Marten River Drinking Game

 

Mike and Dustin Checking out the Big Fish

 

     A couple of years ago my friends and I had the most amazing campsite on the Shores of Marten River Provincial Park. The site was perfect with beautiful river views and a view of Highway 11. On our last night of camp we invented this drinking game. It turned out to be the most relaxing drinking game ever. All we had to do was sit around a wonderful campfire with ice cold drinks and watch the highway traffic go by as we reminisced about the past.

 


Amazing Campsite!  What a day!


WARNING! Drinking too much is silly. It is all fun and games, until your feeding the chipmunk’s at 3 am.

With that being said here are the rules for The Marten River Drinking Game :

Rule 1) if you see a car go by, it's one gulp of beer. 

Rule 2) if you see a transport truck pass by, then take 2 gulps of beer.

Rule 3) if a Motorcycle went by it was 5 gulps of beer. (This happened twice)

View of Highway 11 from campsite

     After an hour had passed I had drank 10 beers. Which happened to be way over my hourly limit of 3. I knew it was time for bed when I attempted to stand. I was a bit shaky and I had to sit back down.  I tried one more time this time making a few steps before I missed a step landed face down in the dirt.

   "Are you alright Willy?" My friends asked me while chuckling. "Yeah I'm good. Nothing damaged but my pride" I said as I picked myself up off the ground and started to stagger towards my travel trailer. Almost made it, when BAM! .. "Son of a @#@#@!!!" I walked right into the open window stabbing me in my right shoulder. My friend’s chuckles grew into hysterical laughter, so much that even I started to laugh. This drinking game was AWESOME.

     Maybe try it out sometime?

Cheers,
Chris

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Making Dreams Come True at Disney World

 Making Dreams Come True At Disney World

Let me set the scene... BUZZ LIGHTYEAR.

 I  used  to hear "To infinity and beyond!" about 14 times a day on average. I would step on little aliens twice a week. The worst had to be when the toys would talk by themselves, at night in the dark, just to freak you out it seems.

My youngest daughter LOVED Buzz Lightyear! And when we went to Disney World we set up a chance for her to meet Buzz and hopefully have a classic moment that we could cherish forever.(like in the commercials) Check it out and tell me if you think that's what we got!

    

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New York City

NYC Skyline taken from Hoboken NJ

    Have you been to New York City? Where did you stay? How did you get around?

    When I went to New York with my family we decided our legs were our best mode of transpotation, even though 6 of our 10 legs happened to be pretty small, but that was the way it was having 3 daughters under 5. After all walking is one of the best things you can do with your family and it was a good/cheap way to get around and see the sights on a budget.  I'll share with you how I spent a lovely afternoon with my family walking 37 blocks of New York's Concrete Jungle.

    It was a beautiful Saturday in May. We stayed in Hoboken NJ to save some money. After looking at all of our options of getting  to Manhattan, we took the Path transportation underneath the Hudson River to the very surprisingly busy and a little bit confusing streets of New York City, our plan was to walk as far as we could towards 5th Avenue and Central Park in hopes to take a carriage ride in Central Park



FDNY Crews in Times Square

     After we gathered our bearings and asked which direction to go, we took in the view, of the very tall Empire State Building (look wayyyyy up). We pointed our noses towards Times Square and walked in baby steps. We stopped at a souvenir shop so I could get a NYC Snow globe. Then Continued the trek of 36 more blocks. Sounds completely crazy I know, but that day my kids were great, they walked their little hearts out. When we finally reached Times Square there was so much to look at and take in all at once. There was a movie being filmed, there was FDNY Hazmat squad at one building, so many distractions but we stuck to our plan and kept moving, passing a gentlemen’s club with a large black man at the door. He seen that I had 3 daughters and gave me a sympathetic "how are you" head nod or the "man you are screwed in 10 years" head nod, I'm not sure which one it was, I get them mixed up all the time.

Time Square Banner Art

     All jokes aside we went down a side street just past the Disney Store, after spotting a Tim Horton’s! (O Canada!) this is no joke we grabbed some Coffee and Bagels, just like we were at home. We walked a block or 2 over to 5th avenue and much to my surprise we ended up walking right past Rockefeller Center and more important to me the place where Kevin finds his Mom in Home Alone 2!

  

      When we made it to 5th avenue we passed massive Churches that had weddings in progress (really neat).  We were nearly 2 blocks from Central Park and I thought that it was almost time to celebrate our journey was near its end and my feet were sore. I said to my daughters "Lets buy you guys a shirt from a 5th avenue shop!" with all the fancy stores around you might think I am nuts! Well no i am not fully nuts (just a little). We bought "I Love NYC" shirts right on the corner of 5th avenue, off of a street vendor for 10 bucks a shirt! (haha)

Girls Showing off their new Shirts

     When we made our way into the park the Movie scenes started flashing through my head. It was movie geek heaven! The kids who were very good the whole way had become tired of walking,  just in time for the long awaited carriage ride. The price for a Carriage Ride was $50 cash plus tip. It is a very unique thing to do, the weather was perfect and the kids loved it. For me I thought the movies make it look a lot more romantic and was a little dissapointed. However, I was still very happy we went on the ride and I will never forget it.

After the Carriage Ride I spotted an empty cab and paid the driver 25 bucks to get us back to the PATH station. Talk about an adventure! That cab ride was wild! We spotted 3 cool things during the cab ride. 1. Broadway Ave. lit up like a circus. 2. A S.W.A.T. Team running into a building. 3. A NYPD cop directing traffic with Aviator Sunglasses on. (Classic)

Overall we had a great day in NYC. Here is a look at what we spent - What we spent for the day - $20, path tokens Hoboken to NYC. $10, Snow Globe. $10, Tim Hortons. $30, I LOVE NYC kids shirts. $50 plus tip, Horse and Carriage Ride at Central Park. $25 Thrilling Cab Ride from Central Park to Path Station. Overall $150 spent.

If you decide to walk - Tips for Walking distances with kids - A few things you will need are Sense of humor, Patience,  A Plan, A Backup Plan in case of bad weather, Water, food, sunscreen and lots of breaks, dont make it seem like work. Keep them busy by pointing out different things.

A little fun fact - What took us 3 hours to walk took 12 minutes by cab. 

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The Coolest Email I Have Ever Received

Thats Hopefully Me With My New Tilley Hat! Can't Wait

   Last week I received the best email I have ever received it was a letter from the TBEX Press trips and tours group explaining that I had been accepted for A World Class Fly Fishing Trip in Sault Ste Marie and Algoma Ontario Canada. I thought I was reading it wrong, as most applications sent out returned with a thank you, then they would let you down easy. This one thanked me and had great news. Right after TBEX in Toronto, I’ll be flying via Porter Airlines to the "Soo". Here Is the Description they gave me and what the start of June looks like for Real Man Travels.

  After you land in beautiful Sault Ste Marie, your heart will be captured by the small
community feel of this urban centre. Located at the heart of two of the greatest Great
Lakes, Huron and Superior, this pivotal location has given Sault Ste Marie the immense
pleasure of being home to one of the best fly fishing areas in the rapids under the
International Bridge to the U.S.

  After a full day of fishing, you can enjoy all of the amenities this urban centre has to offer,
wonderful cuisine, and accommodations fit for a king! But your fly fishing adventure has only
just begun! A day will be spent in Algoma, one of the most pristine and beautiful regions in our
province. Upon departing from the "Sault" you will be met with the sights, sounds and smells of
this great tourism landscape. Highway 17 from Sault Ste Marie to Wawa, has the
designation of one of the top ten drives in Canada as the highway follows the beautiful coastline
of Lake Superior.

  You will meet your guide, today in one of the bays on Lake Superior and your guide will take you
to fish in one of the many streams that feed into the big lake. Two fly fishing experiences; urban
where you can walk from a shopping centre to your fishing spot in ten minutes, then a full day
enjoying the majesty of Lake Superior. Don't miss out on the Algoma Fly Fishing Adventure
opportunity.

Itinerary
DAY 1 Monday June 3, 2013
Depart Toronto via Porter on the 3:45 PM flight to Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. Enjoy an evening in
Sault Ste Marie by visiting the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre, a world class museum
where you can learn the importance of aviation to Northern Ontario history.
Overnight Sault Ste Marie DAY 2 Tuesday June 4, 2013 Spend the day fly fishing under the International Bridge in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. This world class fishery is only a short walk from our largest mall!
Overnight Sault Ste Marie DAY 3 Wednesday June 5, 2013 Travel by vehicle along the beautiful shores of Lake Superior, where you can see the sights that have given this drive the acclamation of being one of the top ten drives in Canada.
Stop along the shores of Lake Superior for your guided trip to fly fish in the streams that flow into Lake Superior.
Overnight in Batchawana Bay
The Next day I will fly back to Toronto, should be fun considering I haven't Fly fished in a while! I'll keep you up to date with more fun stuff happening this year! Stay tuned!

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The Number 1 Craziest thing I Have Ever Done

                        #1 Becoming a Volunteer Firefighter

That's me #28 and Yes that fire was HOT!

        Many of you already may know this about me. But for those of you who don't, I am a Volunteer Firefighter going into my 13th year of service, I am a proud second generation firefighter with My Dad having 32 years of service and is my Stations District Chief. I am also lucky to have my brother Sam on the department as well. We have a very busy station, on average we run 365 plus fire calls a year, plus weekly training, public education and equipment maintenance(Then our full time jobs and families ). Our emergency calls ranging from Medical Emergencies and Motor Vehicle collisions to full blown structure fires. In my 13 years I have seen and done a lot of crazy things. One thing stands out to me, one memory so vivid and haunting I can actually feel the adrenaline rush as pride starts to tingle throughout my body.

     I felt like I was on top of the world everything had worked out right, the adrenaline was pumping so fast in my veins. I started to get undressed to go check on my partner as another guy started to help me get my gear off, he had a huge smile on his face as I told him what had happened up in the apartment, then as I took off my mask his smile changed to a look of concern. He said, "Chris, you took on smoke" Stunned by what I just heard I replied "What!? I did?." I said as I looked in a mirror. I grabbed a bottle of water and splashed it on my face and rubbed the soot marks from around my face and nose, as if to pretend it didn't happen. I felt sick to my stomach, I wanted to throw up...                    

                                                
                                                               Twenty Minutes Earlier

   Long Weekend Monday in September about 4:00 in the afternoon, our station received a call for a structure fire with occupants still inside, just off the main street. I made it to the station to make the Aerial, it happened to be the last truck leaving the hall. My heart was pumping big time as I grabbed my gear and hopped into the tight back seat space. I knew it was going to be tough to get dressed quickly but that day for some reason it went smooth and I was fully dressed by the time the 5 minute drive was over. I hopped out of the truck to a 3 story Apartment building with Heavy Black smoke coming from the second story apartment. I quickly made my way to entry control. One of the firefighters was undressing he had forgotten to put his balaclava on and was stopped at the stairs, I came up fully dressed and just like that I was the new Senior Firefighter on the first entry team. I felt like I was in the Foo Fighters video for "My hero" going up the 2 sets of stairs to the apartment.

     Reports from other building residents was that they heard a scream and a thud come from this apartment. We busted down the door that entered in to the kitchen. On our left was the oven and it had a radio on it that was on fire, giving off the blackest thickest smoke I have ever seen, we proceeded with a primary(quick) search and left the fire for the next crew in,so we could search for the possible victims, we went with a left hand search which means we followed the left side of the kitchen to look for this person. We found ourselves at a small door entrance. It lead into the bathroom it was 4ftx8ft with a tub and a small linen closet on the left. The smoke was really thick and black I could barely see and it got worse as I stuck my hand in a kitty litter box.(YUCK!) . All of a sudden, my partner in front of me stopped at the bath tub and starts yelling to me "I got a body! I got a body!" In disbelief I jumped over to help him. We grab on to this person (A Male) to get rescue him, until he started attacking us!(That wasn't in the training manual!) That's when I got my first clear look at the victim, as my partner and I grabbed his arms and his legs and we lifted him up and started for the door, those seconds went by so slow, I remember still not believing what was happening. I also remember this guys eyes were very very white and his skin was filthy black from the smoke and soot. Things took a turn for the worse when we were steps from the door, my partner tripped over a vacuum that was in the middle of the floor. All 3 of us were on the ground. We had bumped both of our face masks pretty hard and my partner was no longer calm, he had taken in a deep breath of the black smoke and had begin to panic. I yelled at him to calm down. Thankfully by that time help had reached him and our as other firefighters were waiting to help us at the door.  They grabbed my partner and pulled him out, as I stood up and grabbed the victim with two hands and ever so gently placed him into the arms of the other awaiting firefighters. I felt like I had just won 1 million dollars, my training had paid off. I had a smile from ear to ear. My partner and I with some help had just saved that mans life.

Article from Alliston Herald.
Pictures From Flashover Training. 

     After realizing I had took on toxic smoke,the adrenaline wore off. I had developed more of a cough and was worried. So I went to the hospital to get checked out by a Doctor just like my partner did. Thankfully both my partner and I were treated and released from the hospital that day.

   The pride I feel re-telling this story far outweighs the concern I had for my own well being following the incident. They say to be a volunteer firefighter you have to be a mix of brave and crazy. I can proudly say volunteers everywhere serve their communities in ways people will never understand or even know about. This call is 1 of near 5000 we have responded to, and luckily a life does not hang in the balance everytime we respond, but when it does this is how we like to see it end, "everyone goes home".

Score one for the good guys

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Exciting News!!.Guest Post for Trip-Logic

        Exciting News! My first guest post is out!    
          It is based on my most prized souvenir 

                             Check it out!!
              My Guest Post here at Trip Logic
             Thanks to Kate for the Opportunity
        Thanks to Sam and Amanda for their Help!

A Royal Thanks for all of the support and kind words.

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The 2nd Craziest Thing I Have Ever Done

                               #2  Extreme GT sledding

                This one is really silly and very dangerous. So please don't try this!

     Before my twenties my friends and I were bored and starved of  fun. We were tired of driving around town in my old pickup night after night.  It was winter time and there wasn't much to do.  That night my friends Brad, Jason and I decided to make our own fun, we grabbed 3 GT snow racers and some (not very safe) rope and headed out to a distant quiet back road. Little did we know how crazy this idea would be.

     When we made it to our desired location, we were gitty with anticipation and my stomach was in knots from nerves. All  of us knew this was a bit on the crazy side and one bit of bad luck could end all of our fun. So we carefully tied two of the GT's to the bumper and tested it out slowly at first pulling them over snowy gravel. Seemed ok to us!

    Thumbs up! Green light! The next run increased in speed, you could hear the guys hooting and hollering.  The odd spark would fly off the sleds. Then Bam! Brad was off the sled I seen him tumbling across the road in my mirror so I stopped as safely and as quickly as possible. When I got out of the truck Brad was upright and appeared to be ok. He was smiling ear to ear "Let's do that again!!" he said.  I was relieved that he wasn't hurt but I could barely stop laughing because all I could picture in my mind was his him rolling across the road. Still to this day in my mind very funny

     The next run I gently made my way up to a good speed. The radio was turned down so I could hear the guys yell. I could hear them just fine. They were having a blast. I was feeling a little nervous so I slowed down. They  weren't scared one bit, you could tell the guys were having fun from their girl like screams and manly hoots. They felt comfortable going that speed. 

     During the next turnaround, we spotted 2 snowmobiles approaching us."It's gotta be the cops!" I thought. Time to turn on the "Williams charm." As they slowed down we realized they were just normal people. They slowed down to talk to us.  Turned out these two guys recognised us from school and stopped to chat. After a few minutes of talking they had found out what was going on and of course they wanted to join the craziness. 

           What is it about a man or boy that makes them want to do stupid fun things?

      So we got them saddled up for the ride. Brad and our 2 new riders were ready to rock. It was our first time doing the three wide setup. Jay was sitting up with me watching the guys out the back keeping me updated. They yelled up to me "I wanna go fast!” I yelled back. "OK! Hold on to your hats!". Brad should have listened, I hit the gas and we were off. Slowly climbing in speed 25 35k. Sparks started to shoot off the sleds like Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation we reached 45 55 60k. All of a sudden Jay yells "Brad lost his hat!!" knowing there was little I could do for his hat I punched it one last bit to 70k I could hear those guys loving every second. We were all laughing. 

                                                         It kind of went like this

      I started to slow down for the sign ahead. When out of nowhere this truck turns the corner. The guy in the truck is staring right at us, then we all heard a crunch and the truck slammed on the breaks and the driver looked pretty mad.  See what had happened was the three guys on the GTs bailed in to the ditch sending the 3 sleds forward and one sled went right into and then under this persons Truck!

   BUSTED! Boy did I ever feel guilty then. I hopped out quick and got the sled out from under the truck and I apologized to the man. He advised us to leave the area and drove off. Everyone was still hiding in the ditch waiting for the all clear. I yelled "guys you can come out now! Wussies!" They all slowly poked their heads out and made their way out of the ditch. Everyone was safe and still smiling so we called it quits.

   Would I ever do this again? No.  This may have been fun. But it could have ended a lot worse. I mark it down as #2 on this  list. #1 on the list of stupidest things I have done.

What are some crazy things you have done that you won't do again?

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The 3rd Craziest Thing I Have Ever Done

                                 #3 - Jump off an Olympic Diving Platform

    Do you think your last grade school trip was quite possibly the best thing that ever happened during your years in grade school? 

     My Grad trip to Ottawa was one of the best things I could ever have done as a kid. I believe that every kid that lives in Ontario should be able to experience a trip similar to mine. Why? Well I hold a lot of very special memories from that trip. Exciting memories of being away from home for one of the first times in a very different place. Memories of good times had with school mates and one particular memory just so happens to make the list.

     On our trip to Ottawa we stayed in a University Dorm just off campus. The one of the 2 nights we stayed we were able to go swimming at the university's Olympic Size pool with 4 diving platforms. The diving platforms were a big hit. The odd time we would watch someone gracefully dive off of the top platform which in my eyes was HUGE, after watching one of us would do a cannonball or something else cool off of the lowest platform. I would watch and think "that is so cool I want to jump off of there" In reality I think the top platform was 40 ft high.

  I went up a level and jumped off the second platform a dozen times. I became more comfortable and more daring, which can be a dangerous combination at times. With those feeling I went up to the next level for more. 

     After much hesitation and feeling like I was going to miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime. I finally worked up the guts to walk up to the top platform,  I started to feel woozy standing there looking down at everyone telling me to jump so I brought my attention up took a deep couple breaths and jumped off as far as I could, the air rushed past me only for a few seconds until..... (BIG) Splash! I hit the water hard!

Tip - If one does not dive off of a diving platform, make sure that one puts legs together and points toes down! Without doing so could result in THE WORST WEDGY OF YOUR LIFE!!

   Yep I landed with my legs open, and received the biggest and worst wedgy I have ever had and it made the next couple of days. Let’s just say a "tad bit uncomfortable." 

   Would I do this again? Why yes I would! Even with my legs open wide. What a rush it was! What an unreal feeling. Even though it would still be scary, I would definitely do this again!

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The 4th Craziest Thing I Have Ever Done.

          
                                                
                                                                                   #4 Jump off of a roof

   I know this could be a hazardous thing to be posting. So folks... Don’t try this one at home.

     I was in the Haliburton Highlands with two friends Atom and Ryan and we had a plan. It was to shovel the 2 feet of snow off the roof Atoms family cottage.  It was a great plan I thought, 2 nights at the cottage for a little hard work.

      When we arrived it was night time and the road was not maintained during the winter and we had to walk to the cottage from the road, sounded simple enough. Right?...  Wrong! This is not an easy feat, not when you are over 200 pounds carrying a case of beer. Every step I took I broke through the ice crust into snow up to my knees and I mean every step I recall saying "Just leave me here guys. Leave me for the bears! But first come and take this case of beer!" While my somewhat lighter friends skimmed right across the snow top.  Later as we settled in, we laughed about me yelling "to leave me for the bears" Having remembered bears hibernate in the winter.

     So getting back to how and why I jumped off this cottage roof.  Well, it was a beautiful day, sun was shining over the frozen lake and trees, the temperature was a balmy -2 degrees. (Northern Humour)The cottage radio was maxed out and so was my back. We had been shovelling the snow, for a few hours and we were tired. What made it worse was the beer was calling our names like a temptress. So we decided to let nature take its course with the other half.

      When we finally did quit I decided to do a Fred Flinstone type of departure from the roof. I had purposely made a pile of snow at the corner of the cottage trying to keep it off the deck. As I made my way over to the edge and looked over, I felt the urge to jump. Have you ever had that urge?  Like jumping off a cliff in to water, it’s a calculated risk. So I figured in my risk calculation that there was a big pile of snow. Snow is soft like a mattress I thought. So I figured chances were slim that I'd get hurt. (I may have been pushing my chances and luck too far)

      The adrenaline was pumping (I was shaking) and without hesitation I hopped off the roof, feet first. 13 ft straight down into the packing snow below! The fall was a lot quicker than I had thought. Luckily I was right and I did not get hurt. The snow cushioned my fall just enough, although I did bend awkwardly when my feet touched rock. I still give the landing a 7.0.

  What an adrenaline rush and a story worth telling. But... Would I do it again? Heck no people..... After ageing and becoming a parent, I have settled down a bit and take better calculated risks. I no longer try to put myself in harm’s way for the heck of it. (Key word being TRY.)

Stay Tuned for #3 Next Week

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The 5th Craziest Thing I Have Ever Done.

                                                               

                                                     #5  Toronto to Vancouver by BUS!

     This may not be crazy, but. It definitely could make you crazy. When I was in high school a good friend of mine moved to British Columbia. The decision was made to visit our now distant friend, by bus. It sounds fun and exciting but only for a bit. 

 The pluses of buses -It is affordable.You get to see a lot of things and meet new people. The Downfalls - No showers!  It is very timely stopping in every town waking up at every stop. 

     With the companionship of my friend Jason, we set out July 1999 on a Greyhound bus. Making new friends with fellow riders along the way, we were headed north to Thunder Bay, then due west through the prairies, until we got to the beautiful Rocky Mountain towns of Banff and Canmore. We were so lucky going from Calgary to Banff late afternoon, our driver acted as a tour guide pointing out the interesting facts as we enjoyed our first mountains ever. 

    80 plus hours later and about 60 bus stops later we arrived in Vancouver, with only a few friendly faces still there, we said our goodbyes and found out our luggage was not with us. We had to do some laundry to get by, until they found it. In need of a shower and a good night's sleep, we set out for our hotel. After a seemingly quick 2 day stay in Vancouver, we kept on moving.

   

     

     From Vancouver we took the hour ferry boat ride to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. Explored Nanaimo's beaches looking out into the Pacific Ocean and spent the night in a hotel. In the morning we yet again hopped on another bus for another 15 hours, to a little seaside town named Port Hardy. We explored the quiet town, and stayed at a cozy Bed and Breakfast. By the time we reached this destination we were starting to feel the craziness of constant travel.

  

      The following morning we were Prince Rupert bound on a BC Ferry heading up the beautiful Northern BC coast. The views were magnificent. The odd whale was spotted too. I found myself with my first touch of sea sickness. Thankfully it wasnt until the evening. We spent 18 hours on the ferry. After that long day at sea, we retired to a hotel near the port.

     The next day we were picked up by our friends and it was a short 3 hour drive to their home in Kitimat, British Columbia.   We had a fantastic time. During our 5 day stay, we explored the surrounding forests rivers and trails of Kitimat.  Stumbling into a family of Black Bears, Mom Dad and 2 cubs, had to be the highlight of the trip. It definitely got the adrenaline pumping!

    At the end of our stay, our gracious hosts and friends dropped us off at the bus station we had about 78 grueling hours of bus time left. We knew we could do it. It just wasn't going to be nearly as fun, just like going home from any trip. One highlight on the way home was a day spent wondering around at the West Edmonton Mall. 50 hours later we were back home.

   

     Would I do this again? No. Lots of good things came from this trip. Three years later I did it again, this time meeting my friend in Edmonton and spending a few days there before heading to Northern British Columbia. So if you so choose to go great lengths by bus, break it up a bit or you might go crazy.

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