Another Year Goes Bye Bye

Tis The Season
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*

Another holiday season has crept up on us quicker than usual. It still feels like just yesterday I was sitting in front of a campfire next to the lake swatting mosquitoes and swapping stories with friends and family.

Alas, that is not the case and Christmas lights on the houses, freezing cold temperatures and snow on the ground are a clear indication that Santa and his reindeer will be embarking on their annual journey very soon.

This also means another year has almost been completed and what a year it has been.

It seems only appropriate to take a moment to reflect on the year that has flown by in the blink of an eye.

I think we can all agree that 2013 has been interesting and quite a successful year for me personally. No I didn't get a big raise or change jobs although I won't lie, both of those things sound pretty good to me but in this economy, any year where I'm not standing in line waiting to be fed, out looking for a job or waiting for a government assistance cheque to arrive is a good one in my books. Sure things could always be better but they can also be a lot worse as well.

I could sit here and reminisce about all of the big news stories from 2013 but I'm sure others will delve into those things in greater detail. Certainly in Canada the big stories of the year were Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's admission of crack use and the Canadian Senate scandal. Both of those stories will continue into 2014 no doubt.

In sports I'm happy to see my Montreal Canadiens playing and competing much better this season. It has been a pleasant surprise. I wish I could have said the same for the Toronto Blue Jays who reached a level of disappointment usually only attained by the Leafs and Raptors. But as they say, there's always next year. My own golf game was equally depressing in 2013. I was tempted to call the cops to help me locate my missing golf swing but instead I just continued to struggle and work on my foul language vocabulary.

The world lost some pretty great and interesting people this year. Among those that left us were Nelson Mandela, Musician Lou Reed, Actor James Gandolfini, Canadian actor Cory Monteith, Annette Funicello, Roger Ebert, Margaret Thatcher, Jonathan Winters, David Frost and Tom Clancy just to name a few.

My own family had some issues this year with both my parents having visits to the hospital but fortunately they appear to have recovered nicely.

The rest of my family is doing well so I'm pretty blessed in that department.

By far the most enjoyable event of 2013 for me was my continued efforts to improve my health. In a little over a year I've lost 155 pounds through exercise and changes to my eating habits. Basically I'm getting off my ass a lot more and shoving food down my throat a lot less which seems to be working to this point.

I'm hitting the gym up to five times a week since joining a little over a month ago and I'm noticing a change to my appearance as my muscles which were ignored for so long start to bounce back into shape.

The best part for me is regaining my life and eliminating the aches and pains I struggled with on a daily basis. It's amazing the things that thin and healthy people take for granted that obese people struggle with every day. I'm happy to say a lot of those issues have been eliminated for me finally. Every day is a challenge but after years of failing, I now know that I have it in me to succeed.

I could go on and bore you to sleep (if I haven't already) but I wanted to make this quick. I'm going to be very busy over the next several weeks and likely won't be updating my blog again until later in January.

Most importantly I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has supported me over the last year and been so encouraging. From the people I talked to almost daily to old acquaintances I've passed in the street, every compliment and congratulation has meant a great deal and has been very much appreciated.

My hope is that all of you have a Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year. See you in 2014!

Bravo Presqu'ile Park

Back in July of 2012 I wrote a letter to the local newspaper and also posted the same letter on my blog regarding changes within Presqu'ile Provincial Park and some areas that I felt needed to be addressed. As someone who has camped and visited the park every year of my entire 45 years of existence, I've witnessed a lot of changes within the park. Some of those changes I agree with and some I have taken issue with. As always, it's only my opinion but of course through conversations with other park users I've come to learn that my concerns and ideas were being shared by plenty of other paying customers.

Today I'm not going to delve into all of those concerns again. The last time I wrote about it I was happy to receive some feedback from what I can only assume were park staff or individuals close to the day to day operations of the park. I didn't necessarily agree with what they had to say but I appreciated their input and respected their ideas and thoughts. That's the great thing about this country, everyone is entitled to their opinion and I don't have a problem with someone taking a stand on the opposite side of the fence as me provided they do so with class.

What I wanted to do today was thank the person or management at Presqu'ile who finally listened to not only me but the many other campers who have made suggestions over recent years and addressed the one issue that has been a thorn in the side of so many of us.

After finishing another camping season at Thanksgiving I finally made a trip back into the park in early November and was thrilled to see that work had begun on resurfacing the main road into and across the front of the High Bluff camping area. This road had been a constant source of complaints mainly because of the dusty conditions in the summer time.

High Bluff campground road.

It was a common site between May and October to see campers having to close the windows on their trailers, covering their food and even walking across the road to sit in order to avoid the disgusting dust that blew into their campsites after each vehicle passed by. Sadly the dust would be less if the vehicles were traveling at the posted speed limit but that's a rare occurrence indeed. It was a health hazard for senior citizens and small children and just a dusty annoyance overall.

Entrance to High Bluff campground.

This past weekend I returned to the park to enjoy a peaceful walk and hoped to spot some wildlife. The deer were scarce as usual but upon completing my walk I took a drive into the camping area and was blown away by what I found. The park had finally paved the road across the front of the Bluff. It was a thing of beauty and I know the regular campers who won't return until the new season begins will be thrilled to see the road they've been begging to be fixed for so long has finally been given the attention it sorely needed.

The difference between the old road and the newly paved road is huge and on I'm sure I speak for all campers when I say "Thank You" to Ontario Parks and Presqu'ile Park Management in particular for seeing to it that this upgrade happened.

West end of High Bluff road where pavement begins.

Some will argue that the newly paved surface will only cause problems with speeding vehicles but of course as any regular visitor to the park will tell you, speeding cars and trucks have been a problem on weekends along that stretch of road long before pavement was put down. I just hope the Park Wardens make a concerted effort to crack down on this problem next summer because the kids will love riding their bikes, scooters and roller blades on this smooth new surface and we'd all hate to see something tragic happen.

The entrance to the park has also been resurfaced and widened at the front gate which should help to alleviate congestion when campers stop to register at the office.

Once again, Bravo Presqu'ile! I look forward to seeing what upgrades you have in store for us next. Might I suggest a new trailer dumping station? (hint hint)