Me = idiot.
Oct. 16th, 2006 09:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
teddogI misread the headline "IAEA predicts more nuclear states" as "IKEA predicts more nuclear states". This strikes me as a unique way to end any future nuclear arms races. Yes, come to your local IKEA and pick up your Swedish A-bomb In A Box. Credit or debt only, no cash. In the time it takes the people to build the darn thing, IKEA will have enough time to run a complete background check and send out police to arrest the buyer if needed.
Therefore, IKEA will end up the source of cheap but decent batteries, various meatballs, breakfast-for-a-buck and world peace.
Anyway, today's misadventure brought us to Christie's, a conservation centre out in Flamborough. The full name for the place is Christie Lake Conservation Area, but most people I know call the place Christie's. Now, Christie's used to be very popular about 10 to 15 years ago. This was back when Lake Ontario was declared unsafe to swim in by the general population and the families at my school used to drive out to the conservation area on summer days.
Of course, this didn't include me for whatever reason. MY memories of Christie's are surrounded around not the "let's swim in the lake!" area, but the education centre slight down to the south. My first trip to Christie's was in grade 8. We had a science field trip down to the education centre, where we went hiking and played Survival.
Let's back up a little here - Canadian kid's TV and camp history time!
Years upon years ago, there used to be a TV show called Camp Cariboo:
http://www.keeners.com/cariboo/index.html
http://www.rickstv.com/tvo/campcariboo.html
It was set at a fictional camp in the Ontario backwoods, but filmed at various camps. One of these was Camp Wankita and a clip on Camp Cariboo, filmed what I think was Wankita, explained a complicated game called Survival. This was my first introduction to the game. I would later play it when I went to Wankita. Survival lets you run around the woods and be an animal, trying to avoid being killed by various other animals and elements. A more detailed explaination can be found here and it's fairly close to the version that I played:
http://dragon.sleepdeprived.ca/games/wide_games/wide_games_15.htm
It's a real amusing game. At Wankita we had a variation that included a "Mac Truck", a person who walked down the camp roads and was able to "roadkill" the animals he spotted on the side of the road. He wore a trucker's hat.
End of history time.
So, we ended up playing Survival at Christie's, during the last 15 minutes "Man" was out and we had to hide. I remember dogpiling at the bottom of this hill with about 5 other girls. We were hiding in a ditch, against the fence of a farm's field and buried under bushes. We wanted to win badly for whatever reason. I don't remember why, but that scene with the early morning mist floating over that field has stuck with me for whatever reason.
Well, we won and that was all fine and dandy... except that while hiking later in the afternoon, I fell down a hill and landed in posion ivy batch. Had to stay home from school for about a week.
So. TODAY, CHRISIE'S, WE MEET AGAIN.
The place hasn't been renovated in over 10 years. Even back then, it wasn't the newest looking place around.
One of my younger brothers was running cross country with the Hamilton Wentworth School Board. I have to worry when a school marks their parking signs for an event "Cars" and "Busses". I know that "busses" is sorta correct but fallen out of use, but it made me look twice.
My poor brother came in 119th, which isn't first but isn't last, not even for his school. I'm also proud that he completed the race; one of the kids in his race had to be brought back on a golf cart. I think what slowed him down was that he decided to wear a sweater during the race. I'll be darned if I know why he did it. Maybe he was cold. He also forgot his bottled water back at the school for whatever reason.
He did bust his little butt to make it there today and for that, I'm proud. The kid is normally a bit of a slacker and a wannabe "bad boy" (unless there's a cat around), so to see him put forth effort into something is pretty cool. I ended up buying him a bottle of water and a ring pop after the race and we walked along the beach and tossed sticks into the Lake. The snack bar there is delightfully dated and hasn't changed since 1995. The swimming area markers look like they're going to fall apart. If anything, Christie's is more quaint than the evil beast I remember.
The one thing I failed to do was break into the education centre and plunder the "Niagara Escarpment, Our Home" poster I saw 11 years ago. It probably doesn't exist anymore, but I would kill for a copy. It has a picture of a homestead built on the side of the Escarpment. It probably means little to someone who hasn't grown up with the Escarpment, but I always found that picture profound for some reason. I want that house.
The other thing of note is the very high amount of pumpkin farms out in the countryside. I need to get a pumpkin sooner than later and want to get out to a pumpkin festival that Janet has mentioned. PUMPKINS.
Also, Tim Hortons no only tastes better in colder weather, but tastes even better while on the road, preferably out in the country side. I know it's cheap and processed, but I love that stupid chili with garlic toast. Had it twice in the past few weeks, once in Fergus and the other in Flamborough.
Therefore, IKEA will end up the source of cheap but decent batteries, various meatballs, breakfast-for-a-buck and world peace.
Anyway, today's misadventure brought us to Christie's, a conservation centre out in Flamborough. The full name for the place is Christie Lake Conservation Area, but most people I know call the place Christie's. Now, Christie's used to be very popular about 10 to 15 years ago. This was back when Lake Ontario was declared unsafe to swim in by the general population and the families at my school used to drive out to the conservation area on summer days.
Of course, this didn't include me for whatever reason. MY memories of Christie's are surrounded around not the "let's swim in the lake!" area, but the education centre slight down to the south. My first trip to Christie's was in grade 8. We had a science field trip down to the education centre, where we went hiking and played Survival.
Let's back up a little here - Canadian kid's TV and camp history time!
Years upon years ago, there used to be a TV show called Camp Cariboo:
http://www.keeners.com/cariboo/index.html
http://www.rickstv.com/tvo/campcariboo.html
It was set at a fictional camp in the Ontario backwoods, but filmed at various camps. One of these was Camp Wankita and a clip on Camp Cariboo, filmed what I think was Wankita, explained a complicated game called Survival. This was my first introduction to the game. I would later play it when I went to Wankita. Survival lets you run around the woods and be an animal, trying to avoid being killed by various other animals and elements. A more detailed explaination can be found here and it's fairly close to the version that I played:
http://dragon.sleepdeprived.ca/games/wide_games/wide_games_15.htm
It's a real amusing game. At Wankita we had a variation that included a "Mac Truck", a person who walked down the camp roads and was able to "roadkill" the animals he spotted on the side of the road. He wore a trucker's hat.
End of history time.
So, we ended up playing Survival at Christie's, during the last 15 minutes "Man" was out and we had to hide. I remember dogpiling at the bottom of this hill with about 5 other girls. We were hiding in a ditch, against the fence of a farm's field and buried under bushes. We wanted to win badly for whatever reason. I don't remember why, but that scene with the early morning mist floating over that field has stuck with me for whatever reason.
Well, we won and that was all fine and dandy... except that while hiking later in the afternoon, I fell down a hill and landed in posion ivy batch. Had to stay home from school for about a week.
So. TODAY, CHRISIE'S, WE MEET AGAIN.
The place hasn't been renovated in over 10 years. Even back then, it wasn't the newest looking place around.
One of my younger brothers was running cross country with the Hamilton Wentworth School Board. I have to worry when a school marks their parking signs for an event "Cars" and "Busses". I know that "busses" is sorta correct but fallen out of use, but it made me look twice.
My poor brother came in 119th, which isn't first but isn't last, not even for his school. I'm also proud that he completed the race; one of the kids in his race had to be brought back on a golf cart. I think what slowed him down was that he decided to wear a sweater during the race. I'll be darned if I know why he did it. Maybe he was cold. He also forgot his bottled water back at the school for whatever reason.
He did bust his little butt to make it there today and for that, I'm proud. The kid is normally a bit of a slacker and a wannabe "bad boy" (unless there's a cat around), so to see him put forth effort into something is pretty cool. I ended up buying him a bottle of water and a ring pop after the race and we walked along the beach and tossed sticks into the Lake. The snack bar there is delightfully dated and hasn't changed since 1995. The swimming area markers look like they're going to fall apart. If anything, Christie's is more quaint than the evil beast I remember.
The one thing I failed to do was break into the education centre and plunder the "Niagara Escarpment, Our Home" poster I saw 11 years ago. It probably doesn't exist anymore, but I would kill for a copy. It has a picture of a homestead built on the side of the Escarpment. It probably means little to someone who hasn't grown up with the Escarpment, but I always found that picture profound for some reason. I want that house.
The other thing of note is the very high amount of pumpkin farms out in the countryside. I need to get a pumpkin sooner than later and want to get out to a pumpkin festival that Janet has mentioned. PUMPKINS.
Also, Tim Hortons no only tastes better in colder weather, but tastes even better while on the road, preferably out in the country side. I know it's cheap and processed, but I love that stupid chili with garlic toast. Had it twice in the past few weeks, once in Fergus and the other in Flamborough.
