PleuntjeenStephen

Leon, Maureen & Lisa's feet!

2009-04-10T04:21:00.001-07:00

It's a Good Friday when a picture like this gets into the paper...
the national paper!
Here's the full story from the Hamilton Spectator.

Cycling trip - the map

2008-10-11T08:26:00.001-07:00

Click on the map to see more detail.

Cycling trip - Day 14

2008-10-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

August 29th
Homeward Bound

Waking up at Darlington Provincial Park everything was soaking wet from a night of torrential downpours. At times it kept us awake - dripping over S. Things in the tent stayed relatively dry, but towels, clothes, shoes and the bikes were soaked! By this point we were ready to go home.

The day started with a new experience - breakfast in the tent. By this time we'd decided to take the train across the area around Toronto because there aren't any campgrounds, and we wanted to be home by that night. We also enjoyed a slower start and spent some time reading to each other from the Princess Bride (We'd been doing this for most of the trip and the book was starting to get really good).

P led the ride through Oshawa. We started to ignore the signs for the Waterfront Trail a) because it was confusing, b) because it was poorly signed, c) we wanted to take a more direct route to the train station. It also rained on us while we rode, the traffic was aggressive, and we weren't impressed when the cars splashed us with muddy water. Enough complaining.

We found out that it's possible to take bikes on the GO Train for free. We bought our tickets, had our coffee, and started to re-integrate into the 'real' world. Parking our bikes on the train was relatively straight forward, we sat down and let the train do the work. We relaxed and became reflective about the trip as we watched the scenery whiz by. What a contrast between the beautiful nature we'd encountered and the urban, industrial landscapes?!

After a transfer in Toronto, the last leg of our journey was to ride from Aldershot station to Hamilton. The weather had improved greatly while we were on the train and the sun had come out and we were able to dry a few things on the back of the bike. Riding through Burlington we saw a parishoner from Church of the Resurrection who honked her car horn and waved. It felt good to be so close to home again.

The ride through Hamilton, up the mountain went relatively easily, although S lost a saddlebag two intersections before arriving home - argh! Sigmund says that we ended up riding 48km today, but went much further thanks to the train. We enjoyed coming home to 'Happy Anniversary' cards in the mail and a home-made dinner. We left the dirty washing for the next day.

Where will the next trip take us?
When will it be?
What will be our next adventure?

Cycling trip - Day 13

2008-09-28T15:54:00.000-07:00

August 28th
Presqu'ille Park - Darlington

In the morning at the park P got a bungee cord (NLs = spin) in her face while trying to take down the washing line... fat lip. Not a great start, and we got going a little slower than normal, but weren't worried because it was supposed to be a 'short' day.

According to Sigmund we reached 1000km on a beautiful stretch of road, with the lake on our left, and fields and trees all around. Yup, there was definetly beautiful scenery while riding: orchards and the old, beautiful towns of Cobourg and Port Hope. In the first half of the day we rode through an area that reminded us of our honeymoon at Canvaschic and inspired us to dream about something similiar here.

We lost our patience on the wandering and wet ways of the Waterfront Trail on the Property of the Darlington Nuclear Power station. There was especially bad signage that made us frustrated and confused. It also started to rain. We cycled in the rain for the first time on our whole trip - boo! The path narrowed to a few inches at times and also crossed back and forth under sizzling electrical powerlines countless times. We were at a point in our journey where we no longer felt the need for "scenic" and just wanted to get to where we were going. However, the 'geniuses' that planned the Waterfront Trail through Darlington/Oshawa designed a looping, wandering recreational trail that we didn't appreciate. We had also gotten used to a much better trail between Brockville and Presqu'ille. We did 111km while we were expecting a short day of maybe 85km.

A pretty wet night at a beautiful camp site. Ready to go home? Almost.

Cycling Trip - Day 12

2008-09-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

Aug. 27th Kingston to Presqu'ille

Today was a big day. Sigmund says 135kms! It was a great ride for most of the day. We enjoyed starting out on Unity Rd (we should let the Ontario Cycling Atlas people know it's new) and the Loyalist Parkway alongside lake Ontario and through Prince Edward County. A special part of the day was a ferry crossing at Glenora. We had perfect timing to catch the ferry and have lunch at the other side.

There were not many hills, good views of the lake and pretty old towns like Bloomfield. We picked up some groceries at the Sobey's in Picton (everyone seemed to be out on the road!) only to come across an A&P and a No Frills (both cheaper supermarkets) further down the road.

We met a cyclist chick who was riding from Sandbanks Provincial Park to Trenton on a road bike. We caught up to her - it was the first time we met a cyclist going in the same direction. We're now at Presqu'ille Provincial Park. The super long driveway pissed us off a little. We thought the camp store was the camp office... it wasn't. There was another 3km from the front gate to the actual campground. But by this point S's bum hurt so much that he just wanted to stop. (Did we mention that we took a wrong turn...?)

Usually the riding day ends with some kind of ice cream. Nothing today so we get 2 tomorrow. We're writing this on the beach now with a million mosquitoes buzzing around. P still finds it hard to get used to the idea that they don't carry malaria).

There are no camp grounds in the Toronto area so either we go beyond -then we'll be almost home- or we need to ask family members for a lift. We need to make a plan for the future. The sunset tonight is quite pink - can we see Toronto in the distance??

Cycling Trip - Day 11

2008-09-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

Aug. 26th
Brockville to Kingston KOA

This was supposed to be a short day. Sigmund says we did 99km. Brockville to the outskirts of Kingston was fantastic. The ride across Kingston to the KOA was a form of physical and psychological torture... oy! It was much further than we thought it was, and extra long because we were planning to go back into town. But let's start at the very beginning...

The 1000 Islands Parkway (Hwy #2) was beautiful, with a paved fietspad beside the road, beside the St. Lawrence River. We were able to enjoy conversations with each other without shouting over traffic or fearing for our safety. We enjoyed meeting a fellow cyclist who had a lot of cross-Canada cycling experience. As we said good-bye his parting words were, "Hope you don't have any flats (tires)." Ten minutes later P's bike was turned upside down and we were fixing another puncture ;)

Further along... ahead on the path we saw a shadowy figure duck into the bushes right where we wanted to stop for a break. A few minutes later the cyclist emerged from a bathroom break and turned out to have the most interesting job - she examines road-kill. Her job is to ride the same 25 km every day 6mos/yr looking at and cataloguing the animals that are run over on this particular stretch of highway. The conservation authority is researching the different habitats in the area and how human activity impacts them. We will never see a dead animal on the road in the same way again.

Lunch in Gananoque that required a few lessons for P on how to pronounce it's name (pronunciation: gan-ah-knock-way).

We will skip the details about the poor road conditions and ignorant drivers in Kingston. However, we would like to sing the praises of the KOA Kampground bathrooms - where they have different coloured sponges at every sink, music, flip-down seats in each shower and a bottle of our shampoo now. Also a total lack of mosquitoes made us wonder how this McDonald's of campgrounds managed to make camping life so unnatural.

The evening was a fantastic time spent with the Melles family. They are friends of the Jellema's from days in Uganda and had been looking forward to meeting S. It was a blast! A fantastic dinner (anything but pasta!) and lively conversation. Time spent playing in the tree house with the kids and a very comfortable lift back to our tent. We hope for more chances to cross paths with them in the future.

Cycling Trip - Day 10

2008-09-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

August 25th
Ottawa to Brockville

We did it! All the way from Ottawa to Brockville. We forgot to check Sigmund, but total was close to 130km. There were a number of factors in our favour: several days of rest, good roads, last weeks' experiences of riding, good sleep and good food. All this made it possible to ride all the way even with a late start.

We left Ottawa Municipal campsite at 10am, had a 1/2 hr stop for groceries at Loblaws. Riding across Ottawa seemed really long, not particularly urban, and quick at the same time. By lunchtime at 1pm we had cycled 60km and reached Kemptville, which started the day in a good way. The next break we had was in Merrickville, a very pretty town and a bit like Dundas. However, we were concerned about a lack of campsites beyond there. A very helpful Parks Canada staff person helped us find an info book and we decided to head on for Brockville. Apparently, you can camp at any lock on the Rideau canal for very cheap!

It was the first day we rode in long-sleeve jerseys. The day was mostly overcast and it created some great afternoon light. We saw some beautiful houses along the way. It was good to get back to cycling. However, we got chased and rather scared (P) by a cheeky dog, and there were more either barking and/or on the loose.

It was a real treat to come through the centre of Brockville which had some great old homes and mansions. We have set up camp at St. Lawrence Park on the banks of grand St. Lawrence river. Dinner was tortellini and veggie burgers, chocolate peanuts and juice. And it was very good. In the evening we were still pretty energetic and went to get an ice cream at a nearby gas station.

We did find ourselves wondering what happened today to the clothes we wore to the show last night. Hmmm?

Cycling Trip - Day 9

2008-09-12T10:59:00.001-07:00

August 24th
Ottawa: showtime

A pretty early start to get to St. Andrew's Presbyterian church for 10am. We decided to go there because they advertised an Iona service, and our thoughts travelled back to a year ago. However, the weather was gloomy. The church service kinda was too. The sermon inspired neither of us (it was crap) but S didn't walk out. We seriously wondered if he'd pulled out the wrong sermon by mistake as he started with, "Nearly 50 years ago, at the start of this century..." Huh? There was no eucharist or gospel reading and lots of pessimism about the youth of today. A member of the congregation did a nice job singing 'The Beatitudes" and our own singing wasn't bad either. We didn't linger for social time, but seemed like a nice community.

Then the sun had come out and we went to a walk-in medical clinic to deal with the poison ivy. It made the Hamilton health scene seem idyllic. S was the pawn in a power-struggle between the doctor and receptionist, which took much longer than we would have liked.

We had lunch at Zack's with a mega-milkshake then raced to Gray's tour bus hop-on point to get to Rideau Hall. Funny moment when P was reading in the folder about the thousands of trees, some of which were planted by foreign dignitaries. We look over to the nearest tree that turns out to be planted by Koningin Beatrix (of the Netherlands)!

We took turns for our make-overs changing in the bathroom of a restaurant. P wore a yellow dress, white shoes with flowers & had a beautiful hair-do. S wore a tie, shirt, belt, pants & cool shoes. We walked across the street to the National Arts Centre and sat in the Governor General's box seats, complete with a picture of Queen Elizabeth II at the entry door.

The show Wicked was Oz-some! Great time, great costumes, sets and lighting, great music, great seats, great anniversary! Of course everyone thought we were foreign dignitaries being hosted by the Governor General. Or at least we had fun acting that way.

We changed back into our normal clothes and caught a bus back to our bikes, and rode back to the campsite. But first we creatively deposited our outfits. P's hanging in a tree & S's lying on a sidewalk all done up. We were back "home" by midnight.

What a day! Thanks Ottawa!

Cycling trip - Day 8

2008-09-09T17:46:00.000-07:00

Aug. 23rd
Weekend in Ottawa

We headed into Ottawa on Saturday morning with a mission: get funky/dressy clothes for going to the show on Sunday night. Seeing as we had pretty grand seats we needed something appropriate to wear, and we had nothing except for dirty camping clothes. After walking down a road that we thought may have some second-hand stores without luck, we stopped into the library to gather more info. We were pointed in the right direction, made a list of possible shops and found ourselves enjoying the boutiques and shops of Elgin St.

S had heard of St. John the Evangelist, Anglican Church and wanted to take a look and... voila! A used clothing community shop that was only open on Saturdays in the church basement! We both took our time browsing in there and P needed to use the changing room at least 4 times. Content with a complete evening attire for both of us we walked out with a full plastic bag of clothes, accessories and shoes (total $32.).

By this time we were in desperate need of a second cup of coffee - Bridgehead Coffee to the rescue. One of the best cups of coffee ever!

Next on the agenda was lunch (S was getting grumpy without food). We walked further down Elgin St. to check out the beautiful restaurants and colourfully(!) dressed people preparing for the Gay Pride Parade. We finally settled on a place called the Lieutenants Pump where they started by apologizing that they were only serving brunch until 2:30pm. That turned out to satisfy us quite nicely! We enjoyed a big, fancy and fruity lunch.

Then off to the National Art Gallery, but a funny thing happened on the way... P says, "Hey, that guy looks like Mayor Fred (the mayor of Hamilton)."
(Flashback to the previous evening in the Byward Market) P says, "There's a guy over there who looks like Mayor Fred." S replies, "is it him?" P says, "NO, it doesn't look like him that much."
(Back to Saturday) P says, "But that actually is Mayor Fred!" Pointing to a casually dressed elected official sitting outside a parking garage smoking a cigar. "It IS Mayor Fred! Hi Mayor Fred."
And that's when the Mayor of Hamilton, Fred Eisenberger (fries-n-burger is an easy way to remember his name) hopped up, cigar in hand, and began to chat with us about cycling holidays, great Canadian cities and asked us to drop him a line when we got back to Hamilton.

Finally arrived at the National Art Gallery - it was huge!! Saw some modern photography that wasn't at all impressive. Enjoyed some landscapes by the Group of Seven and a fascinating exploration of the 1930's through different forms of Art. Perhaps too much to take in in one day, and we wished for more time before it closed and felt a little rushed. P did get to see a real VanGogh and a Dali.

Sat outside the Gallery, watching many wedding couples being photographed, when S looked at P's leg and said, "That is poison ivy!" The unmistakable line of tiny dots were on her leg. S has a long and painful history with the evil rash. So we began a new mission: find a walk-in clinic and get a prescription. Problem: there were no such clinics open on Saturday evening and it just wasn't worth waiting in an emergency room.

Somewhat miserable and indecisive about food we headed back towards the campsite. Once there the plan was formed to wash everything we had... leaving us nothing to wear except swimming costumes and long underwear (we looked like a German gymnastics team). Eventually had dinner, a campfire, and roasted marshmallows.

Sigmund napped all day.

Cycling Trip - Day 7

2008-09-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

August 22nd
Exploring Ottawa

Day off!! Whoo-hoo! We headed towards the city and found a spot to park our bikes at Our Lady of Fatima's church. By this time we'd found a bank for cash and bus tickets too. We rode bus number 18 into town, bought some hop-on hop-off tour tickets and found a place to enjoy a coffee. Then went for a ride on the bus, crossed the provincial border into Gatineau, Quebec and got off at the third stop: the Museum of Civilisation. We spent hours and hours there (too much to read really) and enjoyed lunch inbetween overlooking the river and Ottawa city. Especially enjoyed the life-sized display of the regions of Canada.

We caught the last tourbus of the day (phew it came!) that took us all over the place. The entertaining and chatty tourchick was the same one in the morning and the afternoon. She remembered us and Stephen didn't win the prize but did count the sets of Provincial flags. Once we got back into the central city we managed to get tickets nr 1 & 3 for the musical Wicked in the Governor General's (Comissaris van de Koningin) box at the theatre. Happy anniversary to us! :)

We headed for the Byward Market which has an immense choice of restaurants for an OK dinner at an Irish Pub and then found some internet access to contact the home-front. Afterwards we were still very full and lay back on the grass of Parliament Hill to enjoy a light and sound show called Canada: the spirit of a nation. Riding back to the campground was dark and slightly bizarre.

Signmund had the day off.

Cycling trip - Day 6

2008-09-06T10:37:00.000-07:00

August 21st
Silver Lake - Ottawa!

100km EXACTLY.
We had a rough start. P's back tire was flat. Not sure when or how it happened but it was a surprise this morning. Fortunately we were packing quickly and there was time to fix it although the mosquitoes were irritating and we were both a little anxious about the day ahead. The route to Ottawa would be a long day and none of the routes seemed ideal.

It started with a rough ride down the shoulder of Highway nr. 7 - not fun. Then we got on the rail trail (again) but found it more difficult than yesterday - not fun either. Whilst looking for road signs P got yapped at by a dog and she tried to kick it in the head. Totally frustrated, we decided to leave the trail and get back onto the shoulder of Highway nr. 7 at a strange deserted location - formerly a fire station? Also saw a dead porcupine and an alive groundhog. Finally we got into Perth which seemed to take forever.

After Perth the route was great: no hills, good tarmac, slight tail-wind. We were speed demons! We surprised ourselves by getting to Stittsville by 2pm. Sat there and talked to Vic, a friendly cyclist with a similar tan to ours (dark brown thighs, snowy white above the shorts-line).

We found the campground in Ottawa easily although the route through town was pretty bumpy. We were also just slightly disappointed that we never came across a "Welcome to Ottawa" sign. Got here at 3.30pm. Enjoyed lots of food and making plans to be tourists over the next few days.

We're currently tending a high maintenance fire and writing in the dark. We've had a great shower and a great day. Looking forward to a great sleep.

Hamilton - Ottawa total = 567km

Cycling trip - Day 5

2008-09-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

Aug. 20th
Cozy Cove (Trudeau Park) to Silver Lake

The day started with some sweet sleep and we awoke to the sounds of crows and woodpeckers. We had a good campfire last night with hot chocolate and marshmallows (and a combination of sugared peanuts and soft! chocolate raisins). The showers of Trudeau Park were public pool style showers that were the size of a ballroom all to ourselves.

We did decide to take the 'rail trail' because it was the Trans-Canada Trail and S had been led to believe that it was entirely wheelchair accessible - it definitely was not! The quality of the trail varied from good to crap. The good part was almost like tarmac; the crap parts were sharp, chunky, loose granite. The condition of the rest of the trail was somewhere in between the two extremes. It was very beautiful too with lots of water and marshes.

"Hey would you see beavers in this kind of area," asks P.
S replies, "If you're really patient."

Less than a minute later.

"What's that?" asks P.
Answer, "That, that's a beaver dam."
And it went right across the trail and soaked our shoes.

Strange encounter: At one point a truck started honking at us and a local guy drove up behind us onto the rail trail offering the use of his private beach and cabin. Maybe it was just weird because he was the first person we'd seen in hours.

We've re-named Sharbot Lake 'Sore-butt Lake' but we're pleased that their hardware store did have a new bulb for P's Mac torch. We REALLY didn't like Highway #7 - 3 trucks tried to drive us off the side of the road, so we rode on the gravel shoulder for several kms. Compared to the rail trail it was pretty good. Upon arrival at Silver Lake P enjoyed fries and mayo, S had cotton candy & cherry cheesecake flavoured ice cream.

We're very pleased to make use of Provincial Park facilities (come visit with us here). The tent is up, the food pack rope* is up the tree, our clothes have been washed and we hope to be in Ottawa tomorrow.

According to Sigmund we did 81 km in 5hrs 10min.

* with bears and raccoons in the area we had to keep all food and scented items out of our tent... however everyone else just puts this stuff in their car trunk (boot). So instead we hung our stuff in the saddlebags from a tree.

Cycling Trip - Day 4

2008-09-03T16:53:00.000-07:00

August 19th
Birdsall - Trudeau Park (Tweed)

Pretty strange cycling day. It all started with P's steering wheel. We tried to raise its angle but could only make it looser with the tools that we had. A friendly chap who noticed our predicament gave us another Allen key. Everything was fixed, we were on our way at 10.10am. The result of the steering wheel adjustment is less numbness in P's hand :)

Today we felt far from home. Our lunch stop was a gravel road after many grueling hills which included the first we walked to the top of because of the combination of steep gradient and loose gravel. Then there was a desert-like rocky landscape and a crappy trail. Off-road motorbikes turned onto it just before us - we could have known that was not a good sign.

Hastings and Campbelford were pretty towns that we came through today. On the other hand: Springbrook - butt ugly! Had to stop counting cows because it became a safety hazard because of the bad tarmac and trucks driving so fast we were sucked into their slipstream. We did not empirically research this but we expect that there is a correlation between the large size of the truck, the little space it leaves for cyclists, the noise of its engine and the tininess of the manhood of the driver.

Sigmund says 88km in 5hrs.

Coldest day so far, but both of us got sunburnt (we did not bring the effective suncream). We are now staying at a creepy "resort" - an excellent setting for a horror movie. It's a huge mansion that looks like it was abondoned. It claims it's a campsite too and we're camping but we're the only ones and there's no taps or wastebins outside. Amazing sun set whilst sitting on a bench, on an outcrop overlooking the lake. For dinner we went for a double package of pasta today plus lots of snacking!

Because of our experiences on the bad trail we need to re-think the next stages of the route.

Cycling Trip - Day 3

2008-09-02T17:42:00.001-07:00

Aug. 18th
Port Perry to Rice Lake (Birdsall Beach)

A day of farts & feet, laundry & lightning.

Riding was hilly but very doable. Had no problem finding a fantastic grocery story in Millbrook. We highly recommend it and enjoyed our picnic lunch on their stoop, which included peeing behind their bushes. We made 1 major detour after lunch when other cyclists made it clear that we were heading straight into Peterborough (Even though it wasn't on our route we were glad to have crossed the Otanabee River at Wallace bridge because it was so impressive). Saw a whole gaggle of blue jays* and cow statues**, etc. and a stupid police car (who apperantly doesn't know that that law requires him to provide cyclists with 1 metre).

We got to our campsite just in time... the thunder had been rolling around in the sky to our left for about the last 2hrs of riding. Had all our stuff packed on to a picnic table with the tarp over top and held down by bungee cords, just as the rain started to pour! So the evening at Birdsall Beach Resort has been wet. It has rained since we arrived 5 hrs ago, and we're slowly managing to get things done. Now the tent still needs to be set up. Cooked dinner on the office/store porch which went well. Friendly staff let us stay inside while the power was out and it even hailed! We are now in the Kawarthas***! and we're writing this in a laundry room with an incredibly loud pump.

Sigmund says that we've done a total of 305.5 km - 101.05 today in 4hr & 45 min.

*blue jays are a beautifully coloured bird, part of the crow family, but also a great baseball team in Toronto who will again make the playoffs someday.
**"Counting Cows" is a game we play where each person gets points for cows on their side of the road, but cow signs and statues are worth extra points!
***a mysterious and fantastical land that P loves to hear about on the radio weather reports

Cycling trip - Day 2

2008-09-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

August 17th
Terra Cotta - Port Perry

Wow! We rode a lot today. Set out around 9am. Great trail towards Palgrave, but because it was so good we almost missed our turn off. Met several friendly cyclists along the way: 1) before we got on the trail; 2) in Kettleby - she offered us water and cookies. Kettleby is well worth a visit with very cute buildings with historical name boards on almost every house. E.g. Here lived John Whitby, Well Digger 1842.

Had a great glass of lemonade from some entrepeneurial kids alongside the road in Lloydtown - 25cents each. It got quite hot around noon but clouds and a light breeze cooled things off later. Our lunch spot was a weed and insect infested rock cropping on the outskirts of Snowball (a place we had to stop in memory of S's cat - RIP). We didn't see the "inskirts" (were there any?) but the donut shop looked like the place to be.

From Snowball to Ballantrae went very quickly: easy hills, good roads, very cool scenery at Musselman Lake. Some great skies and foreign landscapes. We felt surprisingly fit. S had a swollen knee that went away with an extra-strength Advil (pain killer).

According to Sigmund we rode 116km in roughly 6 hrs (but made a lot of stops to find a campsite that made our day much longer). Now staying at the San Man Motel (P: "it looks just like the ones in the movies"), boycotting Goreski's Campsite because it was not well advertised and another 13km there may well have killed us. Plus we get to watch the olympics.

Memorable moment: crazy lady running onto the path in front of our bikes to find out where we got our red panniers.

Cycling Holiday 2008 - Day 1

2008-08-31T13:27:00.000-07:00

P&S set out to cycle from Hamilton to Ottawa (Ontario, Canada). Along the way we kept a journal and thought it would be fun to share (with a few editorial changes). The trip takes place in the second half of August 2008, and new entries will be added over the coming weeks.

Sigmund is our bike computer (Sigma) who analyzes our achievements and statistics. All other names are actual people.

Aug. 16th, 2008
Hamilton to Terra Cotta

Details - Sigmund says we rode 88km today in 4hrs 37 min. Had lunch in Campbellville. We are now camping in the middle of Credivale RV park. Not one that was on our list. Terra Cotta's Gardens couldn't be found.

Memorable moments - on 15th Side road (a great road to ride) we lost a front pannier (fietstas) because of a bump on a downhill. A road bike couple* coming behind us also had a mechanical problem after the bump. P's front wheel wobbled because of it. Beautiful houses, a few little lakes. Heard "Ordinary Miracle" by Sarah McLaughlin being sung at an outdoor wedding at the Terra Cotta Inn.

Beautiful moment - when the butterfly almost flew into P's face.

Not-so-fun moments - S shouted obscenities and sarcastic comments at 4 cars, crossing the 401 highway was narrow, and there were awkward intersection moments in Waterdown and Georgetown. Not good blood circulation in P's right hand, Beth's bean dinner caused some unwanted gas, but generally a happy riding day. Also, a few complaints about S's second front gear.

P led the way, tomorrow is S's day.

*they recommended riding Manitoulin Island and the cookies and New Year's celebrations in Glen Williams.

a growing kind of day

2008-04-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

P's growing seeds. The radishes are in first place. They were planted 10 days ago in a mini greenhouse. It's quite addictive to see things grow. I've been most impressed by the Morning Glory, by the strength and boldness the first leaf displays as it cracks through the surface of the soil. So I wasn't surprised to find out that it has weed-like qualities - I'm sure it'll feel right at home in our garden! You know, I don't think I've grown edible or non-edible plants from scratch since I was a whole lot younger... I'm looking forward to a vegetable garden. And flowers.

Tomorrow is going to be:

Whooohoo! And I thought we might make it a bit of a gardening day. In response Stephen exclaimed how he'd never thought he'd find himself saying "that sounds like fun". It is of course, because he gets to do very manly things... heaving and lugging and digging and chopping....

A big scraggly shrub has been removed from next to the shed leaving a gaping hole and a very visible neighbours fence making it look like the before and after pictures are the wrong way round. But we're choosing to call it room for potential. Wait and see.

We've also decided the toilet has to go and part of the driveway that protrudes into the back yard is history too. Yesterday, as P came out of the house, she was just in time to see S drop a huge slab of asphalt to crack it but, as it landed on the ground, it also landed on the shovel ejecting it into the air with a graceful rotation but stunning speed! Whizzing by not far from his head it was quite a sight to see. Especially as S had asked not long before whether P realised that it was likely that at some point during this project he was going to hurt himself...?! Pray not today.

After all that stir-fry for dinner? Maybe with egg? P set about scrambling eggs, setting them aside, frying vegetables, adding tofu with curry paste to make a milky sauce to go with potatoes and carrots... We're all set! As you know manual labour results in quite an appetite, it went down rather quickly, was it not enough? No worries, that just means some room for ice-cream! With empty bowls we're back in the kitchen when S lifts the lid off a plate, "what's this for?" It's the scrambled eggs that never made it into the curry! And that became the last course of the meal that satisfied these gardeners.

Introducing Phineas Varinus the 5th

2007-11-19T18:29:00.000-08:00

Our Ford,
who art in Hamilton,
hallowed be your name,
your gas station come
your lights be on in the dark and when its raining.
Give us today many greens lights,
and forgive our bad passing,
as we forgive those who pass badly in front of us.
Lead us not into traffic jams,
but deliver us from speed traps.
For ours is the stick-shift, the sunroof and the power-windows.
Ford ever & never. Amen.

match boxes

2007-09-14T15:43:00.001-07:00

We had 10 glorious days during which we opened a few matchboxes every day ... We'd take a couple to breakfast, we'd pop a few in our bag before we went to the river or out for the day... it was wonderful! and what a variety! Thank you for pouring your creativity into that.

Beautiful words and wishes were written in all shapes and sizes on many different types of paper, rolled and scribbled, in English, Dutch, Frisian & Irish (still need to get that translated ;). Then there were words in the form of games, puzzles, poems, advice, newspaper clippings, mini-cards & books.
Shells from places near and far, flower seeds, stones, wool, a little dove and candles... Symbols of great virtues and qualities. Too many gifts to mention individually but always personal, often in two's, chosen with care & chosen to fit.

Also some surprising things you wouldn't think would come in a matchbox like:
a kitchen counter (ok it didn't actually fit in the matchbox); an African princess' bracelet (which feels like it could be used for magic -we've been reading Harry Potter); a pair of sheep; a Scottish quaich for each of us; a pretty spectacular type of match (firestarter) which can be used for up to 3000 times; Holy water from the Jordan river & fireworks which we enjoyed with many on our last night in France.

This was all about the contents and and we haven't even started describing the ways in which the boxes were decorated. One included a geology lesson of the Hebrides, one was a geography lesson of the gevoels wereld... if ever you're in the neighbourhood you're welcome to come and admire them. This weekend we went through them all again and they are truly a great impression of the talents of our friends and family.

Home again.
P&S

photographs & video too

2007-09-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

See:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/peterandjulie/sets/72157601864964428/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bethandbrent/sets/72157601851620360/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70823799@N00/sets/72157601089787810/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/69414658@N00/sets/72157601893608675/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/margaretandgreg/sets/72157602053439400/
and video too at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnjdVxQJ4GA

enjoy
we are
p&s

We're married!

2007-09-02T23:59:00.000-07:00

thank you everyone & travel safely
much love
P&S

White ribbon campaign

2007-08-27T02:41:00.000-07:00

hey, what if everybody going towards Iona for our wedding was to put a white ribbon on their bag?
yeah, that would be cool! then they would recognize each other on the bus, train, plane, or ferry!
maybe they would be able to meet beforehand and have more fun on the way.
what if they told stories about us we don't want them knowing?
oh yeah, hadn't thought of that. maybe we shouldn't tell them.
also, it's pretty late to let people know.
yeah, lots of them are already travelling
how could we let them know?
put it on the blog?
no, only a few people are checking the blog
yeah, and we haven't been good about updating it lately
maybe an email?
okay, then we can also wish them safe travels and let them know how much we're looking forward to seeing them.
Good plan.

Veel Liefs.
S&P

Soon

2007-08-03T10:17:00.000-07:00

There is a shop in our street that has been closed for for the past few months but has also, for some time already had a note stuck on the door which says "opening soon". How long does "soon" take? Three weeks from now we hope to have greeted many of you as you step off the ferry onto the isle of Iona, 3 weeks from now we hope to be married! How we have looked forward to this month and now it is upon us!

It feels like 3 weeks is nothing compared to the many months that we have been looking forward to our travels, our visit to Iona, the ceremony and celebrations.... the start to life after that. At the same time we are looking forward to a lot of socialising in the Netherlands in the coming weeks before we make our way to Scotland. There is so much between now and then and there, that soon feels like it's going to be jam-packed to the brim and not very soon at all.

What a paradox time is. Right now all seems organised, all seems ready and yet we know we have forgotten something! Oh patience! I can't wait to meet our newest nephew. I can't wait to see my sister pregnant. Oh siblings! parents, friends, family. Oh Iona. Wish we were there.

Until then.

Making news

2007-06-27T06:56:00.001-07:00

Ever tried getting your name in the newspaper twice in 1 week?
It's fun! (click on newspaper article to read/ view a larger version)

Wild life

2007-06-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Our apologies to those of you who have been here over and over again only to find no update... It's not that nothing has been happening! We do hope that the previous post is and continues to be helpful for those of you planning to travel to Iona.

Since last posting our house has turned into a home! A few of the bigger projects we have in mind have not yet been completed but we've put a lot of hours into it and if you compare these photo's with earlier ones you'll get a bit of a "before and after" idea. The garden has also come alive and thanks goes to our first house guest P's mum Marion for creating some order in the chaos out there! With thanks to many generous friends for cuttings and new plants too.
At the first signs of spring P planted some seeds but that turned out to be a little early. In Southern Ontario most gardeners wait 'till the end of May for the last frost to pass! So, snow fell on Easter Sunday and the Magnolia's took a very long time to start blooming but now we've had quite a few hot and sweaty days, barbeque's too and Stephen's discovered a talent for pruning. Trees and bushes are looking extremely neat and tidy, the lawnmower is used regularly and the latest report from the garden is that the rabbit has eaten the parsley.

More wild life news is that P ran over a chipmunk with her bicycle recently which was quite a traumatic experience. However, generally we're both enjoying cycling to most places and looking at birds, squirrels and deer along the way. (View short video clips of Hamilton by Handlebar here). Last week we discovered Mount Albion Falls just 15minutes from where we live. Yup, we like life on the Hamilton Mountain! We did quite a bit of exploring with Marion. A visit to Niagara Falls, a walk around Canterbury Hills, we spent time with S's parents in Guelph, we showed off Hamilton and Dundas and we were able to make a trip up to Kingston to visit dear friends there. All in all a quality visit during which beautiful memories were made. In that time we also had a birthday / housewarming garden party, there were many phonecalls from the Netherlands, the postman brought wonderful packages, "het NRC" and cards and Marion's suitcase seemed like an endless source of gifts. Thank you to all!

On the 2nd Friday of very month we've been "doing the artcrawl". We're getting to know more and more people who are involved in that growing scene and for P things are getting busy as she gets involved with local designers, their shops and their newspapers. Stephen's wild life has been centered a bit more around the life of the Anglican Diocese of Niagara. Much has been going on, the main event being the episcopal election that took place last weekend. The coming weeks will see the start of the wedding season... Stephen will be involved with weddings for 4 consecutive weekends! It will be interesting to experience this as we look forward to our own...
Wishing you well, from our home to yours. P&S

Van plan om naar Iona te reizen?

2007-02-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

[English version below]
Wij wel... en als u dat ook van plan bent volgt hier wat (hopelijk!) handige informatie.

Wanneer u samen met ons op het eilandje Iona ions huewlijk wilt vieren zouden we u willen adviseren zo spoedig mogelijk een slaapplaats te reserveren. Accommodatie mogelijkheden zijn beperkt en het is gebleken dat veel bezoekers ver vooruit boeken. In een eerdere blog (genaamd: Accomodation on Iona) vindt u aanbevelingen wat betreft accomodatie en neem vooral contact op met ons als u vragen heeft.

Reizen naar Iona
Met het openbaar vervoer:
Wanneer u s’ochtends vertrekt vanuit Glasgow kunt u op tijd in Oban aankomen om tussen de middag de oversteek te maken naar Mull. Hier wacht een locale bus naar Fhionnphort je op waarna je rond 14uur de oversteek maakt naar Iona. Vertrek je rond het middag uur vanuit Glasgow dan kun je om 16uur met de pond naar Mull, vervolgens met de bus van 16.50 naar Fionnphort en om 18.15 over naar Iona.

http://www.citylink.co.uk/
Voor bus diensten tussen Glasgow en Oban. Het is een prachtige reis om met de bus te maken door valleien, over bergen, langs meren en dorpjes… maar niet als je last hebt van wagenziekte!
www.firstgroup.com/scotrail
Ook prachtige uitzichten vanuit de trein. Iets duurder, wel meer comfortabel.
http://www.calmac.co.uk/
Voor meer informatie over de ponddiensten. Wanneer je met de auto zou willen komen moet er voor de Oban – Craignure pond van tevoren gereserveerd worden. Auto’s mogen de laatste oversteek naar Iona niet maken. Wel zijn er goede parkeergelegenheden dichtbij de pond in Fionnphort.
www.bowmanstours.co.uk
De bus dienst op Mull vertrekt in Craignure bij de pond vandaan en er staat duidelijk op aangegeven dat deze naar Fionnphort / Iona ferry gaat. De laatste pond gaat rond 18.15 naar Iona (deze wacht op de bus).

Wat nog meer?
Als u er over na denkt om langer op Iona te verblijven is het misschien een idee om te kijken naar de mogelijkheden die de Iona Community biedt. De programma’s lopen in de Iona Abbey en the MaCleod Centre van zaterdag tot vrijdag.
w http://www.iona.org.uk/
e mailto:ionacomm@gla.iona.org.uk
t +44 1681 700404
f +44 1681 700460

Wisselkoersen komen misschien van pas: http://www.x-rates.com/
Huidige koersen
can$1 = €0.66
can$1 = £0.44
€1 = £0,67
€1 = can$1,52
£1 = can$2,27
£1 = €1,49

Planning to travel to Iona?

2007-02-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

We are... and if you're making plans to join us there here's some - what we hope is - helpful information.

If you’re planning to celebrate with us on the Isle of Iona we would like to advise you to find a place to stay as soon as possible. Accommodation on the island is limited and we have found that many visitors book very far in advance. Please find some recommendations in an earlier web post (title: Accomodation on Iona ) and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Travelling to Iona
By public transport:
The morning departures from Glasgow get you to Oban in time for the mid-day ferry from Oban to the Isle of Mull, which is met by the local service bus which takes you through Mull to Fionnphort, where you take the afternoon ferry to Iona. The mid-day departures from Glasgow get you to Oban in time for the 1600 ferry to Mull, the 1650 bus through Mull and the 1815 ferry to Iona.

http://www.citylink.co.uk/
Bus services between Glasgow and Oban. This is a fantastic ride through mountains and valleys, along lakesides and the prettiest Scottish villages but not advisable if you’re prone to motion sickness!
www.firstgroup.com/scotrail
A similar trip by train is more comfortable.
http://www.calmac.co.uk/
For more information on the ferry services check out the Caledonian MacBrayne website.
If you plan on bringing a car across to Mull it is necessary to make reservations for the Oban – Craignure ferry beforehand. Cars are not allowed to be taken onto Iona.
www.bowmanstours.co.uk
The coach service across Mull leaves from the ferry terminal at Craignure and is marked clearly with Fionnphort / ferry Iona. The last ferry to Iona leaves at 1810 (will wait for bus).

What else?
If you’re considering a longer stay on Iona you may want to look at the programmes offered by the Iona Commmunity at the Iona Abbey & the MacLeod Centre.
w http://www.iona.org.uk/
e mailto:ionacomm@gla.iona.org.uk
t +44 1681 700404
f +44 1681 700460

You may find exchange rates helpful: http://www.x-rates.com/
Todays rates are:
can$1 = €0.66
can$1 = £0.44
€1 = £0,67
€1 = can$1,52
£1 = can$2,27
£1 = €1,49

Celebrations!

2007-02-10T11:51:00.000-08:00

Some photo's to give you an idea of what's keeping us busy... thinking, dreaming, hoping, wondering... There’s lots of creative juices flowing, also some adrenaline as huge decisions are made... We get the key next week!
We recently celebrated the fact that Pleuntje arrived in

Canada

exactly one month ago. A few days later we celebrated the fact that she arrived in

Canada

exactly one year ago... How’d we do that?! Time’s flying and we find there’s much to celebrate. We’ve found ourselves a new home, we found square envelopes for the wedding invitations and we hear good news coming from friends and family regularly! Thanks for phonecalls, chat sessions and together-time.

[Photo's from left - right]
Top: downstairs bedroom, dining room, upstairs 'master' bedroom
Lower: view from kitchen, bathroom, kitchen (counter to be replaced asap;)

A little more “ours”

2007-01-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

The big day started at Jack Johnston’s (not to be confused with Jack Johnson: the surfer/ singer songwriter who, by the way, we hope to invite to our wedding along with Mr Paul Simon!). We rented a van from Johnston’s garage and had a detailed plan drawn up for the day. I was pleased to see that this garage was seriously certified. The owner’s name seemed to be differently spelled on every certificate but they were all neatly framed and hung for all to see and admire. As the day wore on we noticed certificates all over the place. This is a country where it helps to be certified.

The (certified) local shipping agent in Toronto gave us two copies of a form and a map which showed us how to get to the next stop. In return we had to give him a check. Why exactly did we pay him? As far as I could tell this man had never seen our shipment and apart from moving some papers from his in- to his outbox, I don’t think he had very much to do with it at all! But never mind. We were grateful for his directions as we found ourselves driving around looking for Customs. The offices seemed to be located on the airport runway. Are you sure we’re allowed to be driving here?!

At customs we were assisted by a man with lots of labels on his dark blue uniform. We both went looking for his name tag but only found a number: 271993. He was calm, collected, and was sure to inform us of all the latest developments as he was processing our papers. There were questions, prepared and unprepared answers, suspense and relief. He found our story convincing, stamped stamps in the designated areas on the necessary forms and eventually we left the building as proud owners of the form we needed. Do you think it’s possible to send flowers to a number? By this time our tummies were grumbling but we felt the need to press onwards. Here’s some water and a granola bar… persevere! It was a lot like a treasure hunt really.

From customs to warehouse was another 20min drive, a wrong door, a short wait. Ah, the chests: one big one, two small ones and a number of boxes. We were reunited again!

Our adventure continued as we drove across the province to pick up a table and chairs, inherited from Stephe’s grandpa. We passed through beautiful, wintery countryside and explored a wide range of radio stations. Carrying everything up the stairs and fitting it all into the apartment was the last major challenge of the day. How blessed we are with all these things! How nice it is to be “mixing belongings”.

And so everyday becomes a little less “yours and mine” and a little more “ours”.

brr

2007-01-17T07:16:00.000-08:00

Someone has just headed off on a 45min bike ride, someone else is happy to stay within the walls of our warm home for now... brr.
A serious form of winter seems to have arrived in Ontario. It scares Pleuntje a little now again ('when do numb, cold toes turn into frostbitten or frostnipped?') but the cold brings with it many beautiful sights. Frozen rain on trees in the sunlight makes it look like they're wearing diamonds! Walking on the snowy frozen golfcourse brought an entirely new experience with it... Creaking and crunching I wasn't sure what I was walking on. Snow? Ice? Is this ground beneath my feet?
Stay warm, stay well.

A+

2007-01-09T15:15:00.000-08:00

Beste Vrienden,
De cijfer voor mijn Nederlands les is A+!!!
Dank u wel Pien.
Ik wil meer Nederlands leren.
Stephen

Copyshop country

2007-01-09T06:31:00.000-08:00

We’re thinking about the invitation. We’ve spent an evening on the design bringing our ideas together and the topic of conversation whilst washing the dishes this morning was what the text is going to be. We started looking through fonts but we have such a huge collection that we didn’t get much further than the “f”…. A luxury problem! Finding a suitable printer, the lowest price and the friendliest copyshop gives Pleuntje something more to do, people to call and places to go whilst exploring the Hamilton surroundings.

Copyshop country is a scene she loves and of course it turns out that the one that the guy at the art shop advised us to check out turns out to be owned by the guy who is living under the same roof as the daughter of the son of the sister of Pleuntje’s grandmother who she met up with last week and who turns out to be working right round the corner here in Dundas. It sure is a small world!

This invitation “project” is also an ideal opportunity to become acquainted with inches and North American paper formats, something she was dreading but it can no longer be avoided and thankfully the software can do a lot of the metric – imperial translation. One thing I would like to say to everybody on the otherside of the Atlantic: if you’re taking A4s for granted… Don’t! I think 21cm x 29,7cm will forever make more sense than 8,5”x11”. Everything’s in dollars and cents too and what on earth is a dime?!

The bilingual-ness is also a bit of a challenge. Come up with a beautiful sentence in one language… the chances are minimal that when translated it’s going to sound as poetic.
De twee-taligheid is ook een aardige uitdaging. Bedenk je in de ene taal een prachtige zin… dan is de kans toch heel klein dat het wanneer het vertaald wordt even poetisch klinkt. How does that sound? Hoe klinkt dat? The whole project will probably be quite a Dutch lesson for Stephe. Especially seeing as the designing software being used is a Dutch version! So don’t be surprised when his Dutch conversations are interspersed with words like invoegen, bewerken, & dupliceren. …?Inserting, editing, duplicating…

Alongside that Pleun has been conquering territory in the lanes of the (salt water) community swimming pool in Dundas, had the first local pint at the local pub and had 2 Canadians and a Scotsgirl teaching her “O, Canada”. The drummer at the jam session at the gallery yesterday loved her photo’s, and the Dutch artist and gallery owner was eager to offer her the opportunity to exhibit… Many, many exciting developments and we haven’t even started to tell you about the house hunt!

Until the next time.

better together

2006-12-31T14:13:00.000-08:00

We're together again!
We're having a blast!
At the moment eating Gourmet Jelly Beans... Stephe just had one that tasted like a strawberry smoothie and Pleuntje had one that might have been pineapple. Over the past couple of days we've had time to catch up, exchanged gifts, visited with Stephe's parents and walked their dog Shona (many, many times!). It's a little strange now to sit and write together instead of to one another but apart from mundane things to get used to we're ... better together!
We're grateful for a wonderful wave-off at the airport, safe flights, friendly fellow travellers and custom officers, phone lines across the Atlantic ocean, open doors, Christmas gifts, warm clothes, loving emails, each other = God's many blessings.
For Pleuntje, once again, "the village by the river" (Canada) has lots of curiousities. She's been taking photo's of the strangest things including supermarket signs and license plates. A tour of Hamilton was had and an introduction at Church of the Resurrection (Stephe's place of work) has already taken place.
Yesterday afternoon while visiting friends she came across what epitomizes Dundas hospitality... we were talking to the owners of the local "Lock & Key" shop who wanted to make us feel always welcome and said, "Our door is always open." Funny that a locksmith says that. Or does that say something about the quality of their locks?!

Wishing everyone a very happy New Year/Nieuwjaar. See you in '07!!!

Thanksgiving / Dankdag

2006-10-07T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hey Peaches,
Thanksgiving is traditionally a time of family, so it seemed like a good time to introduce your family and friends to mine. Tonight we will eat lots of turkey, mashed potatoes, squash, and pie. (I will also try to translate as much as possible with my feeble Dutch skills)

Dankdag voor het gewas is een dag voor jouw familie, en ik voorstel mijn familie te jouw. Vandaag we willen veel kalkoen, aardappelpuree, en pompoen taart eten.
(Ik ben moeilijk met mijn klien beetje Nederlandse les omzetten)

My Mother... Margaret. She is a priest in Guelph, Ontario.
My Father... Greg is a retired teacher, who collects new jobs. He likes cycling.
They have been married for 35 years.

My (younger) sister... Beth is a midwife. She's married to Brent Davis. They live in Leeds, England while she studies for her PhD.

Mijn moeder...Margaret. Ze is een dominee in Guelph, Ontario.
Mijn vader...Greg was een docent ???. Hij houden van fietsen.
Zij hebben trouwen vijfendertig jaar zijn.

Mijn zusje... Beth is een verlos'kundige. Ze is trouwen met Brent Davis. Zij wonen in Leeds, Engeland. Ze is studente.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Goededankdag voor het gewas!

Announcements

2006-09-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

Way to go, Pleun... first blog entry looked good! and informative.
Heel goede, Pleun... je hebt een eerste blog leuk gekijkt! (is that even close to making sense?)

I've now contacted everyone I could think of. Do you think it's time to send out the info. pack?
Any guesses on how fast the Hostel will fill up? Would it be possible for more than 1 person to sleep on a bunk?

Supposedly an announcement of our engagement has been posted on the Diocese of Niagara's website! Yikes! Couldn't find it, but got an email of congratulations...

Accomodation on Iona

2006-09-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

Below are all sorts of interestings details and links on accomodation on Iona but mainly this is just me creating the first blog entry of my life! (Jippie jippie look at me!! xxpleuntje)

Hotels
Argyll Hotel 0044 1681 700 334
reception@argyllhotel.co.uk
http://www.argyllhoteliona.co.uk/

Columba Hotel 0044 1681 700 304
columba@btconnect.com
http://www.stcolumba-hotel.co.uk/

Bed & Breakfasts
Clachan Corrach 0044 1681 700 323 Mrs. Gill Black
Kilona 0044 1681 700 528 Mr. & Mrs. Crosby
Greenbank 0044 1681 700 330 Mrs. Barbara Hellenschmidt
Sithean 0044 1681 700 331 Mrs. Lotte Kirchwen
Shore Cottage 0044 1681 700 744 Miss Sarah MacDonald
enquiries@shorecottage.co.uk
http://www.shorecottage.co.uk/
Dalantober 0044 1681 700 776 Mrs. Joyce McIntyre
Bishop’s House 0044 1681 700 800 Mrs. E. Meehan
Cruachan 0044 1681 700 523/515 Mrs. Moira Morison

NB There are other bed & breakfasts in Fionnphort (on Mull) although you would need to leave Iona (& the festivities!) on the last ferry of the evening. This is also not all there is on Iona. You may find other /more info through: http://www.holidaymull.org/accommodation.htm

If you're travelling from .ca

2006-09-26T05:39:00.000-07:00

So you've been invited to our wedding and like the idea of coming to Iona to be part of the celebration. You're one of the most important people in our lives and we'd be honoured and thrilled if you were able to come.

However, we also recognize that there may be many reasons you wouldn't be able to: $$$, time constraints, or your family is involved in a centuries old land war in Scotland that will not permit you to enter the country. We can't help you with that, but here are some rough guess about, 'how much will it cost?'

Based on trip to Iona in '05... (all prices in

Can.

$)

Airfare from T.O. to Glasgow $500 - $700
Glasgow (2 nights before, 1 night after + food) $350 - $450
Travel within Scotland (train/bus to Oban, ferry, Mull bus, ferry) $90
Iona (food & accom.) $160 - $700
Miscellaneous tourist extras $150

However, these costs really depend upon your choice of accommodation, appetite, budget.

There are only 21 beds at the Iona Hostel so if you'd like to stay there, pls contact either Stephen or Pleuntje as soon as possible.

VERRRRY preliminary details

2006-09-26T05:36:00.001-07:00

Pleuntje en Stephen's Wedding Celebration

Sat. Sept. 1st, 2007
Marriage Service at 3:30pm
Iona Abbey, Scotland
followed by dinner, drinks and party

The greatest gift we could ask for would be your presence as the community of our friends and family as we begin our married life together.

Step 1 - book accommodations on Iona for Fri. Aug. 31st and Sat. Sept. 1st . If you would like to stay at the Iona Hostel please contact Pleun and Stephe as soon as possible - spaces are extremely limited! (www.isle-of-iona.com/accommodation.htm)

Step 2 - RSVP to our email (pleuntjeenstephen@yahoo.ca) or contact either Stephe or Pleun to let us know that you'll be coming... we're excited to see you!

Step 3 - make other plans: travel, accom., etc.

As we make plans to share this special day please pray for us as we will be thinking of you too!
Liefs!