Christmas 2011

Well Christmas 2011 has been like no other. We were able to spend it with our new Grandson Ronyn Jonathan Conohan who came into the world on Dec 20th, 2011 at 10:14 am in Ottaw, Ont.

John, Ronyn and Amanda

Amanda and Jay are doing great and are going to make wonderful parents. We have been very fortunate to be able to be here and enjoy this time.

The Christmas Boy

Ronyn was in good company for December as his Dad was born on the 10th and his Aunt Melissa on the 26th. So here we are also celbrating today the birth of Melissa who turns 25 today.

Life does not get any better than this.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

Ward Falls Hike - Parrsboro area

Well lets see, Melissa arrived home from New Zealand the end of October so we get to enjoy her company for a couple of months before she heads back to Auckland where she will meet up with Tane and make their move to Australia.

So we decided that we would take some time on a sunny fall day and head down to the Parrsboro area and enjoy a hike out to Wards Falls. This is a hike that we have never done before so it was a nice change. 19 bridges to cross as you work your way up along the river bed to the falls but it is a nice hike and quite enjoyable.

Wards Fall Trail shot

Ward Falls Trail

Stream along Wards Fall

Melissa & John  at Wards Falls

Summer Holidays

Well summer has been slow in coming and the weather stinks to say the least. We have taken a couple of weeks off and decided to head out to Ottawa to visit Amanda and Jay. The new expectant parents are getting excited about the new arrival coming at xmas. It will be a big year.

Having arrived Thursday night we took Friday to rest and then Saturday we headed down to New York State for a little shopping and siteseeing. Everyone picked up the deals they wanted on Saturday and on Sunday we headed for Watkins Glen State Park to hike the Gorge and view the 19 waterfalls along the way.



Jay & Amanda



Into the Cave we go!

The hike was great going up the gorge and extremely interesting to see the different levels of rock and the way they are all layered. The power of water!

The start of the trail.

Watkins Glen

The first trip of 2011 - Gala event in Ottawa.

Well 2011 has been a slow start for travel but everyone has to catch their breath every now and then. On that last trip to Ottawa in the fall, I was reading the Ottawa Citizen and came across an advertisement for the Business Women's Network for the Ottawa and Capital Region. They were looking for nominations for women who had made significant advancements in three areas. One of those was the corporate area and I felt that Amanda fit this category so I nominated her. Low and behold she got selected as one of the finalist in the Corporate section.

The web site for this group is http://www.womensbusinessnetwork.ca/  .

Well April 18th saw us flying to Ottawa to attend the Gala being held at the Hampton Inn & Convention Centre. John and Anita Conohan also flew up and Amanda's bosses Diane and Martha joined us at the table. It was a great trip and wonderful to see Amanda recognized for all of her hard work. Now she did not win the award but was honored and very excited to be there.



Jay & Amanda



Cheering Section getting ready.





Wow what a crowd.



Frozen Sherbet Desert you say.



Where have we been since New Zealand and Australia!

After the big trip last year I felt I had no reason to continue with the Blog so it has been sitting for a little while and then recently I decided that I would continue with the posts for all the other little trips that we have been able to get in.

So thought I would just throw in there a few of the trips from last year to catch up with and then I will try and keep things posted in a more timely manner.

In July last year Donna, Dianna's sister came to visit us for a few days and we got a chance to do a little touring around our area. We took a day and drove down to Advocate Harbour through Joggins and Shulie and area she had never been to before and then a great lunch at The Wild Caraway Restaurant in Advocate Harbour. Great spot if you are ever in the area. The food is fantastic and very reasonably priced. We then took a run up to Cape D'Or Lighthouse to view the Bay of Fundy and then home for a BBQ that night.

Top Left - Dianna and Donna at Cape D'or    Top Right - Dianna - Betty - Donna
Bottom Left - View of Cape D'or                   Bottom Right - The Point at Cape D'or


In August of 2010 we hit the road for a visit to Ottawa to visit the kids. They seemed to have an event planned for us everyday, such as riding Harley's around Ottawa, to renting bicycles to tour the trails along the Ottawa River, flying in a 1936 Waco Bi-Plane it just never stopped. We ended with a great day at the Nordic Spa in Quebec lounging around in the pools and sauna's. We had a great time.



Pedaling this should be an experience.



Di - Amanda - Jay along the Canal











Great Day!



Great Tour Guides





 Now let's add a little power to a set of two wheels!!!



The Harley Man - Jay.







Zoom - Zoom





Me and my biker Babe!

Now all we need is a set of wings and away we go!!!!

1936 WACO Bi-Plane - Red Baron move over.



Couple of Aces!!



Jay





Relaxation at the end of the day.


September - Labour Day Weekend in Woodstock, Ont.

Well it had been awhile since we made it up to visit Donna so we arranged for a quick trip over the Labour Day Weekend. We had a great visit even though it was short and made a trip to Point Peelee Park to see if we could catch any of the Monarch butterflies getting ready for their big flight south. We also got to enjoy the bird feeders in Donna and Rennie's back yard.





Monarch Butterfly



Feeding Time





 

 

The most Southern Tip of Canada - Point Peelee

 

Donna & Dianna



 

Last Trip of the Fall

Back to Ottawa we go.

 

 

Well we could help ourselves so we took one more trip to Ontario to join the kids for Thanksgiving. We had a great visit and went hiking in the Gatineau Park and took it easy.

Great fall shot.



Mushroom shot.



Great day hiking the park.