The Coast

I did a major upgrade of the Lower North Shore Forums software yesterday. The main reason was to try to cut down on the amount of spam accounts being created on the web site. The newer software should also be easier to use, and there are some new features added that everyone should like, such as the ability to upload photos.

If you activated an account in the past couple of months, you probably could not log back in after creating the account. This was because I had disabled all new accounts to cut down on the Spam.

If this is the case, please go back in, and try to create a new account again. Let me know if there are any issues, or if I deleted someones account by mistake.

I have been going through the latest issue of the Chevery news, and have been reading about some of the activities planned for CoastFest 2008. A year long festival like this is a great idea, and hopefully it will encourage more former Coasters to visit the Lower North Shore next year. Every time I go back for a visit I have a great time, and I seem to be getting hooked since I am going back more frequently.

I was living in California for a few years, and during that period it was difficult to visit the Coast. I ended up not going back for 5 years, which I always regretted since we had such a great vacation on the Coast, just before we moved. When we went back in 2006, we enjoyed it so much, that we ended up buying a small house in the village of Mutton Bay. It is funny but paying our own bills and getting the place fixed up, helps us feel closer to the Coast even when we are not there. It is also great to have our own place when we do visit, and we can personalize it with some of our favorite knick knacks. We actually refer to the house as our cottage, although it is definitely not a traditional cottage location (as you can see from the photos below).

Since the vacation in 2006, we have been going back more frequently, and we went back once in the summer, and also in the winter this year. It was the first time that I had been back for a winter vacation in a long time, and I really enjoyed riding on snowmobile again. It is also a great time to visit, since there are lots of carnivals and hockey tournaments, and you can meet more people during these events.

I wish that I could spend more time on the Coast during the winter, but because of time constraints we take most of our vacations in the summer. This is the best time to go out on the islands in the gulf to see the whales and porpoises, and to pick some berries if they are in season. We spend most of our time hiking around the hills, riding on my father’s boat, and eating fresh seafood. The summer vacations are always very relaxing, and we always come back feeling well rested, and energized.

I would encourage anyone thinking of visiting the Coast, to take advantage of Coast Fest 2008 and to visit next year. Hopefully, some of our recent experiences are helpful in helping you to make up your mind. Maybe you will end up buying a small house too. Here are a few additional pictures to help make you home sick.

For more information on CoastFest 2008, you can go to the coastfest web site, or read more in the Chevery News.

I have fallen behind on my Blog updates this fall, and I am just now getting to the last post related to my summer vacation. On the last day of our vacation on the Lower North Shore, we decided to go out in the boat again to see if we could find any porpoises. It turned out to be the best day yet, and we saw a huge school. I have included some of the best photos below.

This photo shows one of the porpoises jumping right out of the water.

This is part of the school that we saw. There must have 30 of them in the school.

Here is another photo of porpoises jumping.

The latest issue of the Chevery News has been added to theLocal News Section of the Lower North Shore web site.

Inside this issue:

• Community Snapshots p.3
• Chevery News needs a new name p.3
• Souvenirs de Chez-Nous: Sylvie Pinette p.4
• Celebrating Culture p.5
• LNS Social Development p.5
• Coasters Association KI.D.S. Camps p.6
• Breaking New Ground, Route 138 p.7
• L’Escale 2007 p.8
• Favoriser l’équité entre les jeunes p.9
• Moose hunting season & zoning p.9
• Development is change p.10
• $3M for regional health services p.10
• Villages branchés p.11
• 4S fixed gear sentinel program p.12
• Understanding career counseling p.13
• New Commissaire for council of mayors p.15
• Achèvement de la route du Nord-Est p.16
• Réponse de Monsieur Mario Dumont p.16
• Restructuring at the CLD p.17
• CoastFest 2008 Update p.18
• Aeroport de Kegaska p.21
• Consultation… santé et bien-être p.21
• One Christmas Eve in Cross River p.22
• YOUTH ZONE JEUNESSE p.23
• New owners for Ransom & Rowsell Enr. p.26
• Scrap booking - A new hobby p.27
• Struggling to be heard Harrington H.A. p.28
• Netagamiou CLC progress highlights p.29
• Update from Gros Mecatina Tourism Association p.31
• A word from your Social Development Animator p.32
• Bullying & being bullied: Advice to share… p.33
• Can the youth of today triumph… p.34
• New promotional brochure for GMTA p.34
• New Development Agent for SADC LNS p.33
• TD Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up p.34
• MADD presentation p.34
• MADD presentation p.35
• Job postings, for sale, volunteers needed… p.36

The full article can be found at the this link

My wife and I went to the Signatures 25th Anniversary Christmas Show at the Ottawa Congress Centre this past week-end. The main reason why we went, was to meet Michael Osborne, of Art of Gold Studios. Michael has been creating art on the Lower North Shore for many years, and I had always wanted to see some of his work.  It was great to have a chance to meet him.

I have included a photograph below of Michael in his booth at the show, along with a couple of photographs of some of his work. It never occurred to me until I went to the show, but it is an incredible amount of work to set up a booth like this. Michael had to load all of his art into a car, then drive down to Ottawa, and set up the booth. After the show, he has to pack it all up again, and then load the car back up again. Obviously all of the art is very fragile, so he has to carefully pack each piece to make sure that it does not get damaged.

We were purchased two of his paintings, which was hard choice since there were several that we liked. We ended up just going with the ones that caught our eye as we walked into his booth. We are very happy with our selections, especially now that it is hanging on our wall in the living room.

After this show, Michael is going to be doing a tour of the Coast, and will be returning home for Christmas.