We crossed into Alabama in the dark and stopped to take some night time pictures of this huge rocket at the Welcome Center.
Pictures of the rocket
We finally made it down to Athens, Alabama around 9:30ish at Gareths cousin Shorty aka Matt place. We also met Shorty’s friends Tre and Sledge. The plan was to spend new years with them somewhere.
We headed over to a club called "The Horse" in Madison County which was on the otherside of Huntsville, Alabama just before midnight.
We passed by this huge nuclear power station and the NASA Space Camp and Rocket museum on the way.
It was a pretty cool experience as I have never really been to a club before. We left the club around 3am and headed off to another club. Nothing like getting checked out with a metal detector and not being at the airport when it was being done.
Link to New Years Eve Pictures
We finally made it back to Shorty’s place and crashed around 5:30 am. Man where we tired.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Kentucky - Mammoth Caves
Well we left Cincinati around noon and headed south towards Alabama.
Randy suggest we stop at the Mammoth Caves on our way through Kentucky.
http://www.nps.gov/maca
We decided to do the two hour historical tour. It was pretty amazing.
Not a trip for someone who does no like small dark spaces.
It was well worth the 12 bucks. I would definitely stop there again to do some of the other cave tours in the same area.
Here is a link to some pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79450&l=66b6c&id=679800461
Randy suggest we stop at the Mammoth Caves on our way through Kentucky.
http://www.nps.gov/maca
We decided to do the two hour historical tour. It was pretty amazing.
Not a trip for someone who does no like small dark spaces.
It was well worth the 12 bucks. I would definitely stop there again to do some of the other cave tours in the same area.
Here is a link to some pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=79450&l=66b6c&id=679800461
Made it to Cincinati, Ohio
Well we hit the road around 6:30 pm on sunday and made it to Cincinati, Ohio by 1am.
We met up with Gareth's friend Randy. We then had to make a 15 minute side trip trough Kentucky in order to get back to a safer neighbourhood in Ohio to have a safe place to park the truck complete with a seadoo on the back.
We then headed back to Randy's for late night chit chat.
We will be heading down to Athens, Alabama for New Years Eve before heading over to Dallas.
Just think I in less than 14 hours I have been in two countries and five states.
We met up with Gareth's friend Randy. We then had to make a 15 minute side trip trough Kentucky in order to get back to a safer neighbourhood in Ohio to have a safe place to park the truck complete with a seadoo on the back.
We then headed back to Randy's for late night chit chat.
We will be heading down to Athens, Alabama for New Years Eve before heading over to Dallas.
Just think I in less than 14 hours I have been in two countries and five states.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
New Years Road Trip
Well I am not one for last minute spur of the moment trips.
My friend Matthew from McMaster White Water club noticed I had no plans for New Years.
He suggested I come on a road trip with him in order to help move his friends stuff to Dallas, Texas.
I had to re-arrange my work schedule with my co-worker to make sure things would be covered.
I have made the trip down to Jameston, NY. We are leaving soon to head down to Cincinati, OH.
I hope to have pictures posted up as I go.
My friend Matthew from McMaster White Water club noticed I had no plans for New Years.
He suggested I come on a road trip with him in order to help move his friends stuff to Dallas, Texas.
I had to re-arrange my work schedule with my co-worker to make sure things would be covered.
I have made the trip down to Jameston, NY. We are leaving soon to head down to Cincinati, OH.
I hope to have pictures posted up as I go.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Sixteen Mile Creek
Well today Greg and I were going to paddle Sixteen Mile Creek in Oakville.
It would have been a interesting paddle as neither of us had ever been on it before. I was looking forward to documenting the trip in detail by taking alot of pictures.
We met up at the putin. Greg was down the hill checking out the water when I got there.
We decided to do the shuttle right away and I would just get changed into my paddling gear afterwards.
Luckily we did it that way as we found out that the takeout was all blocked up with construction barriers, etc.
We tried to search for alternate takeouts but the cemetery and other places were just too far away to haul boats around.
We decided to call off the trip. The Credit River would have been an alternate choice but due to time constraints it wasn't possible.
This road leads down to the creek:
I am not sure if this counts as paddling or not but I did managed to get my boat into some water.
So to sum it all up the paddling sucked big time.
But as always you have to have a plan B. I stopped and visited various friends that I have not seen in a while on the way home.
It would have been a interesting paddle as neither of us had ever been on it before. I was looking forward to documenting the trip in detail by taking alot of pictures.
We met up at the putin. Greg was down the hill checking out the water when I got there.
We decided to do the shuttle right away and I would just get changed into my paddling gear afterwards.
Luckily we did it that way as we found out that the takeout was all blocked up with construction barriers, etc.
We tried to search for alternate takeouts but the cemetery and other places were just too far away to haul boats around.
We decided to call off the trip. The Credit River would have been an alternate choice but due to time constraints it wasn't possible.
This road leads down to the creek:
I am not sure if this counts as paddling or not but I did managed to get my boat into some water.
So to sum it all up the paddling sucked big time.
But as always you have to have a plan B. I stopped and visited various friends that I have not seen in a while on the way home.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Xmas in Petawawa
This would be the first time ever spending Xmas with my dad and step-mom.
My son decided to come along for the roadtrip.
It was nice to have some downtime considering how busy I had been over the previous month.
The day was went by quickly as we opened presents, went for a walk down by the Petawawa and Ottawa rivers, played cards, pigged out at dinner, and watched movies.
Dad and Charlie:
Chris:
Chris and Charlie:
My son decided to come along for the roadtrip.
It was nice to have some downtime considering how busy I had been over the previous month.
The day was went by quickly as we opened presents, went for a walk down by the Petawawa and Ottawa rivers, played cards, pigged out at dinner, and watched movies.
Dad and Charlie:
Chris:
Chris and Charlie:
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Credit River
22-Dec-2007
Credit River
Water Level: frickin low
Well it is officially the first day of winter. The snow and ice are here to stay. I really wanted to get my day of paddling in December. This would get me closer to being in the 12 month club which is 12 months of paddling outdoors in Ontario. I missed it last season by missing February,
Everything up my way is frozen over. The only place left to maybe paddle was the Credit River. Greg was quite certain that it was low but runnable and a trip was therefore planned for today. I ended up crashing at Greg’s on Friday night. There was no sense in wasting gas for a trip home Friday night just to come back down to the GTA Saturday morning.
We met at the put in at 11:30 in Streetsville. The open boat paddlers would be Greg, Neil, Rick, and myself. The kayakers would be Bill, Len, and Wayne. And then there was Dan who decided he would paddle for the first time in a C1.
Some of us decided to slide down the big hill in our boats where the kids were sledding. Greg went first as was down before I could take pictures. Dan did two runs. One by himself where he did spins down the hill. The second run beside me. We started off together. I thought he was going to hold onto my boat all the way down and then he let go. I started spinng and all I though of was $h1t I am going to hit the big friggin post and decided to swim out of my boat. Neil did a run down in Dan’s C1.
After that we went back to the parking lot to see if the others were ready yet. Now for the hard part. We had figure out where the open water was as the river was iced in. We had to go across the ice and put in below the dam.
Here is a short video looking at the ice http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7X2iYXkS8L0
The trip down the river was pretty un-eventful. The water was low but according to Greg it was lower when he was paddling it a few weeks ago. There was lots of ice along the shoreline. There is nothing like avoiding concrete slabs and garbage while paddling.
My epic move of the day came when we had to get out of our boats in order to get around the ice that had formed underneath the bridge. Neil walked along the shoreline first and dragged his boat under the bridge. I think :en was next and then it was my turn. I paddled up to the ice and threw Len my painter line and he started pulling me up. I stood up to put my foot on what I that was thick ice near the shore to only have my foot go through it and I fell over. I had one hand on my boat and one on the ice. I ended up carving out a fair chunk of ice as I was shimmying above the ice. I then grabbed Len’s hand after letting go off my boat and got up on shore. Thanks Len and Neil. The area I carved out made it easier for the others to get up onto the ice.
We managed to see quite a bit of wildlife. We saw two hawks, six deer, and a whole bunch of stunned fisherman. The most scenic thing of the whole day was a picnic table in the river with a snowman on top of it.
The takeout was also interesting as the normal river right exit was iced in. We ended up having to get out on river left and scale the block walls and then all hell broke out. Neil and gang decided to have a snowball fight.
After that we dragged our boats back to the cars. I am pretty sure everyone had fun. I know I did. I just hope I can now get a day of paddling in January and February.
Here is a link to the pictures http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76108&l=6fb72&id=679800461
Credit River
Water Level: frickin low
Well it is officially the first day of winter. The snow and ice are here to stay. I really wanted to get my day of paddling in December. This would get me closer to being in the 12 month club which is 12 months of paddling outdoors in Ontario. I missed it last season by missing February,
Everything up my way is frozen over. The only place left to maybe paddle was the Credit River. Greg was quite certain that it was low but runnable and a trip was therefore planned for today. I ended up crashing at Greg’s on Friday night. There was no sense in wasting gas for a trip home Friday night just to come back down to the GTA Saturday morning.
We met at the put in at 11:30 in Streetsville. The open boat paddlers would be Greg, Neil, Rick, and myself. The kayakers would be Bill, Len, and Wayne. And then there was Dan who decided he would paddle for the first time in a C1.
Some of us decided to slide down the big hill in our boats where the kids were sledding. Greg went first as was down before I could take pictures. Dan did two runs. One by himself where he did spins down the hill. The second run beside me. We started off together. I thought he was going to hold onto my boat all the way down and then he let go. I started spinng and all I though of was $h1t I am going to hit the big friggin post and decided to swim out of my boat. Neil did a run down in Dan’s C1.
After that we went back to the parking lot to see if the others were ready yet. Now for the hard part. We had figure out where the open water was as the river was iced in. We had to go across the ice and put in below the dam.
Here is a short video looking at the ice http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=7X2iYXkS8L0
The trip down the river was pretty un-eventful. The water was low but according to Greg it was lower when he was paddling it a few weeks ago. There was lots of ice along the shoreline. There is nothing like avoiding concrete slabs and garbage while paddling.
My epic move of the day came when we had to get out of our boats in order to get around the ice that had formed underneath the bridge. Neil walked along the shoreline first and dragged his boat under the bridge. I think :en was next and then it was my turn. I paddled up to the ice and threw Len my painter line and he started pulling me up. I stood up to put my foot on what I that was thick ice near the shore to only have my foot go through it and I fell over. I had one hand on my boat and one on the ice. I ended up carving out a fair chunk of ice as I was shimmying above the ice. I then grabbed Len’s hand after letting go off my boat and got up on shore. Thanks Len and Neil. The area I carved out made it easier for the others to get up onto the ice.
We managed to see quite a bit of wildlife. We saw two hawks, six deer, and a whole bunch of stunned fisherman. The most scenic thing of the whole day was a picnic table in the river with a snowman on top of it.
The takeout was also interesting as the normal river right exit was iced in. We ended up having to get out on river left and scale the block walls and then all hell broke out. Neil and gang decided to have a snowball fight.
After that we dragged our boats back to the cars. I am pretty sure everyone had fun. I know I did. I just hope I can now get a day of paddling in January and February.
Here is a link to the pictures http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76108&l=6fb72&id=679800461
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
No tumour in my spine
11-Dec-2007
I had to go see my neurosurgeon for my MRI results.
I was expecting to the the word "tumour" and "surgery" in the same sentence.
I was quite happy to hear that I do not have a tumour pushing against my spine.
He said it was a slipped disc.
He told me to keep paddling and skiing.
I will have a checkup in a year.
So life goes on!
I had to go see my neurosurgeon for my MRI results.
I was expecting to the the word "tumour" and "surgery" in the same sentence.
I was quite happy to hear that I do not have a tumour pushing against my spine.
He said it was a slipped disc.
He told me to keep paddling and skiing.
I will have a checkup in a year.
So life goes on!
Monday, December 10, 2007
Xmas party in the Burg
Friday 07-Dec-2007
I left for the Ottawa Valley after work on friday as i had been invited to a party at Lara and Shannon's place.
It seemed real strange and depressing to be heading to the Valley with no boat on my car. It would be the first time since May with just me and no paddling gear.
Can the paddling season really be over? Say it isn't so.
I kept peeking over the sides of the roads and bridges and to my dismay everything seems to be frozen solid covered in snow.
I finally reached my dads place in Pet. He asked me if I was paddling and I had to unfortunately "no". I spent some time with the folks and finally had to go to bed after falling asleep in the chair I don't know how many times.
Saturday 08-Dec-2007
I left Pet around 11am and headed into Pembroke to do some shopping and visiting some friends. I finally made it to the Burg mid afternoon and dropped off my goodies for the party. I caught up with Lara and met Shannon and her friend Tanya.
I left and headed out to visit some of my friends that were close by in the Valley. I even stopped to check out the river at the McKoy's putin. It was really saddening to see the amount of ice on the river. I can't belive that I might have to admit the paddling season is finally over.
I headed back to party central to help out with the last minute details and cleanup. The party was fun. It was nice to catch up with others in a relaxing social setting versus sitting in a eddy on the side of the river.
I spent the evening drinking eggnog with Malibu. Don't knock it until you try it. It is really good. I forget how many of those I had plus the number of shots that went along with it. The party died down around 2am and some people crashed early.
Shannon was like the energizer bunny. She went on a cleaning spree (broke my crockpot lid) and insisted that Tanya and I kept drinking with her. She kept making the drinks and I think they we getting stronger each time in between the shots. We finally packed it in arounf 4:30am.
People started stirring just before 9am. Shannon's parents came back to the house and made up a great breakfast. Shortly after goodbyes were exchanged and I had to hit the road back to Innisfil. I took a different road home and it had the same result. The ice and snow are here to say and the paddling season is finally over.
Time to get the skis out!
I left for the Ottawa Valley after work on friday as i had been invited to a party at Lara and Shannon's place.
It seemed real strange and depressing to be heading to the Valley with no boat on my car. It would be the first time since May with just me and no paddling gear.
Can the paddling season really be over? Say it isn't so.
I kept peeking over the sides of the roads and bridges and to my dismay everything seems to be frozen solid covered in snow.
I finally reached my dads place in Pet. He asked me if I was paddling and I had to unfortunately "no". I spent some time with the folks and finally had to go to bed after falling asleep in the chair I don't know how many times.
Saturday 08-Dec-2007
I left Pet around 11am and headed into Pembroke to do some shopping and visiting some friends. I finally made it to the Burg mid afternoon and dropped off my goodies for the party. I caught up with Lara and met Shannon and her friend Tanya.
I left and headed out to visit some of my friends that were close by in the Valley. I even stopped to check out the river at the McKoy's putin. It was really saddening to see the amount of ice on the river. I can't belive that I might have to admit the paddling season is finally over.
I headed back to party central to help out with the last minute details and cleanup. The party was fun. It was nice to catch up with others in a relaxing social setting versus sitting in a eddy on the side of the river.
I spent the evening drinking eggnog with Malibu. Don't knock it until you try it. It is really good. I forget how many of those I had plus the number of shots that went along with it. The party died down around 2am and some people crashed early.
Shannon was like the energizer bunny. She went on a cleaning spree (broke my crockpot lid) and insisted that Tanya and I kept drinking with her. She kept making the drinks and I think they we getting stronger each time in between the shots. We finally packed it in arounf 4:30am.
People started stirring just before 9am. Shannon's parents came back to the house and made up a great breakfast. Shortly after goodbyes were exchanged and I had to hit the road back to Innisfil. I took a different road home and it had the same result. The ice and snow are here to say and the paddling season is finally over.
Time to get the skis out!
Sunday, December 2, 2007
McMaster Whitewater Xmas Party
Neil and I were supposed to go paddling on the Washago Black today. We decided to cancel our trip as it was -19C with the wind chill. Way to cold for either of us and we decided to live and paddle another day.
This gave me some extra time to get some food cooked up for a potluck dinner party I was invited to. I made my curry and chickpea conconction in the crock pot. I also remembered that my sis-inlaw gave me a rice cooker and gave that a trial run.
I packed up the car and headed off to Hamilton mid afternoon in order to get ahead of the storm that was coming in.
I stopped and took some pictures at the Burlington waterfront of the xmas lights. It was frickin cold.
I arrived at Robbie's place around 6ish. I plugged in the crock pot and and started another batch of rice. We had to make a quick run to the grocery store for supplies.
Everyone else started showing up around 8:30ish. It wouldn't be a xmas party without a game of flip cup and a ginger bread house making competition.
The music was great. Steve and Jurek played a few songs on their guitars and the crowd sang along.
The festivities lasted until the wee hours of the morning. I left around 3am as the weather wasn't that bad. It ended up getting worse when I got close to getting on the hwy 400 and there were already a few accidents heading northbound. I decided to head over to work and just crash there for a few hours.
The trip up the 400 was fine. I just had to follow the snowplows once I was about a third of the way home. I was pleasantly suprised when I got home to find out my neighbour had blown the snow out of the driveway for me.
I am glad I made the trip there. It was great to catch up with some of the paddling gang from the summer.
This gave me some extra time to get some food cooked up for a potluck dinner party I was invited to. I made my curry and chickpea conconction in the crock pot. I also remembered that my sis-inlaw gave me a rice cooker and gave that a trial run.
I packed up the car and headed off to Hamilton mid afternoon in order to get ahead of the storm that was coming in.
I stopped and took some pictures at the Burlington waterfront of the xmas lights. It was frickin cold.
I arrived at Robbie's place around 6ish. I plugged in the crock pot and and started another batch of rice. We had to make a quick run to the grocery store for supplies.
Everyone else started showing up around 8:30ish. It wouldn't be a xmas party without a game of flip cup and a ginger bread house making competition.
The music was great. Steve and Jurek played a few songs on their guitars and the crowd sang along.
The festivities lasted until the wee hours of the morning. I left around 3am as the weather wasn't that bad. It ended up getting worse when I got close to getting on the hwy 400 and there were already a few accidents heading northbound. I decided to head over to work and just crash there for a few hours.
The trip up the 400 was fine. I just had to follow the snowplows once I was about a third of the way home. I was pleasantly suprised when I got home to find out my neighbour had blown the snow out of the driveway for me.
I am glad I made the trip there. It was great to catch up with some of the paddling gang from the summer.
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