Having finished summer school and with about two weeks to go before heading back to work, and not having had much of a vacation, I took a couple of days to get out and do something with what time I have. I've got tons of work to do on this old house and all kinds of things I need to tend to. BUT...I also have to attend to my need for some R & R. So I decided to go visit a friend of mine from Abu Dhabi Days. His name is Doug and he lives in Windsor with his sister, Pat. So I took Peter with me and spent the day with Doug, who finally was able to return my long lost spatula that had vanished when I lived in Abu Dhabi. It's been quite a quest to return the sacred spatula to the owner who's name is clearly written on the handle. I will now associate it with Doug every time I grill hamburgers in honer of those marvelous cook outs he used ot host at the old villa.
I was worried that Peter would be bored, but he loved Doug's humor. He chuckles even now at Doug's frequent use of "Shud up!" with his incredulous tone. He also loved to hear the stories of people and the things we had done during my time there. Peter was just starting high school when I left to work in Abu Dhabi. I had planned to be gone for just six months, but it turned out to be three years. That was very painful for both Peter and me. Don't get me wrong, I loved teaching the Arabs, I loved going on adventures, and I loved all the different cultures--I even loved the city of Abu Dhabi; but I worried, quite a bit, about Peter. My daughter was in college and is great with Skype or gmail. She'd check in all the time. Peter needed my physical presence and that was the hardest thing for both of us. He told me that listening me talk to Doug gave him a bigger picture of what life must have been like for me over there.
Doug took us to Amherstberg, to Fort Maldan. It was an historical fort built by the British during the war of 1812. The docents there were dress in clothing from that period and first greeted us in French. We ambled about the fort and then stopped to watch a muzzle loading and firing demonstration, took our picture and then split for some of that wonderful Horton's coffee. It seemed like a Tim Horton's coffee shop there is on just about every street corner.
The following day we said goodbye to Doug and Pat and as I was leaving I missed the exit to the Ambassador Bridge and found myself back in Amhersburg again and said, "What the heck, let's just explore." We ended up going to a wonderful place called Point Pelee. It is a Canadian national park. An isthmus that runs out into Lake Erie. It looks to me, as I said in the video, like a wasp stinger. (Oh dang, I just realized that I misspelled "Lake Erie" on my map. Isn't that eerie? 
What a beautiful place! Butterflies were everywhere. It was really hard to catch them on video, but I got a few. I mention this because Pat told me that this is the place the Monarch Butterflies gather in mass before making their annual journey to Mexico. I was also surprised to see cactus--I'm thinking they call these prickly pears, but I'm not sure. according to the signs posted on the pathways, the isthmus is being restored to savanna. All kinds of plants had been put there, along with many that I am familiar with. 
Peter and I walked all the way down to the point. Most of the way we saw very few people. The beach was empty and very remote, but when we got to the very tip, we saw a lot of people who took the shuttle who were now out wading in the water and taking pictures. It was a lovely place. I have to say I enjoyed the hike even more. We also went to the wetlands area while we were there. It was a bit of a tourist kind of place, but I appreciated the effort to educate the public about the wetlands and I'm glad that places like this are protected. Mostly I was just grateful for perfect weather, and time with Peter.
