Outside fun in the sun

The weather is glorious today - just like it was on our first day here last week. This morning I was given my first ride-on-mower lesson by Brett. After a few words of warning (you know, like where not to stick your hands and feet) it was time to slip her into fourth, drop the clutch and mow some turf! With the size of most people's gardens and the grass growing so quickly it's no wonder every man and his dog has one of these things around these parts. North American men love their big boys toys.



After that it was time to cool off in the pool! Brett & Kerri also have an outdoor spa but we haven't used it yet.



As mentioned below it was Brett's birthday yesterday. Random presents included chocolate breasts and an orange mesh man-thong - both from the Mother-in-Law! In the evening we went to Boston Pizza which is a sports bar and restaurant. The food was good and the portions were so big almost everyone ended up taking something home in a doggy bag. That seems to be the North American way - Bigger is Better. Their cocktail prices were great, only $5.75 each! Auckland bars take note. You seem to get really good service in places over here and we have tried to accustom ourselves to the unwritten law of 'tipping'. Our Lonely Planet book recommends 10%.

Another day in Mugville

The weather has gone to custard a little over the past 48 hours but it's still warm as mug! We jumped on the bikes again today and headed into the next township, Maitland. We didn't go out for as long as yesterday with the dark clouds heading towards home so quickly, not to mention our bums were fairly bruised from the bike seats yesterday. They must've taken a real pounding!

With rain forecast for the next couple of days we took advantage of the sweet 2-for-1 deal at the video store last night. This place is sweet - free popcorn while you browse the shelves!

It's Brett's 33rd birthday tomorrow so hopefully we'll get a chance to head out tomorrow night and shout him a few birthday beers.

Much to Sheryl's delight there is no World Cup football until Friday now when the Quarter Finals begin.

Below: Sheryl with the St Lawrence River behind (the USA is across the river in sight)



Below: Taine looking pretty fly at Mooney's Bay

Mooney's Bay - it's a bit cheeky!

On Sunday we made a day trip over to Mooney's Bay in Ottawa, about an hour or so drive from Brockville, but not before watching England stumble into the Quarter Finals of the World Cup with an unconvincing 1-0 win over Ecuador. Mooney's Bay got it's name as it was a hot spot to hang out after law was passed for nude bathing in public! Not that that's why we went there.



Mooney's Bay was the attraction as every year they have a charity Dragon Boating event that runs over the course of a weekend. We arrived just in time to see what turned out to be the final race of the day. Not that it really mattered, it was another really nice day and the beach was pretty packed. There seemed a higher proportion of buff guys at the beach than usual - I think it's a North American macho-male thing. One guy seriously made Arnie look like Pee-wee. Taine just stared at him as he strutted by - it was classic!



That night we had a few drinks out in the garden with Kerri having lit up their outdoor area like a Survivor elimination. They have huge backgardens out here which I'm pretty jealous of. Ride-on-mowers are essential! You have to be really careful of the mossies here too - they can be pretty big. So far I've avoided getting eaten alive despite my tasty English blood.

With the kids at day care today we borrowed Brett & Kerri's mountain bikes and went for a ride into town to go to Wal-mart. They're the biggest company in the world and apparently make a reported $1.2 billion profit daily! They're fairly renowned for being a pretty evil corporation though. We were just pleased to get toothpaste for 64c - bargain!

I can't believe it's been almost a full week tomorrow - half way through our stay here.

1000 Islands (they named a dressing after it!)

Today we went to Gananoque which is about 30 minutes drive out of Brockville. Like Brockville it's a cute little Canadian town set on the beautiful St Lawrence River. We stopped for lunch and ice-cream before jumping on one of their 1-hour tours around the "1000 Islands".



There are actually over 1800 islands clustered throughout the Ontario region - a lot of which are ridiculously small with only a small dwelling or shack built on it. As you can imagine these little plots are worth millions and big names to own land in this area include Canadian comics Dan Akroyd & Chevvy Chase!



Brett, Kerri, Sheryl and I went out last night for a few games of pool and a couple of drinks. And then a few more! Observations made include that 90% of Brockville's music taste revolves around 80s rock. Particularly AC/DC or Guns n Roses. Kerri reckons it's either that or Country! Interesting beverages that Sheryl tried at the Pool hall included a Smirnoff Caesar (Bloody Mary Mix) and a Wild Grape (tasted identical to grape flavoured Hubba Bubba!).

I tried a range of Canadian beers all of which were about the same. They're big into their lagers - think Export Gold. Had a classic encounter with a large four-eyed drunken fellow in the pub later on. Me and Brett decided that with his unfashionably large, square glasses and triple-XL grey t-shirt that looked like a skirt he was a prime candidate for the local psycho-postman.

He made the foolish mistake in thinking New Zealand was part of Australia, and I couldn't help but laugh when he told me how much of a Lord Of The Rings fan he was.

He cried during the special features of the 3rd disc.

p.s As if you couldn't tell - Taine really, really likes chocolate pudding!

Some more snaps

Some more photos from the Hacienda Hotel in LA, and our first day in Canada with my nephew Taine and niece Danica.

First day of Summer in Canada

It's really beautiful here in Brockville, there's heaps of greenery and it looks like there is a lot of history to the town. Brett's place is right near one of the narrowest points of the St Lawrence river which divides Canada and the United States- it's only a mile wide- you could swim across if you wanted to!

The weather was great today clear blue sky and it was about 24 degrees. It is officially the first day off Summer today, so it's only going to get hotter during our stay.

I'm loving it so far they have a pool and a huge backyard, and I get to wear my summer clothes again.

But the best part has to be Dale's neice and nephew, Dani (3years old) and Taine (2years old), they are so much fun to play with. Great entertainment while Dale and Brett watch the soccer!

Our night in LA

We spent the night at the Hacienda Hotel in El Segundo only one mile away from the LAX airport. Things seemed a little backwards- the light switches flicked upwards to turn on, and at Mariposas Restaurant the mains are called entrees.

Tried my first Root beer to see what all the fuss was about.... and it tasted like medicine...... I'm not a big fan!

We had some 'T.G.I Friday's' potato skin chips and apparently "it's all always Friday in here" we presume they meant in the bag.

Last night in NZ

Well we're down to our final night in New Zealand. The flight is tomorrow evening at 8.35 which is three hours later than originally scheduled for. Now, what will you be doing at 8.35? No doubt just tuning into another exciting episode of Desperate Housewives (guys included). Think of us during the next commercial break.

Our belongings went into storage in Albany yesterday. Everything was boxed, wrapped, sealed and catalogued before the nails were slammed in on the large wooden crate that is our life! We're now just down to a couple of suitcases, a couple of backpacks and a laptop for the next couple of years.

Next stop - the Hacienda Hotel in Los Angeles, located just a few blocks away from LAX.
http://www.haciendahotel.com

(It does make me laugh that they have the sound of a plane flying overhead looped on their website - I sure hope they have pinkbats!)

One week to go!

One week to go today. A bit scary. Finished work on Friday so I have plenty of time to get ready this week. Aside from packing and everything that comes with it I think one of the hardest things is fitting in time to see everyone before we head off.

In other news most of Auckland had no power today! A bit of deja vu for those who remember (or know) about the infamous Black Out a number of years ago.

The good news is I wasn't affected. Quicksilver Internet was down which restricted my access to doing anything on the inter-web until after lunch. That lunch was cooked in a power driven microwave and accompanied with a steaming hot mug of coffee from a functioning kettle. My thoughts were with those of you without power today!

Welcome to our blog!

Welcome to Dale & Sheryl's Blogspace - Dale & Sheryl On Tour!

We're going to figure out how to use this thing and when we do we'll let you know. With a bit of luck it'll be full of photos & interesting stories of our trip overseas which starts Monday 19 June.

Stand-by.