Point Pelee National Park

Who would of thought that the 1st November would bring such a gorgeous day of sunshine. We decided to get up early and head on our way to Point Pelee today, which is just over an hours drive from Windsor, Ontario.

I have to say it was definitely worth it, what a beautiful place, lots to see and it was day well spent. We headed straight for the visitor centre and headed off on an hour long hike down the Nature Woodlands Trail. Didn't see much wildlife, as Isaac made too much of a racket, so if there were any about they were well and truly gone by the time we got near them. We did see the odd squirrel, woodpecker and other birds, as well as some Vultures flying in the sky above us being pestered by some crows.

Once we got back to the Visitor centre after our hour long walk, we sat down and had an icecream, the weather was glorious by this stage (must of been close to 18 degrees) and it was hard for it to sink in that we were actually less than 2 months away from Christmas.

We then headed down the Shuster Trail which took us to the beach on Lake Erie and omg what a sight. It really is an amazing sight and you really would think you were looking out at sea, there was no seeing the other side no matter how hard you looked and there were even various gulls and waterbirds flying about. We were hoping to spot some eagles, but I think it was the wrong time of day for those.

After we got back from the beach we then jumped in the car and headed 2.5km to the tip of Point Pelee. Again the view was astounding, and it is right in the flight path of many birds who migrate yearly. We was absolutely shattered by this stage and had been in the park for a good 5 hours, so headed home. Isaac pretty much conked out as soon as the car hit the straight road home. I almost nodded off, but thankfully didnt, as I was lucky enough to spot a lonesome deer emerging from a wooded area at the side of the road.

We will definately do it again next year, I would like to go to the park when there is snow, but not sure what the roads would be like to get there. We will see soon I suppose.

I will finish for today with some pictures from our trip.

Happy Halloween!!

and what a great day..........

Isaac was eager to get into his costume once the afternoon had arrived, so we gave in and put it on him. He loved it, although refused to wear the hood of his little devil costume - until of course later on when he went outside.

Come evening once the kids started knocking he was getting very excited. So off he went with daddy and his pumpkin bucket - trick or treating. To say he became a pro in seconds is an understatement. He loved it and couldn't get up to the doors quick enough to press their door bell. He loved joining in with all the other kids on the street.

I found it amazing how much more polite the children were, the kids knocking were more than happy to just receive one little packet of sweets. Back home, they would of been disgusted and would not of been happy with anything other than money and would of quite happily of covered the outside of your house with flour and eggs if they didn't get it.

Our neighbour's were really pleasant too, they were all adoring over Isaac, saying how cute he was and introducing themselves. I was really taken back by their friendliness. It definitely makes a lovely change. One neighbour across the road even handed me a piece of paper with her number on and said to pop over or call her anytime.

I was shocked by the amount of stuff Isaac had when we eventually persuaded him to come indoors, his bucket was full to the brim, as were mine and daddy's pockets. He has so much stuff, he could probably open a sweet shop tomorrow lol. Needless to say it is all hidden in the cupboard and he can work his way through them very slowly and not all in one day (obviously).

We are off to Point Pelee tomorrow - weather permitting of course. Although it is forecasted as 18 degrees, which is not bad for November. Most other parts of Canada have had snow by now, but we havent seen any yet. Hopefully by christmas.

Anyway I will finish with a few pics from today.

Bought a book

I bought a book, not unusual you might think, but I don't do books normally, don't buy them, don't read them (unless it's a computer book occasionally). So, the book had to be special for me to buy it....

What was it? It was The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. What is it about? Well - Randy was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer a year ago and he gave a "last lecture" at his university - this was his last words to the world. I say was, because Randy died on the 25th July 2008. I thought the lecture was great and when I found out there was a book, I had to see if it was equally as good - I'm only a few pages in, but so far so good....

If you want to see the lecture, it's here on youtube - it's quite long, so prepare yourself!



So,you're probably asking, what the hell does this have to do with Canada? Well, in a way, I guess I achieved in a close enough way one of my childhood dreams like Randy, as I always wanted to live in America, Canada being in North America and us living 5 mins from the border, I'll let myself have that one... Watch the lecture above and you'll see how this makes sense....

Flatpacked out!!

Who would of thought a few boxes of flatpacked furniture from Ikea would stress someone out so much. Despite following instructions (which at first seemed straightforward enough). I ended up having to unassemble several times due to attaching some the wrong way round or missing a bit altogether.

Several hours later I am now sat on our sofa, absolutely shattered, with a bad back and aching limbs and we still have a few more boxes to go. They can wait till another day now. As no way am I attempting anymore tonight. I am seriously flatpacked out.

On a good note, my dad arrives in a couple of hours time. It will be his first visit to Canada. I have already been telling Isaac that Grandad (or "Da Da" as Isaac calls him) is coming to see him and I think he understands. He lets out a shriek of delight each time I tell him. Not sure what things we will do while my dad is here, but we have a full 10 days with him, so I am sure we can fit plenty in.

The boxes are here and so is a little visitor!!

Well our boxes finally arrived today of the few personal belongings that we did decide to ship. I was quite surprised actually, as I didnt think they would get here so quickly. We haven't yet unpacked any of them, apart from Isaac's box which is full of his toys. It was hilarious to see his little face when we opened it. I have never seened a child so excited. He already has lots of new toys which we bought him when we got here, but I think it was the familiarity of his ones from home. He was squealing with joy. It was so cute.






The boxes will have to go into the basement for now, as most of the stuff has nowhere to go. However our Ikea bedroom stuff arives tomorrow, it will be great to finally sleep on a proper bed and not an inflatable uncomfortable one.

Also, I had a pleasant surprise when we got back from the mall today, I was quite excited. Just as we pulled up onto the drive, I saw a little bird on the side of the house, and once my eyes adjusted to what it was. I realised it was a little Downy Woodpecker. He or she wasn't scared of us at all, and stayed there for quite a while, before flying onto my bird feeder in the garden. So I quickly rushed indoors and grabbed my camera, just managing to catch a couple of shots of it before it flew off.






Oh and I forgot to add, we went back to try and get my OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan) card yesterday, with the correct documentation because of all the hassle last time and can you believe the woman we saw the second time round said she had no idea why this other woman wouldn't do mine, as the documentation we had was fine and she even apologised for the inconvenience caused. Not that it was her fault. I was so annoyed that this first woman had been so unhelpful and picky. Oh well at least I have it now.

Bump in the night!!

We keep hearing a bump and scratching coming from the loft/attic - I am glad I am not here on my own otherwise I would be freaking out by now.

However I think we now know what the culprit might be, a tail less black squirrel. I think he or she has taken up residency in our roof. Will have to mention it to the landlord when he pops round.

My dad is coming to visit on Thursday for 10 days. Will be his first time in Canada. I wonder what he will make of it? He loves fishing and birdwatching, so there will be plenty of that for him to do round here. Hopefully it won't be too cold when he gets here and we can take him to the Ojibway Nature Reserve Park and Point Pelee near Leamington.

Is a tv fest night tonight, Heroes, CSI Miami, Prison Break and The Hills, so you can all guess what I will be doing. Alot of people complain about the tv when they move here, but I love it. It beats Eastenders and all that rubbish any day. Definately not missing UK television that's for sure. Infact all I probably miss at the moment is family and friends, but it is made a lot easier by regular contact with phonecalls and webchats and hopefully some will visit. ;)

It is our wedding anniversary on the 21st, 3 years we will be married. As they say the time definately fly's when you are having fun. Think we are going to go out for a meal, if the little fella will behave himself and sit still for more than 2 mins.

Speaking of little fella's, time to wake him up from his nap.

Back in business…

I had to sell my Xbox 360 before we came over here and have been waiting for a deal to come up…. That time came, a bargain $199+tax, which is nearly a 1/3 of what I paid for my original one in the UK (they're now cheaper there too of course)!