• Photo Gallery 2016 - Pt I
• Niagara Falls, Canada
• Lake Simcoe, Canada
• Lake Muskoka, Canada
• Georgian Bay, Canada

• Thousand Islands, NY
• Lexington, Kentucky
• Louisville, Kentucky
• St Louis, Missouri

• Tucson, Arizona
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Portland, Oregon

Photo Gallery 2016 -- Part I

At the left is a composite of just a scant few of the shots which you can see in Part I of our Photo Gallery covering the first half of our 2016 travels, Including the winter in Florida, and our travels north to Lake Murray and Charleston, South Carolina; Tellico Lake and Nashville, Tennessee; Lexington, Kentucky; Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio, and Chautauqua, New York before heading up to Canada in June, which starts Part II of our photo gallery below....

Niagara Falls - The Canadian Adventure Begins

We arrived in Niagara Falls in Canada today. In 2003 we came to Rochester, NY for a software conference, back when my company Rose City Software was going very strong. We went every summer in those days. After the conference, we visited Niagara Falls. At the left is a photo of Libby 13 years ago with our youngest son Patrick, who was 11 at the time. The mist was so intense from the falls you had to wear ponchos. It was indeed a sight to behold. The US side of Niagara Falls is an embarrassment. Canada does it right with beautiful parks and more. Since we saw it then, we're only making a quick stopover today as we head on to Lake Simcoe and sailing tomorrow.

We took a private helicopter tour of Niagara Falls when we visited in 2003. Young Patrick got to ride in the front seat... and was thrilled to play copilot. Libby and I rode in back. What a cute little guy he was! Hard to believe he is now all grown up and a civil engineer employed with DKS Associates, a big transportation engineering firm in Portland, Oregon. Where *do* the years go???

Patrick and I standing by Niagara Falls during our visit in 2003. I still had my moustache then and the hair was a little less grey, but the last 13 years have all been good!

Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada

After arriving in Ontario on June 13, we secured our marina slip at Lake Simcoe's Cooks Bay Marina. Lake Simcoe is our first summer sailing destination. Then we spent our first few days getting settled in a nearby KOA Campground. It's a nicely maintained KOA and they gave us free adjacent parking for both our boats & trailers. And there's a large field with very nice mowed grass right out our door, perfect for walking the dog. Someone was out there testing a giant hot air balloon in the image of Mr Peanut. Pretty nutty!

On Thursday, we took a trip to check our second summer spot on Georgian Bay, at the east end of Lake Huron, just an hour north of our present location. We checked out the campground we have reserved, then went over to the nearby Wye Heritage Marina where we can reserve a slip for our boat. Included with the slip is a large swimming pool, beach, horseshoe pits, tennis court, dining on-site at Henry's Fish Restaurant and a week stocked Dock Shoppe. We also looked at the alternative next door with similar amenities, the Bay Port Yachting Centre. Either one would be a great choice for summer.

This is an aerial shot of the enormous Wye Heritage Marina at the base of Midland Bay. It is nicely tucked back from the big open water of the mighty Georgian Bay which stretches north for about 120 miles and measures 40-50 miles across, encompassing what is known as the 30,000 Islands. Tucked in behind various islands which are part of the 30,000 Islands chain, Midland Bay and Severn Sound should be perfect for our Catalina 22. After checking it all out, we returned to Lake Simcoe and plan to rig and launch the Catalina for a month of sailing Simcoe.

Life is somewhat different in Canada than what we we're used to in the US, eh? For one thing they say "eh" after many phrases. Fuel is sold in litres and is more expensive than in the US even with the favorable exchange rate of .78 CDN to the USD. As a matter of fact we haven't found anything so far that is cheaper here. Like in the US, wifi in the RV Park is generally useless, but Verizon offers a great deal with their TravelPass for Canada and Mexico, and with our new contract, we have full access to our speedy Verizon U.S. wifi package with our Jetpack. We also had to purchase a basic Canadian package for our ATT phones, but Libby connects to our Verizon wifi with her iphone, and mine is set to autoforward through Skype.

A week after arriving at Lake Simcoe we were STILL not able to go sailing without carrying out a pretty unusual exercise. Using what is called a bosun's chair which I borrowed from the marina, attached to the main halyard, I had to hoist Libby up the 25' mast to retrieve the jib halyard which I had carelessly allowed to ride up to the tip of the furling forestay. Jason, one of the guys from the marina, tended a secondary safety line in case the main halyard would break. Libby was very brave... she had done this sort of thing when a youngster on her Dad's boat.

After the morning exercise, we were able to finish rigging the boat and we headed out on Lake Simcoe for our first sailing session. We had moderate winds with some gustiness but had a nice time... always a thrill to be out sailing on a new body of water. We were pretty much the only ones out on Cook's Bay up until mid afternoon when a couple other boats showed up, but by then we had to head in and rescue Corey waiting back in the coach.

I drove back over to the marina at 6pm and crewed on a Catalina 27 for the Tuesday night beer races. Libby stayed back with Corey and relaxed after her courageous morning. We had decent winds for the race at first, but then some storm clouds started to form and the wind died and the race was called and we headed back to the marina. That's Bill at the helm, Brian, the owner of the boat and Eric in the foreground. I was hanging out on a shroud to capture the photo. I'm not much interested in racing personally, and don't feel I know enough about course racing to get my boat out in the middle of the field, but it was fun to hang out with the guys and talk sailing.

Doldrums are forecast for the next three days, so with the lack of wind today, we drove up to Barrie, about 20 minutes north, and took Corey for a bike ride in his Doggyride cart along the Barrie Waterfront Trail. We passed the marinas, and stopped in for a quick visit with a fellow I met thru the internet named Phil Pilgrim who runs a sailboat charter out of the City Marina called Chances R Sailing Excursions with his beautiful Hunter 38 sailboat. Much too large for trailer sailing like we're doing, but a gorgeous boat. We had lunch in Barrie, did a little shopping and drove back down to our KOA in time for late afternoon margaritas.

After 3 days of doldrums, the wind came back with intensity. Sunday saw winds gusting to 20+. In the company of 6-8 other sailboats and a number of kitesailors we had steady SW winds in the 14-18 range Sunday afternoon as we sailed out towards the north end of Cook's Harbor. As the winds began to pick up to 20 or so in anticipation of some overnight storm activity, and the windsurfers appeared, we headed in. Monday was another excellent day and we were back out for the afternoon with 12-18 northwesterly winds. The next ten days are forecasting much of the same!

After a fun evening on Tuesday racing with Al on his C&C 25 in the weekly beer races out of our marina, on Wednesday with NW winds in the 12-14 range and beautiful blue skies and comfortable temperatures, Libby and I sailed up out of Cooks Bay as far as Snake Island at the mouth of the bay, about 7 miles as the crow flies from our marina. We had superb sailing out on the main part of lake and very few other boats. And over my shoulder, that's Snake Island behind me with the iconic watchtower on the point.

Today is Canada Day and a stormy one at that! Not the best for folks celebrating Canada's equivalent of the 4th of July. Certainly not for boating. We went out for brunch to our favorite local eatery Hot Stacks, a friendly little restaurant in nearby Cookstown. We shared a delicious omlette and pancakes. Their Reuben sandwiches for lunch are irresistible as well. We got back to the coach just before the skies opened up in a torrential downpour complete with thunder and lightning. As we opened the door we were greeted with this familiar sight. I just LOVE this photo so much I had to post it on the travelogue as well as here in the gallery. Classic Corey, the recliner monster.

Today is the 4th of July, and we celebrated by taking our little C-Dory motorboat out for a run on Lake Simcoe. With the steering cable freed up and lubricated, she handled great as we cruised out around Snake and Fox Islands and then up the east shore of Lake Simcoe for several miles looking at all the lake homes, parks & beaches. Corey was comfy in the v-berth on his pillows. That's my Garmin echoMAP 53dv GPS on the dash... we discovered it only came loaded with the LakeVu HD chart for the US and not for Canada. Oops! So I ordered the supplement on Amazon when we got home, so we'll have all our depth charts for Georgian Bay, Lake Muskoka and the Canadian side of the St Lawrence & the 1000 Islands.

Today July 10 looks like our last day of sailing the Anne Marie at Lake Simcoe this year. 10-12 today with some ups and downs, but tomorrow the wind looks to be flat so we will pull the boat. Libby leaves Weds am to fly home for a visit and when she returns on the 22nd we'll have a couple days to prepare to head up to Georgian Bay on the next leg of our summer adventure. I am staying behind to be with Corey and will be able to sail with some friends I have made at the marina while she is gone, but they have their own boats and so I am unlikely to find anyone to go out on my boat; no sense paying for another week's slip fees.

Libby is now back in the Portland area and all three boys are home to welcome her. They went out to a Portland restaurant for dinner last night and the composite photo at the left was the result. From the left that is Pat, Tim, Drew and mom.

The Muskokas

Upon Libby's return, we moved north to the next stop on our route, Lake Muskoka. The Muskoka Region which includes Lakes Muskoka, Rosseau, and Joseph - a.k.a. 'cottage country' - is the world's second-fastest growing recreational real estate market after Cote d'Azur, France, according to Christie's International Real Estate. Muskoka is to Toronto what the Hamptons are to New York. Countless celebrities including the likes of Tom Hanks, Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn, Martin Short, Harry Hamlin, Cindy Crawford, Kenny G. and Steven Spielberg, all have summer cottages in this 'Malibu of the North'. These mega mansions that have spring up here have been dubbed McCottages.

This is our more modest home for the next four nights, nestled in the tall trees in a most generous and private campsite at the Gravenhurst / Muskoka KOA with plenty of room for the coach, both boats, car and outdoor relaxing. Corey is in heaven here as well. We're just a few miles from the lake and tomorrow we plan to take our C-Dory over to a public boat launch in nearby Bracebridge and put her in for the day to do some exploring around this quaint lake.

Click on the image at the left to see a live webcam at Severn Lodge, one of Ontario Canada's premier lakeside resorts in the heart of the world famous Muskoka / Georgian Bay lake district. There are no webcams right on Lake Muskoka, but this is pretty close. It lies on the Gloucester Pool of Georgian Bay east of Lake Muskoka via the lock system on the spectacular Trent-Severn Waterway. We'll take the C-Dory over to Big Chute, and cruise into the Severn Lodge for lunch one day while we're up in this area.

Our first full day at Lake Muskoka, we launched the C-Dory over at George Rd/McVittie Island Landing in Bracebridge and cruised several miles west around the west side of Browning Island to visit a friend of a friend, Frank Sloan, a very successful retired Toronto builder.

This is an aerial view of Frank Sloan's magnificent 'cottage' which he has owned for 16 years, enjoying the relaxed island lifestyle on beautiful Lake Muskoka. The house is actually hidden in the trees, but the boathouse alone is simply amazing. Frank just listed his place for sale, and if we had a couple spare mill, we would love to take it off his hands :-)

We would have been content to sit out on Frank's deck drinking Bloody Marys with him, and just take in the beautiful view, watching the historic Segwun Steamship cruise boat go by. But Frank insisted on taking us on a tour in his big Cobalt powerboat and we toured about 12 miles up to the north end of Lake Muskoka, at Port Carling where the lock takes you through to Lake Rosseau which we will visit on Thursday.

On the return trip we passed innumerable gorgeous summer 'cottages' like the one at the left. As I said in a previous post, the Muskokas, which consist of Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau, and Lake Joseph, is often referred to as the Malibu of the North, and has become the summer residence for many, many celebrities from the states, including the likes of Tom Hanks, Kate Hudson, Goldie Hawn, Martin Short, Harry Hamlin, Cindy Crawford, Kenny G., Steven Spielberg, and others. Ah the cottage life!

Some of the boathouses on Lake Muskoka put our own home to shame. I always dreamed of having a 5 car garage, but a 5 slip boathouse? Pretty amazing! Oops did I say 5? I just counted again and I think it is 6!

Here's another grand cottage which we passed by as we cruised through Millionaire's Row, between Tondern and Squirrel Islands. There is a LOT of money up here! And there has been since the area was discovered by early 20th century industrialists like Pittsburgh's Andrew Mellon and Andrew Carnegie who built summer cottages here.

We also cruised by a number of major resorts on the lake. This one is Touchstone Resort where a half million or so will buy a part interest in a very upscale timeshare.

After we left Frank, we took our own C-Dory across the lake and down the leeward coast of Lake Muskoka, which was pretty choppy today with a 12-14 west wind. We should have been sailing! We cruised down to the south end of Lake Muskoka, passing thru the Gravenhurst Narrows (Lighthouse Island) into Muskoka Bay at the base of which sits the town of Gravenhurst, which bills itself as the 'Gateway to Muskoka'. We followed the Segwun thru the narrrows. Built in 1887, the Segwun is North America's oldest operating coal-fired steamship.

Today we drove up to the charming lakefront town of Port Carling to take a cruise on Lake Rosseau, one of the Muskokas, aboard Sunset Cruises' Peerless II riverboat. Lake Rosseau lies just north of where we boated with our new friend Frank Sloan on Tuesday. Lake Rosseau is connected to Lake Muskoka by the Indian River and the lock system at Port Carling.

The weather cleared for a while in the afternoon as we cruised through some of the several hundred islands of Lake Rosseau. Reportedly named after French playwright and Montreal native Jean-Baptiste Rousseau who spent a lot of time in the area in the early 1700's, Like the Thousand Islands which we fell in love with last summer and are headed back to in September, it is all about the Island Cottage lifestyle here in the Muskokas. That is the Windemere House resort in the distance.

At the left is the Windermere House and Marina, a historic hotel and resort located in Windermere, Ontario overlooking Lake Rosseau. Known as The Lady of the Lakes, the original Victorian style hotel was built in 1870 by Thomas Aitken, and originally served as a boarding house before it became a hotel. It burned to the ground in the mid 1990's and was rebuilt as a faithful reproduction of the original.

Like Lake Muskoka, Lake Rosseau has countless beautiful summer lakefront residences or 'cottages'. Boats are not merely for recreation here, but are a way of life as the only means of travel for most of the island residents.

Then again for *some* there are more expedient ways to get back and forth... like your own private 30 passenger floatplane (at the far left in the photo). When you can afford a ten million dollar summer cottage, what's another million or two for transportation?

If you cannot afford your own summer cottage or your own floatplane, but still want to visit Lake Rosseau in luxury, you can always stay at the Marriott. Set high on a bluff overlooking picturesque Lake Rosseau and situated next to the shoreline in Minett, Ontario, is the luxury resort called "The Rosseau" - Canada's first JW Marriott Resort & Spa. Here a room will set you back just $350/night for the basic accommodations on up to $1269 for the 'Executive Suite'. Hmmmm... our motor coach is sounding pretty good!

Georgian Bay and the 30,000 Islands

Well we thought we had died and gone to heaven last summer in the 1000 Islands on the St Lawrence Seaway. We have now arrived at the 30,000 Islands of Georgian Bay, on the east side of Lake Huron in Ontario, Canada. If there is a special place in heaven for boaters it must look like this. We'll be here a month. We have taken a slip for our Catalina 22 sailboat at the enormous Bay Port Yachting Centre on Midland Bay at the south end of Georgian Bay. And we plan to explore some of the more distant reaches of Georgian Bay with our trusty C-Dory motorboat as well. Many more photos to follow, soon!

Take a quick four minute flight on a seaplane around Georgian Bay for a spectacular aerial tour video through the islands, showing people boating, sailing, canoeing, kayaking, paddleboarding and swimming. A boating paradise indeed. A true 'Water Wonderland'.

By clicking on the photo at the left, you can also take a longer tour of Georgian Bay by seaplane which starts with a one minute slideshow, followed by a ten minute video of the 30,000 Islands, much of it pristine wilderness. You gotta wonder who counted them!

Today, Saturday, we rigged and launched our sailboat at the public launch next to Bayport Marina. We got out for a very brief sail on the bay after launching, but winds were light and it was getting late. As we sailed on a downwind reach back into the harbor, we could see downtown Midland ahead and the Great Lakes Cruise Company's flagship, the Pearl Mist currently tied up downtown enroute from Chicago to Toronto. And beside it is the iconic mural on the grain silos which depicts a Huron Native and a Jesuit Priest looking into the nearby village of Sainte-Marie, as it would have appeared in 1640. Midland is full of giant murals.

In Bayport Marina we're on V Dock, slip 4, with lots of other sailboats around. Several sailors stopped to talk with us, and noting our Oregon boat license, were amazed we've come all the way from Oregon. Après Sail, on the way back to the RV Park, we made a stop for liquid refreshment. Alcohol is not sold in Walmart or grocery stores, not even beer. Gotta go to the Beer Store! With the alcohol taxes in Canada, beer is 50% more expensive than in the states.

Friday night we were invited to attend a Friday night social and dinner with the Midland Bay Sailing Club which has several hundred very active members with their docks and clubhouse immediately next to the docks at Bayport Marina where we have our boat docked. We have consistently found that a larger percentage of Canadians are more into sailboats than people in the US. Here is no exception. Hundreds of sailboats between Bayport Marina where we are and the Midland Bay Sailing Club next door. And we have also found Canadian sailors to be among the friendliest folks we have encountered anywhere in our travels.

Today, Sunday, we sailed out onto Midland Bay again, this time with winds 12-15... but by the time we got out of the harbor past the point where the NW winds open up, it was blowing 15-18 and was just too rough out there for us to enjoy it. The bow was rising and falling as much as 6' at times. Due to the enormous size of Georgian Bay, this is definitely a place where it is more comfortable in a larger boat. But of course a larger boat is not one you can tow along behind as we do. Tomorrow winds are predicted to be more in the 9-10 range which should be more comfortable for us on open water. We'll try it again and see if we don't fare a bit better.

Today, Monday, was sheer perfection out on Georgian Bay. We got out about 2pm and had extremely steady winds 10-12 mph and mid afternoon at 12-14. We were able to sail on a full main and genoa jib and really lay into it with no need at all to adjust the sails on the long reaches. We hit speeds up to 7 mph on fairly flat water inside the barrier islands. We sailed out around Snake Island and over to the other side and back a couple times and had a ball. Notice the heel of the boat to port. We were like this all day until we turned downwind to head back to the marina about 6pm. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven!

Here's a one minute video of this spirited sailing session on this glorious Monday afternoon, with a full panorama showing the beauty of Georgian Bay on a perfect sunny afternoon.

We were out sailing again today, Tuesday, this time in 10-12 mph winds from the South. That is not the prevailing direction here but it picked up pretty good late afternoon, and we were cruising along on the inner bay at 7 mph on totally flat water. As we were headed in, the Pearl Mist, Great Lakes Cruise Company's flagship, which was tied up at the docks downtown, was just pulling out. We snapped this photo with her right off our starboard bow.

NEWS FLASH!

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Today, Monday, we had a mild sunny day with little or no wind, a perfect day to do one of our planned excursions with the little C-Dory motorboat. We trailered her up to the Big Chute Marina, about half an hour's drive, launched her and rode the Big Chute Railway up over the marine rail system which traverses Lock 44 on the Trent-Severn Waterway. It is the only marine railway (or canal inclined plane) of its kind in North America still in use. At the left is a photo inside the lock/rail car with a very large yacht in there right behind us. It's quite an experience!

After crossing over the marine railway, we navigated the Waterway (left) down to what is called the Gloucester Pool and then over to the Severn Lodge where we had lunch down by the water's edge. See our route indicated by the dotted line and the red arrows in the enlarged image.

Here we are arriving at the historic Severn Lodge. We pulled in off the Trent-Severn Waterway in our little C-Dory, tied up at the docks, and enjoyed a very pleasant lunch at this charming spot as we chatted with some Canadian vacationers.

At the left is a photo taken from the balcony at the Severn Lodge. You can barely make out our little C-Dory tied up at the end of the Tee dock. Here's the closeup. Compare this photo with the live webcam at the Severn Lodge.

Here I am standing by the back entrance to Severn Lodge facing the water (above)... the Gloucester Pool of the Trent-Severn Waterway. This charming historic lodge and family resort started out as a lumber camp in the mid 1800's. In the 1870's, a group of well-to-do people from the Pittsburgh bought it for use as a private lodge. In the 20's it was purchased by a pair of Ohioans and opened to the public, and then in 1936 it was purchased again by Bill Breckbill who had worked at the lodge for 6 years after high school. It has remained in the Breckbill family ever since. Read the complete history at the Severn Lodge website.

Here we are as we pulled away from the Severn Lodge on our way for some more cruising on the Trent-Severn Waterway. Our brief lunch stop was like a pleasant little trip back in time. We hope we can return here one day and stay at the lodge. I am sure it would be a memorable stay.

We cruised for several hours all around the Gloucester Pool along the Trent-Severn Waterway. We threaded our way past and around dozens of islands, a tiny fraction of the 30,000 Islands which make up the greater Georgian Bay area. It is difficult to capture the scope and grandeur of the area in photographs from the water, but live and up close, it is a fascinating experience. They say there are 30,000 Islands, but 60,000 more rocks and shoals, so it is NOT a place you want to cruise without a good quality GPS Chartplotter like our Garmin EchoMap 53dv.

Here's some video from Youtube taken amidst the beauty of the 30,000 Islands in Georgian Bay area. Nothing is like actually being there, but this gives at least some idea.

Like all the waterways up here in Ontario, there are some palatial summer 'cottages' here. While most the cottages we cruised past were more modest and deserving of the term 'cottage', ones like this defy the imagination. That's our official C-Brats burgee at the left of the frame.

Some of the people have some interesting floats and play toys moored in front of their cottages. This one took the prize for the day as the most interesting and amusing. "Shiver me timbers. matey! Thar she blows!"

Libby, Corey and I got back to Lock 44 and the Big Chute Railway around 5 pm. It makes its last trip over the hill each day at 6pm and we didn't want to miss it as we were not prepared to spend the night aboard C-Dory... and the Severn Lodge does not take pets. You can see the rail car just coming down this side to discharge its passengers. Once clear, the locksman calls out to us on the loudspeaker... "OK, bring the C-Dory in." Nice to be recognized. This little boat draws attention wherever we go!

I can post early this morning as there isn't going to be much happening today. Corey has a vet apppointment, otherwise it is a day for reading and a recorded movie ot two. The image at the left is why. Some 2+ inches of rain are forecast for today and we woke up to the storm in full swing. The white circle is our position here in Midland. More of the same is forecast for next weekend, but we might get some boating breaks this week. I guess the drought is winding down up here.

Such a fine photo I had to use it twice... here and on the Travelogue as well. This was our bike ride today, Tuesday, along the Midland Rotary Waterfront Bike Trail. We started at Petterson Park right down by our marina and rode around the Midland Harbor about 5 miles to the Martyr's Shrine, a Canadian national monument which looms impressively in the background in this photo.

On the ride back we stopped down by the Midland Harborfront to have lunch on the outdoor patio at the popular Boathouse Eatery. We had a nice view of the harbor and enjoyed a tasty lunch, and managed to get back to the coach before another rain storm set in for the afternoon as had been predicted.

Here's Captain Kerbs at the helm cruising through the waters of Georgian Bay up around King Bay about halfway up the eastern shore between Midland and Parry Sound. On Friday I located a small marina on King Bay where we could launch our little C-Dory and park the car and boat trailer while we cruised around for several hours out amongst some very natural undeveloped islands of the 30,000 Islands region. We had a picnic on the water and enjoyed the peaceful serenity of this exceptional area on a beautiful calm August afternoon.

On Sunday, we took a drive over to Collingwood on Nottawasaga Bay, the next bay over from Midland. Much larger than Midland, some 30 miles wide, it is not protected by the islands like Midland is. If you go due north from the southern point in the town of Wasaga, it's more than 150 miles to the far end of Georgian Bay. Wasaga Beach bills itself as the longest freshwater beach in the world. Today started out stormy and REALLY windy, gusting to 35 mph... which is why we were not sailing. We saw people kitesailing and windsurfing in ocean-like surf. We had lunch at a Collingwood brewpub, and by then it had cleared so we went for a bicycle ride on the Georgian Trail.

Today, Monday August 22, was probably our last day sailing on Georgian Bay. It was a gorgeous, windy day once again, our 8th day sailing of 23 days with the boat in the water here. In general we tend to average sailing about one in three days with the variability of wind, weather and other activities. That's why we won't rig the sailboat and put it in for a week anywhere. Too much work for the 1/3 average of 2 days of sailing. A month is our preferred stay. We'll leave here Friday, but with rain due Thursday we'll need to get the boat derigged for towing on Wednesday and tomorrow promises to be too windy. As we pulled back into the harbor at Bayport Yachting Center one final time we tried to permanently imprint it on our memories. Next stop the Thousand Islands.

On our way back to the states from Georgian Bay, we stopped to visit my my long time friend and business associate Haim Gelfenbeyn who has just moved to London, Ontario near Toronto. He and his lovely wife Vika and their three charming boys, Arie, Benjie and little Daniel, are just moving to a new home in London. The little guy was taking a nap when we took this photo in front of the new house.

We took the kids and went for a walk in the park before lunch on Saturday. This is middle boy Benjie in a particularly photogenic pose.

Here's the youngest, Daniel, 2 1/2, playing hide and seek around the park. Daniel is just adorable... with those big blue eyes and impish grin, he reminds us so much of own little boy Patrick when he was little.

After our excursion to the park, we all went to a nearby Boston Pizza parlor and enjoyed some delicious pizza and beer.

The Thousand Islands, New York

Back in the Thousand Islands again, for the month of September. This is without a doubt my favorite stop in our RV travels since we began several years ago. This place is magical, that's all there is to it... the beautiful St Lawrence River, all the beautiful islands, castles... it is like something out of a fairy tale. And the sailing is as good as it gets. You can see the special page I made up for this very special place or visit the section of last year's photo gallery with some 70 images and photos from last year's two month long Thousand Islands visit.

Today was our first sailing day on this year's visit to the Thousand Islands. It confirms what I had already been feeling... this is my favorite place to sail, bar none. The winds, the cool clear water, the scenery, the weather... just hard to beat. That's Calumet Island and the iconic water tower out ahead... just offshore from downtown Clayton. It is the remnants of a 30 room castle built by New York tobacco tycoon Charles G. Emery in 1893, predating the still-standing Boldt Castle in nearby Alexandria Bay. Absolutely magical!

Today, Labor Day, 2016, we launched our little C-Dory motorboat at our marina launch ramp where we tied up briefly next to our sailboat, before embarking on a 25 mile sightseeing expedition out of French Creek harbor eastward almost to the Thousand Islands bridge and then looping back in and around the islands, along the Canadian side, thru the Admiralty Islands group and back across to Clayton again.

Yesterday, Sept 8, we had some rain and a lot of wind, and we drove over to nearby Wellesley Island to visit our friends Judy and John Cook from Connecticut who spend their summers in their waterfront home in a remote corner of Wellesley Island about 6 miles from our RV Park.

Today, September 9, was only the second day we were able to get out sailing since our first day on Sept 2, we have either had low wind doldrums or stormy gusty winds. But today was excellent... 12-14 mph, very steady, sunny with a high around 80 degrees. Almost no other boats out there and reasonably flat water.

This Friday night Libby and I went to a Frank Sinatra tribute concert at the Clayton Opera House, starring Tony Sands. Libby and I both like Frank Sinatra... I often listen to Sirius XM Radio channel 71 'Siriusly Sinatra'... and we enjoyed and recorded a number of Frank Sinatra concerts which were aired again during his 100th birthday celebration last year. So this tribute concert was a treat... Tony Sands does a good job, performing several dozen of Sinatra's greatest hits. Of course there is only one 'Chairman of the Board', Old Blue Eyes himself!

Our long time friend Jil Gotlib came for a visit. We've been friends for 40 years across a couple past marriages, so it was a pleasure to have her come to the Thousand Islands and spend a week. On our first day together we had excellent winds so we took her out sailing. She had sailed years ago and enjoyed the afternoon immensely.

Jil and Libby had a nice opportunity on a beautiful afternoon out sailing on the St Lawrence to catch up on old times.

There are many beautiful riverfront homes in the Thousand Islands... I included photographs of many of them in last year's photo gallery. This one is just adjacent to downtown Clayton and it's the one I want when I win the powerball lottery!

Today we visited the famous Boldt Castle, a spectacular summer mansion for millionaire George Boldt and his beloved wife Louise on Heart Island, in Alexandria Bay, now a historic landmark in the 1000 Island Region. Here we are tied up at the day use docks at the fabulous Boat house. The little C-Dory looks like a little toy boat at those high docks with the enormous castle looming in the background. That is George Boldt's fabulous castle on Heart Island across the channel.

This is the magnificent 'Pardon Me' megalaunch, a spectacular 48' wooden boat. It is said to be the world's largest and fasted runabout, powered by a Packard V-12 1,800 horsepower engine that can hit 70 miles an hour. The 'Pardon Me' was designed by John Hacker and launched in 1948. It belongs to the Antique Boat Museum in Clayton, NY and was beautifully restored some years back and is housed part time in George Boldt's magnificent boat house.

On Sunday Libby, Jil and I all drove to Brockville, a charming town on the Canadian side of the river, about half an hour east of the Thousand Islands Bridge, for the Tall Ships Festival. There were 6 or 8 of these classic Tall Ships on display and visitors could climb aboard and walk around the decks. We went aboard the Fair Jeanne, a working 110' replica of a modified classic Square Rigger. Built in Ottawa in the 1970's she has been sailed extensively in the Caribbean and all around the Great Lakes. She must be sight to behold under full sail.

Here I am standing aboard the lovely Fair Jeanne. It must be quite an experience to sail this baby!

The Tall Ships Festival is held down at the picturesque Brockville Waterfront. There's music, entertainment, classic wooden boats on exhibit like those at the left. It's quite an event over a three day weekend attracting thousands of visitors from both sides of the river,

It was something to watch the Empire Sandy, pull out of Brockville Harbor. She is a gorgeous 200' tall ship which offers chartered tours for the public out of Toronto, Canada. She was built as an Englishman/ Larch Deep Sea class tugboat for war service by the British Government in 1943.

Once out in the middle of the river the magnificent Empire Sandy pointed up into the wind, hoisted her sails then fell off the wind, picked up speed, then gybed and looped around past the waterfront for a photo op... quite a sight to behold.

Back at the festival, there was lots of food and drink, music and various entertainment spectacles... Shiver me timbers, matey!

Here are a couple other spectacular tall ships tied up along the waterfront.

On the way back home we stopped off in the quaint little village of Rockport just east of Ganonoque. We had dinner outdoors by the bay at Cornwall's Pub there and Libby snapped this photo of Jil and me on her last evening in the 1000 Islands. We'll be sorry to see her go, but all vacations must end!

On Monday of our last full week here in the Thousand Islands we sailed with a good SW wind of about 12-15 mph and made it further west than we had managed to reach before... all the way out to Cedar Point State Park and Linda Island (red dotted line) before we turned and sailed a couple downwind reaches (green dotted line) back to our marina. An excellent day of sailing once again! And we were all alone out there... well almost....

As we were tacking our way westward toward Cedar Point State Park, a kite sailor came ripping by us and waved. That's the first time we have seen a kite sailor here on the St Lawrence. Memories of the Columbia River Gorge immediately came to mind, where kite sailing is very popular along with windsurfing which was my sport for 25 years.

That's Libby gazing over at Cedar Point State Park off to the left with Linda Island just ahead off the starboard bow. We almost made reservations at Cedar Point State Park but they have a very limited number of spaces with full hookups, and they were booked when we tried.

We took this photo off the back of the boat on what will likely turn out to be our last day sailing on the St Lawrence this year. The afternoon started off nice and windy but late afternoon the predicted weather system started moving in and we turned tail and headed back towards the marina. Unless some wind materializes this weekend, this will wrap it up for us... we'll pull the boat out and derig it and get it ready for the road west as we head back to the west coast this fall.

On Friday evening of our last weekend in the Thousand Islands for the year, we hosted dinner at Foxy's Restaurant down on the river in Fisher's Landing right near where we are staying. We arrived at sunset - the restaurant boasts a panoramic view of the St Lawrence River, and the culinary delights of their Italian / American menus is all part of the reason why generations of visitors to the 1000 islands have enjoyed dining at Foxy's Restaurant. At the table are our Canadian friends Susie Smith and her husband Marceli and Bill and Penny Stallan both of whom have generously invited us to dinner at their homes each time we have been here.

We awoke early this morning on the day of our departure from Clayton NY, and were greeted by a beautiful sunrise as we looked out the door of our coach. An appropriate farewell treat from our beloved Thousand Islands.

Since my sailing days are over for the immediate future as we begin our trek westward, I spotted this commercial on the TV for Ralph Lauren Polo Blue fragrance featuring exciting sailing action. I found the Polo commercial on youtube and downloaded the video to my laptop using Keepvid online. Now when I need a sailing fix I can watch this or one of the sailing videos we made this summer.

Today on the first leg of our trip home we stopped briefly in Syracuse where we delivered our little C-Dory motorboat to the new owner, a fellow by the name of Bill, who met us at a Walmart where we had plenty of room to park the coach briefly, as I was towing the sailboat with it. A little sad to see the little guy go, Libby gave Dory a hug and thanked him for providing some fun adventures this summer. Now he moves on to a new life in upstate New York.

Lexington, Kentucky - Fall visit

We are back in the Lexington, Kentucky area at Whispering Hills RV Park in Georgetown, where we also stayed in the spring. This is a really nice park just north of Lexington and our first choice whenever we return to Lexington. Even as Hurricane Mathew batters the Florida coast, we could not ask for better weather here with clear skies and daily temps in the low 80's... perfect weather for horse racing. We'll be attending the races at Keeneland Race Track on opening day, Friday, and on Saturday.

Our first full day in Lexington we attended the United Professional Horseman's Association Kentucky Fall Classic Horse Show and watched marvelously schooled American Saddlebred horses step through their paces. Afterwards we wandered over to the The Maker's Mark Secretariat Center on the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park. The Secretariat Center is a Thoroughbred adoption facility that seeks to match at-risk Thoroughbred horses, off the race track, with people who would like to adopt them. Here we are standing by a bronze statue by artist Jim Reno of the late, great Secretariat, perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time.

This is my own bronze racehorse statue. It's about 10" tall, a fine vintage bronze replica of an original by famous 19th Century French sculptor Pierre-Jules Mene, whose priceless works are featured in museums around the world including the Louvre and the Metropolitan. I added the small brass name plate engraved with the name Secretariat. As a huge fan of Secretariat, this bronze is one of my most treasured possessions. To learn more about the greatest Thoroughbred racehorse of all time, you can read my own brief synopsis of Secretariat's inspiring story.

The Maker's Mark Secretariat Center is comprised of 20 acres of paddocks, a ten-stall barn, an outdoor arena, a round pen, and a small cross country course. We got a nice personal tour of the facility and met some of the equine residents. The grounds are beautiful as is all of the Kentucky Horse Park. At any time the Center houses 10 to 20 Thoroughbreds all in different phases of the Horse Centered ReSchooling Program, all available for adoption.

Two recent new residents at The Secretariat Center are these two minis, nicknamed War Admiral and Seabiscuit after two other legendary race horses who met in the 1938 Match Race that was dubbed the "Match of the Century." These two little guys are soooo cute! On our tour we went out into their paddock and they came over - and Seabiscuit in particular was so sweet, nuzzling Libby for some cuddle time.

On day two, we drove back over to Claiborne Farm. Owned by the Hancock Family, Claiborne Farm has been a leading Thoroughbred farm for generations. Calumet, another famous horse farm in Lexington, no longer permits visitors. But Claiborne is where the great Secretariat stood at stud and is buried, and tens of thousands visit the gravesite every year. We visited here in the spring. Today I brought my own bronze statue to the gravesite to physically imbue it with Secretariat's spirit. We arrived and the sign said "closed to visitors" but I called the office and explained our situation, and the nice lady graciously allowed us to enter and visit the gravesite. Mission Accomplished!

On day three here in Lexington we attended opening day at Keeneland Race Course for the 2016 race season. Here we are at the start line for race 9, the Darley Alcibiades Stakes, a 1 1/16 mile Grade 1 stakes race with a $400,000 purse. I picked four winners today, but this race was not one of them. Nevertheless, it was still great to see some really fine race horses in action.

These are our tickets from the race today... we got two of the last available seats. This was opening day at legendary Keeneland Race Course. Keeneland is one of the most famous race tracks in the country, and it was a thrill to be there and have great seats in the grandstand right in front of the boards. And we're coming back tomorrow for a big day in Kentucky racing with several Grade 1 Stakes races including the $400,000 First Lady, the $500,000 Claiborne Breeders' Futurity and the $1,000,000 Shadwell Turf Mile.

While attending the screening of "Dark Horse" the other night at the Kentucky Theater here in Lexington, we noticed that another acclaimed horse film was playing here as well. So tonite we went back to see a screening of the film Harry & Snowman, a captivating documentary that follows the story of riding instructor Harry deLeyer and his remarkable tale of rescuing a white plough horse from slaughter for the incredible price of $80. He named the horse Snowman and trained him to become a U.S. champion in show jumping during the 1950s, winning the triple crown of show jumping. He was known as "The Cinderella Horse." Another heartwarming film indeed.

On our next to the last day in Lexington we visited the The Thoroughbred Center of Lexington. This is a race horse training facility including outdoor dirt and turf tracks, a 5/8-mile track with a metal roof, two main barns that can house up to 260 horses each plus 40 tack rooms and a state of the art, 920 seat sales pavilion. We got a two hour guided tour of the facility and got to meet a number of horses, jockeys and horse owners. Here is a two year old going out for her morning training session.

We entered the main offices of the Thoroughbred Center of Lexington to wait for our guide to begin our two hour guided tour the facility. Pictures of race horses are on all the walls, but guess what had the place of honor right behind the main desk? This marvelous painting of the one and only Secretariat in his notorious win at the 1973 Belmont Stakes to capture racing's elusive triple crown. He was the first TC winner in 25 years, winning by 31 lengths, the largest margin of victory in Belmont history, and breaking the track record by more than 2 seconds in a record that still stands 40+ years later!

On our last day in Lexington this fall, we visited Old Friends Equine - A Retirement Home for Thoroughbred Race Horses. Many great racehorses are living or have lived out their lives here since Michael Blowen founded Dream Chase Farm here in 2003. Here I am playing horse whisperer with one of my favorites, a charming old stallion named Silver Charm, who I befriended last spring. Trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Gary Stevens, Silver Charm won the 1997 Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, losing the third jewel of the Triple Crown by placing second in the Belmont Stakes to Touch Gold by just half a length. A very sweet fellow.

Churchill Downs - Louisville, Kentucky

We left Lexington and made a brief stop in Louisville where we visited Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum. Here's a photo looking up from the paddock area at the famous twin spires of Churchill Downs. The first Derby was held in 1875 and has been held every year since then, which makes it the longest continuously held sporting event in the U.S.

We also spent a couple hours wandering around the Kentucky Derby Museum. Included is an awe inspiring 15 minute film in the round with a 360 degree movie screen which captures the excitement and thunder of the Kentucky Derby. Here I am standing by a display case dedicated to the great Secretariat who set the track record at the Derby in 1973 on his way to the Triple Crown. His record of 1:59 2/5 for the mile and quarter race still stands today. That's the famous blue and white checkered jockey's silk of Meadows Stables, worn by his jockey Ron Turcotte.

Here's Libby living out her fantasy of being in the starting gate at the start of the Kentucky Derby - in an entertaining display at the Kentucky Derby Museum.

We stayed at a KOA Campground on the south side of Louisville. Before we left I managed to give Corey a much needed haircut on the picnic table beside the coach. He is always so much more energetic after a haircut and a bath. I have been clipping him since we got him 6 years ago, as well as other Westie, Gracie, for her entire 16 year life... and my Mini Schnauzer Sammy for 14 years before that. Saves a little money but I also like the way it comes out better than sending him to a groomer - he's much happier as well.

St Louis, Missouri

On October 14 we moved on to St Louis, Missouri. It was a good day's drive for us from Louisville on our route west, and also where one of my oldest and dearest friends lives. Here we are at Casino Queen RV Park. We're not gamblers at all... it is simply a safe and convenient location for us while here in St Louis, Queen City of the West. Notice the iconic St Louis Gateway Arch in the background.

Today, Tuesday, we prepped our sailboat, the Anne Marie, for storage and took her to a Self Storage facility here in St Louis where she will sit all locked up and under cover for the winter and possibly beyond. We will leave her here and proceed on across country together, in the coach and towing our car as we head home for the winter. Sailing season is over and we'll make a decision next year about what is next for us. Maybe we'll pick up Annie and head back to the Thousand Islands, or perhaps we will have her transported to the west coast for us. Time will tell.

After taking a drive around St Louis' Forest Park and gawking at the beautiful Gilded Age mansions which border the 1371 acre park, our last outing on Wednesday in St Louis before the big storm hit was to pay a visit to Crown Candy. This St Louis landmark is famous for their delicious candies, fudge, ice cream, and other tasty treats. Libby had a chocolate malt and I had a black cherry ice cream cone. Yummmmmm...

On Thursday, Oct. 20, we left St Louis on our way to Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, our next destinations. We're planning on a 5 day trip, 1650 miles, stopping overnight in Miami, OK; Wichita Falls,TX; Midland, TX; and Las Cruces, NM. Since we will be traveling together in the coach now while towing our Chevy Suburban, we can switch off driving and it should not be too daunting. We'll be cruising on Interstate Highways or 4 lane State Highways the whole way.

Tucson, Arizona

After traveling some 1600 miles in 5 days after leaving St Louis, we made it to one of our favorite southwestern spots, Tucson, Arizona. This area around Tucson is called the Sonoran Desert and is the only place in the country where the famed Saguaro Cactus grows. We returned to one of our favorite spots, Sabino Canyon, just outside of Tucson in the eastern foothills of the Santa Catalina mountain range. We took the 45 minute tram ride on a round trip several miles up into the canyon and back.

The tram ride up into the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area offers Kodak moments at every turn of the road. At the left is Thimble Peak, a well-known landmark in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Thimble Peak rises from the foothills on the south side of the range to an elevation of 5323 ft. The peak is in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness of the Coronado National Forest.

Sabino Canyon Recreation Area offers a unique array of topography and plant and wildlife. The Sabino Creek flows through the middle of the canyon offering sustenance to many types of wildlife which could not live in the desert without the benefit of the creek. The creek is home to a unique species of fish as well, the Gila Chub which is both protected and endangered.

The almost infinite array of Saguaro Cacti in the Sonoran Desert can grow right out of the rock, with their shallow root system which spreads as wide as the cactus is tall.

Here I am standing next to a classic-looking Saguaro Cactus, an old man in the desert standing next to an old man of the desert. Saguaro live for 60 years as a single stalk before they start to grow their first arm, which makes this 5-limbed old fellow much older than I. He had the classic shape like for a Mexican Restaurant so I decorated him with the sombrero.

I couldn't resist capturing this photo when we visited the Sonoran Desert in 2013 and it is worth posting here once again. Corey thought the cacti were looking a little parched with the recent drought so he decided to do his part to quench their thirst. I carried him through the rough terrain over to this majestic looking Saguaro to try to keep him from picking up any thorns, but in the process, I must've brushed up against a teddy bear cholla or as they say around here, it jumped out and bit me! Ouch! Oh well, it was worth this classic photo of the boy.

Phoenix, Arizona

The coach was dirty and long overdue for a wash. Fortunately Desert's Edge RV Village here in Phoenix where we're spending the week permits washing. So we broke out the Deionizer setup. I have an outside hose bib off my WaterBoss Water Softener. So the hour and a half process goes like this: I hose down a section with softened water. Then I wash the bus with a long handled mop and a bucket of warm soft water and soap. And then I rinse it with the same softened water. Finally Libby comes right behind me with a long handled spray wand connected to the Deionizer and gives the section a spot free rinse. It works like magic... no chamois or wiping required!

Our one major outing for the week was a trip with our friends the Baileys to Goldfield Ghost Town located in Apache Junction, near Phoenix in the Superstition Mountains. Created by the rush that followed the discovery of gold in the region in 1892, the community reached a peak of about 4000 residents with a general store, hotel, saloon, post office, school and and bordello. When the mines ultimately played out, the town was deserted. The town was later rebuilt and revived as a faithful reproduction of the original mining town. It opened to the public around 1980 and remains a popular tourist attraction.

We strolled through the faithfully restored downtown Goldfield Ghost Town, in and out of various gift shops and lunched at the little main street cafe. We also stopped into the little museum which contained a lot of the folklore of the area and many artifacts and pieces of historical significance like the dress coat (left) worn by the infamous Doc Holliday, an American gambler, gunfighter, dentist, and a good friend of Wyatt Earp, well known from many western films like The Gunfight at OK Corral.

We also took a little guided tour down through the town's recreation of one of the many gold mines that peppered the region in the late 1800's. Miners earned $2 a day, a good wage in those days, as they dug, blasted and picked their way through the depths below the Superstition Valley floor. Some Apaches believe that the hole leading down into the lower world, or hell, is located in the Superstition Mountains.

Here's Libby and I as we considered the idea of trying our luck panning for gold here in mining section of Goldfield Ghost Town.

Today, Friday, was Day One of the Breeders Cup, the famous horse racing series held each year at Santa Anita in California. Of particular interest to me was race #9 which pitted three of the nation's top fillies head to head for one of the great horse races of all time... Songbird, Stellar Wind and the great Beholder, the grand dame who at age 6 was competing in her last race before retiring to the breeding farm. Songbird was the strong favorite, but Beholder with Gary Stevens aboard rose to the occasion to win in a heart-stopping photo finish by a head bob. We watched it live online. Sorry I didn't bet Beholder. She proved she is one of the great Queens of modern horse racing.

Saturday was the second and final day of the Breeders Cup. We watched all the action on NBC. We have a rule we only make modest bets when actually at the track to see the horses... otherwise betting the horses is a bottomless pit. But we like to watch. TVG carries live horse racing action all over the country and is fun to watch, but major events like the Breeders Cup are exclusively carried by NBC Sports. The highlight of the Breeders Cup weekend is the $6 million Breeders Cup Classic which pitted trainer Bob Baffert's Arrogate against the mighty California Chrome, 2014 Derby and Preakness winner and 2014 Horse of the year, undefeated again this year. Arrogate pulled off a surprising upset in a heart-stopping finish

Our RV friends Bill and Ginny, whose home here in Scottsdale we have visited in the past, are staying here in the Purple Park for a couple months while having work done on their home. We cooked steaks out on their patio one evening and they came by for a last visit with their dog Sophie on our last night here in Phoenix. Tomorrow we head for Las Vegas for a week.

Las Vegas, Nevada

While visiting Las Vegas, we took a much needed soul break from post election mania and drove out to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area about 30 minutes west of Las Vegas, to see the striking red rock and sandstone formations which make this area a national treasure.

We drove the one-way loop road, 13 miles long, which provides vehicle access to many of the features in the area like the striking red rock and tan sandstone formations pictured at the right. With rock walls up to 3,000 feet and the high point La Madre Mountain, at 8154 feet, in the distance, it is a very scenic area providing some much needed mental relief from the stress of the last few days.

Another excellent shot of the beautiful red rock and sandstone formations. We stopped at several viewpoints along the one-way 13 mile loop road and snapped some excellent photos.

We took Corey along also... he doesn't much like walking on rough gravel... ole tenderfoot... but photogenic li'l dude that he is, he graciously consented to pose for a photo or two against the beautiful backdrop. Red Rock Corey...

Our last nite in Las Vegas, Libby and I both hooked up with my old buddy Don Allen who moved from LA to Las Vegas this last year. We visited him at home in LA when we passed through there in 2013. As happens so often with LA people, he sold his home there for a substantial sum and bought twice the house for half the money elsewhere. We talked over old times, laughed a lot, and enjoyed some fine wine and Mexican food.

This is a 'graphic' representation of the 2016 election results. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Back home in Portland, Oregon

The Grand Tour has concluded at least for this year. We left the Thousand Islands in upstate New York concluding the 2016 sailing season in late September and slowly made our way across country making a few extended stops along the way. We have finally arrived home (left) to our recently purchased home in Vancouver WA, just across the bridge from Portland. We will celebrate the holidays and catch up with things at home, and then early next year, I need knee surgery which will put a crimp on future travel plans, at least for a while. We'll put the coach in storage and decide what happens next by spring. For now, though, 'tis good to be home!