DRIVING THE BIG RIG

We had been hard at work last week finishing the latest boats destined for Frontenac Outfitters, as well as prepping new moulds for another ten canoes and some rowing shells that have to be delivered before mid-June. Jeff had told me he was going to drive to Frontenac, but as I still had to get the a box spring to the cottage, I volunteered to do it, using his new GMC pickup (well new to him, it is a 2002 Z71 with 102,000 kilometres on it) and the mammoth twenty boat trailer. We got off to a good start, but it takes a long time to load and tie down 18 canoes on a big trailer. I managed to cross Toronto at about 2:30, and by 5:30 had exited at Odessa to fill up on gas. The tank took close to 80 litres to refill, kind of poor fuel economy as that had only got me 345 kilometres! After shortcutting to Sydenham, I finally rolled into Frontenac Outfitters at 6 PM.

(more to come)

THE BIG CANOE TRIP

It was last summer, and I had promised to take Rudi on a big canoe trip. Until then we had only gone out on little trips up and down the shore of the lake, and sometimes across to a point with some cottages and back around the bay. This time however, I was thinking of canoeing as far as we could go, to see if there was a way to get to Lake Kaminiskeg, about 10km away!

I knew from trip with Katherine about seven years earlier that there were several linked lakes that you could canoe, and that there possibly was a drain or additional lakes from the last of the four heading to the big lake, Kaminiskeg.

So one morning, Rudi and I set out in the canoe, and paddled away. We headed down the east side of Carson Lake, paddling slow and steady, following the old Ottawa, Arnprior, and Parry Sound Railway embankment off to our left, until it veered away from the lake. After about an hour we reached the concrete culvert under the highway, and pushed through.

On the other side the culvert opens into Trout Lake, and a sandy beach area, where we surprised a gentleman and his two kids who were bathing. Paddling away down Trout, we tried to keep out of the rising sun toward the east side of the lake, sometimes skirting within twenty feet or so of the shoreline.

(To be continued)

ON PRIZE WINNING TOMATOES AND CARBON FIBRE CANOES

So there we were at the 2008 Tavistock Fall Fair, having just found out our Roma and Yellow Cherry tomatoes had made the one-two sweep of their respective categories, giving us a whopping $2.50 payout each. And then I spotted it. It was absolutely gorgeous, with long, sleek lines, and a brilliant polished finish. On closer inspection, the top was a clearcoat over black carbon fibre cloth, with a white bottom under the waterline, and a large white sticker amidships under the 'gunnels' (no correction needed, I know it is gunwale!) reading "H2O". The interior was painted a flat green, kind of a mix of forest and olive green, which set off the wood interior beautifully. The level of fit and finish was absolutely impeccable, and I almost started to drool!

It was set on a display stand just behind and to the right of a amall table with product information about the company "H2O Composites Inc". Also on display was a single person rowing shell, with outriggers and oars, finished just as magnificently as the canoe. There was a note on the table which read "Back in 10 Minutes", a stack of business cards, and a placard to the left side of the table with a sign reading "Please Inquire About Possible Employment Opportunities". And that's part of how this little adventure began!