Overheard in Port Bruce.

"But Honey. It's Nickels a Day."

"The guy said I could buy a bike like that for about three thousand bucks," he said.

"But we don't have three thousand dollars," she said.

"I'd give up cable, and you could quit smoking. Come on."

"Get back in the van," she said.

"Oh, come on. They're easy on gas - nickels a day - and I'll take you for rides."

"Back in the van."

Conclusions:

Some motorcycles are easy on gas.

You can carry a passenger, but only if he or she is willing.

Port Bruce is generally a delightful destination.

A used Yamaha like mine would cost about $3,000 but there are yearly costs too.

Don't use the "cable TV vs smoking" gambit. Save up your money another way.

Go for the scenery, stay for the BLT.

: )

Please link to A Drive in the Country

Photos GH

A Drive in the Country.

The Long Point Causeway, Canoes and a Muddy Creek.

Reg gets one peek at the blue sky - then it was gone.

Yesterday's weather certainly didn't help show off Long Point's long, sandy beaches or Lake Erie's colourful waves. Only once or twice did two friends and I - during a Highway 59 'crop tour' - see blue skies and bright white clouds or feel the sun's warmth.

And, sadly, I made the observation more than once, that markers of my childhood are gradually disappearing. My first public school is in decay, it's side yard now a building lot. My high school is now an elementary school, the Anglican church I attended is no more, the old pool room is a Thrift Shop. The list goes on.

"I am that old," I sometimes say.

That being said, I am still young and energetic enough to laugh at wayside canoes and crawl under small bridges to investigate mud nests made by swallows. Life is full in ways many a good-lookin', productive, middle-ager can enjoy.

"Pass the ketchup and onions, the Foot Long and French Fries are delicious," I said during yesterday's lunch at the Long Point Arcade, after Larry and Reg had dropped a few quarters into arcade machines.

Photos from along the way:

A gray day all around

"Paddle faster, Lady. Yer sinkin'"

Please link to A Return to Swallow Cliff.

Photos GH

A Return to Swallow Cliff.

Crop Tour Planned for Friday.

Cliff swallows fill the air on Erie's north shore.

Last week another motorcyclist and I braved the one km-long gravel road that connects Dexter Line to Hawk Cliff (now aka Swallow Cliff) and immediately noticed the swallows making nests and feeding young on sand banks between Port Bruce and Port Stanley. We didn't bother to count.... the birds dart like bottled lightning.

This coming Friday we will return, along with two more fellows, during a crop tour (leisurely ride in the country) along Highway 59 to Long Point and environs. I expect swallows will rule the air again.

Photos from the first visit:

Last week we travelled via Highway 73 to Port Bruce.

Highway 59 begins one mile north of Tavistock and ends at The Causeway Restaurant in Long Point. Shoreline roads between Long Point and Port Stanley pass through some lovely country. 

I hope everybody likes my Bob Dylan CDs!!

News at 11.

Please link to Swallows Rule the Air.

Photos GH

Port Bruce Retrospective, Plus 1.

Sloppy Weather Inspires Me.

Okay, so it's too cool and wet to ride the Yamaha but it's a perfect day to review photos from "you know where," taken several weeks ago when summer had apparently arrived early. Some are B and Ws, others in colour, and one is from from just last week, the day before early spring and chilly weather returned.

 Port Bruce, aka "The Land that Time Forgot"

 "I'm the King of the castle!"

From last week: Note the sign says "Park Area, Watch for

Pedestrians", i.e., the lone guy pushing his lawn mower

Man with no beard still has no beard.

Please link to Swallows Rule the Air.

Photos GH

Swallows Rule the Air.

Hawk Cliff vs Swallow Cliff.

A friend and I motorcycled to Port Bruce on Wednesday but made rewarding stops along the way - there and back.

At Hawk Cliff, access via Dexter Line east of Port Stanley, we spotted so many swallows in cliff-edge nests (and no hawks) a name change to the location was in order. On Hunter-Crossley Line (running east and west, about two miles south of Belmont) we spotted a dozen pairs of nest-building swallows under a bridge, and one pair in a tree cavity.

Sand Swallow Cove:

 Swallows beyond counting

Under Hunter-Crossley Bridge:

 Mud nests are still under construction

An old tree next to Hunter-Crossley Bridge:

Male swallow (left), red-wing blackbird (centre), female swallow (right).

Port Bruce:

Please link to Subtle Link to Port Bruce?

Photos GH

Subtle Link to Port Bruce?

It's in Our Genes?

Paintings by Paul Harrison.

My son Paul is a fine artist and for Mothers' Day he presented two small paintings to his mom. I was really pleased with his work and felt - more than ever - there is a link between us that goes beyond mere biology.

Photographs by Gord Harrison.

The scenes he depicted are not directly related to the 100s of photographs I've taken over the years, including many during the last month, of Lake Erie - from the vantage point offered by Port Bruce. But, they are related.

Can a certain type of location be preferred - or found very appealing for some unspoken reason(s) - by father and son?

Certainly.

Please link to 50,000 KM., 50,000 Photographs.

Photos GH

50,000 KM., 50,000 Photographs.

And Most Are From Port Bruce!

I pull over south of Belmont and photograph a milestone. 

I have a famous motorcycle, a few very familiar routes and a favourite destination. Hooked on great views and BLTs, that's me.

I'm sure I'll land in Port Bruce twenty more times during the next few months but I won't pull over again - on the way back to London - to mark the mileage. Because hitting 50,000 KM on the odometer only happens once per bike.

More Photos From Along the Way:

 Hazy day. Not a turbine in sight.

 Gulls are missing too from a favourite perch.

 A lot of miles are behind me.

 50,000 KM coming up in 2 more seconds.

 The view at 50,000 KM looks north to Belmont, ONT.

 The BLT @ $4.95 is a pretty good deal. That being said....

 "Gord's Classic" is tops. Will The Corner View add it to the menu?

 I'll gladly pay $6.45 for the "Classic". But the views are still free.

 The Yamaha is like a homing device. North shore, Lake Erie!

Only the sea gulls enjoy a better view than I do.

Please link to A Port Bruce Collection (2)

Photos GH