ALL OUR BAGS ARE PACKED AND WE ARE READY TO GO...

Joanne and I are all packed and ready to go.  Seems like it has just snuck up on us.  I have a suitcase with all the stuff Jodie ordered on-line and delivered to me to bring back to her.  It is very expensive to ship anything over there.  Her suitcase weights 45.6 pounds - under the 50 pound limit.  My suitcase is below that I think because it isn't near as heavy as hers.
We board the plane in the Sault at 9:55 am tomorrow, Wednesday and arrive in Abu Dhabi on Thursday 7:30 pm their time which is 11:30 am our time.  A little confusing but they are 8 hours ahead of us.
We have a 5 hour layover in Toronto but Joanne has access to the Air Canada Lounge.  We fly out of Toronto at 4:30 to Frankfurt, then on to Abu Dhabi.  No direct flight for me!!!
Jodie has planned to go to a "Brunch" on Friday.  Abu Dhabi's brunches are epic.  It includes all your drinks and food and it lasts all afternoon.  A good way to cure our jet lag.  I hope we cab it!!!
Sunday, Joanne and I head to Dubai for a few days of sight seeing.  I have booked a "hop on hop off" bus tour for 2 days.  A good way to see the sights when you don't have a car.  And every night in Dubai is Ladies' Night!!  Free drinks and discounted food!!  We will also do the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure in the world.  They have an observation deck located on there 124th floor which is located at a height of 488 metres.
The next weekend we are off to the Tilal Liwa Hotel in the Rub Al Khali desert for an overnite stay.
Plus all the fun we will have with Monty and Charlie, the reason for our visit.

THEN, we fly back with Jodie and the boys on July 3rd and they will be with us for 3 weeks here.
It is going to be an adventure!!!!

ps - the average daily temperature right now in Abu dhabi is about 40 degrees C during the day and about 31 degrees C at night - I won't need my hoodie!!!

DONE!!!

The double bunk in the top picture is now a huge pile of blocked wood in the second picture.  Finished it up today in four hours just before it got too hot and the bugs weren't that bad.  We figure it was about 24 hours of work to get it all done.  Without Rick's help driving the tractor, I am sure it would have taken double the time with just the two of us.
It is always nice to see that last log loaded on the sawhorse...

It was the May Fish Fry at the Thessalon Legion on Friday night - always a big turnout.  As usual, the rowdies had their own table set up in the basement near the bar.  They know how to treat their best customers.  And among the group upstairs was Michael Mantha, our MP, who is always around when there is something going on.  I caught him in the kitchen with Sheila who doubles as my mail lady.

And also managed to get a picture of 3 humming birds feeding at the same time.  How rare is this!!  Usually they are trying to impale each other and chasing each other away from the feeder.  And, altho is it a bit blurry, a ring necked snake make an appearance on the cement outside the front door.  First one I have seen this year and I have been looking.  I got him a piece of earthworm but he ignored it and slowly slithered away searching for his own dinner.  I hope to see more of them this year, especially when the kids are here.  They would enjoy it.

MORE FUN

First off, it is not all fun and games up here.  There is work to be done between our fishing adventures.  Rejean and Rick rigged something up to help Rick trim his cedar hedge around his trailer.  The cedars have grown so high it is difficult to trim them.  But put two brothers together and this was bound to happen.  Worked like a charm!!  And we are still working on the wood.  A couple of hours every few days and we are almost done.

It was a good night last night for us fishing.  It was overcast so we could start fishing earlier.  As soon as we got there, they were biting.  And the bass were out.  I landed a big bass right off the bat then the guys took over.  Rejean got a nice walleye and Rick got 3 smaller walleye plus a lot more bass.  The black flies were out in full force as well.  I think I have gotten to the point where they really don't bother me that much - unless I inhale one or it buzzes in my ear or nose.  Ugh.  But the mosquitoes aren't out yet - at least around here.  The fiddle heads were just starting.  I know they are good to eat but where do you even begin???

Our bikes were a mess as there were some deep puddles on the trail in.  But that is what makes it fun!!

FISHING!!

We have had a great two mornings fishing on Tunnel Lake.  Both mornings we were on the water by 6:30am at least.  Rick, Rejean and I have done very well.  Everyone has caught good fish.  I caught 3 jumbo perch and Rick caught a big bass and some amazing walleye.  Enough for a meal for the three of us and then with Joanne and Mitch tonite had a great meal.
Nothing like fresh caught walleye for dinner.

FISH STOCKING

We helped stock a few streams in the area with about 4,000 little rainbow trout.  Again the bugs weren't out so everyone enjoyed themselves.  One stop we had to carry pails of fish to the stream but the other two stops we hosed them in.  Easy.  On the way back we stopped and checked out Pig Pen Chute but it was still running wild.

HEADING OUT FOR A WALK

It was nice out last nite after dinner so we headed out for a walk.  The bugs weren't bad so we did go across to the mine side.  The first picture is one of my favourite roots own a stump.  Looks like an alien leaning over the stump, long legs and all.  Don't ask me why i think that.
And no traffic last nite - hardly.  A few cars but you can hear them coming a mile away.  Years ago we used to lie in the middle of the road at night and look at the stars.  We had tons of time to get out of the way of the cars and trucks that came along.
Worked on wood today and the bugs were out.  I have a few black fly bites already.  Not very pleasant but it is part of the joys of living up here.

TAIL OF THE DRAGON

Keith has a new guard Dragon at the Tunnel Lake Trading Post.  It is a magnificent Dragon that he will chain up to welcome riders to Ontario's Tail of the Dragon.  With miles of twists and turns that follow the Mississagi River along our Highway 129 from Thessalon, it is a bikers' paradise.  He has ordered another one so the pair will welcome all visitors to the Post.