Days 337 to 348

Well, here we are in August. The world tour and its phenomenal year are almost up!

But I vow not to leave any stone unturned. And no opportunity wasted.

Day 337 was a nice, relaxing Sunday. As it turned out there was no ultimate game due to the holiday weekend so I took advantage of the gorgeous day to jump in the pool and catch up on some telly. Summer Heights High, We can be Heroes, The Office (UK) and Flight of the Conchords were all on marathons so I tucked into the taping… the DVD recorder was humming that day!

Day 338 and my friend Liz was visiting in town for work so we met up for a SUPER AWESOME DAY! We met at Finch and took the TTC down to Union. After a bit of walking around in the Queens Quay, we signed up for a tour later in the day and walked up to Dundas Square to get some munchies at 3 Brasseurs (yes, I know it’s 3 Brewers but I just can’t call it that!)

Following lunch and a visit to the World’s Biggest Bookstore it was time to go to the Steamwhistle brewery for a tour of the facility! It was actually quite neat and for $10 you got a sample before, the tour (I was the only one to eat the brutal tasting hop straight up) and a sample after the tour, not to mention a free souvenir glass or bottle opener to take home! Talk about great!

After the tour we did a short walk through in the CBC building and it was time to go our separate ways. I actually had to get up to Barrie to teach a course which kept me quite busy! We also went out to a restaurant where it became my “birthday” – how did that happen then?

Day 339 and it was medical appointment day! Actually, just the one. I had to go get my pupils dilated at the optometrist. Not a fun experience… couldn’t actually be outside and read anything small for a number of hours before it really started to heart.

I also wish to point out that this was my “cameo week” on Degrassi – I showed up in a couple of shots (albeit not hugely!)

Day 340 and it was back up north to help on a course, not to mention a dive. I’ve been with my specific dive club for almost six years now, and I think that night we actually broke a record, 23 divers in the water! Now while that is nowhere near Guinness levels, it’s a humongous turn out for us, not to mention a wee bit of a headache for shore control! But it all went well in the end (except for my dive buddy, who didn’t actually realize he pulled out my reg at one point) and then we all enjoyed the corn roast and bbq at one of our members’ houses later on. I was pretty bushed by the end of it all!

Day 341 brought relaxation for me and getting ready for the drive on Day 342… it was off to Eastern Ontario for a weekend of diving and visiting friends. Got to the hotel in good time that day which avoided the majority of traffic in the Toronto corridor. Dinner was great in that we punk’d someone… they didn’t know it was their birthday but we rearranged that rather quickly!!! Ha ha ha. Always good for a laugh, that surprise birthday trick.

Day 342 and it was an early start that not only seemed too early, but revealed a discovery in that I apparently had booked into a senior citizen’s hotel. Well, not really, but it might as well have been. The continental breakfast was lacking… c’mon Third-Best-Western, let’s put some pep in the most important meal of the day! Goodness knows we paid enough…

And speaking of gas prices going insane in this province…

(I swear that I did not doctor this picture).

In any case! I was there to dive and not worry about breakfast. I was leading the dives that day so it was a bit stressful at times but I do believe everyone really enjoyed the sparkling blue waters of the St. Lawrence – not to mention the lack of a thermocline! We ended up doing the Henry C. Daryaw and the Kinghorn. Both excellent dives! Here a pick of the Kinghorn wheel for you to enjoy!

Following the dives we went and had a really late lunch, went back to our respective hotels, got some sleep, and then were back at the dock for 7pm. We were doing a night dive on the Kinghorn which is one of the most gorgeous dives I’ve done in a number of years. So beautiful and peaceful, all at the same time.

It was easy to hit the hay that day and before you knew it, Day 343 was upon me. Back to the shore to load up for two dives. I ended up doing the Ash Island Barge but not the North Wall drift as my skills were needed elsewhere on the boat. As a good DM, that’s what you have to do sometimes! And apart from one small hitch it was a great day.

Everyone save yours truly went home that day. I stayed with two other divers that evening in their digs in Eastern Ontario. We had a great night – the three of us were extremely giddy as we were super tired so anything we did didn’t make sense, but that’s okay. Some nights you need that.

Day 344 saw me back in my old stomping grounds in Ingleside, Ontario where I lived for 12 years. Before heading off to do the dive, we of course got the obligatory picture:

Yep, Ingleside is right on the 45th parallel!

10 kilometres to the east and we arrived at our destination, Lock 21. It is an old shipping lock from the 1950’s that was flooded when the St. Lawrence Seaway expansion took place. It is not an easy dive, by any means, but it’s a fun one, although it takes some work to get back to the start as you’re fighting the current all the way! We had a great dive though, and the ice cream and hotdogs on the other side of the road definitely helped!

While on the other hand, it was quite the road back to my now hometown, but I got back around 9 pm and was ready to hit the hay.

Thankfully Day 345 was much, much, slower. I did get to go see Despicable Me which definitely was a highlight! I also managed to get to a local horse racing track where through some shrewd betting I won a WHOPPING $1.10.

Please do not be jealous of me. I share my winnings with all.

Day 346 was a Wednesday which of course brought dive night! I didn’t actually get in the water due to the fact that I needed to help on shore instead. Which was perfectly acceptable!

Day 347 and it was Vick does Dentist. Look readers, NO CAVITIES!

Later that evening Gweezy had a mini-birthday celebration. Because of her schedule it wasn’t really feasible to go for a dive proper, so we used my neighbour’s pool. Which was great, just a nice way to chill out and relax. Pic to prove!

(It was semi-formal dress in the pool.)

I also attempted and successfully completed not only putting my gear on underwater, but also my wet suit. My word, that’s HARD.

Following the pool antics the four of us went out for dinner which was superb. And just to make Gweezy happy, I won’t post *the* picture. She knows which one it is.

Day 348 and I was really excited as I was going up in a small plane! My friend got his pilot’s license about a year ago and agreed to take me up for a flight. Unfortunately the clouds were not with us (it was Friday the 13th, after all) so we had to cancel. We did however go over to Z103.5 to pick up my key for the contest that I am a finalist in (along with about 250 others, which isn’t too bad frankly!) and run a couple more errands as well.

Coming up next time! More excitement!

Cheers,
Vick.