Cambridge Ontario to Woodstock Ontario

I didn't wake up until 9:00 AM this morning. Everyone else was already moving. The word from Sudbury wasn't good as far as the weather went. It looked like we got out of town just in time. Kenny posted a picture of his snow blower in a place where there hadn't been snow the day before.

Ken's overburdened snow blower in Sudbury

Everyone else was up before I was. Kim, Mike and the girls were getting ready to attend Good Friday church services. The granddaughters wondered if we were going and didn't quite understand when Grandpa Jim told them that he did not like thunder and lightning. Besides, we had seen a lot of them during the Disney adventure and were down primarily to spend some time with Jasper.

Outside, evidence of the ice storm littered the countryside. Kim's Mazda, where the build-up was almost an inch thick, was a prime example.

A coating of ice

Almost an inch thick

We stopped at McDonald's on Main Street so I could get a sausage McMuffin for me and a cranberry orange muffin for Sandy. For the first time in Canada, the system designated an order number on the receipt which displayed on a screen when the food was ready. The number system has worked well in the USA for years without the screen. This looks like it will be even better.

Heather called and asked if we could pick up some Hall's cough drops on the way. We stopped at the Flying J in Ayr and did just that. I do like the merchandise they carry in the FJ. It caters directly to travelers and professional drivers.

On the 401, we saw more evidence of the freezing rain as the ice laden trees glistened.

Ice sculpture in nature

Welcome to Oxford County

Even the evergreens got into the act

Suddenly, about ten miles before Woodstock, the ice coatings stopped. Snow cover ceased. Grass appeared.

Heather's employer - Trigon Construction

No sign of winter's last hurrah here

We arrived at Heather and Tom's just before 11:00 AM. Jasper and Tom were playing with trains on the floor while a sick Heather was flaked out on the couch, much the worse for wear. I helped play with the trains for a while.

Jasper helping Mommy

Have couch, will sleep

Jasper James

 When Jasper went down for a nap, I sorted photos and notes and did some blogging. The smart phone has two camera programs on it. The FV-5 has a lot more options than the default Google camera but, due to an anomaly with the Nexus orientation sensor, the selfies come out upside down plus the photos are more difficult to upload. I may give up some sophistication in the interests of ease.

Jasper got up rested and went back to playing. We ordered pizza on line from Domino's, which Tom and I went to pick it up. Sandy and I shared a crunchy thin crust Hawaiian while my taste buds actually craved a Canadian (pepperoni, bacon and mushroom). Greater love.......

Jasper's pizza

After supper, there was more playing. Jasper is getting quite vocal and, sometimes, we can tell what he means. He is still shy with us, though. Our fault for not seeing him enough.

Eventually, it was story time and bed time for the little guy.

He sure likes Dad

Reading Elmo books

And then there was just Grandma

With everyone else in bed, Tom and I watched some episodes of The Office on Netflix. I never watched this series when it was originally on but I may make a point to blitz it some time in the future. Around 11:30, we called it a night as well.

Today's Route (34 Equinox miles):

Interactive map

Sudbury Ontario to Cambridge Ontario

We had intended to travel down to Woodstock a couple of weeks ago for grandson Jasper's 2nd birthday party, but we had to cancel so we could be at Normie's funeral. After talking to Heather, we decided that Easter weekend would be a good alternate date.

Before we get into this trip, however, I guess that I should bring you up to date on a few things. Around the middle of the month, we hit a warm spell the likes of which I have never seen before in March. The snow, which had accumulated a couple of inches a day since Christmas, melted with a vengeance. This was compounded by a few days of rain. All that water had to go somewhere, and a lot of it made it to our weeping tile and outdoor sump.

The sump pump I replaced last year after the broken water main flood started to lose effectiveness and soon wasn't keeping up with the inflow. (I took it apart later and found the plastic base that channeled water to the outflow hose had a large crack in it). Remember my brand new first smart phone? The one I got in late January? In the course of getting the new pump positioned, I dropped my new phone down the hole into a couple of feet of water and wasn't able to recover it for almost 24 hours. It did not survive the ordeal. Luckily, I had taken Google Protect coverage which will replace the phone up to twice over the first two years for any reason (for a deductible). I filed the claim on a Sunday afternoon and had a replacement by Tuesday noon.

Since then, pumps and phones have been working well but I do need to contact some professionals to find out the best way to permanently fix the sump/drainage issue. At the same time, we have retained a contractor and decorator to do some renovations to the main floor, mostly paint and trim along with some needed repairs plus a new bathroom. The basement will be gutted. Outside, in addition to the sump, I need a new concrete floor in the garage and a paved driveway. It should be a busy year so stay tuned for updates on our progress.

OK, enough of the catching up. As I mentioned, March has been exceptionally warm. That, of course, was bound to run out and it did. The forecast for today called for a severe snowstorm in the Sudbury area and freezing rain in southern Ontario. Lucky us. The marginal weather was compounded by the fact that, for some reason I can't fathom, I did not get to sleep last night. At all.

So here is was, Good Friday Eve. I packed my gear (Sandy has been packed for a couple of days) and loaded everything in the Equinox. We stopped for fuel and food on the way out of town and were rolling just before 10 AM. The sky was overcast and the temperature was 24 F but, so far, things were pretty good.

We weren't twenty miles south of town when the first flakes started to fall. As we went on, it started to stick to the road a bit but we still had adequate traction. We caught up to a slow moving Chev Traverse which I was happy to follow despite the growing line behind us. On a day like this, you never see the black ice until you are sliding sideways, so it pays to be cautious.

The snow starts to stick a bit

Follow the careful Traverse

Watch the oncoming plow blades

The wind was out of the east the whole way, a sign that bad weather was coming. Worse than we already had. The single lane of traffic at the French River Bridge was not an issue because there was no traffic. The detour around construction at the Key River wasn't a problem, either. We followed the Traverse until we got to the four lane north of Parry Sound, where everyone picked up the pace and started passing.

Passing the plow wasn't the best idea

We stopped at the Seguin Trail Tim's where there was more snow on the ground. The radar looked worse ahead. Continuing on, the snow changed to freezing rain but it didn't seem to be making the road much more slippery. Someone missed the northbound exit ramp at Highway 12 and another car was off the road in Barrie with a lot of body damage, but that was all we saw. Near Barrie, the rain stopped and the roads got clearer until we stopped at the new On Route Service Centre at Innisfil.

Here, it was slushy enough I changed my shoes for boots before getting out. Inside, Sandy got a Tim's pulled pork sandwich while I got a new chicken/bacon/ranch wrap to go. The prices were higher than at home due to it being a service centre. Captive audience. Before we left, I scraped the ice off the wiper blades.

Sandy at the Innisfil On Route

While we were in the service centre, it started to rain again. Still, the road was clear and so I decided to take a chance on the 407 toll road.

Rain on the 400

Once on the 407, the rain eased up but fog set in when we reached the 401. I lost sight of all landmarks as we approached Milton and this held all the way until Cambridge. Still, everyone was behaving themselves and we all got along just fine.

In Cambridge, one low lying spot on Franklin had a lot of water in it. I watched the cars ahead of us go through before trying it myself. We pulled into Kim and Mike's driveway at 3:35.

Mike was nominated for an award, so he and Kim were going to a dinner. He didn't expect to win but they were going to get a $100 a plate meal out of it so it was a no-brainer. We were going to watch Jolene and Robyn for the evening, giving us some grandchild bonding time, before heading on the Woodstock for the weekend.

After some discussion, we decided to head out to Tony's Family Diner on Franklin. There were only a few other people there so we were seated and served in short order. The kids had chicken nuggets and fries, Sandy had a Caesar salad with lots of chicken and I had beef barley soup and a BLT.

At Tony's Diner

Jolene, Grandma Sandy and Robyn

It almost looked like the heathen devil weed on my beef barley soup

It was pouring rain after supper, so we went right home. The girls watched a little bit of TV while I dozed in the easy chair. Then it was off to bed. My daughters were both raised in a secular household but now both go to church, so I read Robyn the story of the loaves and fishes from her book of Bible stories. I tucked her in and then I went downstairs. As a result of no sleep the night before, I immediately fell asleep for the night.

Today's Route (285 Equinox miles):

Interactive map

RIP Normie Hein 1955 - 2016

There was a text on my phone from Gary Lamarche when I woke up at 5:00 AM, telling me that Normie passed away at midnight at Maison Vale Hospice. He was diagnosed at the beginning of November last year with Stage 4 liver cancer. You will note from the Music For The Soul posts that he was well respected throughout many parts of the community.

Norm Hein - 2005

State Highway 128 NE of Moab, Utah(along the Colorado River)

I met Normie around 1980 when we both joined the Nickel Riders Motorcycle Club. He was unique back then, known for his distinctive laugh and his penchant for wearing sunglasses at night. He rode a Yamaha and he rode it hard.

As the Nickel Riders was winding down in the late 1980's, Normie moved on the the Bikers Rights Organization (B.R.O.) and then became a founding member of the Freedom Riders Motorcycle Association. Somewhere not long after, he traded the Yamaha on an AMF period Harley Sportster. He "enjoyed" the Ironhead for about a decade before moving on. Biker and I were riding Kawasaki Vulcans, so Norm bought a 1500 Vulcan Drifter and became a member #8571 of the Vulcan Riders and Owners Club (VROC). He signed up with the nickname Abby Normal.

Around 1990, Normie and a friend attended a meeting of the Valley Trail Masters snowmobile club. I was there in my capacity as Vice-President (Operations) of the Sudbury Trail Plan Association, the umbrella organization for eight local clubs including VTM. VTM was electing directors. I convinced them that Normie would be an asset, so they drafted him. In 1992, when I moved up to STP President, I needed someone to replace me as VP-Ops and recruited you-know-who. The following year, when I convinced the STP Board that we needed a full-time staff operations person, Normie was the ideal candidate. He held that position for the rest of his life, making immeasurable contributions to organized snowmobiling both locally and across the province.

In 1992, Norm and I attended a meeting called by Sgt. Lynn Beach of the Ontario Provincial Police to discuss a rash of recent snowmobile fatalities. It was determined that alcohol was the main factor and that the police did not have sufficient resources to deal with it. We moved STP Trail Wardens in to assist while Norm researched Ontario legislation and prepared a proposal to appoint trained volunteers as Special Constables to enforce the Motorized Snow Vehicles Act. Thus, the Snowmobile Trail Officer Patrol (S.T.O.P.) Program was born. This had an immediate and demonstrable impact on reducing snowmobile fatalities where it was in place. Ironically, the program was cancelled February 12th of this year by myopic bureaucrats. Norm was the last of the original 14 STOP Officers to be serving.

Action Sudbury - Citizens Against Impaired Driving is a local activist group started in 1984 by Sudbury Mayor Peter Wong. Norm joined them in 1994 and was the second longest serving member at the time of his passing. He was recipient of both the provincial Peter Wong Award and local Rollande Mousseau Award recognizing his contributions to the cause.

Over the years, Norm an I had a shared background in motorcycle clubs (I followed him to the Freedom Riders in the mid-90's), organized snowmobiling and sober driving activism. That said, there were many other aspects of his life that I wasn't part of, like his support and involvement in the local music scene, his generosity to the homeless in our area, sky diving and his earlier career with Pinkerton's. I do remember handing a paycheck to his father Carl (Employment number 8200 IIRC) every Tuesday at INCO's Garson Mine every Tuesday in the early 70's long before I knew Normie. Memorable ran in the Hein family.

Normie was well known for his involvement, but his greatest strength was his ability to get other people involved. Many people in many places are there because Normie convinced them that they should be. He inspired a personal loyalty like no one else I have ever seen. When he believed in something, he became a force multiplier.

It was good that Norm had a chance to see how much he was appreciated when groups of local musicians staged Music For The Soul, a two day benefit February 11th and 13th at the Towne House Tavern. The assembled folks from across a broad spectrum of Sudbury citizens bespoke the high regard in which he was held by so many.

Rest In Peace, Normie. You will be missed by many.
Love Honour Respect

I need to make special mention of Gary and Cheryl Lamarche. When Norm was diagnosed and it became apparent that he would not be able to live on his own, they took him into their home. He stayed there until last Thursday when he moved to Maison Vale Hospice. Their love and care for a friend went way above and beyond and are proof that angels walk among us.

Sudbury Ontario to Sault Ste Marie Ontario Return

I haven't seen my brother Rabbi (Dave) in over a year. We meant to get together last summer to golf, but time just slipped by. He lives in the Soo in Mom's old house but works in Alberta as a welding inspector. He said he was around this week but would be going west soon, so I made a firm decision to go down for lunch on Wednesday. OK, not Wednesday because we had the Freedom Riders Club Supper. Thursday, then. But on Thursday we caught a major snowstorm along the North Shore. Too risky. Today was Friday. The last chance.

Look what I got

We got a bit of snow yesterday but blowing can wait

This would be our first time out of town since we got home from Disney World in early November. We hit the road about 7:00 AM this morning, stopping at Tim's to try the new croissant breakfast sandwich to go. There is no such thing as a bad croissant and Sandy won a free coffee when she Rolled Up The Rim.

The road was salty, but the skies were bright and there was little traffic. I find that the Equinox is a lot more cramped that the Avalanche was, mostly because it is narrower. We can adjust to this but my idea of going cross country touring in a Miata probably would not have worked out.

It was odd moving west. We have been accumulating snow an inch or two a day and now with a couple of storms. Banks and drifts are high. But as we moved mast Massey, the banks on the side of the road started to diminish. There was no fresh snow, indicating the storm yesterday didn't come through here at all.

No snow banks just west of Blind (long may you run) River

Mennonite buggy near Thessalon (no snowbanks)

And very little snow in the fields

We arrived in the Soo about 10:30. It was good to catch up with Rabbi on what's been going on. I slipped out at noon and picked up Tim's pulled pork sandwiches on a ciabatta bun for Sandy and I. Rab doesn't eat lunch, apparently. We made some plans to golf this summer. This time, it will happen.

I tried to convince Rabbi that he should get on Facebook but he has been avoiding it like it was poisoned. One thing I have learned in sixty years is that you will never get Rabbi to do something he doesn't want to. But he does text, so we have that option:-)

Brother Rabbi (Dave)

We headed back about 2:30. Traffic was a bit heavier but the trip was uneventful and we pulled into our driveway at 5:45.

Today's Route (407 Equinox miles):

Interactive map

Music For The Soul - Day 2

We made our way to the Towne House Restaurant and Tavern early so we could both get a seat and try out their lunch menu. We succeeded on both counts, although some of our crowd beat us there. The show wasn't starting until 2:00 PM, so we had plenty of time to eat.

Our table

Spyder (Soo), Nicki, Lea and Shirley (Soo)

More Freedom Riders

Don and Marcel, old snowmobile friends

Gary and Lorna from Action Sudbury

Dave (OPP) and Vassie (Sudbury Trail Plan)

Normie flirting with the server

Kenny and Normie exchanging views

Normie with Tom and Eve

Presenting Elwood with a $500 donation from Action Sudbury

Tommy Fyfe playing

The Bluez Brothers rocking the house

The music was good again, especially the extended set performed by the Bluez Brothers. Jake (Rod) and Elwood (Vic) had the place hopping. It was a special day and a great tribute to a unique person. We could tell that Normie was moved by the support. The culmination was the announcement that Music For The Soul had raised $4,000 for Maison Vale Hospice.

We wrapped up before supper time and I dropped Sandy at home before I headed on to the Caruso Club for the second part of the evening.

Music For The Soul - Day 1

Old friend Normie Hein was diagnosed with inoperable Stage 4 liver cancer back in November. Sandy and I have shared snowmobile and motorcycle experiences for thirty-five years but we never shared his love of local musicians. They sure appreciated him, though. This evening was the first of two segments of Music For The Soul, a fundraiser for Maison Vale Hospice in Norm's honour.

Tonight, Jopo and the Rize, Sulphur City and Larry Berrio entertained us. The crowd represented many different segments of the community. Freedom Riders were strongly in evidence.

Normie

Freedom Riders tables

Normie and Larry Berrio

Sandy and Patsy

 Larry Berrio on stage

The music was good and the vibe was better. Sandy didn't even want to leave until after midnight. There was a surplus of Love Honour and Respect flowing Normie's way all evening.

Part two will take place here Saturday afternoon.

Operation Red Nose Beach Party

In late January, Lesli Green (President & Founder, Operation Red Nose Sudbury) organizes a party for all the volunteers that worked for the cause during the preceding holiday season. Because it is held in the dead of winter, the theme is Beach Party.

Friday

Lesli, friends and students decorate the common area at NORCAT with lights, Tiki bars and summery things. A hot buffet and entertainment are provided. The amount of work is prodigious.

There was a wrinkle this year. Rick Watt, the head honcho of the Belleville/Quinte Red Nose program decided that he would like to attend. He would be arriving by plane early Friday afternoon while Lesli and crew were decorating. I agreed to meet him at the airport and take him to the Hampton Inn at the south end.

Our plan was to take Rick out for supper as an opportunity to get to know each other and discuss Red Nose methods. The idea of sharing strategies and tactics is always good and usually leads to adopting some best practices.

Because Lesli never gets to unwind and have a few drinks, Sandy and I went and picked her up at her home in Lively. We then collected Rick at the Hampton and headed to the Tap House Grill & Pub on Regent Street. The food was good and the company was convivial. Later, Lesli's daughter Molly, who is home from her studies at Texas A&M arrived with her Texan boyfriend in tow. She had driven to Toronto (via North Bay due to a Highway 69 closure) to pick him up at the airport and treated him to a dandy Northern Ontario snowstorm on the way back.

Rick Watt and Leslie Green at the TapHouse Grill

Sandy, Lesli and Rick

I am sober.  Really!!!!

Saturday

Sandy and I met Lesli and Rick at Perkins Restaurant for breakfast. After we ate, Lesli headed for NORCAT to finish the party preparations. Rick and I dropped Sandy off at home and then I took him for a driving tour of the Sudbury Basin while discussing Operation Red Nose procedures in our respective areas.

As we were completing the loop, Lesli phoned to ask if we could pick up some ice on our way back. The cubes were easy but I guess blocks of ice are not that popular in mid-winter. It took a while to find them. Then I took Rick back to his hotel to prepare and ran some errands before picking him up again. We picked up another volunteer and Sandy on our way back to NORCAT.

The beach party was a costume event. Sandy brought both our outfits including Crocs, shorts, tie-dyed Route 66 shirts (thanks, Sherm) and pukka shell necklaces from our Hawaiian trip all those years ago. Sandy was wearing a parrot head cap borrowed from a friend and I was wearing my uncle's old straw hat, complete with ostrich feather.

Sandy looking very summery

The Freedom Riders were out in force. I was proud to be a member after the way that they supported the program this year. Solid commitment to our community by solid citizens who like to play on two wheels.

It was a non-alcohol party. This was felt to be right because the optics of serving booze at Red Nose was thought to be less than pristine. The buffet largely came from the Caruso Club and made up for the lack of adult beverages. There was more than enough for the 100 or so assembled guests. After supper, Past Canadian Grand Master Fiddle Champion (and Freedom Rider) Paul Lemelin and his wife entertained the crowd. Then they had prizes. Guess who won best costumes?

Best Costume Winners

Red Nose Mascot Rudy The Reindeer

Hall decorations

We had our cake and ate it too

The party wound up around 9:00 PM. Lesli, Rick, Molly and her boyfriend headed for the Trevi Tavern with some of the NORCAT staff to unwind while Sandy and I went home.

Sunday

I went and collected Rick at the Hampton Inn and delivered him to the airport. Then I picked Sandy up and we went over to NORCAT where we assisted a bit with the tear down. The swim club students, though, had it generally under control so we eventually wandered back home.

Students cleaning up on Sunday

A lot of effort goes into this party but Lesli feels it is necessary to recognize all the time put in by the volunteers during the season. I know we appreciated it. For most, this will end their association with Operation Red Nose until the call for volunteers goes out again next fall.

Goodbye Flip Phone - Welcome to the 21st Century

I can't remember when I got my Sanyo SCP-7050 flip phone. I'm guessing it was about 2007, but it could have been a year later. It wasn't too sophisticated and would not even take pictures, but it did have Bluetooth. I was able to use that through my GPS and intercom system to have hands free phone capability on the bike. It was also built to military spec and survived quite a few drops and other traumatic experiences.

By a strange coincidence, Sherm had the same phone. We didn't realize until we got together on the next trip. Great minds, I guess. It was a good phone as long as I didn't want any of the fancy on line features that came along with the Smart Phones. Hell, you couldn't hardly text except in an emergency.

While everyone else (including Sherm) was moving on to things with screens and browsers, apps and widgets, I kept trudging along since I hardly ever used my phone anyway. But recently, the old Sanyo showed signs of giving up. When fully charged, I would make a call and the phone would almost immediately show low battery. I don't know if it was the battery, the charging circuit or the read-out, but it was not worth fixing.

The choice for the upgrade was either Android or iPhone. Sandy already had an Android tablet and I haven't been a big fan of Apple's proprietary ways for years, so the choice was made. Biker had showed me his Nexus 5, a phone sold by Google (inventor of Android). I liked the look of it and also liked what he said about this running pure Android, which would make the roll-out of upgrades quicker and easier. As is the way with these devices, the Nexus 5 was obsolete after almost two years but the Nexus 5x was just released a couple of months ago.

I have been with Bell Mobility for twenty years. They sold the Nexus 5x at a reduced rate in return for signing a two year contract, but they only had the 16GB version, as did all the other providers who offered it. I went to the Google Store on line, ordered the 32GB version and a case, and received it two days later.

Now that I had the phone, I needed a provider. Luckily, there is a site that compares cellular providers across Canada. Bell, Rogers and Telus are all priced about the same. For $70, Bell will give you 1GB data and unlimited local calling or 500MB data and unlimited Canada-wide calling. The smaller providers, who also use one of the two tower systems across the country, are more competitively priced.

The comparisons can be difficult because the features differ a bit from company to company, but I was struck by the rates offered by PC Wireless. That is President's Choice, as in Loblaws, and they have a cell phone kiosk in our local Real Canadian Superstore. The basic monthly rate is $44 for unlimited Canada-wide calling and world-wide texting with pictures and video. There is a $6 discount if you bring your own phone. Data costs $10 for the first 500MB, another $10 for the next 500MB and then $10 per GB after that. But if you don't use the data, you don't pay for it.

Tessa, the PC Mobile rep in the kiosk, took my phone and put a mini-SIM card in it. Better her than me, the thing was tiny. Then she called bell and had my phone number transferred over. That's it, I was good to go.

For safety, I turned off the wireless data. I can turn it on if required but will rely on WiFi most of the time. No need letting the apps chew up bandwidth if they don't have to.

So I am in the 21st Century now. Feel free to text me anytime and watch for me checking in here and there on Facebook:-)

R.I.P. Brian 'J-POB' Amaden V~20328

We were shocked to hear of the sudden passing due to natural causes of Brian 'J-POB' Amaden of Jacksonville, Arkansas. He is survived by his wife Holly and daughter Claudia. Brian was the son-in-law of long time VROC member Magellan.

At 38, Brian was one of the younger members attending our rallies. We will certainly miss his smiling face. Our deepest condolences to Holly, Claudia, Magellan and family.

Brian 'J-POB' Amaden

1977 - 2016

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. Welcome to 2016.

We survived the Operation Red Nose New Years Eve. Business was steady but, by 4:00 AM when the phones shut down, there was no backlog and we wrapped it up.

There are no serious travel plans this year until May, when we have reservations in Maggie Valley for the South East VROC Rally. It is possible that we might stay down an extra week with the Freedom Riders, the trip that we cancelled last August.

Wolfman's Wandering Rally is being hosted in Taos, New Mexico from June 20th to 24th by Susan and Badger. The Aebleskiver Cat Memorial Rally is scheduled for July 20th to 24th in Solvang, California. Hopefully, we can arrange to be able to spend the month in between out west, stroking things off our bucket list.

The Freedom Rally starts Friday July 29th in Sudbury. As Assistant Rally Director and Treasurer, I need to be there but it will be a stretch. We will leave Solvang on the morning of the 24th and have almost 3,000 to cover before the 29th.

Interlochen, Michigan is scheduled for the weekend after the Freedom Rally. I am trying to convince Sandy to spend a few nights on a cot in our tent. We would rather not spend $100+ per night for a small motel, especially considering the exchange rate and the fact that we can camp for $10 per night.

The Eureka Springs VROC Reunion is going on again in September. Laura has taken over the organizing and, right off the bat, was challenged by the banks taking over Motel 62. She could not get confirmation that they would be able to honour our reservations so she made alternate arrangements with another establishment.

This itinerary all is dependent on my ability to get out-of-Canada health insurance and we can arrange suitable people to keep an eye on Sandy's Mom.

Closer to home, I plan to play a lot of golf and do some Ontario traveling. It would be nice to take the grandchildren somewhere. Maybe the Toronto Zoo or, for the older ones, Canada's Wonderland. I'm sure there are a lot of places that they would enjoy.

So the new year is chock full of opportunities and I hope we can make the most of them.

Oh yes, no need to make a resolution to quit smoking. I haven't touched a cigarette or other combustible product since June 4th. Wish me luck.

The Holiday Season

Here we are at the end of 2015 and I haven't posted anything since we got back from Disney World.

The biggest thing I have been working on was Operation Red Nose, which kicked off Saturday, November 27th. Teams of volunteers  drive holiday party people and their vehicles home safely. It operates Thursday, Friday and Saturday every week until the end of December and then on New Years Eve.

For a few years now, I have been coordinating Red Nose participation by Action Sudbury and the Impact 6/21 Foundation, two local groups whose mandates are to reduce impaired driving. The Freedom Riders Motorcycle Association have supported this in the last few years, but this year wanted to participate under their own banner. And their participation this year was awesome.

I have graduated from a group coordinator to Head Trainer last year and then slowly assumed responsibility for keeping the list of volunteers, scheduling, end of night wind-up and pretty much whatever else President Lesli required. I was on site every night, and got out on the road many of them. This cause inspires the volunteers, both regular and occasional, to go above and beyond so it is easy for me to become more committed.

The OPP Vets Chapter 13 held its annual Christmas gathering on December 3rd at the Copper Cliff Italian Club. We bowled in their downstairs alleys, held a meeting and then had a buffet dinner. I am a member of the OPPVA because of my past time as a Special Constable with the Snowmobile Trail Office Patrol. STOP Officers are welcome and many of the police officers I worked with belong. In fact, I am now the chapter Secretary/Treasurer.

OPPVA 13 also spent two days manning kettles for the Salvation Army, one at a new liquor store and the other at Costco. We do this every year. I am not a believer but I do respect the work that the Sally Ann does and don't mind contributing a few hours to the cause.

It was a funny December. The snow that came at the end of November went away and roads were clear right up until after Christmas. Sam opened Cedar Green Golf Course and people played Christmas Day. Greens fees were a donation to the Sudbury Food Bank. Other people rode their motorcycles on Christmas Day. The snow arrived Boxing Day night while I was handing out Tim Horton's coffee cards on behalf of Operation Red Nose at police sobriety spot checks.

Mike, Kim and the girls came to Sudbury on December 27th. They stayed at TownePlace Suites and we went out to eat at various places. We also took the girls to see The Good Dinosaur, fulfilling a promise we made at Walt Disney World. They headed back south on the 30th.

Visiting great grandma - four generations

Grandpa Jim worn out in the hotel room

So now we are at New Years Eve, ready to ring in 2016 as we help revelers and their vehicles get home on behalf of Operation Red Nose. This is a hard night to get volunteers and we stay open an extra hour until 4:00 AM. I will be working with Tom and Eve, fellow Freedom Riders and friends from the snowmobile world for almost 30 years. Sandy will be riding along with us. She was already out one night with me on the 19th, the eve of our 35th wedding anniversary.

So to all of you, it has been an eventful year. We enjoyed the things we did and were sorry some things had to be cancelled due for medical reasons. Hopefully, that is behind us for a while. Take care and we'll see you in the morning.