6 Months Already:

I can't believe I have been here for six months already. I miss Rob and Ripley terribly, and of course I really miss my friends, family and everything about B.C.. I am happy that I have satellite TV so that I can watch my beloved Canucks. I am watching the Vancouver/Colorado game right now!! I am finding that North Bay is not such a bad place to live. I guess when you have to make these kinds of sacrifices, the only thing you can do is find the positives and make the best of your situation. Bentley and I are making some good friends and finding fun things to do. I am going out of my way to try to experience all the great things Northern Ontario can offer. I guess it is a good thing that I like to do outdoor activities.

Having experienced spring, summer, and now fall in Northern Ontario, I am preparing myself for the bitter cold winter ahead. My car is scheduled to go in for winterization in a couple of weeks including new winter tires and undercoating to protect against the yucky salted roads. I am now outfitted with warm winter boots, a parka, thermal underwear and more warm winter clothes than I needed before. After a suggestion by a fellow dog owner, I am even investigating getting some muttlucks (dog boots) for Bentley. I expect he should grow a good warm winter coat to keep him warm. In a way I am dreading the winter, but in some ways I am looking forward to it. There will be lots of snow here, so I am looking forward to doing some snowshoeing, cross country skiing and some snowmobiling. I do plan on checking out the local ski "hill", if only to get my legs ready for snowboarding on my visit home to BC.

My job will become more challenging with the winter weather and cold temperatures, but should provide great experience. Visions of flying in a snowstorm, securing the aircraft at some small Northern Ontario airstrip in the the blowing snow with sub zero temperatures, give me shivers....but it is all part of the experience. I am looking forward to the new winter flying adventures ahead. After updating my log book recently, I realized that I have already been to so many different places, from small gravel strips to major International Airports. I thought I would share with you a list of all the airports I have been to so far:

North Bay, Ontario (CYYB)
Sudbury, Ontario (CYSB)
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (CYAM)
Thunder Bay, Ontario (CYQT)
Buttonville, Ontario (CYKZ)
Toronto (Pearson), Ontario (CYYZ)
Toronto (City Centre), Ontario (CYTZ)
Wiarton, Ontario (CYVV)
Sioux Lookout, Ontario (CYXL)
Brantford, Ontario (CYFD)
Kingston, Ontario (CYGK)
Ottawa, Ontario (CYOW)
St. Catherines, Ontario (CYSN)
Gore Bay, Ontario (CYZE)
Dryden, Ontario (CYHD)
Geraldton, Ontario (CYGQ)
Sachigo Lake, Ontario (CZP8)
Keewaywin, Ontario (CPV8)
Pickle Lake, Ontario (CYPL)
Kitchener/Waterloo, Ontario (CYKF)
Pembroke, Ontario (CYTA)
Earlton, Ontario (CYXR)
Goderich, Ontario (CYGD)
London, Ontario (CYXU)
Timmins, Ontario (CYTS)
Red Lake, Ontario (CYRL)
Sandy Lake, Ontario (CZSJ)
Deer Lake, Ontario (CYVZ)
Muskoka, Ontario (CYQA)
Moosonee, Ontario (CYMO)
Barrie/Orillia (Simcoe Regional), Ontario (CNB9)
Sherbrooke, Quebec (CYSC)
Moncton, New Brunswick (CYQM)
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan (KANJ)
Mackinack Island, Michigan (KMCD)
Duluth, Minnesota (KDLH)
Port Huron, Michigan (KPHN)
Detroit, Michigan (KDET)
Toledo, Ohio (KTDZ)
Cleveland, Ohio (KCLE)
Erie, Pennsylvania (KERI)

What a list!! Well, hopefully the next six months will bring many more adventures and new experiences.

GO CANUCKS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eau Claire Gorge Hike:

What better way to spend a day off, on a warm sunny fall day. Bentley and I headed out of North Bay for the afternoon to explore the Eau Claire Gorge conservation area, which is about 35 minutes east of North Bay, near Mattawa. We walked about a kilometre along a gravel road lined with colourful trees and a blanket of fallen leaves to where the trail began. The trail, just as colourful, wound through a beautiful forest leading us to the river and the gorge. Although the trail was not very long, there were still several fallen trees from the big July storm, making it challenging at times. You have to admit, Northern Ontario sure is beautiful in the fall.............

Cross Border Great Lakes Tour:

Although this was not a typical charter, it was one of the more fun and interesting ones that I have done, so I thought I would share it with you.

My crewmate Tyler and I just returned from a four day charter that took us around the Great Lakes from Ontario to Michigan, Minnesota, back to Michigan then Ohio, Pennsylvania and back to Ontario again. The passengers were from a cruise ship company who are interested in starting up an operation that tours the Great Lakes. The purpose of the trip was to visit possible ports for their cruise ship tours. Our first stop was in Sault Ste. Marie (States side) to clear customs before proceeding only about 30 miles south to Mackinac Island, situated on the north west end of Lake Huron. We thought for sure that the Customs guys were joking with us about there being no motorized vehicles on the island...... until our taxi arrived to take us to our hotel....


Apparently people on this island get around either by horse and carriage, bicycle or on foot. As our taxi wound it's way through the woods, we quickly realized this was no ordinary island. It began to feel as if we were in "Pleasantville, USA" as we past by quaint Victorian style homes, white picket fences, perfectly manicured lawns and immaculate streets. As darkness fell, our near half hour taxi ride took us into the downtown area. Set above vast gardens with fountains and statues, the aptly named Grand Hotel was lit up looking fit for royalty. Although we stayed at a less extravagant hotel, the Main Steet Inn, it was still very quaint and had the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in. Apparently there are several fudge shops on the island. Our hotel host treated us to a sample. Yumm. Unfortunately, we had to leave first thing in the morning so we did not get a chance to really explore this tourist island. Hopefully one day I can return for a visit. If anyone is interested in visiting this place you can find more info at mackinacisland.org.

The next day we flew back to Canada and spent a few hours in Thunder Bay before proceeding to Duluth, Minnesota for an overnight. Duluth is located on the western side of Lake Superior, and by the looks of it is very old. On our walk to find a place to get some dinner we came upon a street concert. The rock and roll band who were playing was a bunch of grey haired guys (as were most of their audience), but they sounded great. We hung out for a while and realized that we knew a lot of their songs. I forget the exact name of the band, but it has something to do with a river, and their music was definitely popular back in the 70's when I was a kid.

The next day we left Minnesota and flew to Port Huron and then Detroit, Michigan. We would spend two nights in Warren, a suburb of Detroit City. Too bad we were a day late for a pre season home game for the Red Wings. After a $35 cab ride from the Detroit municipal airport to our hotel, we realized that it would likely cost a small fortune to get from our hotel to downtown Detroit anyways. We were advised that taking the bus might be a bit risky and we were cautioned not to wander too far from the hotel at night. So, unfortunately we did not get to do anything too exciting in Detroit. Within walking distance we found a strip mall with a Walmart and a Country Buffet. With Tyler's insistence, I agreed to have brunch there since he has made many compromises because I am vegetarian. What is with guys and "all you can eat" buffets??? Luckily for me there was an impressive salad buffet. Later, we had a nice dinner at the Olive Garden. The next morning our cab ride back to the airport took a much shorter route and cost about $10 bucks less. It didn't surprize us that we got scammed by the first cabbie. We were in Detroit after all.

On our departure out of Detroit, we had a bird strike on rotation. Upon reaching Toledo, Ohio we inspected the aircraft and found minimal damage, having only a small dent on the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer. The tower in Detroit confirmed that there was a dead seagull on the runway. Poor bird. We then proceeded on to Cleveland, then to Erie, Pennsylvania. Upon returning to the Toronto Island Airport, the final destination for our passengers, we spent 45 weary minutes with Canada Customs. After a 14 hour day, we duty out and have to spend the night in Toronto. To my delight we find the Bombay Palace directly accross the street from our hotel. After a job well done and a very long day, Tyler and I reward ourselves with a great Indian dinner accompanied with a few King Fishers (Indian Beer).

We returned to North Bay today and dealt with the mounds of paperwork that unfortunately is now the reality of cross border charter travel between Canada and the USA.

Well, until the next adventure.....