Tuesday September 22nd 2020

In just a couple of hours we will officially be into the fall season, we have already had some cold overnights, not freeze your water hose kind of cold but serious frost on the roof kind of weather. Not unusual weather for fall in Ontario, with warm days and chilly nights, we are yet to have that killer ground frost that kills all the plant life, no at this point the gardens all still looking good, and we are in for a sunny warm week, with temperatures around 20ºC (69ºF) through the weekend before the cooler rainy days that are forecast for next week.

We have been through a couple of crazy weeks, between birthdays, contracts, and the like, Laurie and I were excited to have a visitor on Saturday. My son Matt stopped by for a visit, which was a great surprise he also brought some craft beer from a brewery in Stratford, I have only supported local breweries this year and would have to give “Black Swan” two thumbs up. 2020 has been a year that we will all remember for ever, I still have not seen family since last fall, not having the ability to visit with family and friends, has made this a very long and lonely summer, with Matt being only our third visitor of the year, as we are trying to adhere to prescribed guidelines.

The park is much quieter now, with the restart of the schools here in Ontario, the play ground is empty and the pool which is still open, doesn’t see any action most days. The fall projects are under way, with lots of improvements scheduled in our extended season.

Ontario is seeing a huge increase of Covid-19 cases with the number of cases up around near 500 per day, not surprising with the actions of some, as premier Doug Ford said so eloquently, “these people are a few fries short of a happy meal” with private gatherings exceeding the limits and of course no social distancing as has been emphasized since March. Looks like the second wave is well upon us, as restrictions start being rolled back again to try to protect us from ourselves, I’m sure there will be lots of covidiots complaining.

I ventured into Goderich last week for some supplies, and young fellow at the vegetable market tried to explain to me that this whole Covid thing, it was all just a hoax, I and everyone else was being forced by the government into all these unnecessary actions. So I thanked him for his insight and told him that he was obviously not making the best use of this valuable information just selling produce at a roadside vegetable stand … I asked his name and was surprised when it wasn’t Darwin.

I spend yesterday installing the new breaker box in the basement, to allow the removal of the Hart 2000 watt inverter, which was replaced by the Victron 3000 watt pure sine wave inverter. You see the old inverter only powered up two circuits in the coach so the power supply came from the main breaker panel to the inverter then split to feed power to the two circuits with overload breakers located on the inverter, so now the power supply will go to the breaker box, then out to the circuits. Allowing the removal of the old inverter, reducing weight by about 20 Kg (44 Ibs), and allowing me to install a couple of new circuits, one for the basement fridge and also a waterproof exterior plug to save the cables from running out under the basement doors, which damages the cords while allowing a rodent access point … and it is the time of year that our little furry friends are going to be looking for a warm winter home.

I also have fired the boiler so that we are prepared for the cold nights, not only for our warmth but also for the heater in the wet bay that automatically turns on when the temperatures get close to freezing our water lines. As we have another six weeks I’m sure we will see some sub freezing temperatures and some snow before we hit the road.

Monday in the afternoon we spent some time on the beach, enjoying the warm sunny afternoon, the lake water is still quite warm, and Miss Laurie scored big with a handful of beach glass, followed by a couple of burgers and a quiet evening watching some television.

September 8th 2020

With the last long weekend of the summer craziness behind us, it’s now time to look ahead to some of the fall projects to prepare the park for the winter. With the over night temperatures dropping into the 10ºC (50ºF) this will most likely be the last week for the swimming pool, unless there is a big warming in the near future. Something about getting out of that 80ºF (27ºC) swimming pool into that cool fall air that just seems to take the fun out of it.

There is a new Northlander park model moving in today, with the set up crew scheduled for tomorrow (weather permitting) and with that we are watching the start of the park going through another end of season change, as the deadline is fast approaching for renewals to be paid, we have already seen some people pulling their trailers out and the 2021 season people moving in almost the next day.

The 2020 season has seen a lot of people taking advantage of the high demand for recreational properties here in Ontario, and selling off their units, as well an influx of transient travelers, looking to get seasonal spots as the pandemic turmoil continues. And I think one of the biggest surprises is how many transient campers have enjoyed the seasonal experience and are settling in for the long stay.

The reasons for staying are various but it appears that many are still concerned that next year we will still be battling this Covid pandemic, so settling in seems to be a way of stabilizing next years travel plans. We hear almost every day of canceled trips, not only this year but travel hopes for next year. As many believe until there is a proven vaccine, a lot of people will just hunker down. I personally know a lot of people that are not traveling at all this winter, a lot just fearful of the disaster still going over the border just south of us.

We have yet to venture out to a restaurant for a sit down meal, oh we have supported many local establishments by purchasing take away meals, and we did take in a patio when they first opened but it as not a very pleasant experience, so have not had the urge to partake again. Although we are hoping to get to a restaurant in Bayfield in the next couple of weeks for a dish we had last year, and it’s one of those meals that just wouldn’t do well as a takeout dish, and a half hour drive, so we will see how that goes when we get there.

Right now we are looking for a new cellular plan, I’m still using our old business plan and while great, for our lives back then, it is not working well now. As we need full coverage both here and internationally, and the Canadian companies seem to be leap years behind what some of the other countries plans have to offer, and mobile data is another expensive hurdle. But I have about a month to put something together and because our American coverage provider has failed because of the pandemic, as they catered just to snowbirds and vacation travelers with a variety of plans as short as 48 hours and up to a six month snowbird plan. I’m also working on an international plan that could fill all our needs as we travel, with just one phone and number.

The next few weeks will see many decks and sheds moving from one end of the park to the other as they are sold by those who are leaving the park and purchased by the new people in the park. This has to be one of the most entertaining things that we see during the year. With groups carrying many different items, chunks of decking, and fully assembled sheds, gazebos and the like.