It may not be Rome but we are making sure that we enjoy some of the unique offerings of Canada. This Elk sausage is quite superb and well worth the $20 paid for it. Ash can't get enough of it. It tastes like a strong flavoured mettwurst.
We have also tried Moose sausage which was cooked on a BBQ and offered with no explanation. It's interesting to note that I thought "interesting" and different in flavour until told it was Moose - then I was not so sure about it! Now I know how people from OS must feel when we give them kangaroo without letting on what it is. The moose was nice, but once I knew what it was......?
What a difference moving to another hemisphere makes. The weather here is DIFFERENT to that of South Australia in February - who would have thunk it?!
I can now claim that this year was the coldest birthday on record that I have experienced. Let there be more I say.
I spent the first 3/4 of the day warming to the fact that I was a year older by resolutely remaining on the couch and doing A.L.A.P. (as little as possible) This requires surprisingly little energy and with an expert procrastinator such as myself, even less thinking.
You can imagine my reluctance when Jill insisted that we LEAVE! the house to drive to Janice and Michael's for some ice skating no less!!
Being the compassionate husband of so many years that I am, I immediately left her with 3 ratty kids and headed for retail therapy at Walmart. "Essential items dear. Must have them and it's my birthday...bye!"
Upon my return I was whisked away.
When we got to the lake I was still unsure about the whole ice skating thingy having had a bit of a rough time of it before. The weather was warmer this time and the boots less torturous to put on. 20 minutes after starting to put the boots on I was ready to go. The results? Watch the video below.
The day gradually drew to a close with a stunning sunset lighting the landscape.
What better way to end a birthDAY than to be surrounded by excited children all waiting to spit on your cake in the name of 'blowing out the candles'. Well that's what icing is for - it disguises the saliva.
The challenge - How do you say thank you to a large number of Canadians who have opened their hearts and houses to give us hospitality such as we have never experienced before?
The answer - with more Canadian hospitality - Thunder Bay style!
Here are the details: For all you true believers, i.e. Jenkoz blog followers, you will recall how lucky we think we are for arriving in this particular part of Canada. People have gone 'above and beyond' the call of duty when it comes to welcoming newly arrived Australians. We have been showered with attention, help, dinners, friendship, transport (not literally) and snow - literally.
To say thank you just didn't seem enough, even though these polite Canadians accepted such simple platitudes as gratitude. No. I wanted to REALLY show my appreciation - I wanted the whole city to know the terrific people who make up their community. How better to make it public than use public radio- so I did. As luck would have it, Thunder Bay radio 91.5 fm CKPR, were running a free lunch competition. I decided that at the least I could share my words for public gratitude with the station in the hope that they might read it out and everybody would know. This is where Thunder Bay 'style' comes into play - not only did they read out my words of thanks, but the show hosts Danny and Laura awarded me the prize of a free lunch for 20 people!! I was gobsmacked. Now this was no ordinary lunch with fairy bread and some cordial; this was a chef prepared buffet style restaurant bonanza. Themed in the Olympics, it was the kind of meal that you felt guilty to start eating because it looked so beautiful. But then, as soon as you took the first bite, all thoughts of guilt were quickly replaced with, "How much can I eat without looking too piggy?" Chef said, "You eat with your eyes too." and I couldn't agree more because the whole meal was as much a work of art as it was a feat of culinary delight. Sorry folks, there are no pictures for this posting as I don't want you dribbling on your keyboard while you oggle the spread. Take it from me (and hordes of others) - it was goooooood.
So, how to say thank you to Canadians for their hospitality? Give them Thunder Bay hospitality with the best food you can get! For all of you unfortunates still living somewhere other than here, when you eventually manage to book a flight to here and visit - Eat at Joe's! Joe's on Arthur was the supplier of all the good food and soon to be a regular haunt for yours truly and family. Can life get any better!?
Ah Canada, beautiful Canada, home of stunning scenery and exceptional hosts....and the MTO of Ontario! For those not in the know about what the MTO is, it's the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.
Now anyone who has a car licence will THINK that they know the horrors of what lays ahead in this tale of institutional ignorance - rest assured I believe that I can take you to new lows.
Let us start at the beginning. ROUND 1 The Australian mob aka 'The Jenkinsons' arrive in Thunder Bay Ontario on Saturday January 23rd. We are innocent to the pettiness of the MTO and its front Drive Test. This latter organisation is a privately operated group that processes all driving licencing in Ontario. As private operators, the SERCO owners must turn a profit. How do you MAKE money when you are operating a government service? Pay your staff peanuts. We have all heard the saying that when you pay peanuts you get monkeys working for you. Drive Test is the epitome of that saying. Staff are incapable of making a decision other than NO. I think that this video was made after a visit to our local Drive Test office to get a reciprocal licence.
Let me explain why I rant ad nauseum about this issue. You will recall that we arrived on January 23rd - on February 19th Jill and I excitedly entered the office to show our 'Letters of Authority' which are required in Ontario for any Australian driver to gain an Ontario licence. We had previously tried to explain to the trained monkey behind the counter that our scanned copy of the original included a signed note from the issuer to explain that an original was due soon -"Not good enough, we need the original", was the response.
The conversation then proceeded something like this: Ian: Can can you please ring someone and see if a scan of the original with the original is due soon will be OK? Trained Monkey (TM): I will ring some one and ask. Ian: Thank you. Please explain that it is NOT just an email but a scanned document with a signature and explanation. TM: [silence] Performing said task. TM: [Over telephone] - various pleasantries exchanged - no mention of peanuts- then...I have an email of a letter of Authority from Australia (pause) yes it's an email (listens) Ian: [loudly interjecting from across counter] It's NOT just an email it is a scanned document with the original signature and a qualifying note to explain the original is coming soon!" TM: [valiantly ignoring the facts] Yes that's right an email (pause)that's what I thought - more pleasantries exchanged and hangs up. TM: No I was told that we cannot accept this - it MUST be the original. Ian: But you didn't tell them the whole truth! You said that it is an email and it is actually a scanned document there is a difference, but you didn't tell them that! (voice level but tainted with indignation) TM: [response - silence] Trained monkey reverts to best defence and stares at unreasonable customer. ROUND 2 Triumphantly we return to theDrive Test office with our ORIGINAL letters of authority including the ORIGINAL envelope (as requested, one unopened just in case THAT matters too!) Proudly I show my slip of ORIGINAL paper, along with my passport and drivers licence (I had a DNA sample in reserve in case that was also required) - the licence would only be minutes away now wouldn't it?
Well NO actually.
Our trained monkey had found an anomaly that could only mean the certain downfall of the entire Canadian system of government if allowed to proceed - the letter C was NOT on my drivers licence, BUT it was on the letter of authority!!!! Through gritted teeth I explained, after Jill showed me where the class explanations were, that this was because I have a bus licence which is shown as LR and therefore it incorporates the C coded licence. Therefore LR means that a C licence is included, but SA being what it is the C is not written on updated licences for drivers who have a LR licence. The analogy that an equally dumbfounded Canadian friend used was that of being a Principal of a school. In that situation you do not need to show that you are also a teacher as you had to be one before you could become a Principal. You cannot get a bus licence unless you have a car licence!
This is where the trained monkey role comes into play again. "I will have to contact 'The Hotline' about this. More trained monkeys getting more peanuts later and still nobody can make the decision to give us an Ontario licence because of the missing letter C on the drivers licences!!!
The rear of the letter of authority states:
C Any motor vehicle with a GVM not exceeding 4.5 tonnes (except a bus designed to carry more than 12 seated persons and a motor bike or motor trike).
LR Any motor vehicle in class C and any other motor vehicle with a GVM not exceeding 8 tonnes (except a motor bike or motor trike).
Even after reading and faxing copies of the relevant documents, there is not a monkey being paid enough peanuts to say, well hey this means that they CAN drive a car in Australia - we can give then the Ontario version.
Why all the fuss about wanting an Ontario licence? In Ontario you cannot register a car without getting insurance at the same time. You cannot get insurance without an Ontario drivers licence!
We can of course RENT a vehicle at $450+ CAD per week!
Another day, another adventure in Canada! Today was the day for hitting the ski slopes as a whole family and hit them we did; with our bums, our faces and most other parts of the body. Well, truth be known, I let the kids and Jill hit the slopes while I acted as official photographer......what? ........someone had to!
Actually there is method in my apparent laziness - this way we know the kids are capable of getting about the ski field almost on their own (Ash can) and so we will be able to concentrate on trying NOT to hit the slopes when we start skiing ourselves. So how has our plan progressed? In answer to that I want you to imagine Mr Burns from the Simpsons TV show when I reply, "Excellent!"
Ash had his 2nd snowboarding lesson and seemed to be struggling so I asked the instructor how he was going. "Oh great!", she said, "I'm teaching him things today that I usually wouldn't teach kids until their 2nd YEAR of lessons!" Could a dad have any MORE pride than at that moment!?
This young man has taken off with his snowboarding after only 2 lessons and 3 weeks since he first saw snow. The real story will come later however.
The young lady to the right here was also an outstanding star! Megan took her first skiing lesson today and can be seen here with the instructor helping her with her balance on skis. Within an hour of ending her lesson with the instructor, Megan was confidently travelling down the ski slope, performing snow plough turns, and controlled stops that brought her to centimetres of where I was standing!! And she did not want to stop - I asked a number of times if she had had enough, but no she wanted to get better and she did! I could not believe the level of improvement from this determined young girl.
Megan soon mastered the ski tow and made countless runs down the lower slopes of the ski field at Mt. Baldy. She even had the confidence to turn and smile for the camera as she was towed along - no mean feat for someone who has just learnt control of their skis.
Pictures do not do justice to this story however, so we will try video instead.
Now depending upon how much attention you have given to the pictures so far, you may have noticed a rather large hill behind the slope where the kids have been learning. Do you remember that earlier in the story I mentioned that the real story of Ash would come later? now is the time for that story. It is the end of the skiing day and people are leaving the slopes as most of the lifts are closing. Most, but not all. Ash notices that the chair lift to the TOP of the highest ski slope is still running and he has wanted to take that chairlift all day! Meanwhile back in the chalet, I have organised the girls and got them dressed, etc. only to notice no Jill or Ash. Hmmm, where are they. I look out to see Jill still standing alone at the bottom of the ski slope looking around for Ash. When I get out to ask her where he is she informs me that our newly 2 lesson trained 8 year old has gone to tackle the highest ski slope in the ski field! The very same slope that caused my manly bits to shrink in terror when I first saw it and not a small part of the excuse for why I haven't being skiing yet. Back to intrepid boy - he makes the top and begins his descent - the only person on the slope as EVERYONE else has returned to the chalet. Thinking that if I get some pictures as he comes down maybe I can sell the resultant skiing disaster to a newspaper to pay for his imminent hospital bills. The small black in the centre of the white ski slope, framed by wires is actually Ash. Jill waits for at the bottom.
He made the run with barely a few falls and the biggest smile of triumph that I have ever seen! I dread to think what he will be doing next week when we return.
Another wonderful day in Canada. This one was spent at the Fort William historical park and was made all the better for the daylong snowfall. There were plenty of things to do there and it was topped off with a fireworks display that rivalled the fireworks we have seen from the Brighton beach on New Years Eve. Very different weather though.
Tubing was the first activity of the day and it would have been the ONLY activity we didn't drag the kids away to see other things! Paige absolutely loved it when she rode down on mum or dad's lap.
After numerous 'last one' rides we managed to explore other parts of the park and discovered all manner of interesting things to do and see.
The snow maze was a different take on mazes being made completely of snow and ice - very clever - just like Ash who worked out how to get through well before his father!
As we looked for more things to do and see we were entertained by some great live music from the band on a stage nearby. It was interesting to see that the bands were being kept warm by large blow heaters running off to the sides of the stage and pushing warm air into their faces via long tubes mounted directly in front of them. The sort of big commercial blowers that you might see when a building floor needs to be dried. Looked like a good gig to me as I stood in the falling snow. We headed over to the dog sledding area to try that, only to find out they had been sold out in less than an hour after opening! You could tell what was popular as this was one of the very few activities that cost extra. We were disappointed but hope to get a ride later through 'contacts'.
Megan our snow shoe model is proudly posing for the next activity that we did for the day. Ash took off in his determined to be the first to do whatever it was we could do in them - which was to join a group and be lead around a course - but we missed that in our impatience to get going. I struggled with the snow shoes as my boots are more like boats, but eventually I settled for half on snow shoes and followed Paige through some soft snow areas. A lot of fun and yes they really do look like tennis racquet's on your feet when you look at them!
Doing this lead us to our next adventure for the day - a sleigh ride drawn by 2 draft horses. Very neat indeed.
These sleighs were running since 12 noon and the poor horses looked very sweaty. Apparently this is the sort of work the horses do all year round with sleighs and trailers depending upon the weather. They certainly hauled a lot of weight each time as the rides filled VERY quickly. It was a magical ride through falling snow to an Indian settlement complete with wigwams!
The Aboriginal lady sitting in the wigwam explained the names that sometimes get used for the different Indian shelters. The wigwam is a mispronounced Indian word that became the general term. It refers to shelters made from birch bark which carries an Indian name that sounded similar to 'wigwam' to early settlers learning the language. Jill asked if they used animal skins for their shelters and was told those were only made by groups further to the west and were known as tepees. The warmth inside the wigwam was surprising from one small fire and not very smoky at all. We tried a type of deep fried damper so delicious the kids took thirds!
At this point Ash decided that following the food trail was the best option and became fixated with getting to the sugar mill for some sugar thingy. Unfortunately we didn't make that in time and despite his disappointment, he was good about it.
We were delayed by a visit to Fort William proper and all that could be found within it. It is an original structure that has been conserved. It was like stepping into a wild west film production set. The tall wooden walls surrounding buildings of quite European design inside and spikes poking out of the walls to deter unwanted intruders.
We had to run to catch one of the last sleigh rides back to the rest of the historical area where the bulk of the activities were taking place. Catch the sleigh or walk for 20 minutes through the forest - with near exhausted children and more snow falling there wasn't much choice.
The sleigh ride was much appreciated and lifted all our spirits when we returned and were allowed to see the horses up close.
With so much fresh snow having fallen through the day there were plenty of chances to make snow angels and soon our children were falling into the snow at every opportunity to make them!
For anyone wondering how Jill is surviving this cold weather - take a look for yourself.
Thanks to the wonders of down and goretex she has been quite comfortable thank you very much. Today she ventured forth with Kelly's Sorrell snow boots and some ski pants - no cold for this girl.
What about the grumpy ol' man? I hear you ask (out of politeness) - well I wasn't quite so well prepared but I didn't notice the cold until the end of the day when the sun dropped. Oh and I got a bit of snow down my neck - ooooh.
Paige didn't even notice the whole time we were there - still sliding down a snow slide into the night!
The snow has been falling around town both overnight and all during the day. We cleared 4cm of powder snow from the windscreen of the car from ovvernight falls and then another 5cm of the same powder snow after being parked at Fort William for the afternoon.
This has got to be the ultimate in new experiences, skating on ice that is actually a frozen section of Lake Superior! The spot where we were was in Amethyst Harbour. Later I will video and or record the sounds of the ice moving - for anyone who has not heard such a thing before you will not believe the sounds.
Both Ash and I thought that we had heard a 'hoon' driver's over powerful sub woofer in his car the first time we heard the ice "moaning"as our hosts put it.
Our hosts for the afternoon were Nancy and Ross with a late supporting act by the amazing ski aerial artist Van. And what wonderful hosts they were - incredibly welcoming (as we have found ALL Canadians to be), living a dream in their house of million dollar views amongst a close knit community. We were treated to personal skating lessons that included all manner of fun contraptions for playing on the ice - snow scoop, deck chairs and GT sleds.
Ice skates being what they are lasted yours truly less than 5 minutes before returning to base to be replaced with shoes more comfortable and return to the ice to photograph. Jill displayed considerable skating aplomb and grace - most of the time!
The kids absolutely adored the skating and lapped up the undivided attention of Nancy and Ross as they towed them around the ice on sleds or held them up to help them balance. Hot dogs toasted in an open fireplace tempted the kids inside briefly, and Valentines Day cupcakes kept them inside just long enough to make a mess and promptly go out to play again. This is where Van comes into play.
This talented young man having returned from a day of ski training, went outside again to play with our children (so we could laze over a beer longer) and show the kids how to use his very own unpatented ski ramp.
Ash took the challenge and tried to jump a GT off the ramp which ended in a rather anti-climatic end. A few tips from Van and Ash was away and excited to try more. Both Ash and Megan went for more skating, already showing improvement from 1 hour of practice, with Van. For me the real excitement of the day came when we skated, walked or fell our way further out onto the lake and discovered clear ice! The photographs here do not give justice to the effect of standing on clear ice and looking into the depths of the lake below. In places trapped air bubbles have made white patterns part way into the ice which is about 1.5 metres thick. Cracks spread away in all directions and meet at some points to create vertical splits that dive down into the ice below. It is like looking at incredibly thick glass that has been cracked in places.
Pressure ridges have formed in places and there are thin plates of ice laying like broken shards of glass of low snow mounds. When you throw a shard of this ice onto the smoth ice it shatters instantly with a tinkling sound like wet glass might sound if such a thing existed. The smaller shards skitter across the ice surface like crazed ice crabs racing from a disturbance. Some travel for over 30 metres before stopping, taking up to half a minute to stop! And again, beneath all of this are the sudden echoing sounds of moving ice adding atmospherics to the otherwise silent landscape. An amazing experience for all the Jenkoz clan and certainly not one that we will forget in a hurry.
It may not be Rome but we are making sure that we enjoy some of the unique offerings of Canada. This Elk sausage is quite superb and well worth the $20 paid for it. Ash can't get enough of it. It tastes like a strong flavoured mettwurst. 
