Nick & Becky Marry

Saturday, July 29, 2006 - Yesterday, our nephew Nick (who's also Sandra's godson) married his fiancé Becky, so we have now gained a niece.
    The weather forecast had been calling for a 60% chance of rain and the day started out ominously cloudy, but it cleared as the day progressed and by wedding time that evening the weather was nearly perfect, although on the warm side, especially for the guys who were wearing tuxedos or suit coats. Like me, whose only remaining appropriate suit jacket is a heavy woolen Harris Tweed number I inherited from my late father-in-law, so I quickly overheated in the non-air conditioned church and shucked the coat at the earliest possible moment after the ceremony.
    Fortunately, Nick and Becky hired a proper wedding photographer so I didn't get called on to do that hideous task, something I would have grudgingly agreed to do had I been asked, but am extremely happy someone else did it.
    However, I didn't escape completely unscathed since at the rehearsal dinner Thursday night Nick asked if I'd shoot video, so I pulled the video camera out of mothballs and spent the next day making sure the camera still worked and the batteries still held a charge. Happily they both did after sitting idle for almost two years.
    The wedding went as planned at the All Saints Lutheran Church in Ottawa, with all the key parties showing up and saying their lines and exchanging rings, the groom being handsome and the bride beautiful (and the video camera staying the course).
    The newly wedded couple then climbed into a classic 1938 Chevrolet Coupe and were driven to Andrew Haydon Park where the posed wedding photos were taken. The wedding photographer was a trooper and managed to do her job among myriad friends and relatives (myself included) who wanted to take their own photos, which can greatly complicate the official photographer's task.
    By the time the photos were taken, the sun was setting and it too was appropriately beautiful and from there everyone relocated to Capone's Banquet Hall in the Nepean Sportsplex for the wedding reception, which turned out to be quite the gala affair with much music and dancing and the wedding cake being cut. Becky baked her own wedding cake and from all accounts it was quite tasty. Wish I could have had some, but cake is not on a Celiac's diet.
    We left shortly after 11pm and arrived back at the RV a little before midnight and took time to make sure all our photos and the video turned out okay before hitting the sack.
    Click on the photos for larger views and click here for Sandra's account of the day.

Way Past My Bedtime

Thursday, July 27, 2006 - Yesterday Sandra and I finally did something worth reporting. In fact, it kept me up way past my normal bedtime of around 9pm because I'm usually up very early in the mornings.
    What we did was to attend the rehearsal dinner for nephew Nick's imminent wedding (imminent as in tomorrow) and we didn't get back home until almost midnight.
    The dinner was held at Nick's parents' house (sister Margie & John) and attended by family of both groom-to-be and bride-to-be (Becky). Betty and Garth also attended, driving in from the cottage near Lindsay and will be staying over for the wedding.
    Pictured here are some of the family members and the best man in Margie and John's living room. Click on the photo for a larger view and click here for Sandra's account of the day.

Still More Errands

Tuesday, July 18, 2006 - Yesterday midmorning, we all climbed into the truck (humans and canine) and drove the 68 miles (110 km) south to the town of Gananoque on the Saint Lawrence River, so Bib could be trimmed by the only groomer in the area who can tame that savage beast. Rotten dog (rotten as in spoiled rotten).
    Having arrived early, we ran some mundane errands (like buying bananas, wine, and propane bottles and mailing a card) before dropping off the dog at the groomer.
    After that, we went in search along the 1000 Islands Parkway for a picnic table to eat the lunch Sandra had packed, but the search turned out to be futile since there was not a picnic table to be found anywhere.
    However, it's always pleasant to drive along the parkway, but by Canadian standards the day was quite warm (93°F, 33°C) and very humid, as can be seen in the photo above which was taken from the parkway and shows what should have been a blue sky but was hazy from all the humidity coming up from south of the border, where I wish it would stay. Those white specs in the water are water lilies. Click on the photo for a larger view.
    Failing to find a picnic table, we opted instead to have lunch in town and found a restaurant with an outside patio that had a bit of breeze blowing by and some food without gluten that I could eat.
    After lunch, we then retrieved our now freshly groomed and handsome but still rotten animal and returned home, and, of course, saw picnic tables in a little park as we were leaving town.
    For Sandra's account of the day, click here.

Not Much But Errands So Far

Saturday, July 15, 2006 - It's midday Saturday as I write this and I'm sitting in the waiting area of a Dodge dealer in Ottawa while the truck's 96,000 km (60,000 miles) service is being done to it. This is a major one, so it's going to take several hours and hundreds of dollars.
    So far in our return to the Ottawa area we've done little else but run errands and I've continued to process more of the photos I took at Upper Canada Village.
    I've also taken a few photos around the campground, which has loads of bullfrogs down at the river and many very lovely flowers, and sunrises the last two days were quite nice, so I hiked down the road and photographed them from across a large field, as seen in the photo above taken two days ago.
    For Sandra's account of the last few days, click here.

Now Back Near Ottawa

Tuesday, July 11, 2006 - This morning, we packed up and moved back to the Ottawa area since we still have much to do around here this summer, not the least of which is nephew Nick's wedding on July 28, so this time we are back near Carleton Place at Tranquil Acres Camping RV Park, which is what I think of as our home location in the region.
    The forecast had been for 60% chance of rain, but while it was cloudy we managed to miss the rain except for a small shower during the drive itself.
    I had a very interesting time during our week near Upper Canada Village, who yesterday granted me complete rights to the photos I shot there in exchange for giving them equal rights to them, so this was very good news, especially since I took a total of 1,487 photos over the week I was there and I think that's a record for me for one specific locale. That number is a bit misleading though since it includes a lot of duplicate and similar shots, so only a fraction of them are distinctly different images, but we're still talking hundreds of photos, so many I may never get them all processed. Upper Canada Village proved to be a very picturesque and photogenic place that's artistically laid out.
    For Sandra's account of the day, click here.

Living in the Past

Saturday, July 8, 2006 - The headline describes how I've felt much of this week as I've wandered around the Upper Canada Village, a heritage park along the Saint Lawrence River comprised of buildings from the mid-1800s that were saved from flooding by being moved to this site when the Saint Lawrence Seaway was constructed in the mid-1900s.
    The village depicts life in a rural community circa 1866 and does it very well, not only with the excellent condition of the buildings and grounds but with a large staff who dress in period attire.
    It is all quite believable and while it doesn't have the authenticity of Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, which is a restored town that actually existed, Upper Canada Village which never existed as a real village is still a fascinating place for those interested in history, particularly in the sense that it's a working community. The blacksmith actually smiths, the baker bakes, etc. In essence, it's a living museum, but without feeling like the typical museum with their arranged exhibits.
    Unfortunately, as it stands, the photos I take there can only be used for my own personal purposes, not commercial, a little fact they failed to mention last year when negotiating their use of the photos I take there this summer. It only seems fair to me that if they want to use my photography to promote themselves, I have the same rights to those photos, but I haven't been given the final verdict on that yet. If I can't market what I shoot there, then I won't be handing anything over to them. Pity. It could be a win-win situation for everyone, but we'll see how it plays out.
    Otherwise, I've done little else during out stay here but shoot photos in the village and process them.
    For Sandra's account of the last few days, click here.

Happy 4th of July

Tuesday, July 4, 2006 - Happy Independence Day to the American visitors of this page. As an American living in Canada it's always a bit strange to know it's a holiday south of the border while it's life as usual up here, although Canadians are still winding down from their own independence celebrations of 3 days earlier.
    Everything went as planned with today's move to the Upper Canada Campground with a major detour through Vos Trailers in Stittsville where we at long last got the broken bathroom basin replaced.
    From there it was a pleasant 85 mile drive southeast to the campground and rather than the predicted rain for the morning, it turned out to be dry but mostly cloudy and hazy.
    The RV was backed onto the campsite and camp setup in an hour or so, complete with a very easy access of the internet satellite.
    From there, me being so happy to be away from the big city, I hopped into the truck and drove right over to the Upper Canada Village to give it what I intended to be just a preliminary exploration since the light was not particularly good for photography but the place turned out to be so photogenic i ended up taking 243 photos.
    For Sandra's account of the day, click here.

Moving Tomorrow

Monday, July 3, 2006 - We've been in Ottawa for two months, but tomorrow while the US celebrates Independence Day we are scheduled to be moving down to the Saint Lawrence River to spend a week near the Upper Canada Village which is just a few miles east of Morrisburg, Ontario where Sandra's mother lived.
    In exchange for use of some of the photos I took several years ago at the Upper Canada Village (one from that photoshoot shown here) they gave me a 2006 season's pass and rights to wander around the village during the hours they are closed so I can shoot photos there in sunrise and sunset light.
    They have expressed an interest in seeing what I shoot this time, so it's likely I'll be able to make the same arrangement with them for next year and hopefully rights for me to sell what I shoot there, if I don't already have those rights.
    After our week there we're to be returning for another month in the Ottawa area and this time will be staying at my favorite campground in this region, Tranquil Acres near Carleton Place, about a half hour west of Ottawa.

Happy Canada Day!

Sunday, July 2, 2006 - A bit belated greeting since yesterday was Canada Day, but it's still the holiday weekend, so close enough.
    I was tempted to go down to Parliament Hill last night to photograph the fireworks, but just couldn't work up the required enthusiasm for it, since that would have involved either taking the bus and then a lengthy walk to get to the vantage point I had in mind, or fight the traffic driving down there and then trying to find a parking spot within walking distance and then fighting the crowds, which I'd had enough of at Danica's graduation to last me for a while, so maybe next year. If I'd had second thoughts, it started to sprinkle rain about the time I would have had to leave, so that clenched it and I went to bed instead.
    However, what we did do to celebrate the holiday since I needed to see some new territory (getting tired of sitting around for months) was to drive up to the remote and little known Morris Island Conservation Area, which is along the Ottawa River but far from the city and its traffic, which seems to get worse every year. Maybe it's just because I'm getting older and the reflexes aren't what they used to be or because I've driven so much in the last two years, but traffic bothers me more than it used to.
    On the other hand, when you think about it, traffic has to be getting worse because there are more people and instead of only the Big 3 automakers, you now have at least twice that many and all of them spewing out cars much faster than they're being junked, not to mention cars last longer now, so it's no wonder the roads are getting packed with them.
    Anyway, I digress. Sandra and I found Morris Island Conservation Area, walked around it a little and found it very pretty. Photo above is of Sandra taking a breather on a deck along the area's causeway. Click on it for closeup view of her.
    We then drove along the river and saw a few small villages we hadn't seen or heard of before and then returned home for what turned out to be a quiet evening.
    For Sandra's account of the day, click here.


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Updated Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Copyright © 2006 by Gordon L Wolford .
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