Grandchild week, Part 1

 Mike bought Avery, Maya and River, on the "red eye" (Edmonton to K-W) for a visit.

 

Almost immediately we were at the Port Dover beach and into the water,

 

playing in the sand

and sunbathing.

I alternated between swimming, wave jumping with River and just sitting on the beach enjoying the entertainment.

Back home the garage sale dollhouse was a hit with these 2 and later in the week with their cousins too. We also played Labyrinth and Skip-Bo.

Avery and Maya had the sense to retire to their beds to play on their devices, so fell asleep there.

Mike and River tried to push through. Epic fail.

Next day was a trip to the library (with a side of Leggo building)

The only one of these 5 books to get cracked was Charlotte's Web ("A classic" according to Maya whose teacher had read it to her class) which I read every night to Cigi and River.

Then we took 2 borrowed kayaks and a borrowed paddleboard on to Black Creek (Had to ferry them all there in my car and while I watched the kids Mike managed to get lost twice on a five minute route)

Avery and Maya had little kayaking experience but caught on fast. We looked for turtles. While Mike was trying to get a picture of one he dropped his phone in the river. You can see that this is not clear water. He jumped off the paddleboard and tried to feel around with his toes. Finally dove down and picked it up on the first try. So lucky! And his watertight case actually was watertight!

River found it very relaxing.

Took about an hour and a half to get to the museum docks. Walked to the Arbour for a hot dog and golden glow then back up the river.

We saw turtles, ducks with ducklings, geese, a heron, muskrats and River (awake now) spotted a young fox (we saw 2). Then of course the whole ferrying system to get all the equipment back home. Exhausting but a great day.

Sunday Mike and the kids went to Pickards. This is one of the Port Dover visit traditions along with the beach,  Arbour Dogs, Perch Dinner and Ice Cream. Aimees brother picked her up at the airport and he and his family arrived for the day. More beach time for the kids, this time with their cousins.

Interclub and Canada Day

After our experience at Tillsonberg  Airport we returned home just in time to see the earliest boats sailing into Long Point Bay on the first leg of the Interclub Race, Erie to Port Dover.

The next day, Sunday, we watched them, from the Edge, getting ready to start the Long Point Bay race.

 

They headed up towards Turkey Point, some with spinnakers flying.

While watching I was entertained by a very vocal Song Sparrow and

a tug, fishing unusually close

to the shore.

Rick and I took Spellbound out to try and see the fleets but the wind dropped so they ended the race at Nanticoke buoy.

All we managed to see were the first couple of boats (Sledge Hammer and Muse) motoring back to party at the yacht club.

Rick and I had planned to head to the club later for a drink and to listen to the band but I twisted my knee walking off the dock and just stayed at home and iced it. Sometimes the Interclub is a time of activity, photos and social activities - not this year, a bit of a dud. On Monday I again watched for the race to Port Colborne to start but, no wind, so they started motoring eastward and would start further up the lake.

A couple of days later and it was Canada Day. Very hot, humid and my knee still wasn't happy so I didn't go to watch the boat parade but settled down, on a chair, in the shade, to watch the dog show.

A very informal event - each dog was bought into the ring, 

to do a circuit, at a run,

a strut

or a waddle. 

One was carried.

Handlers of all ages. Each one stopped at the judge to be stroked and made a fuss of and some performed their tricks there too.

I'm not 100% sure but it looked as if every entrant won a ribbon in one of the categories which ranged from "best groomed", through "longest ears", "best puppy", "best tricks", to "best mixed breed" and "best purebred".

Prior to the boat parade there had been a soap box derby, later in the afternoon a parade through town. Then live music in the evening at Lions Park followed by fireworks. Port Dover knows how to celebrate Canada Day!

Harvard flight- sometimes impulse decisions are awesome.

 Saturdays in the summer are chock full of possibilities. Today the obvious first stop was the Port Dover Market for cinnamon buns then the options included watching the Interclub boats come in from Erie, going to a mural festival in Simcoe, a Strawberry festival (offering free strawberries and ice cream) out side of Simcoe and the Harvard association Open House at the Tillsonburg Airport. Rick mentioned that last one but wasn't pushing it - he had been before, we had gone to the museum there together, before. But I suspected it was his preference and its a nice drive, not that far and they are cool planes, so I supported that option and there were no objections.

As we walked in, Rick asked how much the flights were and if any were available today. 

 

Flights were $250 (half the price he had been considering paying at the Hamilton Aviation Museum) and lots of availability. Next thing I knew he was signing up (He never does anything on impulse!) Then he said "Are you going to do it?" I had never even thought about it, But then I thought "Why not? It's not something I will ever have the chance to do again" and just went for it. 

Sign a waiver, pay, get given closed toed shoes and there was no wait time, straight out for the safety briefing.

It is explained that it is a risk, though the pilots are well trained and the planes are well maintained. You are flying on a Transport Canada Exemption (as really both people in the plane should know how to land it) so you have to prove you could exit the plane in 20 seconds. You clamber in and are shown how to buckle the seat belt and close the canopy. Then you are timed to see if you can get out in the designated time. (I took 15seconds, Rick tells me he took 12, show off!)

Rick got his briefing ahead of me

 

and left slightly ahead.

It's not a very big space, canopy around you, instruments in front and pedals on the floor that you don't touch (the pilot is moving them). The headset allows you to hear from and talk to the pilot.

Ground crew gesture you out and the noise really kicks up.

You can hear pilots around informing that they are coming in to land, or touch and go and can hear your own pilot communicating his intentions.

We pulled off the runway to let another plane land.

You could feel the tail lift and the noise increased as we took off.

Then we were up and looking down over the agricultural surrounds of Tillsonburg. I looked down at one point and saw a Mennonite farmer cutting hay behind his 2 horses.

It was a 10 or 15 minute flight but we flew over Tillsonburg and the surrounding countryside. At one point Allan (the pilot) asked if I would like to try some maneuvers and I replied "Sure". He then put it into a couple of really tight banking turns and I told him that was enough because of the G-force. On the ground he said we had done about 2 to 2.5 Gs. ( Rick did more maneuvers and experienced 4Gs) 

I opened the canopy at one point but found it too noisy and windy to be pleasurable and closed it again. I don't like the top down on a convertible and this is way more intense.

We came back to the airport and Allan broadcast to the other planes in the area, our intention to land. There is no traffic control here so you just let everyone else know what you plan.

We circled around and came in

for a nice gentle landing and then taxied back to our spot.

Rick had landed just before me so took some pictures.

With Allan after I had clambered all the way out (took longer than 20 seconds)

Rick had his pilots license but its now lapsed. However his pilot let him take the controls and bring it back to the airport. They also did some aerobatics ie a "wing over". He also chatted with Allan afterwards.

One of the things he told us was that every Harvard has a penny in the engine designating the year it was made.

I was in a plane built in 1941. 

Invigorated and with the adrenaline still pumping

we went to the airport cafe and had a grilled cheese

while watching the comings

and goings

of the Harvards

Not something I would ever have thought that I would want to do. But I thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

The Harvard is probably the best known and most successful training aircraft of World War II. As part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) during the war, it helped train more than 130,000 Canadian and Allied Forces aircrew to become pilots, gunners, navigators and more. Referred to as both the “pilot maker” and “Yellow Peril”, the Harvard was a transitional aircraft. Pilots earned their wings on the Fleet Finch, de Havilland Tiger Moth and Fleet Cornell before flying the Harvard, and progressing to single-engine fighters such as the Hurricane, Spitfire and Mustang. from Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association website.

On their website I learned that my plane was actually  made in California and snuck into Canada and served out west and in Kingston. Ricks was made in Canada and did most of its training service out west.