First stop, Omemee, Ontario, Canada

What better way to start this trip than with Family?  Since arriving on Thursday 19th August, I have been at the home of my Mum''s cousin Grace and her husband Brian in Omemee (Oh-Mee-Me), a small village 2 hours north of Toronto. 

Grace & Brian

Although I haven't met them before (at least since I was a baby) it has been very easy to feel at home and part of the family.  They have been in Canada for 45 years, and while there is a little Canadian mixed into it, their way of life is very familiar, there is definely a link to the family with mannerisms and habits that remind me of my grandmother, my mum and other aunts and cousins.

But while we spent a good while catching up and quite a lot of time discussing the family and drawing up a family tree, we also took some time to go out and have a look at some of the local sight.  Omemee, being in lake lands, is surrounded by water, and the Trent-Severn waterway provides plenty of points of interest.  We took a day trip to Fenelon Falls to have a look at the lock and the waterfall, then on to a small town with a lock and a swing bridge called Bobcaygeon where we had a spot of lunch at a little cafe near the lock.  We were supposed to go to Brian's favourite place, a fish restaurant called 'For the Halibut' (boom boom) but it was closed due to fire damage so he was a little disappointed but I was pleased with my homemade sundried tomato quiche and salad.

Fenelon Falls

Sunday was a wet wet day and although it stated off quiet, it was made memorable as that was the day that I met some cousins for the first time.  Grace's grandson Marc stopped by with his girlfriend Melissa on their way back from Ottawa so we had a chat and talked about the family, and how we are connected.  That was followed by dinner with Grace's daughter Julie, her husband Ron and Julie's son Donald.  Julie saw me when I was a baby but I haven't met her since then, so it was nice to get to know her a little bit.  Sadly I failed to take photos, silly me.

My last day in Omemee was a brilliant day, we went to Peterborough to the historic lift lock which is 65ft high, it was a little overcast and we thought it was going to rain but as we were about to walk back to the car, we heard some clanks from above and realised that there was a boat about to make the descent.  We hung around and were lucky to see it all in action, and very impressive it was and we even got a wave from the skipper of the boat as it motored off down the canal to the next lake!

Peterborough Lift Lock 

That was followed by a lovely lunch and some shopping before heading home to start packing in preparation for the trip to Toronto with Grace.

While it was only a few  days, it was a wonderful opportunity to spend time with family and get to know a branch of the family which has been pretty isolated here in Canada.  I have been invited back and plan to take up the invitation, but perhaps I should get this trip over before I start planning more!

Tuesday its Toronto for sightseeing and dinner at the CN Tower revolving restaurant, then Wednesday Niagra Falls.

"Where? What? How? I've got the when, two weeks!"

"Where? What? How? I've got the when, two weeks!"  is what a friend posted on my Facebook wall last week when I announced it was only two weeks until I'm off.  So there are people out there who haven't had to put up with my excitement (with a little nervous anticipation thrown in) and who hadn't heard from my dad that I'm off on my travels again!

So there it is, on Thursday 19th August 2010 I'm off on a journey which will take me to Toronto, then by train across Canada to Vancouver, on to LA for a Californian Road trip, a flight to Fiji which will lose me a day of my life (!) then 3 weeks in New Zealand where I will catch up with friends in Wellington and Blenheim followed by a Sydney, Bribane and Perth where I will catch up with friends at each location.  And finally, a stop off in Hong Kong on my way home, arriving back in Blighty on 8th December.

It all started with a necklace!  My mum has asked that we give one of her necklaces to her cousin Grace, who lives in Toronto and while I thought about posting it over the last couple of years, it didn't feel like the right thing to do.  So in April, I hatched a plan to take the necklace in person to Grace and fit in a visit to my friend Neil in Ohio while I was in that neck of the woods.  'Great idea' I thought and Neil was happy to have me come and visit after the end of the Hockey season so it seemed like a great plan, but return flights thorugh Toronto were hard to come by.  So I had to have a rethink.

In any case, if I was going to Canada, it seemed to be a shame to see Grace but to miss Jack, another cousin who lives in Vancouver.  And with open invitations from friends in New Zealand & Australia and a friend applying for a job in Kuala Lumpur, a route was forming which would take me to all those places to meet family members for the first time and see some dear friends on the other side of the world.

I sent a few emails and got some positive responses, the timing was right for me so I decided to go for it.  What an opportunity I have been given, it would have been foolish to waste it.

So after a good couple of weeks of planning route, dates and emailing to check that people were available, the ticket was booked and there was no going back!