A Snowy and Cold Christmas in Goderich

Despite "Snowagedden", we managed to make it up Goderich with no issues.

We left around 7 pm, stopping for gasoline at the Pilot in Tilbury and a food and bathroom break in Watford. The roads were, for the most part, clear. The worst part was Highway 21 between Grand Bend and Port Franks - the road was not that well cleared.

Arriving at Bev & Gerry's house, we put Jeremy on the couch to fall back asleep and unpacked the van. It was cold. Really cold.

The next morning, Tina and I went out for breakfast. After that I went out looking for a snowblower (none to be had).

As some point, Corbin had dropped his Nintendo DS and broken the case. It still worked. Tina and I told Corbin he had to be much more careful and that he will pay for his replacement. I knew that most of the stores in Windsor were out of the DS, so Corbin and I drove over to Walmart and they had one left. I purchased it but I didn't let Corbin play with it.

I patched up the 'old' DS with some electrical tape and gave it to Jeremy to play with.

Teegan and Madigan came over and the four kids played and played and played. They went outside at one point, but that did not last long.

Late afternoon, Chris and Lisa came over and we opened presents. Then we had a wonderful roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy. Yummy. We let the food digest and packed the van.

We left Goderich around 6:00 pm and arrived back in Windsor around 9:20 pm.

A nice Christmas in Goderich.

Posted by Adam

Kid #2

We left Brantford shortly before 9:00 AM. I took the 403 to the 407 (worth the toll to avoid the traffic and tourists) to the 400. Naturally, the 400 was packed all the way to Barrie. Highway 11 was marginally better.

Pick up day was well underway when we pulled into Camp Winston at 11:15 AM. Corbin saw Tina and ran up to her and gave her a big hug. I was the next recipient of a hug with Jeremy finally getting a hug.

Tina walked over to the Cabin to get his stuff. Christina, one of Corbin's Counsellor's helped us with the bag. I watched Corbin and Jeremy who ran to the Dining Hall when the heard the bell ring. The four of us grabbed a bite to eat. Corbin didn't eat, but Jeremy more than made up for that.

Corbin said his goodbyes and we left for the trip to Goderich. That drive wasn't too bad once we got off the 400 at Highway 89. Had a small detour around Harriston that threw me for a slow loop. Seems that the part of 89 between Harriston and Palmerston was renumbered to Highway 23. None of the maps, paper or electronic, I use had that change. Oh well.

It was nice to arrive in Goderich after a long day of driving. And unlike a past trip from Camp Winston, this one only took about 3 1/2 hours.

Posted by Adam

Camp Winston Via Goderich, Day 2

The waiting game was on. For Corbin, that meant dealing with the double whammy of waiting to get to Camp Winston and waiting to play with his cousins.

Tina and Corbin headed over to Tims to get some coffee and breakfast for Tina and I. On the way back, she dropped Corbin at Chris and Lisa´s. After eating and showering, we headed over there to check out life on East Street. The kids were playing okay, but Corbin was having some issues.

Lisa bribed Corbin with two dollars to empty and load her dishwasher. He did it with some help from Tina. It seemed to turn him around for the afternoon.

We headed over to Wal-Mart to pickup a few last minute items for camp, some sunglasses for me and some groceries for Bev.

The rest of the evening was okay. Corbin had a meltdown, but a bath calmed him down and eased some of his anxiety. At one point I gave Corbin´s Nintendo DS to Jeremy as punishment for him hitting Jeremy. Corbin was none to pleased. On the other hand, Jeremy cherished the moment.

Tina and Bev did some scrapbooking. I updated our blog. Gerry watched TV. Corbin played with his Nintendo and watched Superman on the other TV.

It´s off to bed to get some rest before a day full of travel.

Posted by Adam

Camp Winston Via Goderich, Day 1

We signed up Corbin for the second session at Camp Winston. So it was time to get ready and make our way to Sparrow Lake. We had to go through Goderich this time to drop off Bev back home.

Tina spent the morning packing Corbin´s stuff for camp and our stuff for the weekend. I cut the grass and then put down some weed and feed (hopefully this will help turnaround the grass in the backyard).

We left Windsor around 3:00 PM. Tina drove and I sat in the back with the boys. Corbin and I played a game together with our Nintendo DS while Jeremy watched a Harry Potter movie. A quick stop at Parks for a bathroom and food break. The drive was uneventful.

After feeding the boys, Tina and I headed out to find somewhere to eat in Goderich. We didn´t want fast food and we didn´t want a chain restaurant. We settled on Thyme on 21, which is located a hop, skip and jump from Bev & Gerry´s house.

It was busy and we didn´t have reservations. But the owner was able to fit us in said it would be about 15 minutes. While we waited, I drove the van over to Bev & Gerry´s so we could enjoy a bottle of wine during dinner.

We were shown to our table and I ordered a bottle of Pelee Island VQA Merlot. The waitress brought over a basket of freshly baked onion bread that was to die for. What a way to begin the meal.

For appetizers, Tina had the Spinach Salad, while I enjoyed the Vegetable Spring Rolls with a Thai Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce. The salad was light and the vinaigrette hit the spot. The spring rolls were piping hot, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The dipping sauce was perfect.

For the entree, I ordered the Grilled Lamb Tenderloin (cooked medium) with Port Wine Sauce, Red-Skin Mashed Potatoes and Fresh Vegetables. Tina settled on the Rolled Souffle stuffed with Goat Cheese, spinach and roasted peppers in a sun-dried tomato cream sauce and fresh vegetables.

The lamb was grilled to perfection. It was soft and would melt in your mouth. The mashed potatoes were just that and were the perfect accompaniment to the lamb. The vegetables were mouth watering delicious.

The souffle exceeded Tina´s expectations. It would disappear in your mouth leaving the delightful taste of the goat cheese, spinach and roasted peppers in your mouth. The sauce was simply amazing.

For dessert, Tina ordered the Creme Brulé to share, along with coffee. It was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

We drank, ate, talked and drank some more. Being able to have a bottle of wine with an excellent meal was something we longed for.

If you are ever driving through or happen to be in Goderich and are looking for a great dining experience, we highly recommend Thyme on 21 Casual Dining.

Posted by Adam

Christmas Returns

Unlike previous years, we had a few misses with Christmas presents this year.

Tina's dance mat for Dance Dance Revolution didn't work right. Corbin's Headbangers Soccer toy was missing a few items and had some incorrect parts and his guitar stand broke during assembly. The two portable DVD player carry bags we bought did not work so well in the van.

I also discovered that the sweeper I bought for my Mom was on sale at Canadian Tire. 20 bucks is 20 bucks.

We carried the dance mat and DVD carry bags around with us on our recent tour of Goderich and Brantford, hoping to avoid the crazy returns lines in Windsor (Tina reported that the line at Toys R' Us wrapped around the first section of the store).

In Goderich, we returned the DVD player carry bags to the Canadian Tire store with not wait and no fuss.

In Brantford, I got the price difference plus tax less Canadian Tire money. I had to wait about 15 minutes, but it wasn't too bad - Tina got a chance to wonder around the store. We walked in and right out of the Future Shop when we saw how long the line was. The dance mat was returning with us to Windsor.

Today, I decided to return the Headbangers Soccer toy and Guitar Stand to Toys R' Us and the Dance Mat to Future Shop. I took Jeremy with me - he wanted to go to Best Buy and look for a movie. The line at Toys R' Us wasn't too bad - they had two people processing returns. No questions or problems and Jeremy got a chance to look at some toys.

Over at Future Shop the line was a little longer and did take longer. They had two people working the Customer Service counter, but one customer was taking a long time. Jeremy got a chance to play with video cameras and cell phones. Then he helped me move the dance mat as we progressed up the line. The return was promptly processed and off to Best Buy it was (which had a line that was three times longer than Future Shop).

Overall, good experience returning items this past Christmas. Now I just have to find a good guitar stand for Corbin's acoustic guitar. As to replacing the toy, will give Corbin a choice as to what he wants.

Anyone have any suggestions for good portable dvd players carry bags?

Posted by Adam

Christmas Travel Time - Goderich

The drive up to Goderich was uneventful. What was surprising was the lack of snow north of Grand Bend. Save for the icy piles left over from the snow fall two weeks ago, Goderich was bare. Very unusual.

We spent the day not doing much. Teegan and Madigan came over to Nanny's and brought their NintendoDS units. Corbin had fun playing different games with Teegan. At one point Teegan, Madigan, Corbin and myself were chatting using the PictoChat program. What brave new world we live in.

We had dinner at Bev & Gerry's along with Chris, Lisa, Teegan and Madigan. Next the kids opened presents. It was crazy. The boys were very excited with their GI Joe, Transformers and Robot presents. Later that night Tina and I along with Chris and Lisa went to Wal-Mart to check out the video game and movie selection.

I found a Harry Potter three-pack of video games for the PS2 for $29.84. A remarkable price considering that the latest Harry Potter game was on sale for $24.84. I had to call Tina over to make sure I wasn't seeing things. Corbin constantly rents these games, so I decided to buy it as a 'reward' for Corbin.

Sunday was a relaxing day. Tina did some more scrapbooking. We had lunch from A&W, hung around some more before packing the van and heading out to Brantford.

Posted by Adam

Snow in Goderich?

We headed up to Goderich Saturday morning. It was sunny.

We arrived in Goderich just after lunch. It was overcast.

We went to bed. It snowed.

We woke up. It stopped snowing.

We left Goderich. It was drizzly and foggy.

We got on the 401. It rained all the way to Windsor.

The boys got to play in a pile of snow that Poppy shovelled. Jeremy got some quality time with Nanny. Tina played a few card games with her mom. Adam moped around, went to Wal-Mart and bought a new Nintendo DS game for Corbin.

Posted by Adam

Off To Goderich via Chatham

Since we both had Friday off, we decided to head up to Goderich tonight to spend the weekend with family and celebrate Madigan's birthday.

We gave Joe a lift to Chatham, where his father-in-law was picking him up to help him move. Tina took over driving duties after Chatham. The drive up was uneventful.

We left Guinea behind - one of our in-home workers was going to stop by and feed Guinea and the fish.

Posted by Adam

New Digs In Goderich

After I finished my Exam A, we headed up to the Toy Shoppe of London, a toy store in the north end of London, to look over their selection and to allow Corbin to buy a new Playmobil toy. Jeremy played in the train. After getting what we needed, we headed up to Goderich for the weekend. We stopped in Exeter and had lunch at KFC.

Tina's parents, Bev & Gerry, recently bought a house in town - two blocks north of Chris and Lisa. It was nice to not have to drive through Goderich, out to the trailer park where Bev & Gerry lived. Bev and Madigan were outside when we arrived.

The house is a one-storey three-bedroom house with a decent sized kitchen, a large living/dining room, a small lounge/parlour at the front of the house, and one bathroom. There is a basement. Gerry purchased a new shed, so he has a total three sheds (the other two came from our house). There is no garage - many houses in Goderich do not have garages. The yard is spacious - enough room for the kids to run around.

Saturday evening, we all went out for dinner at a local restaurant on The Square. The service was fast and food was hot. The kids ate what they could and behaved for the most part. Corbin played with his Gameboy while Jeremy hung out with Aunt Lisa.

We headed back to Windsor around noon on Sunday.

Posted by Adam

Christmas With Chris, Lisa, Teegan & Madigan

The trip up to Goderich was uneventful. It was freaky as there was no snow, anywhere. Typically, when you drive up to Goderich at the end of December, there is lots of snow. Nothing in 2006. It did start to snow after arrived, but it amounted to nothing much.

The kids opened their presents. We had an awesome turkey dinner. We watched TV, did some shopping and just hung out. It was a good end to Christmas.