Friday 6 August 2010

Live From Killarney

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are live!  I'm sitting in my room right now at the Killarney Mountain Lodge (which will hereby be referred to as KML for brevity's sake) and I've got a strong WiFi signal!  This is exactly the kind of situation that I got my Netbook for, and this is where it shines.  I'm traveling, but my computer setup, my programs, even the keyboard that I'm typing on, all are very familiar and I can quickly organize my photos and post to my blog.  I can't imagine the level of detail that I could have presented while in Japan if I'd had this little beauty with me.  Ah well, no sense dwelling on that now.

I don't have a great deal to say yet, since today was largely given over to travel, but I'll touch on the highlights anyway.

I got up at my usual time this morning as if I was going to work.  This allowed me to take my time getting ready and still be fed and on the road by 10:30.  I headed North to Newmarket to bypass the 401 and about half of the 400... still managed to run into traffic on the 400 though.  That road is mental.  Still made good time though, and arrived here at 3:00.  The traffic was good most of the way up once I got North of Barrie, although oddly enough all the rest stops were PACKED with people... I guess that's why the roads were so clear.

Once I'd arrived I checked-in, and got myself settled (i.e. I threw my backpack on the bed and headed right back out again)



















I managed to find Uncle John and Aunt Sue pretty quickly, and then went and found my parents.  Once I'd touched base with everyone I quickly made my way to Herbert's Fisheries for some fish and chips.  Since the rest stops along the way were so busy I didn't take the time to get much of a lunch on my way here and I was starving.  I took this picture of the KML grounds on my way so that you can all see what a lovely day it is:















After my brief photography stop I had the BEST.  FISH AND CHIPS.  EVER.  You may think you have experienced excellent fish and chips, but until you've had Herbert's you are only getting the runner-up.  Seriously.  Drive to Killarney and get some.  Now, if possible.

This blog post sponsored by Her.... errrr... nothing.



















Mmmmm... fish and chips.  Yes, I know they spelled my name wrong on the box, but at least they correctly determined that I'm number 1.  I would have edited the photo so that my name was correct, but it turns out that I'm horribly lazy, and not really that good at photo editing.

After that I spent a little time sitting my the pool while my Dad took a lesson on rolling a kayak.  I would have joined him, but I was still a bit tired from the drive up.  (Please reference previous statement in regards to my laziness.)

After that it was dinner, one of the highlights of KML experience.  What a restaurant they have here!  We just finished that up and I retired back here to get a blog post in.  I think tomorrow will be devoted to kayaking, picnicking, and swimming.  Life's tough.  I'll try to take more photos tomorrow, although with the slightly sluggish WiFi I may not be able to get huge amounts uploaded.  We'll just have to wait and see how it goes.

I hope everyone is doing well.  I know Jay has already expressed his regret at not being here, and believe me buddy we'd all love it if you were here too.  As you mentioned though, it's becoming a tradition, so count on it for next year!

Until tomorrow everyone!

4 comments:

Jabbles said...

At this point I would seriously consider hoping in the MINI and motoring on up there. Sadly I committed to dog sitting for your uncle while he is up there with you.
I do have a question, did you bring Yoshi? (I took the liberty in naming your bike)

Colin Young said...

Yeah, that's a bummer Jabz. It's a nice drive up here, that's for sure.

I've been searching for the perfect name for my bike, but I believe that you've found it sir! And to answer your question, sadly, no Yoshi remains under wraps back in Toronto. While I do have the option of brining him, it's still a fair amount of work, and I really questioned if I'd get the opportunity over the couple days that I'm here to get him out and stretch his legs. In the end it was probably a good decision since the 637 into Killarney was in pretty bad shape. Rough road service, wide soft shoulder encroaching onto the drivable sections, sudden large bumps... the kind of things that would make me nervous on a bike. As much as it's an awesome, curvy road, I don't think I'd have had much fun on Yoshi here. Hopefully I'll get the chance to take him on vacation soon.

Colin Young said...

* that should have said "rough road SURFACE" not "road service" which doesn't make nearly as much sense.

Jabbles said...

Actually I had read that as rough service road so all is good. I understand though, not much time to play and if the main curvy road is in poor condition then what's the point?