40 years, 40 beers

After almost nine years, Ana finally got intoxicated.  The occasion?  Her 40th birthday party, which was on Saturday, and somewhat of a surprise - if not the event itself, most certainly the quantity and quality of attendees.  They came from near and far to rally together for a magnificent send-off into adulthood for dear Ana.  It was an excellent affair.

It's been quite some time since my last posting, chiefly due to too much work work, and it's knock-on effect, no exciting news.  But the party certainly changed that, and in less than we week we take off for a trip to the Dominican Republic to enjoy some sunshine and relaxation.  After that, we are looking forward to a very quiet Christmas - no big functions at our house, so we will play the guest this year at others' homes.

We have recently liquidated two of our investment properties so it's felt like a very heavy weight has been removed from our family shoulders.  It's taken much longer to sell than we expected, but it's finally done and I'm still getting used to the idea of not having to fix toilets during my lunch break.  We are now left with a single student rental house and a vacation property in Saskatchewan, a much more manageable portfolio.  Lessons learned?  Stay tuned for the e-book.

We have recently decided to take this extra time we've recaptured and focus it on our childrens' education.  Is the school system doing an adequate job?  Ontario and Canada seems to rate quite highly in education testing for children overall, but when we look at our kids progress....we expect more.  We have them in what is probably the best local public elementary school, and they are both in the French immersion program.  We have made a conscious decision to not try and "fight the system" and instead put our focus on spending time with the kids teaching them what we think they need, or where we see their schooling lacking.  I would also really like to improve my own french so that is something I'll be working on to help support the kids.

Hmmm, this is a pretty boring posting, no humour at all, must not be in a funny mood...I will try harder for next time.

2011 Sailing Trip - Day 12 – Port Dover

Miles by boat – 20

I take over from Ana as we round Long Point and she settles in for a cockpit nap. The change in course puts us with the wind directly in our face so I decide, sadly, to fire up the engine, as having to tack back and forth against the wind would add hours and miles to our trip, which is long enough already, and we were hoping to get back to the dock early enough to get a couple hours sleep before the kids wake up.

I pull in the sails, get the engine at 3200 rpm, set the autopilot, then settle in for the ride. To pass the time, I fire up Angry Birds Rio on the iPad and spend a full two hours slingshotting various type of birdies into monkeys, blocks, bricks, trees and sticks, passing at least ten levels. Thanks iPad!

We finally pull into the dock at 5:45, as the sun is rising on a lovely morning in Port Dover. We do a perfect docking and I get the boat tied up and plugged in while Ana calls Canadian customs and has us cleared in a matter of minutes. We are now officially back in the country and back home after 390 miles, 12 days, 8 marinas, 0 disasters and way too many laughs to count!

2011 Sailing Trip - Day 11 – Geneva-On-The-Lake and Beyond

Miles by boat – 60
Miles by foot - 3

At 4:30 we are awake and I’m trying to pull up the weather, but the internet connection is slow and I can’t get the radar map. Outside, it’s very calm, warm and looks like it will be great for sailing so we prep the boat, pull away from the dock and are out on the lake. The skies to the north look extremely black, and Ana spots some lightning flashes. As we are about a mile out the radar finally comes through….and looks terrible, with a huge system of bad weather north and west of us. We decide to play it safe and turn around, and even as we are returning to the dock the winds are already starting to pick up. We tie up, jump back in bed, then at 7:30 I awake to find strong winds, steady rain and an overall miserable sailing day.

Knowing we’ll be stuck for the day, or at least until late afternoon based on the weather map, Ana calls around to the local rental car companies, but doesn’t find any good options. We meet up with Andrew for coffee to discuss the plan and we decide to hang around Geneva until the afternoon to see what the weather would do.

Shortly before noon we all walk back into Geneva so Andrew and Michelle can see the carnival and we can grab some lunch. We settle on the patio behind the Fire Station winery and restaurant and it is actually quite nice back there, as there is a view over the lake and is shaded by mature trees. The lunch is okay except for the five dollar wine I order which is served in a tiny disposable plastic cup and lasts about two sips. After the lunch we take the kids to the arcade so they can play a few games, and Andrew and Michelle continue back to the boats. We then walk back to the boat and notice the weather clearing, the winds dying slightly and the waters less choppy, so we pick up the pace, check the weather map, which is now looking pretty good, and prep the boat. Our original plan is to sail to Ashtabula, eight miles east, and see how the ride is, then continue either to Conneaut or perhaps even to Erie.

We leave the harbor crashing through giant waves, hoping that the boat isn’t dropping with the troughs enough to ground out the keel. Once on the water we get both sails up and find that the wind isn’t too strong at all, only about 9 or 10 knots, so with the sails up and the wind at our back we set off across the choppy water, happy to be making some progress. We pass Ashtabula and report back to Andrew that the waves are 5 to 6 feet high and will not be good for the powerboat. Sailboats can manage large waves better than power boats – as they move much slower and do not plane, you don’t get the pounding of the waves that you do on a powerboat; instead there’s a whole lot of rolling and rocking, which is okay as long as you’re not prone to sea sickness.

As the sailing is good, we know we can make it to Erie and would probably arrive around midnight. Then, tomorrow we’d have to sail back to Dover, as we wanted to be back home on Sunday to have one day at home before going back to work. We have a look at the map and decide to cut out Erie entirely and adjust our course to head straight to Port Dover. It will require an overnight sail, but since the winds are strong, and coming from the right direction, we’re quite sure that we can make good time and have a decent sail. We point Bella Blue north and are immediately traveling at 6 to 7 knots under sail, with 15 knots of wind, enjoying the best sailing conditions of the trip yet. It feels great to be headed home after such an excellent adventure. I celebrate our decision with a cold beer and Cuban cigar and there I am again, on top of the world!

2011 Sailing Trip - Day 10 - Mentor to Geneva-On-The-Lake

Miles by boat – 23.5
Miles by foot - 3

We wake up to a grey, cloudy, rainy day after an evening downpour which has cleaned off our boats nicely. We check the weather forecast and see that there looks to be a break in the storm around noon so we spend the morning hanging around the marina and grounds, exploring some of the parts we hadn’t yet seen. Around 11 we decide to make a move and the Bella Blue crew is rounded up and sailed away. Andrew has to wait for this toilet to arrive so they stay back and spend the rest of the day there.

With a nice west wind we have a lovely sail over to Geneva, and since it’s only 20 some miles it makes it one of the shorter runs we’ve done. Along the way, I begin to regret teaching Stella the “devil horn” hand sign as she’s now incorporated it into this disturbing routine where she puts on a slinky sundress and her fancy shoes and dances around the cockpit pole and table, sticking out her butt and giving everybody the horns. This girl is going to do me in by the time she’s eighteen – of that I am sure.

We pull into the Geneva marina around 2 pm and find a massive, impressive complex, much nicer than what we’d anticipated. We check in at the Ship’s Store, which is probably the best marina store we’ve seen – they have a nice little food counter and a store with clothing, other merchandise, marine supplies and fishing supplies. We ask for directions to town and are told to simply walk along the lake for a mile or so, so we return to the boat (which feels like a mile long walk as it’s all the way around the marina on the sea wall), grab our stuff and begin the walk along the lake. The scenery is absolutely stunning as the paved pathway is on higher ground overlooking the lake, and to the right is a farmer’s field, then later on a nice hotel with a kids park and outdoor pool.

With a name like “Geneva-on-the-Lake” one would expect a quaint, fancy little town with air conditioned shops run by ladies who lunch, selling items such as handmade candles, expensive antiques, fine books, exquisite pastries, ceramic elephants, custom jewelry - all with small, neatly written price tags which have a “-“ instead of a “.99” at the end of the price. Instead, we came across a tacky house of horrors, a “carnival turned town” with hot and sweaty little shops, all smelling similarly of old moldy wood, selling Grateful Dead tapestries, crappy costume jewelry, biker pendants, incense infused hemp sweaters, hash bongs and funnel cakes. There was even a fortune teller promising insight into your past, present and future. Being pretty happy with our past, present and futures, we just passed on by, but did find the “Times Square” restaurant which served up pretty good French fried and tremendously good lemonade. We got the half order of fries which was actually half a serving tray full with enough fries for a family of four.

We walked back to the marina and took the boat over for a pump out, diesel fill up and to do some laundry up at the store. As we waited for the dryer to finish, tied up at the fuel dock, we sat on the back of the boat and enjoyed a drink on a lovely afternoon. We then took the boat back to our slip, returning just in time to meet Andrew and Michelle as they arrived. As we hadn’t yet had dinner, we decided to have a wiener roast on the beach, which was just on the other side of the marina, a very short walk away from the boats. This little spot was perfect - bordered on the west side by a long stone breakwater and pier, several hundred feet long, leading out to a lighthouse at the end, on the backside by a lush grove of trees and on the east by a grassy hill, over which was the marina. It felt like our own private, secluded beach, and we treated it as such, having a marvelous roast, some glasses of wine then a dip in the water to cool off, under a perfectly clear sky lit with constellations of stars and the warm, yellow glow of the marina lights. I must say, this was probably the best moment of the trip and one of those times that everything in your life seems very right.

2011 Sailing Trip - Day 9 - Cedar Point to Cleveland

Miles by boat – 51
Miles by foot – 2

By 4:30 am we`re on the water and headed for Cleveland, beginning the first leg of our return journey home. We navigate by lights to the main channel then make our way out under sail with a beautiful west wind. As we pass Cedar Point peninsula to the right the winds starts to die and, sadly, we need to fire up the engine. At a compass bearing of 98 degrees we motor along for 10 miles at which point the wind picks up nicely so we`re back under sail. I take the opportunity of quiet time to do a bit of work while everybody is still sleeping – Ana snuggled up in the cockpit under a fuzzy blue blanket and the kids down below. It amazes me that we can be practically out of sight of land and I`m still able to send email and log into my work computer with my iPad. While this prevents work from being far from your mind on vacation, it does allow me to keep up with things and not return to work with a thousand emails and three days of catch up.

The aft wind kicks up some pretty good waves, making the boat rock and roll constantly, and I don’t mean in a Def Leppard kind of way. As we are about halfway there a US border patrol boat roars up from behind then pulls ups right beside our boat as we are underway at 7 knots, close enough for them to jump aboard. As I was downstairs testing the toilet, Ana was left by herself in the cockpit sporting her pink sailing moo-moo, plucking her eyebrows, waving nervously at the border dudes. They looked at the boat, looked at her and, after sensing no imminent threat to national security, just wrote down our registration number from the hull and sped away.

As we get close to the Edgewater Yacht club in Cleveland, the wind has picked up and created a vicious chop at the harbour entrance. Andrew had arrived there an hour before us so gave us some directions to get in and soon we were tied up at the dock, sheltered from the wind and plugged into power enjoying a cool boat, as the temperature was again in the low 30’s. As we finish tidying up after the sail, Andrew comes by and tells us of his docking experience. As they entered the marina around 11am they saw a big sign saying “Gas Dock” so they proceeded to tie up there to fill up the tanks. A man wearing blue coveralls came out to meet them and it was clear from his wobbly stride and slurred words he was completely plastered. After somehow managing to gas up the boat, he was putting the hose back on the dispensing pump when they heard a man scream and saw his legs up in the air and head on the ground, suffering a massive wipeout. After clawing his way back up, and pretending not to hear Andrew’s laughter, he met them inside to process the credit card, sporting a nice throbbing arm which was already turning blue. He undercharged them a hundred bucks then pointed him towards the gas dock down the marina which was the actual Edgewater Yacht Club gas dock, giving them some hope that the marina was not run by a crew of drunken sods. It turned out the club was indeed well run, and by completely sober staff. It was a big marina, offering close to 400 slips, with a restaurant and bar on site. They were also two weeks away from completing their outdoor pool, which would have been very nice had it been available.

We had a delicious lunch of boat burritos in the dining car (Andrew’s boat) and made sure to drop some hamburger meat on the new carpets. Since he bought new carpets this year I’ve developed a compulsive habit of dropping food and spilling drinks on it every time I’m on his boat. Seems Ana has developed this affliction as well as she dumped half her burrito contents onto the seat and carpet, and I think some also landed on the dog. One day a few weeks prior, during boat lunch at Potahawk Point I spilled food three times during a single meal – a personal best for me. The first was an oily, Portuguese Pimento Potato, which made a reddish stain, second was a scoop of Brown Baked Beans, which produced brown splatter marks and lastly I lost half a bowl of Sticky Caesar Salad, which deposited whitish skids along with crouton wads which were accidentally ground into the carpet by my heel. I later dumped a beer, but that was well after the meal so didn’t really count.

We found out there was a beach nearby so Andrew, Michelle and I took the kids while Ana stayed back to relax and get out of the sun for a while. The beach was actually very nice, and even staffed by lifeguards. The wind had produced some lovely large waves so with Stella on my back we swam out and I taught the kids some of the finer points of body surfing (wait for big wave, swim like hell, don’t drink the water). That lasted until my legs felt like jelly then we packed them up and walked back to the boat. As we were crossing the park, we were met by a worn looking roller blader who happened to stop just behind us to adjust something on his skates. Magnus, staring at the man, asks “Daddy, can I tell you a joke?”

“Sure,” I say.

“What wears socks…..and is bald….and has roller skates?” he asks as his eyes dart between the roller blader and me.

“What?” I ask.

“A nerd.”



We return to the boat, spend a couple hours cleaning and doing a bit of work, then join Andrew and Michelle on his boat for a trip to the “Flats”, which is an area in downtown Cleveland on the river which used to be a major entertainment district, but is now mostly empty buildings with only a single restaurant remaining, called Shooters. After a short ride, which began with me spilling a full gin and tonic on the boat carpet, we are on the river and quite astounded with the number of bridges, which are everywhere you look. There are also plenty of piles of dirt and machinery around, giving it an industrial, gritty feel, which I love as I am very fond of urban grit. Andrew pulls the boat up to the restaurant, which has ample boat docking, and we get seated inside, as all the outdoor patio tables are already filled with patrons, drinking tall beers and cocktails enjoying a lovely view over downtown Cleveland.

We enjoy a delicious meal and several drinks, including Long Island Iced Teas for myself which are boozy, boozy good. During the meal, Andrew asks the server where the closest convenience store would be. He replies, “Well, the safe one is up the hill and to the right a few blocks”. Andrew and I look at each other, just to confirm we both heard the same thing.

“So there’s an unsafe one?” Andrew asks.

“Yes, that one is up the hill and to the left, in the projects,” the server replies.

“Like you’d have to be packing heat to go in there?” Andrew laughs jokingly.

“Yes,” he says seriously.

We decide to skip the trip to either of the convenience stores, mainly for safety concerns, but also because on closer interrogation, Andrew doesn’t seem to know exactly what he wants to buy there anyway. Instead, we go for a walk down the river, enjoying a nice Romeo & Juliet corona cigar along the way, to the nearby Jacob’s Pavillion, where, judging by the amount of cars, there is clearly something going on. The pavilion itself is right on the water and very cool and we learn that the band The Decemberists are playing, so we hang around outside the gate listening to a couple songs, taking glamour shots of ourselves.

By now it is getting dark and we stroll back to the boat, mesmerized by the transformation of our surroundings – the grit and grime being replaced by stunning lighted bridges, buildings and roadways. We push our point and shoot Cannon to the limit, trying to capture the beauty of the moment, but knowing the photos won’t come close to capturing it.

Andrew pilots his lovely vessel safely back to the dock, where we have a quick nightcap then hit the sheets after a very successful adventure in the Flats!

2011 Sailing Trip - Day 8 - Cedar Point

Miles by boat – 2.5
Miles by foot – 5

We wake up to an overcast, though warm morning in Sandusky and are on the water shortly after 8am headed across the bay to the Cedar Point Marina. We tie up at the fuel dock to get checked in and buy tickets for the day at the park. We’re surprised to discover that the full day adult tickets for access to both the Cedar Point amusement park and the Soak City water park are only forty bucks, and kids ones even cheaper. We motor over to our slip, get docked then prepare our day bag and we are off to the park, which is walking distance away. Once there, we go immediately to one of the bigger roller coasters to find there is already an hour and a half wait. We pass on that one but do find a couple other cool rides with shorter waiting times so we alternate between taking shifts with Magnus and Stella on the kiddie rides and going on the adult rides.

After a couple hours of that we walk over to the water park where we immediately head to the lazy river and doing a couple rounds in floating tire tubes, which is totally relaxing and a lot of fun. We remain in the water park for the rest of the day and the kids are in their glory, trying out all the slides, rides, pools and splash pads. Around 6:30 we are exhausted so head back to the boat for happy hour, grilled burgers and dock chatter. Andrew and Michelle head back to the park for a few more roller coaster rides and we head down to the nicely air conditioned boat, play with the kids for a while, watch part of a movie then head to sleep, thoroughly exhausted after a full day.

2011 Sailing Trip - Day 7 –Kelley’s Island to Sandusky

Miles by boat – 8.5
Miles by foot – 2

By morning, most of the boats packing the marine the previous night were gone, either back to the mainland, or perhaps they sunk, hard to tell because the water was so cloudy. We slept in until close to 8 and the kiddies were up shortly after that, after which we packed them full of Cheerios and toast then cast off for the short trip across the bay to Sandusky.

The entrance to Sandusky harbor is a little tricky, as there are hundreds of boats zipping around creating very confused waves. The channel itself is quite wide, though it gets shallow if you venture outside the buoys so we were careful to keep well within it. The roller coasters of Cedar Point loom large to the port side, creating additional distraction as you are close enough to hear people screaming as they plunge to their possible doom.

We arrive at the Sandusky Yacht Club and are met by the dockhands who show us to our slip and help us get in. The facility is beautiful, lots of bit sail and power boats, brand new clean docks, meticulously landscaped grounds and a classy and surprisingly cheap restaurant on site. It seems that every marina we visit makes Port Dover looks worse and worse. It must be the difference between a government owned operation and a private one, though it really doesn’t have to be like that. At our marina, at any given time there are six or eight red t-shirted kids standing on the deck by the marina office, waiting for something to happen. That is something you just never see in the US marinas – the kids working are always doing something and because of it, the docks are clean, no spiderwebs anywhere, grounds are clean, weeds are cleaned up, bathroom are shiny, etc. Our marina manager has been in the position for many years, which always leads to a degradation in the service since the get used to doing things the same old way and there is never a fresh set of eyes to take stock of things. Anyway, I don’t like to complain, so I’ll just get Ana to steal her job and she’d have that marina humming in no time.

After getting settled we head over to the restaurant for lunch and it’s pretty close to a white tablecloth sort of place, unbelievable servers and delicious food. When the kids inevitably don’t finish their food, the server takes it away to pack it up, and it comes back in neat little packages labeled with the date, time, name of the yacht club and instructions on reheating. Next time I simply must wear a shirt and tie instead of the grimy, three days strong, red and white t-shirt I’m sporting.

After lunch, we head to the pool, which is equally awesome – I have a quick swim with the kids then return to the boat to do some….ugh…work and they remain for a few hours. After that we go for a walk downtown then on the way back just happen to pass by the best fish sandwich shack on the lake – The Sandusky New Fish Company where I grab a perch sandwich to go.

We arrive back at the boats for happy hour then Andrew and Michelle head to the restaurant for lunch while we eat on the boat. Before long it’s time to retire to get a good night’s sleep before our big day at Cedar Point.