A Florida Road Trip

1. BEACH LIFE and SUNSETS

During my trip to Florida I experienced the beach life, visits to the Everglades with their gators, an Airboat ride through a mangrove swamp, exciting views of birds, wanders through markets, a visit to a wonderful botanical garden, a road trip on the Keys, and a glorious sunset.

I am thankful to my family for overcoming my extreme reticence to take such a trip and especially to Debbie and Brian for hosting me in their condo. I’m also grateful to Stephen for interrupting his business to drive me through the Everglades and along the Keys, and take me on an airboat tour of the everglades. Then there was my grandson Luke and his girlfriend Marie who drove my car down while I flew south so that we could share driving on the return trip to Canada.  

God is good—all the time.

Let me share some of my impressions by first giving you a glimpse of beach life, collecting shells, and a wonderful sunset evening.

2 – AIRBOATS AND GATERS

No visit to Florida would be complete without venturing beyond the beaches into the Everglades for an up-close visit with alligators and an airboat ride. Fortunately, Stephen, my oldest son, interrupted his business to make sure I had experiences in Florida’s wild side. First we visited a thriving church in Naples then drove along highway 41 through the Everglades to Florida City which became our base for two days. One day we had a leisurely drive along the Keys and the next day returned to Sarasota along Alligator Alley (highway 75). But before we left the Everglades we had a thrilling airboat ride through a mangrove swamp. Here are a few pictures of the gators, birds we saw, and the airboat ride. The pilot stopped in a narrow channel through the mangrove swamp to regale us with stories, including about giant pythons thriving in the swamps, 5 of which he has killed.

These posts will continue.

(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. Further articles, books, and stories at:  Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)

Ontario Road Trip, #6 -Sun, Sand, Salt and Ontario’s Richest Soil

What a fascinating road trip I had through South-western Ontario! From the shore of Lake Erie on the third day, I turned inland to my overnight stay in St. Thomas, Ontario’s RR city, where Drumbo the elephant died. In the morning I motored across rich farm country to highway 21 along the shore of Lake Huron. Unfortunately, it seemed like half the population of Sarnia and Windsor had the same idea. I hit a massive traffic jam of vacationers heading to Port Elgin and points north or one of their properties along the shore. As I progressed, an inch at a time, a glance at the map told me that the whole shoreline from Sarnia north was populated by cottagers and small beach communities. I realized that Friday was not a day to make this journey. There was nothing to do but jog inland along country roads until I finally reached Goderich.

Goderich is Ontario’s salt capital even though few, except in winter, admit to using salt. Naturally, the occupants bill it as “the prettiest town in Canada,” an apocryphal comment attributed to Queen Elizabeth. In the harbour I found a giant laker taking on salt on one side of the harbour and huge trucks loading it from a facility on the other. The town was founded in 1828. While looking for oil in 1866, prospector Sam Platt discovered rock salt 300 metres below the surface. The present mine, the largest of its nature in the world, is 1800 feet below Lake Huron and provides the salt used on our roads in winter.

Laker taking on salt

With its beach and exposure to sunsets, it is a fascinating town made extremely interesting by the design of its pioneers. The streets radiate from an octagonal in the centre of the city. Alas I couldn’t stay.

I headed north to Kincardine and then Port Elgin before reluctantly leaving the lake behind to head to my motel in Walkerton. There the rumble of a gaggle of motorcyclists gathering for some reunion serenaded me until Morpheus lulled me to sleep. In the morning I aimed my motorized steed across the heart of Ontario. Along the way I marveled again at the wealth the Creator had bestowed on this fortunate, but rather unthankful province. The only things that annoyed were the ubiquitous presence of those monuments—wind turbines—erected to satisfy someone’s fantasy about a solution to global warming, but more on that at a later time.

KIncardine harbour

The story of a wreck on Lake Huron

Kincardine harbour

Wind turbine dominates skyline

At Holland Marsh, north of Toronto, I got lost for a time in the roads circling this ultra rich farmland. You ask, “why didn’t you take 401, Ontario’s super highway?” Basically, it’s because I’m allergic to traffic racing along at above 120 km/hr. Not that I drive slowly. But on a road trip, I like to see the countryside as more than a blur. Anyway, at the Marsh, I got to connect even briefly with Ontario’s market garden.

Holland Marsh

The marsh was formed by the decay of organic material during the centuries after the retreat of the massive ice shield that covered much of North America. Early in 1900 the deep and rich nature of the soil was recognized but drainage did not begin until 1925 when ditches and diversions of the Holland River began to be constructed. They were completed in 1930. A few years later 18 Dutch families arrived to become the nucleus of a thriving agricultural community. More European families arrived after World War II. It is now a market garden for Canada and abroad producing carrots and onions in particular, as well as lettuce, potatoes, celery, parsnips, cabbage, cauliflower and beets. There are some greenhouses in which tomatoes, cucumbers and commercial flowers are produced. Because of my diversion I got to smell the rich soil and growing vegetables plus I could pause along the canal to watch fishermen while away the day.

Holland marsh canal & fishermen

My four-day road trip ended with a stop in Peterborough at Red Lobster for a feast of shrimp. I must admit that my home bed never felt so good. And yet, I think I’ll plan another road trip soon.

Road Trip to Port Burwell – Traveling South-west Ontario, #4

From Long Point I drove to Port Burwell on the Lake Erie shore. It has both a beach, a unique setting for birds and museum of items from the many wrecks of schooners in the adjacent waters.  The safe and sandy shore attracts many families as does the lighthouse museum and the relics of Erie’s wild storms which are scattered about the town.

Fishing trawler

For the migrating purple martins the town has set up a whole condo community where they can settle in and find food for their hatching families before their flight to South America in the fall. There’s even a church! The males are dark and glossy blue while the females are brown and often peak out from their nests. It’s fascinating to watch their aerobatics as they snatch insects out of the air, return to their condo and feed their young. Many of these gregarious swallows perch and warble at each other.

(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. Further articles, books, and stories at: http://www.countrywindow.ca Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright –– Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)

ROAD TRIP THROUGH SOUTH-WESTERN ONTARIO, PORT STANLEY AND ST. THOMAS, #5

From Port Burwell I followed the Nova Scotia line to Port Bruce and then along the Dexter Line to Port Stanley. All along the way, luxurious houses clung to the shoreline. It was obviously a prime place to live for those in South-western Ontario.

Port Stanley proved to be a fascinating destination for those seeking relaxation under the sun, not only today but in generations past. A railway, since abandoned used to run from London, Ontario to Port Stanley carrying coal from Pennsylvania and fresh fish to London, and vacationers back and forth from the whole of South-western Ontario to this popular vacation spot. Renovated railway cars stand ready to take tourists and RR enthusiasts on short jaunts along the line.

Along the road beside the wide river there are condos, restaurants and a wide variety of shops luring tourists into their intriguing interiors. Fishing trawlers tie up to jetties on each side of the broad river where one can see piles of containers for their catches. A short way from the harbour, a beached and decommissioned submarine stands ready to welcome the curious.

Port Stanley, fish containers near main drag.

Decomissioned sub

I could have stayed much longer to explore the port but it was time to head inland to find my motel in St. Thomas. St. Thomas, billed as the Railroad City, was a surprise. A very high, abandoned RR trestle had been turned into an elevated walkway and park with marvelous views over the deep valley below. It also had a full-size statue to Drumbo, the elephant. Why I asked myself?

Billed as the world’s largest elephant by Barnum and Bailey circus, Drumbo was being loaded into a circus boxcar in St. Thomas after a show, when a barreling freight train hit and killed him. He had been a superstar seen by thousands. His death spawned a series of conspiracy theories including one that, with his declining health and unpredictable behaviour, the circus had staged the death. In a special, David Suzuki proved that his death had been by massive trauma.

With a new day dawning and time constraints, I could not explore further along the shore of Lake Erie to the tail of Ontario jutting into the US, nor our most southerly land on Point Pelee and Pelee Island. Perhaps, I would return. Instead, I cut across country to find the shore of Lake Huron at Goderich. (to be continued)

Ubiquitous wind turbines dominate productive farmland

Road Trip to the Ports of Lake Erie and Lake Huron, #3 — Port Rowan and the Long Point Biosphere

While summer weather sent many Ontarians headed to Muskoka and points north others flew to BC, Alberta and south into the US. I took the road less travelled—a four day road trip through South-western Ontario. In my road trip I discovered hidden gems of history and viewed fascinating but little-known parts of Ontario.

From Port Dover, my first stop, I drove along Front Road through a series of small ports, the wonderful sandy beach at Turkey Point and on to Port Rowan on Long Point Bay. Settlers arrived in this area in 1790. The inland part of this bay was largely sheltered from the wild storms that suddenly would appear on Lake Erie. During the war of 1812, American raiders burned the town and other ports along the shore.

Thousands of wooden schooners and steam-powered vessels plied the waters of Lake Erie during the 19^th century. Dozens of these were built in the Inner Long Point Bay. However, the shallow nature of the bay and the 45 km long spit of land that constitutes Long Point contributed to storms beaching many ships. Even today storms bring to the surface relics of these old ships. One great storm drove a sailable hole through Long Point enabling ships to sail into the sheltered bay. However, “blackbirds” put up false lighthouses to lure ships onto the shore so they could be looted. Since the nearest law enforcement was in London, it remained a relatively lawless area.

Port Rowan

In the sheltered bay, we find the village of Port Rowan with a much-reduced population from pioneer times. It remains a place where evidences of Erie’s maritime history are treasured.

What has not changed is the magnet this area has been to migrating birds and resident reptiles, and turtles. The marshes formed by the Long Point spit provide an ideal habitat for their sustenance. Thousands of tundra swans make their stop here on their migration north in the spring and south in the fall. Uncounted other species either reside here or stop on their journeys making it a magnet for bird watchers.

Fishermen and hunters come from far and near attracted by the enormous diversity of flora and fauna in this biosphere. A chart lists 18 distinct species of sport fish. Although the furthest part of Long Point is protected as a provincial park, cottagers have also settled along any part that is stable enough. What a fascinating time I had in Port Rowan and exploring Long Point.

I could have spent days exploring this rich biosphere, but time constraints moved me to head to my motel for the night. My stay in St. Thomas proved to be intriguing as well. (to be continued.)

(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. Further articles, books, and stories at: http://www.countrywindow.ca Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright –– Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)

Road Trip through a prosperous but possibly unthankful Province

In my road trip of discovery last week, I drove from Port Dover to Port Stanley along the Erie shore and then along the shore of Lake Huron to Port Elgin.

Port Elgin

As I travelled, I pondered the challenges of the pioneers who came to Ontario well over 200 years ago when the province was covered with mature mixed forests. Our pioneers must have laboured for years to clear the forests enough to plant meagre fields. All transportation was by water, hence the importance of these ports which were settled at the mouths of the various rivers that ran into Lake Erie and Huron. Imagine the difficulties they faced. There were no highways except by water until the colony pushed through primitive roads. No chainsaws. No tractors. No grocery stores. No malls. No building centres. Only horses for ploughing. They faced enormous labour and danger.

Because they were people of faith and found great comfort in worship and prayer, they established churches wherever they settled. Of course, we must not idealize these pioneers. Many were but Sunday Christians or worse; even so vibrant faith simmered in the hearts of real believers who had left the “Old Country” for lives of freedom in the “New”. These believers insisted that churches be erected. Sadly, many of these churches have now stood empty for several generations. Many have been turned into residences. But as a reader who knows this part of the province has informed me, in urban centres throughout this part of the province, new congregations have arisen. We can only hope and pray that the influence of these vibrant congregations may spread the good news far and wide. For without their influence, like the Israelites of old, Ontarians are prone to either be proud of their prosperity or complain about what they perceive as their rights. Few acknowledge their debt to the benevolence of God. We live in a profoundly blessed and prosperous province but thankfulness and a perspective on where we were 200 years ago is rare. As Winston Churchill noted; “Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

A pioneer cemetery

Like the Israelites depicted in many Psalms, the pioneers cried out to God in the midst of privation and sickness. And God heard. What about now? What is ahead for our country, a country where vast numbers have abandoned faith and with it, thankfulness.

“Some wandered in desert wastelands [in the trackless wilderness] finding no city [place]where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city [place with rich soil where they could farm] where they could settle [and build churches for worship]. Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (Psalm 107:4-9). Let them, let us, give thanks!

Throughout my travels in South-western Ontario, I was struck by our rich farmlands. Fields to the horizon full of corn and soybeans and ripening wheat. Other fields with every variety of vegetables and fruits. A few fields still of tobacco. Fields full of fodder for milking cows or beef. Huge chicken farms. The pioneers would be astonished.

Aspargus

Holland Marsh

As a result of God’s benevolence we have a rich province relatively free from all of the turmoil in countries around the world—even south of our border. But too often we are not thankful! We need a gospel revival of repentance, faith and thankfulness. May the vibrant new churches spread the good news far and wide.