While I was sitting hard at work on the front verandah 3 ladies delivered a flyer that caught my eye. It was for and they were promoting a FREE concert featuring the Missouri Music Men at the Muskoka Boat and Heritage Centre. Now, they promised an evening of great gospel singing with no obligation to buy or necessity to convert to anything so we had some dinner and headed down to Grace and Speed. The Missouri Music Men were very good http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn0PK7nXrLU&feature=related and the venue certainly suited them. I'm not sure about the sermon that followed but the preacher certainly had passion.
Sure was a nice night for a walk along the lakefront after the concert. This is a special place!!!!!
Quick breakfast and Julie headed by bike to her school to have a look at the Grade 7 Garage Sale. The look brought home a baking tray (for pavlova), a tray for carrying canapes, a plastic pumpkin a sweeet smelling candle and 2 stuffed toys (moose & bear). Lucky she didn't drive!!!!
We had a few hours to spare before our Sharon and Jim were arriving so we mounted the CuRVy and headed north to Katrine http://www.almaguinhighlands.com/almaguin/communities/katrine.html The reason for our trip was to hear our friend Jay (the Maple Syrup guy) and his band play. What an interesting gig, we arrive in heavy rain to find the fairly small carpark of the old school full and about 100 people jammed into the former school's hall.
We were invited to sit by a couple (Rick & Darlene) who saw that we were obviously new to the place and more than a little confused about what was going to be happening. No sooner did we sit than the Fiddleheads started the fun and the dancefloor was filled.
As you can see they weren't a young crowd however we fitted right in and the music was so good that the dance floor was filled for much of the time. Although there were times when the music required skill and knowledge of dances that were handed down from long ago. But it wasn't long before the light footed one (no not me) was invited to learn
As you can see the dance floor was cleared to let the real dancers strutt their stuff. And there was no shortage of fiddlers in the Fiddleheads. Nor was there a shortage of talent in this band or the acts that followed. The best part of the experience was the friendliness of the people who were there. When Jay saw us he introduced the Aussies to the crowd and from then on any break gave people the opportunity to make us feel welcome. As Jimmy McGrath would say "nice meeting nice people!!! All good things have to come to an end and with us expecting visitors we had to press Go Home on Mrs Garmin and head back to Gravenhurst. Our visitors were Sharon and James from Ottawa and it was nice to be able to welcome visitors who have been so welcoming to us in Ottawa. Good dinner, good conversation and good fun finished off a great day.
Sharon was on her way to Barrie to have a check up after having CCSVI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_cerebrospinal_venous_insufficiency check up so I had suggested that she stay with us. Now, what would we be able to do for a day in Gravenhurst?
I had asked whether the Heritage Centre was going to be open while we were there on Friday night and Anne (the manager) had generously offerred me the opportunity for me to give a solo tour on Sunday. The bonuses you get from being a volunteer... Actually it was really the first time that I had really had the opportunity to take my time and look around. For Julie, Sharon and Jim it was the first time that they had been there at all, so we were very lucky!
We had decided to eat at one of Gravenhurt's restuarants (hooray said the chef/cook) and the meal at the Regatta http://www.regatta.ca/ , which was a fantastic finale for a fabulous weekend. The views were a little reminescent of home.....
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