Labour Day Weekend

Most of the day was spent on the beach.

We spent part of Friday and Saturday at the lake with Dee, Kyle and our two grand kids.....it is their 5th wedding anniversary. Although not a sunny day we did get in a full day at the beach, pizza, playground and a dingy ride....everyone was in bed by 830pm....George

The gang on the boat for an anniversary toast.

Brad took Grace and I out for a tour of the harbor......Owen was not too sure about coming along.

Dee's kind of boat....at the playground.

Owen on the beach.

New Boat

Seems Toys R Us could not supply Declan his PHRF rating if he decides to race his new bed boat.

We have a new boat in our family. Declan our grandson (Jessica's son) just got a new boat......a sailboat in fact....it actually is his new bed......glad we don't need to find another slip in Bayfield.....think the dingy dock would do......George

August Sunset

Although most of the day was overcast the sun did peek out for a few minutes as it set.

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago while I stayed over at the lake......it was an overcast or very cloudy day......but I decided to go down to the beach and see if the sun would peek out at all. To my surprise it did but just before it set......this is what I saw.......George

I really did not see the sun at all  this day, or at least until the last moments of the day.

Hot Dog or Popcorn Anyone

The converted Model T is used as a popcorn vendor.

Back in July Susanne and I took in the Saturday farmers market in Goderich. That day there was a craft show happening in the same area which brought out many local vendors. One such is the old 1925 model T Ford converted into a hot dog wagon which operated in town from 1930-1972 by Pete Zimmerman. In 1995 his daughter Carol Ann Fisher donated the vehicle to the Goderich Rotary Club for fund raising. It has been used for selling popcorn as a fund raiser since May 1996. Here is how it looks now in 2014.......George

A neat looking food stand.

Pete is seen in the corner of the photo. This is how the hot dog stand looked back in the day.

Beach Glass

It is nice to find a piece or two of beach glass but in Fort Bragg, Ca. one can really hit the jackpot.

Up until 1967 the residents of Fort Bragg, CA, used to dump all their trash over the edge of the coastal cliffs into a small cove. Back then you would have found a smoldering pile of junk, including everything from coke bottles to entire cars. Fortunately they got smart enough to stop the uncontrolled dumping, and over the course of several decades the ocean transformed the horrific trash heap into something miraculous: a beach composed almost entirely of tiny polished pebbles of multi-colored sea glass. It is an inspiring success story of the forgiveness and self cleansing our Earth is capable of. Unfortunately, though, there are limits to this process, and I suspect we will one day find out what those limits really are......George

Glass Beach Directions - Ft. Bragg Ca.

 If you are in the Fort Bragg, Ca. area the following are directions that I have found that will get you down to the beach...these were posted in May 2014 and mentioned the glass is 6-7 inches deep on the beach.....George

How to get to Glass Beach? Luckily my good friend Bev Jacquement, author of "The Sea Glass Rush" was incredibly generous with directions and tips about which section of the beach to go to, and how to climb down from the rocks to the beach.

"Go over Golden Gate Bridge & turn left on Hwy 20 at Willits. The Jack-In-The-Box is on the left corner. Stop for bathroom break, get food to go & head towards the sea! The road is twisty. Lots of pull outs, use them as the locals drive it fast. When you get to Hwy 1, turn right. Go through town, turn left on Elm, at the Denny's. You will end at Glass Beach Drive. Park. Take the path & when you can turn to the left, do that. Do not go to the right & do not go straight. If you walk all the way to the end, that is not the best way down to the beach. Back up a little & there is a better way."

Mac Race 2014

Looking down the river from the main roads lift bridge in Pt Huron during Mac Race week. July 2014

Susanne and I visited Pt. Huron on the Friday before the race to do some shopping and check out the racing fleet and events related to this years Mac Race. Here are a few of the photos I took......enjoy......George

As usual the river has the race fleet raft-up three deep. At one location the boats were five across.

Not sure my slip is big enough for something like this....but a great looking boat.

Beach Glass Carpet

If one wants to find a lot of beach glass the easy way.......maybe you should head for one of three following beach locations.......St. George's Glass beach in Bermuda, Kauai's Glass beach in Hawaii or Ft. Bragg, California. These all at one time had a carpet of beach glass......best check though before taking off there as who knows what current haul's might be......George.

This is not my collection.

More Beach Glass

Here a few more photos from my walk last October at Bayfield along with a percentage chart of colours one my find......some colours are rare.....George

Wordless Wednesday No.5

Island Beach Co. to close stores on Lake Huron

Susanne and Ruby head into the Grand Bend location which will be closing for good shortly.

Today while Susanne and I walked the main street in Bayfield we decided to check out the end of season deals at Island Beach......we like stocking up on their nice t-shirts this time of year. To our surprise the store was better than half empty and all the shirts, hats and bags with Bayfield logos on were $5. Susanne found a few in her size and I got a new hat. As it turns out they are shutting down operations in this area permanently. They have stores out east that they want to focus on. So Bayfield, Grand Bend and Sauble Beach are to close permanently this fall....too bad as we always liked their product. We did also stop by Grand Bend today on the way home were stock is low also......George

Island Beach Co. Grand Bend

Given Race Update

My friend Brad who lives in Goderich caught the fleet rounding in town at about 1230 and reported a Beneteau 27 winning averaged 13+ knots. He also mentioned that unfortunately one of the fleet did not make it to the finish line...a Hunter 37' lost its mast near Goderich and also had a line wrapped around its prop...needing a tow into Goderich Harbour by the Coast Guard. I believe the boat is still there this week....George

Photo's from the Given Race

Although just the main is up at the moment the whole fleet flew the most sail they could muster...no reefing for these guys on this breezy day.

Here are a group of photos I took prior to the race start on Saturday...I did not hang around to photograph the start as it was pouring by then and my Canon is not water friendly....I actually was pretty wet already from taking photos from the pier....George

Summer Heat under full sails.

A Hunter 37' about to clear the pier on race morning...excuse the spray...it was getting me wet also.

Nice August day on the water if you like it cold.

Here we see the gang from the Bayfield basin...some are crew that bailed from Saturday's race. You would never know this is 11am on a mid August day by the gear this group have on....looks more like October.

William Given Race a go today

Although the weather sucks here in Bayfield the Given race is a go. Strong SW winds 3-4 foot chop and as the race began...lots of rain. A fleet of seven boats started the race. They should have a good run to Goderich but I would hate to be sailing back into the chop, wind and rain in the open (no dodgers on this fleet)...think the rum will go down well tonight.....photos to follow.....George

Bounty from the Sands

My 2013 collection of beach glass found in a bowl on my boat along with my handbook.

Looking for Beach Glass

Beach's change every day and beach glass comes and goes...a touch of an individual piece carried in a pocket can easily trigger a memory from a day at the lake. During my days at the boat I normally spend some time walking the Bayfield beach. On these walks I keep a keen eye out for beach glass. It seems I can fill a small jar each year...maybe close to full. More people each year are beginning to collect beach glass which is making it harder to find. The glass pieces I am finding seem to be smaller these days. One sees glass in many colours. The most common in my area are clear, brown and green. But each year I do find a few blue and in lucky years a red piece too....red being the hardest colour to find. Some days I come back with only one piece, on others maybe a good size handful.....it sure is a nice way to spend a long walk along the shoreline.....George.

Bayfield beach...looking for glass.

The three photos are taken while I walked the beach Oct. 3 2013. I actually found a good amount of glass that day.....having the beach to myself might have helped. When wet the clear ones look like ice.

On occasion when I have my camera along I may take a photo of the glass pieces as on this day. A clear piece is mixed in with the stones.

Grace's Birthday Cake

Back in July I picked up a neat looking cake for Grace's 4th birthday. I got it at the new Foodland in Bayfield. They now have a nice bakery on site which makes up some interesting cakes. With a summer birthday it was nice to have a burger themed cake with mini cupcake burger to boot.....George

Neat Looking Rug

Wordless Wednesday No. 4

Almost Tropical

Susanne and I at the wedding.

Last weekend we attended a wedding at the Lamplighter Inn  here in London. They have a great looking pool area were we took some photos....when I looked at the photo once home you would think we are at a tropical location....George

Suanne's sister and Mark.

Year Two

HAULING UP THE SAILS....During the summer of 2010 I captured a view of my dock  neighbor Mark and his family out for a sail in Grand Bend, Ont.....what a great day that was.

At the beginning of August Mile Marker 49 began its second year. Although at times posts can be few and far apart.....I still have lots to share.....hope you keep following along......George

June Sunset - Bayfield

Back in June I decided to head over to Pioneer Park up on the ridge south of the river in Bayfield.....I always seem to get a few nice views from here.....enjoy......George

Just back

Here is Brad as we head out for a dingy ride to the next anchorage (Thomas Bay) to check things out. That is Wavelength, Brad's CS 36 in the background.

Guess you have not seen a post here in awhile...our summer has been hectic with little time to get posts ready. Actually I have only had my boat out twice this season to date and maybe have stayed over 3-4 times in the month of July. I just got home from helping a friend moving his sailboat from Killarney, Ont. back to Bayfield. I really needed that break...we have just finished pulled out all the carpet from our house...painted all the baseboards and rooms upstairs. I then got one of those unexpected calls..."need some help moving boat, wife must head home for family issues right away"...so off I went in Brads car from Goderich on a six hour drive to get to the north country (through Muskoka) at the start of a long weekend. Seven days later I am back home. Oh did I mention the day Brad called, the carpet showed up and installation began...it was the wrong carpet...so now we wait till the re-order happens...all our furniture is piled up in two rooms...we are sleeping on the mattress on the floor like two college students...I feel like we just moved without leaving the house....George

Mutual Affair a Bayfield 40 from our home harbor, Bayfield. We spent a couple of days here in Keyhole about 8 miles from Killarney. This boat has spent time down south and the Florida Keys in the past.

A nice looking Alburg 30 is anchored next to us for the time we are in Keyhole. The couple are from Parry Sound and have owned the boat for decades.