Janice returns home.
Daughters Mandy and Kami arrived [from Germany and Louisiana respectively] for a scheduled visit this month. Mandy flew in to Montreal and Kami the next day to Syracuse NY. They had a great time together ripping up the river on the jet ski's and just getting a good dose of Islomania.
While here, we snorkeled to two of the local wrecks, The Pentland and the F.A Georger which were built in 1874. Known as the twisted sisters due to their lying with their wood frames intertwined side by side, the two 800 ton, 200 foot wrecks were scuttled by Capt. Hinkley in 1929. They lay in 2 to 20 feet of water so are easily explored. Their sinking caused a great local controversy due to their location.
By the way, I have shown you a few very cool videos of our neighborhood in the past but this latest was shot by helicopter so its up there with the best.
Having Mandy here made Janice and I feel like kids with a mom at home. She cooked, cleaned, vacuumed, did the laundry and took care of us both from morning to night. I guess with Janice home from the hospital it was understandable. I just got the bonus.
15 minutes of fame
The girl is back and doing great. She is healing nicely and getting stronger by the day. We are now on countdown for our October 1 departure and road trip across America to get back home in California.
She was in the hospital for a week so I drove the 5 hours back and forth everyday to visit for 4 hours, while she slept 3 of them in La-La land all drugged up. [Note to kids: these were legally prescribed pain medications] It was a taste of dealing with Alzheimer as she barely remembered I was there the day before. It is great to have her back home.
The girls are here
Daughters Mandy and Kami arrived [from Germany and Louisiana respectively] for a scheduled visit this month. Mandy flew in to Montreal and Kami the next day to Syracuse NY. They had a great time together ripping up the river on the jet ski's and just getting a good dose of Islomania.
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| Photo by Ian Coristine, |
While here, we snorkeled to two of the local wrecks, The Pentland and the F.A Georger which were built in 1874. Known as the twisted sisters due to their lying with their wood frames intertwined side by side, the two 800 ton, 200 foot wrecks were scuttled by Capt. Hinkley in 1929. They lay in 2 to 20 feet of water so are easily explored. Their sinking caused a great local controversy due to their location.
By the way, I have shown you a few very cool videos of our neighborhood in the past but this latest was shot by helicopter so its up there with the best.
Having Mandy here made Janice and I feel like kids with a mom at home. She cooked, cleaned, vacuumed, did the laundry and took care of us both from morning to night. I guess with Janice home from the hospital it was understandable. I just got the bonus.
15 minutes of fame
Andy Warhol was once quoted as saying that "In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes in their lifetime". If that is the case, our beloved Honey Bee has already far exceeded it's quota and just got more.
Last month we were contacted by the Cottage Life Television Network to include Honey Bee in a program called "My Retreat". This is a program about private islands and their stewards, that originated in Canada but this year has gone international and is now syndicated around the globe. They are in their second season and the Bee will be one of the islands featured in episode 24 which will air sometime in November.
Last month we were contacted by the Cottage Life Television Network to include Honey Bee in a program called "My Retreat". This is a program about private islands and their stewards, that originated in Canada but this year has gone international and is now syndicated around the globe. They are in their second season and the Bee will be one of the islands featured in episode 24 which will air sometime in November.
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| The producer and cameraman preparing to interview Janice |
For this particular program, they chose 4 island properties in the Thousand Islands and did a segment on each. Ironically, 2 of the 3 other property owners are close friends, so it was a real kick. The footage was shot here in a day, plus a helicopter fly by to get some areal scenes. The crew spent the day with us filming and interviewing Janice who was a real trooper, having been discharged from the hospital 48 hours earlier.
I have always found it curious how an island home is referred to in these parts. Some people call them "camps". I always though of a camp as a place to set up a tent. Others call them cottages. Fair enough, but I have seen multimillion dollar McMansions or bloody Taj Mahal's called "cottages".
Some call them cabins and that would fit our log 'cabin'. Others call them lake house's meaning any house by the water, be it lake, pond or river. These guys called them "Retreats". I always though of a retreat as something you go to for the week end with your church. The terms are linguistic pretzels. Whatever, we just call the Bee our summer home.
Dancing with the angels
Oh, yea. I did a little of that too. With Janice's considerable cooperation, I managed to rack up 41 hours of flying in between all the above in the past 4 weeks since I got my license, by simply setting the alarm for O-dark-hundred and being out at the field by sun up at 6 AM. And here I thought the only people up at that hour were crooks and bad women. Not bad when you consider that the average private pilot manages to fly 35 hours a year!
Having covered 4,000 miles overall since first flight, I assume this puts the "Will this contraption Michael built really fly?" question to bed once and for all. With 300 landings to date, I am convinced that I could not possibly have cholesterol blockage in my arteries as my heart rate rises from a normal 60 beats per minute to over 400 in the last 10 seconds as the rubber meets the runway. Talk about a rush!
Getting braver and a little bolder, I started spreading my wings a little (no pun intended) and flew a couple of cross country trips [no, not across THE country but just away from my home airport] 35 miles away. Having survived it just fine, I then flew a 111 mile cross country trip a few days later. The world is now my oyster.
To me, this flying thing is like a religious experience. From the moment I make that last radio call "Gananoque traffic" (the airport I fly out of) "Juliet Quebec Papa" ( my airplane's assigned call sign) "entering the active for takeoff on two four for local VFR" (runway I am taking off from and area I will be flying in), I apply full throttle and I am unable to count to 5 before I am airborne... dancing with the angels.
