Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Harbour Visits

I've been down to the harbour several times over the past six weeks, and learned exactly which roads I like to drive down and what to watch out for on those roads.  I start by going down the Collingwood Street hill, and usually turn at the bottom of the hill onto Thompson Street, which is nice and smooth.

Thompson Street is the first one, just before the sidewalk on both sides starts.  On the right at that corner the house you can see is Bobi's Daycare, I think the most popular daycare in town.  I often see toddlers outside paying when I go by.

On the left is the Curling Club, and the open fields of the fairground.

Appropriately, the plaques on the gateposts are in honour of the agricultural pioneers of the area.

And right out in front is a good (bad?) example of the 'alligator pavement' that is all too common on Meaford's streets, including coming down the Collingwood Street hill, admittedly not usually this bad!  I try to avoid it just as I avoid sidewalks!

Once this summer, turning around that corner, I heard a helicopter coming.  It circled behind me and turned toward the hospital (helicopters need to land into the wind just like planes).  Helicopters right overhead are about the loudest sound you can hear outside, just worse than wood chippers!

Getting downtown I often stop at The Kitchen for a coffee.  Before the pandemic my coffee group met here, but they are not opening for interior sitting this fall.

One of my very few sins in life, a rare afternoon coffee.  I think this was the only time all summer when I picked up a butter tart to go with it; I'm losing my taste for sweet things!

I'm always amused by this sign on a post beside the first of five patios on this stretch of downtown, directed at the cars driving by.

On this day there was a nice sailboat moored on this side of the harbour, probably waiting for attention at the marina here.

Richardson Boats has been serving boaters in Meaford since 1933, almost 100 years.  They offer a full suite of repairs and winter storage options.

They are currently having to replace their buried gasoline tanks due to federal regulations.  Here they've lifted one out of the ground.

There's a large valve on each one that has to be separated from the tank.  It's unclear how this service will continue because of the cost of new materials required, and the many permits required today.  I believe the marina is operating with a temporary system for the rest of this year.

Once the library was open after lockdown I was delighted to head around the block and in there.

This is a wheelchair-eye view of the stacks, which are low enough for me to see easily.  In fact an older lady I was talking to a few days ago said she found them difficult because she had to bend down so far!

After that it was often down a block of the main street where the old Stedman's store still sits vacant.  Just look at that 100+year-old brickwork!  Then often a stop in the drug store and I'm on my way home.

We have a week of great weather coming up here!


16 comments:

  1. I hope you’ll get to enjoy that area often this next week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Leaking fuel tanks are a real problem, especially so close to a body of water, better to get them out before they leak. I was involved with a tank removal where the tank resembled as it was hoisted out of the ground and the contents leaked out. There were seven tractor-trailer loads of contaminated soil removed and that wasn't all of the contamination. The old department store is a beautiful building, hopefully it can be repurposed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sure enjoyed seeing around town with you. Glad you can get out and enjoy it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Smooth footpaths are such a necessity, a friend tripped when out running, Hugh says they are so bumpy if he ventures out on his mobility scooter, down here roll on those summer days after a 2 Celsius frost, that saw our ginger boy Boris leave delicate footprints on the car bonnet, guess he stopped short of trying to lick some icicles. A friend in Alaska told me the moose lick the salt off the side of vehicles.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love that Stedmans store! The Orange helicopters fly directly over us when they head north from the Island airport and you are right about the noise. Plus with them you know someone is in trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I like the old brick buildings!!
    Our house is very near the hospital and almost daily there will be a helicopter coming to land on the roof. By the time it goes over us it's right over the bedroom. The thrum of the blades plus the noise is disturbing at night. Then I think of the poor soul that is being transported and say a little prayer for them before turning over and going back to sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great brickwork in that Stedman building. Quite a challenge figuring out the best accessible routes for you. Temperatures in the mid to lower 70's are looking great for the next 14 days. Hopefully that excessive heat and humidity are behind us. I have been noticing for about a year or more now my tastes in food have really been changing as well. I guess it's the aging thing. I still like butter tarts though.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have to watch where I go on my bicycle too as the roads, particularly along the sides, are full of potholes and collapsed edges. Nice that you can get down to the harbour - there's always something to see at such places.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I was wondering about Steadman until you said it was vacant. Meaford does look like a pleasant place.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Really nice tour in pictures. I enjoy seeing where you live. And that awful pavement looks like it would be tough to ride over in a wheelchair!

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's a shame about the pavement but you definitely have an interesting route. Coffee and a butter tart sounds darn good to me too.

    ReplyDelete
  12. We have so many empty department stores now in the U.K. This is bad for so many reasons. Nowhere to shop near to home, no work for shop workers, and - for people with small bladders like me - even fewer places to find a loo. I hope that pretty building finds a fresh purpose. Enjoy your autumn walks.

    ReplyDelete
  13. What is that guy doing in the tank picture? On the right, with a tube ?? in his mouth? Eating, blowing or talking? :)
    The library, any library, offers such welcome spaces. Stedman's stores, a name of the past once you move to big cities. Too bad it sits empty, it is gorgeous! Looks like an antique store beside it.

    ReplyDelete
  14. What a lovely adventure! I enjoyed it.
    Alligator pavement - that's what we had! So glad it is replaced. There go our savings!

    ReplyDelete
  15. So pleased you can get out and about around town.
    I enjoyed my visit with you.
    Many thanks for all the photographs.

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete