Caddy. 

At the dinner they revealed the match play draw for Sunday.  I was paired against Andrea Blackwell, a former Olympic Basketball player and Club Champion of Cataraqui.  

I managed to win a tight match in 19 holes.  I went on to play Julie Jarvis, who had Andrea as her caddy, helping her read the greens.  Lynn Morrison who lost on Sunday morning caddied for me, but her aim point express system was not helping me.  I lost on the 17th green, so pretty close.  Monday morning, Julie lost to Diana McDonald who was then defeated by Mary Ann Hayward in the afternoon.  I watched and live tweeted the final match. 

We need to try and increase the size of the field for next year's tournament.  Wendy Shelly and her committee run a good event, but the number of participants hardly justifies all the work that goes into it.  Now that the format for the Toronto Star Amateur has changed, this is the only tournament of its kind that I know of. 

Lakefield and Wildfire

From Huntsville I drove to Lakefield to be close to Wildfire Golf Club, which was hosting the next GTA AM Tour tournament.  I was only there for two nights, the one before and the one after the tournament.  

The man who's wife runs the resort helped me to back my trailer into the site.  This was quite a feat.  He was very patient with me and gave me good directions/instruction.  We had a lot of room in front of my site in which to maneuver which made it easier.  The first evening there was a fairly severe rainstorm, which brought down some branches from trees in the park, but thankfully none too near my trailer.  The storm also washed out small portions of their roads, which they were quick to repair the following morning. 

The first night, which was Father's day, I visited my best friend from high school, his wife and two children.  It had been a few years since I had last seen them.  His son was quite enamored with my big truck.  He and I played a bit of Frisbee in the back yard.  His daughter played her saxophone for me.  The adults had a good chance to catch up.  Dinner was delicious, New York Strip Steaks BBQ'd, grilled asparagus, baked potatoes with all the fixings, including real fresh chives, corn on the cob, yum.  I had offered to bring wine and desert, which was an apple pie.  

I was able to do laundry while I visited with them and I also borrowed a few DVD's from their vast collection to watch when I have time and perhaps the choice of TV stations is limited.

I wish I had more time because the Galvin Bay Resort seems like a very social place, with nice facilities.  There are a lot of seasonal residents.  I was able to join in with 5 others who were playing a game, that was new to me, my second evening there. 

As pictured, each person has a board with a house and a castle.  You have to move all your pegs from the house to the castle based on the cards you have in your hand and draw per round.  You play in teams and can move your own pieces or those of your team mates.  As in all good board games you can hinder your opponents progress with certain plays.  The team I was on won all 3 of the games that night. 

I liked the sign they had on the way out. 

As for the Capture Scratch sponsored GTA AM Tour Event at Wildfire, I managed to place 3rd in the B flight with an 84.  The winner shot 75, second place was 78 and 4th place was 86.  Capture Scratch is a need company using lots of high tech stuff for presentations, 360 cameras, virtual reality, etc.  

Lagoon Tent & Trailer Park/GTA AM Tour

From Sibbald Point Provincial Park  I moved on the Huntsville and stayed at Lagoon Tent & Trailer Park, a nice campground run by three generations of the same family.  Their theme color is orange, not one of my favorite colors but effective for their purpose and didn't detract from my enjoyment of the park.  The duration of my stay was nine nights from June 10th to the 19th.  The park was very busy on the weekends and less so through the week.  The soil here is very sandy, which makes it easy for ants to build hills, which were plentiful but I didn't actually see that many ants.  A river runs adjacent to the campground and conveniently they rent canoes and kayaks so I took a kayak out for a few hours on my last full day. 

I was in Huntsville to play the GTA AM Tour's Major tournament (two day) at Grandview Golf Club.  I did quite well, placing 2nd.  This is my first season playing on the GTA AM Tour.  I started out the season in the Men's A flight, which I was finding rather difficult seeing as they play from tees 6,200 – 6,500 yards, though I did manage to place 4th in one of the events.  After several events, my index went up enough for me to qualify to play in the Men's B flight.  Grandview was my first event in the new flight and the somewhat shorter yardage, 6,000 – 6,400 yards suits me better.  

While in the area I played a couple of other courses, Granite Ridge North and the Lakeside course at Deerhurst. Green fees for both of these courses were purchased through Golf Now.  

I found Granite Ridge North to be a lot of fun.  I played by myself and rode as the cart was included in the Golf Now price.  It is very similar to Grandview, with rocks and trees, narrow fairways and nice bunkering, but at a fraction of the price. It is par 70 and I think that for some reason dissuades some people from playing it.  There is a full length driving range with balls available from a dispenser you get the tokens in the pro shop.  The quality of the balls ranged from new to old, quite inconsistent. They have "muskoka" chairs on nearly every tee so if play was slow you could wait comfortably and enjoy the view or if it isn't busy you can just take your time.  They had a good deal on a hot dog and beer at the turn for those who enjoy such things. The club house with its restaurant overlooks the finishing hole, making a nice setting.  I understand the property is for sale, in case anyone is interested in getting into the business.  

I was interested in playing at Deerhurst because way back when, my second job out of college I worked on the drawing for the condominiums there.  I had never seen the results of my work.  I am pleased to report that 30 years later they are still standing and looking great.  I chose to play their smaller course.  It is quite a challenging walk, but I made it around.  I played by myself. I was following several groups of guys attending a stag weekend.  They weren't the fastest golfers on earth so I did a lot of waiting but I wasn't in any hurry, it was a nice day and several tees offer views of the lake.  The course offers quite a few elevation changes and some interesting holes.  The 2nd and 18th are nice holes where you are hitting over water.  It is a really long and difficult walk from the 9th green to the 10th tee.  It would be nice if they offered a shuttle between them. 

There was a French Canadian fellow doing work/camping at the park who is an expert on 5th wheel trailers.  I was concerned that they way mine sat (high in front, low in back) when hitched to the truck, it wouldn't be possible to sleep in it without disconnecting the truck and leveling the trailer.  He was able to adjust both the hitch and the king pin to help level it out.  He didn't charge me very much for doing it considering how long it took and that he had the tools for the job and I didn't.  There were a lot of bolts to be moved.  I helped out where I could but he did most of the work.

Sibbald Point Provincial Park/Golf Ontario Senior and Mid-Am

From Glenn Rouge I drove to Sibbald Point Provincial Park to spend five nights, June 5th to 10th, while I was playing at the Golf Ontario Senior and Mid-Am at The Briars.  The park was great, once I found a site that I could easily "pull-through" with a rig the size of mine.  The previous pull through sites I had experienced ran pretty much straight between two roads.  In this park the pull through sites are more U shaped and for the most part the U is too severe for a 32' trailer to sit in. There wasn't a problem switching sites because the park was not very busy as early June is still not the prime season there, at least not during the week.  The site I ended up on was shaped more like an upside down J.  It was in the woods and would be quite secluded even if the campground was full.  I could have had a real problem though because I was walking through the woods to look at various campsites and didn't realize that this park is loaded with poison ivy.  Thankfully, because of the cool temperature, I was wearing long pants and closed shoes and didn't have any reactions.  I now know what all 3 species of the plant look like and will steer clear of them in the future.  

This was the first park I was at that didn't have water at the campsite.  I had to fill my tank at the water depot at the entrance to the park.  I had enough for the full stay, though my grey water tank did get filled to capacity.  One of my friends that was involved with the tournament stayed with me for 3 of the nights. 

Being a bit further north the nights were cooler that in the city the previous week so I finally broke down and purchased an electric ceramic heater for use at night.  It isn't very big, is designed for safe operation and worked well keeping the trailer cozy at night.  I did this more for my guest than myself. 

I didn't play as well as I would have liked at the tournament, which I will chalk up to not preparing as well as usual (practicing and playing before hand), due to all the work that was going into getting the trailer purchased and fitted out.  This tournament was scheduled about six weeks earlier than normal because of the venue.  The Briars Resort gets busy in July and August so the early date was a condition of their hosting it.  Other than the poor result, T17 in Mid-Am and T14 in Senior, the early timing works well for me this summer as I was able to play and then I can be away for the whole summer. 

First Nine Nights

(Sorry folks, I have been so busy with life that posting regularly has slipped past. I will try to provide the complete story in chronological order and then try to keep more up to date, posting at least weekly.)

The first several days with my 5th wheel trailer and the new camping experience went like this:

The first two nights I spent at Valens Lake Conservation Area in Flamborough. I had a pull through site in a wooded area, with two way connection (water and power). All the basics, like the power cord and water hose were still in their original packaging. Somehow I hadn't planned to have scissors or a knife handy when I set out so I had to ask campers nearby, I chose two guys camping in a tent, to use their knife to cut the plastic ties on these items so I could set up. They were very gracious. A couple hours after arriving I got a knock on my door from the campground staff. I realized right away what they were concerned about, I had forgotten to slip the site registration paper onto the post at campsite.

The first day, I tripped the park power to my trailer...twice. The first time I wasn't sure if the whole park was out or just me. I couldn't see a reset near the plug, it was getting dark and I hadn't unpacked my flash light. I approached my "next door neighbor" whose power was on the same post. He verified had power so we went back to the post and he lifted the cover on the panel and could see I tripped it and reset it. I knew what to do the 2nd time. With only 15 amp service, when the air conditioner is running I can't also use the microwave oven! I figured out the best way to see if it has tripped is that there are no numbers on microwave and/or the fridge indicator light is yellow signifying it is running on propane vs green for hydro. Lots to learn!

I had to pretty much drain the hot water tank because it was full of antifreeze/pink stuff, which is supposedly harmless, but has a strange odor and vivid pink color. This resulted in my grey tank being more full than it would usually be, but it wouldn't be a problem as I was only there for two days and was going to drain the tank on the way out.

The first morning I noticed at this campground the water pressure/spray in the shower is rather weak. Strong enough to get clean but not very invigorating.

I saw a spider inside and killed it, I'm getting very brave. I used to call on someone else to do that for me, but these days that isn't an option.

I am enjoying my luxury accommodation in nature, it's the best of both worlds. I have all the comforts of home! Oh, right, this 5th wheel is my home.

The second morning before I got ready to pack up and move on I decided to check out the campground a bit. There is a nice trail around lake. I was disappointed to find quite a bit of litter on trail, like red beer cups, plastic water bottles, candy and condom wrappers.

The first full week I camped at Glen Rouge Campground between Scarborough and Pickering. After the registration kiosk and before I found my site I took a wrong turn to a dead end road and had to back up! I need more a lot more practice backing up the trailer. A fellow who was camping in a tent near the road offered to assist me. At first he was directing and when that didn't work out very well, he offered to back it up for me. He was a professional transport truck driver. He backed it up far enough that I was going to be able to get down the correct road. I should have had him drive it right to my campsite because when I got close to there, I cut the turn in too hard and ran the side of the trailer into a large spruce tree. I had most of one side of it smooshed towards the trunk. I had to back up again to get away from the tree. This time I had about 4 other campers "helping" me out. Once I was out from the tree and back on the road they suggested I go around and enter the site from the opposite direction which took the tree out of play. Once I had gotten back onto the site, I couldn't get the trailer off the hitch, I think the ground was too uneven. I went back to ask the first guy who helped me if he could help me again. We wiggled the 5th to a slightly different spot and it unhitched. At this point I was frustrated and about to give the whole thing up.

Glenn Rouge was a good location for both a golf tournament I was playing at Whitevale, and accessing my storage locker in Scarborough, from which I was taking things to outfit my trailer.

These evenings in late May were cool and for some reason my furnace wouldn't start so I had to sleep with extra blankets. This site had 30 amp power and water. I managed not to trip the breaker during my stay.

It is nice siting on the couch doing computer work listening to the birds chirping.

I was still busy unpacking and setting things up. I did a major shopping trip for items I need and didn't have in storage, like shelf paper, a stove top whistling kettle, hangers, dish drain pad, floor mat, storage bins, garden hose, spray nozzle, rubber mats for the truck, etc. Many of the items were purchased at Canadian Tire, where a nice young Indian fellow convinced me to sign up for their Master Card, which gave me an 8% discount on all my purchases that day. He insisted in helping me all the way to the truck, which I generally park a little further from my destination in order to get a pull through spot because with my length I take up about 1 1/2 standard car parking spots, and loading the items into it.

This is kind of weird, I have the sensation that there should be constant movement, like I'm on a cruise ship, but there isn't. I hope this goes away soon.