The Travels of the Agnew Family

Canadian Thanksgiving weekend (October 8th through 10th) was absolutely amazing, weather wise. Sunny, mid 20's C (that's mid 70's F) little wind. Couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Tuesday wasn't bad, but by Wednesday the weather turned and it's been cool and rainy ever since. Good thing we have "going south" to look forward to. Not quite sure of our exact departure date but it's within six weeks so it's time to start making list.

My friends son John is getting married today in North Bay. That's about a five hour drive from Walkerton so we decided to go up early.

We left on the 6th and with a slight detour ended up at Colin and Margaret's new house about an hour south of Sudbury. Thought we'd try a boat ride in the sun as the last one was in the rain. Ride started out good but after about 30 seconds the engine cut out. After many tries to start the engine, Ed put the trolling motor in the water and we had an "eco tour" around the bay. After determining there was water in the gas tank, Colin finally started the boat and we were off. By time he had tested the motor a few times and removed more water, Margaret and I were ready to go home. The sun was going down and we were cold. Maybe next visit will result in a really nice boat ride.

On the 7th we drove the remaining hour and a half to North Bay. We met up with four other people attending the wedding and went out for dinner to a restaurant about a kilometer from the hotel that was advertising prime rib. The restaurant had several rooms and looked very nice. We were shown to a private room with one table. Opening the menu gave us all a little shock ..... the least expensive main course on the menu was $26. We all decided that we deserved a nice meal and opted to stay. Ed had a 16 ounce rib eye steak that he said was outstanding and I had beef short ribs on homemade butternut squash ravioli that was amazing. Everyone enjoyed their meals and agreed it was worth every penny we paid.


The oma (grandmother) of the groom thought the bread was the best she had ever eaten and asked to buy a loaf. She was told that the bread was made at the restaurant and was not for sale. Later she was given a loaf by the owner of the restaurant. When we left we noticed that the restaurant was almost full. Later we were told the restaurant (Churchhills) is the best restaurant in North Bay.

The groom's mother Gwen had asked Ed to take photos of the groom and groomsmen getting ready and Becky (another friend of Gwen's and photographer of wedding) asked Ed to be backup photographer. This was the best of both worlds, Ed could take all the pictures he wanted but not the pressure of being the wedding photographer.




Ed stopped for a moment and took a couple of tourist shots.


Gwen pinning on John's boutonniere.


John and his groomsmen.


John and Alyssa


Alyssa and her bridesmaids


The wedding party.




The vows.


Almost time to start relaxing.


To get the bride and groom to kiss you had to do the hula hoop. John's Oma shows she has what it takes .... with the help of a few of her friends.


Throwing the bouquet.

We invited a few people over for ribs .... trying to use up the ribs that are in my freezer while it's still smoking season. Ribs were on sale a lot this summer so I kept buying them.


Four racks on the smoker.


All done and ready to eat. Ed has figured out the smoker and makes great smoked meat.

Hard to believe it's the first weekend in October and that means it's time for Pumpkinfest and the car show in Port Elgin. It's a little chilly but the sun is shining so all is good. Lots of cars for the boys to look at and a craft show and other exhibits for the girls. Once again we went with Anne and Victor. While we were there I had a chance to visit for a few minutes with my friend Donna who sells at the craft show.


Lots of people were checking out the cars and the crafts. Donna said it was a "very good show".