Travels of Bob & Sharon: February 2009

It seems impossible that I haven't updated the blog since July 2008! I will do my best to fill in the months, not only for you, but as a test of my recall. It's good to practice memory work at this age.

A Year in Review

April 2008

Jan (the baby of the siblings) turns 60! Looks good for an old gal doesn't she?

No, no...the one on the left is when she WAS a baby....the other one is the 60 year old!

July 2008

You miss those people in your life who mean the world to you.... especially when they move! I'm certain someone famous wrote a song with those words however I cannot, for the life of me, conjure up the artist or the lyrics. So, after having a bash for her 60th, Sis and husband Elliot, decided to sod off. They packed up their belongings and hit the road from Ontario to Miramichi, New Brunswick....two provinces away from where she was born. What a pioneer!!! Darla (my lovely and talented daughter) left home years ago and it took about 20 years for me to get used to the idea.....then...just when I was on the verge of acceptance, off went my sister! A great party was held at Jan and Elliot's home in Stoney Creek and a week later they left with their camper trailer loaded with plants, in a mad dash to beat the moving van to Miramichi (pronounced "meer-a-mi-shee" for those of you who, if not enlightened, wish to be...). Such mixed emotions; sadness that they are further away and excitement that they are following their dream and making it happen.

Tailgate party before Jan and Elliot left for New Brunswick

Our plans for boating got stalled, as Bob and I waited for a variety of medical appointments. Nothing at all serious but some minor things that needed to be taken care of prior to our planned trip to Africa in September. The weather was a bit unpredictable as well and Lake Simcoe was filled with rotting fish so we stayed in the city planning to walk at least 2 hours each day and included lots of steps and hills. Not difficult, believe it or not as we live in a great area with ravines, hills and lots of challenge.

Near the end of July, Bob ran his thumb into the table saw blade and had almost severed the end of it. I rushed him to our local hospital and a few hours later, he was home with a huge bandaged hand.

Two weeks later, Bob's sister Joan was diagnosed with brain cancer and declared "terminal". We were gutted and decided to take a wait and see attitude about our September trip to Africa.

August
Early in August, our dear friends Nancy and Phil (Peter's Mom and step father) came to visit us from Nova Scotia for a week in Toronto and as always, we had a fabulous time, walking (to work off all the food and good wine) and exploring Toronto.

Above: Phil, Nancy, Bob and me walking downtown TO Beach and Bluff areas

Then Darla and Peter arrived from Victoria, to visit the family and we had a blast! Such good people and so much fun to have around. Steve had a pool party and you can see by the photo's, we kind of like each other.

Above: Darla and Peter in locker room at Hockey Hall of Fame; grandson Shane, son Steve, step daughter Kim, grandaughter Sidney at Steve and Tina's pool party; grandson Ben's leap of faith

Above: 4 Generations of the female kind; Mom, me, Sidney and Darla; Darla "handstanding" it; grandson Alex in "communication" mode

Above: Darla's "Daisy Family" painting for Tina's birthday, representing Steve and Tina's family of five (that's grandson Sean beside Tina)

Peter's sister and family stayed with us overnight and we had a blast. They are all so much fun and our stomach's ached from all the laughter. Lisa, Jeff, Madelyn and Ethan live in Nova Scotia as well and they had a fun time seeing relatives and playing at Wonderland. It was lovely to have happy people around us as we did our best to cope with the illness and treatment that Joan was facing in Woodstock.

Above: Lisa and Jeff's cute and crazy kids Ethan and Madelyn; Peter bbq'ing under his "umbrella ella ella ella..hey, hey, hey...."; Darla's "french fry up the nose" party piece

Group photo - back row: Peter and Jeff; front row: Ethan, Darla, Madelyn, Lisa

Above: Aussie friends visited on their 2 month tour across Canada. L to R; me, Marlene, Bob, David, Irene and Phil having dinner at Soho Bistro at the end of our street. So great to see them again!

Bob and I still had not made a definite decision about the trip and decided we should boat for a couple of weeks and by that time, we knew the right answer would come to us. We took TULAW up through the lock system to Georgian Bay where we met up with good friends and anchored in a lovely bay, listened to the loons, swam, kayaked and took the dinghy out to explore the inlets and channels around Honey Harbour.

Above: Anchoring in Chimney Bay with friends; Linda and Brent catch the big one; Cathy and Ron dining onboard TULAW

We were a week and a half into our vacation when we had a call from Bob's brother in law. We thought that Joan must be worse and were stunned to hear him say that their son in law and grandson had been in an explosion in their garage. Matt (grandson) had been welding, a spark flew across the garage, igniting some paint thinner vapors. Grant (son in law), picked up the pail of thinners, tripped and fell and was ignited. Matt helped him outside and rolled him on the grass. 53% of Grant's body was burned and he was airlifted to Rochester from Woodstock (no burn beds in Canada) where we almost lost him....then a few days later, was airlifted to Sunnybrook. We offered our house to our niece and family and we returned from the Bay as quickly as we could. Matt was burned on his left side and required surgery on his arm. His father was in an induced coma for weeks while they grafted his poor body. Twice more we thought we were going to lose him and we white knuckled and prayed (thank you, everyone who prayed along with us!) and prayed, and prayed. The doctors wanted to remove a lung because it was so badly damaged from pneumonia that had set in, however they said it would probably prove fatal so they left it alone. By this time, we knew that we would cancel our trip. We were needed at home where we cooked and provided moral support to our family. Our poor niece Paula was going through the trauma of her husband and son's accident, as well as the imminent loss of her mother, 2 hours away in Woodstock.

Hallowe'en weekend, we took a drive to Ottawa to visit close friends and while there, we got the call that Joan had passed away.

Below: Prior to receiving the news about Joan....Linda, Bob and me; Right: Linda's partner Yves with some little witches

Miraculously, Grant recovered and was able to attend the funeral. He is considered to be a miracle in his recovery and was released November 24th. Believe it or not, and against all medical predictions, he returned to work this month (June) and is doing well.

Above: Niece Paula (Grant's wife)in the middle, youngest son Andy and best friend Charlene; A break for Charlene and Paula...a walk on the Leslie Street Spit with downtown Toronto in the background; L-R: Tammy (Paula's friend), Matt who needed grafting on his arm; Kate (Matt's girlfriend); Rebecca (eldest son Michael's fiance

November

In November, Mom and I flew to Moncton where my sister picked us up and drove us the 2 1/2 hours to their lovely home in Miramichi. We stayed a week and loved the time spent there. Elliot (who is a long distance truck driver), managed to make it home for a couple of days prior to our departure. We had so many walks in the woods, laughs and great meals together and with Elliot's family.

Above: Jan and Elliot's beautiful home; Jan, Mom and Elliot; our Mom and Elliot's Mom

Above: Elliot, his sister Pam and brother Tom; Jan and "the hound" on one of the daily walks

Above: November 24th, celebrating Grant's release from rehab, exactly 3 months from the day of the fire. L to R: Larry, Charlene, Bob, Grant, Paula and Louie (Joan's husband)

December

Mom, at the age of 89 years and 11 months, boarded the train at Union Station in Toronto in December, to make the 24 hour trek to New Brunswick to spend Christmas with my sister and her husband's family. Bless her wee heart, she wouldn't take a sleeper suite, opting to sit up in a regular seat for the duration...both there and back...no doubt fearful that if she had a real bed, she'd sleep right through the stop at Miramichi. She loved the independence and the visit. Bob and I met her upon her return and her face glowed with pride and pleasure.

Above: Our email Christmas card greeting to our friends in far away places; Sean trying out Grandpa's specs and modelling his new Christmas pajamas, to his sister Shanelle's amusement

January/09

In early January, we celebrated our niece Paula's birthday in Woodstock and on the way home on one of our major highways...and in a blizzard...and on the instructions of our finest Ontario Provincial Police, we stopped to allow a vehicle back onto the snow covered highway from the ditch. To our surprise and horror, we were rear-ended by an eighteen wheel transport that didn't even slow down for our little car. The impact propelled us forward and in a direction that nearly loaded us onto a flatbed tow truck, parked by the side of the highway. Thankfully, we were in a solid vehicle, the highway was snow covered and we were unaware that we were about to be hit...all serving to save our wee lives! Hallelujah!!!

Our Mother celebrated her 90th birthday on January 29th....God love her! Darla and Peter and Jan came from either side of the country for the celebrations and over 150 people attended the festivities. What a fun time we had. Mom enjoyed every single second of the party.

Above: Bob and me, our kids, step-kids, grandkids and "Little Grandma" at her 90th birthday bash

The next morning, bright and early, Bob, Peter, Darla and I drove from Toronto to New York City to attend Darla's art reception at The Agora Gallery in Chelsea. Bob and I stayed at infamous Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan, while Darla and Peter had loan of a friends apartment within a couple of blocks of Central Park. Magical!!!! The entire experience could only be described as "MAGICAL"!!! We toured the city in a freezing double decker bus; toured the Guggenheim; saw Kobe Bryant break his all time record at Madison Square Garden; ate fabulous food in the most awesome restaurants and the greatest news of all......Darla sold one of her three paintings at the reception!!! She "done good" in the Big Apple. We danced out of the packed reception!!! Magic....as I was saying...pure magic. After 5 days in NYC, Darla and Peter flew back to Victoria while Bob and I drove on to Englewood, Florida where we had rented a lovely 3 bedroom house.

February 5th - Darla's Agora Gallery Reception

Below: The famous Chelsea Hotel. I'm certain we had the room where Leonard Cohen and Janis

Joplin had their fun many years ago. Darla maintains that Janis is still wandering the halls.

Below: Various images of New Yawk, New Yawk: L to R: Goes without saying; Bob capturing the Statue of Liberty; Darla and Peter at a market in the park

Above: Above: Dar and Pete following yet another great meal; Kobe breaking his record; Madison Square Garden

Below: Guggenheim and Times Square

Above: Construction at Ground Zero

On February 6th, we said farewell to Darla, Peter and New York and began the drive to Florida.

We made it in nineteen hours, pulling in to the driveway of the house by 4:30 in the afternoon.

Fun friends, Marc and Marny who live in Toronto and rent a place on Sanibel/Captive Islands came for an overnight visit the week after we arrived. If you've never heard of Sanibel/Captive....look it up! Truly exotic and Caribbean-type living right off the coast of Florida, near Fort Myers. Marc and Marny are always a treat and people you never want to say "goodbye" to...so we didn't! Within a few days of their visit to us, we visited them on Captiva Island. Our tour of the island brought us to a lovely marina where we got a wonderful look at a manatee....those fantastic sea cows that you can't help but love.

Above: Marny and Marc at our house; Sunset on Captiva; with their house on Captiva

Our niece Paula and Grant (yes, THAT Grant....who drove the entire way from Woodstock to Florida and back again!!!) spent 10 days with us. Fantastic time with lots of silly stuff and laughs to last a lifetime.

Above: Bob, Grant and Paula's feet; Paula in the spa; Our segway tour of historic Sarasota (so much fun!!!)

Above: My colourful friend; Bob, Paula and Grant feeding and filming; Paula and Grant on our local Englewood Beach; Paula enjoying solitude and the sunset

March

Bob's son Paul, daughter in law Maggie and sons Ben and Matt....took time during the Ontario March school break to spend time with us. We took a couple of days to explore Disney World with them and it was special to see everything through the eyes of a 5 and 3 year old. The boys loved the pool and hanging out with Grandpa. It was difficult keeping quiet in the house and we had to tell Bob several times to settle down or he'd go to bed without dinner.

Above: Entering Disney World; Matt and Ben, our little chipmunks; Magical Castle

Above: Loving our pool and the warmth of Florida

My long term friend Margaret along with Thelma and Art (we all toured China together) who have a condo on a golf course in Naples. They escaped the photo taking experience.

My sister in law Ev who, along with her friend Carol, were assisting their friend Muriel with the closing of her place in Fort Myers and were all travelling back to Ontario together.

My cousin Donna and her funny/silly/crazy husband Ken spent a couple of fun filled days on the their tour around Florida.

Bob and I walked every day, exploring the neighbourhood and discovering snakes, marine iguana's, alligators, wood stork, turtles and turkey vultures (which we hid from). We swam in our beautiful pool and I found yoga on the beach on Manasota Key where I attended classes three times per week.

April 3rd we packed up and drove to Tampa where we stayed overnight. The next morning I flew to Maya Tulum for a yoga retreat, organized by my favourite studio in Toronto. Bob hugged me goodbye and began his drive home, making it in two days. While I perspired (I mean "glowed") in my 2 1/2 hour 7 a.m. classes each day, Bob opened the windows at our home in Toronto and prepared the house for spring. I returned to budding trees and planters filled with pansies (bless you Bob) and the feeling of renewal that only those who live in a country like Canada, can understand.

Above: Beautiful Maya Tulum; Attempting "tree pose" on the ruins

That autumn, we made the wrenching decision to move our boat from Lake Simcoe to Georgian Bay. We loved our 7 years just north of the city however decided that Georgian Bay offered us so many more anchoring options. We hired a huge flat-bed truck to move TULAW and we watched as she disappeared into the sunset.

May: I devoted three days to building homes for the Habitat for Humanity Women Build in east Toronto. What a glorious three days it was! I met the most amazing women and felt such satisfaction from the experience. Over 200 women per day spent a solid week building houses from the ground up. We bonded and created friendships to last a lifetime.

TULAW (our boat) was launched at her new home, Beacon Bay Marina in Penetanguishene, on April 24th and Bob and I lived aboard from May 15th until early September. We explored wonderful trails that fill the area. Millions of trilliums (our provincial flower for those of you who are "from away") covered the forest hills and we watched a stag stand perfectly still behind a tree (I think he believed we couldn't see him), watching us as we walked through the forest. Bob spotted a coyote and we both witnessed something we'd never seen or heard before, a huge male beaver slapping his tail in warning to his mate and baby. We were both thrilled to see this and hear the sound that can only be described as sounding like a gunshot. We heard loon crying at night and watch hummingbirds, red-winged blackbirds and yellow finches by day. It is a beautiful place!

Above: TULAW being launched in our new marina

June: Stepdaughter Kim, her brother Martin (visitors from London, U.K.) visited

Above: Marcia, Martin, Kim and Cap'n Bob

June: My youngest child (Darla) turned 40 on the 13th which must mean that I'm older than that.....hmmm....

We had good friends Margaret and Eric visit us for a couple of days and we enjoyed a day anchoring at Chimney Bay and hiking the Fairy Lake Trail on Beausoleil Island. Nearing the end of the hike on the Cambrian shield, and with me in the lead, I heard, for the first time in my life...the sound of the rattlesnakes rattle. We didn't see it in the greenery but it was distinct, chilling and very close. We were grateful for the warning!

Above: Margaret and Eric being tendered ashore for their close encounter with a rattler

July: Steve, Tina, Shanelle, Sidney and Sean visited us aboard the boat for a few days. We gave them a new experience; anchoring out overnight at Chimney Bay. We had so much fun on the water and they might be convinced that the experience should become an annual event. Sadly, our beloved Sidney, moved to Vancouver with her Mom, right after our special time together. We miss her sooooo much!!!

Above: Our (NOT) yacht; Bob harrassing Sean; Hiking the Cambrian Shield

Above: Sean having a wee nap ....too much sun and fresh air

Above: "The boys" off on a dinghy adventure; Sidney and Shanelle taking a dip and kayaking

We had a quick and fun road trip to the east coast at the end of July. The purpose was to surprise our friend Nancy (our son in law's Mom) for her 60th birthday. A slew of family members travelled to Halifax for the event and it was a blast. It was also great to see Peter and Darla for the second time in 2009. Along the way, we popped in for an overnight visit with Jan and Elliot in Miramichi.

Above: Visiting Jan and Elliot in Miramichi

Above: Nancy, the birthday girl!

We even had time for brunch with my friend (and former associate) Sylvia!

August:

Nancy and Phil drove up from Nova Scotia and spent a week with us on the Bay. Phil captured the crazy cowboys perfectly as they whipped over the waves.

Wonderful adventures with "Hectic Day" and "Cariblue" friends in beautiful anchorages. Swimming, gunkholing (look it up!), kayaking, drinking (did I write that??) and laughing......what more could we ask for in summer?

Above: The Waddell's (the reason we are boaters); Brent towing the kayaks; Linda with Bella; Brent, Linda, Warren, Dana and Bella standing between "Hectic Day" and "TULAW"

Above: Dana and Bob having an afternoon game of cards; Ron and Cathy from "Cariblue"

September:

Mom had a couple of spells in August and September. I drove from Penetang to Kleinburg to visit with her and found her unable to recover from the strokes as quickly as she had in the past. In early October, Mom had a heart attack and was rushed to Etobicoke General Hospital where the Chief of Medicine made it very clear that the next attack would be fatal. The first pacemaker inserted was unsuccessful and it was replaced a week later. During the procedure, Mom's lung was punctured and collapsed and wasn't discovered until the next day. She suffered setback after setback and we really wondered if she would make it. She had decided in September, that she would have to move to a retirement facility and, fortunately, we had the opportunity to choose one and sign up prior to her hospital stay.

I am eternally grateful that Jan came to stay with us for 10 days (when her plan had been to visit Craig and Mary in Calgary) and helped with Mom at the hospital, provided emotional support to me and was terrific at packing the stuff in Mom's condo for her move. Jan had barely returned to New Brunswick when Darla flew in from Victoria. She too was just incredible with Mom and packing.

Bob was simply amazing! He had dinner ready for us every night, did laundry and kept me sane through the emotional peaks and valleys. Once again, family and friends from all over the country and the world, sent their prayers, kept in touch and gave us a tremendous sense of being there for us. I thank you all!

It took until November 9th to get her well enough to leave the hospital and she moved directly into her new apartment at Valley Vista, a gorgeous 5 Star quality retirement home....brand new and with the most amazing staff and facilities. Gradually Mom got used to the place and is now thriving in her new environment. She is back to church and is beginning to enjoy life in the community as well as at Valley Vista. They have group trips, theatre right in the building, a spa, hairdresser, wellness centre and games room. There is always something going on and Mom is taking full advantage of the offerings.

We managed to get to one of our grandson's, Sean "Fast on the Face-off" Reid's hockey games. He's really a great player and scored two goals for us!!!

We held the Robson Christmas in the Gathering Room on December 19th and had such a great time. We missed Craig and Mary who could not make it from Calgary, however they did visit while Mom was in hospital. Jan and Elliot were also missed! Perhaps next year.

Bob and I are on our way to South America for three months, leaving January 8th. We will travel to Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina with friends for the first month, then will take off on our own to Uruguay for February and March, returning to Toronto on April 1st.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch on the west coast, Darla, Peter, Sidney and the dogs, celebrated Christmas in golf carts and rubber boots....well...the dogs didn't celebrate in golf carts and rubber boots...silly!