| Ted / Dad |
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It probably sounds like a broken record, but I have had another extremely busy year.
Time seems to be flying past.
I am now fully involved in my position of City Manager, with the City of Wetaskiwin. We are moving forward with a number of projects, which I think should make real difference over the next few years. One is a major retrofit of our Main Street, replacing all the pipes, pavement and sidewalks, but also making it more assessible, safe, and a friendlier place to be. We hope it will help draw more people into our downtown. Think electric avenue in Calgary, only smaller, and still allowing traffic. A second project is a large, multi-use aquatics facility, which includes acompetition pool, leisure pool, large wask-in hot tub, lazy river, kids park, water slides, and a "surfing machine". I hope to be the first one to ride it - we will see how much pull I really have as City Manager.
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Ted in his favorite place - in the Boat! |
Surfing with Spencer
In Busarias, Mexico |
As most of you know, I enjoy playing volleyball. We have had a local team in the mixed league on and off for about 25 years. The core team members over most of this tiem have been Vern, his wife Rhonda, Carla and I, with Matthew joining us the last few years. Last Season, Vern's daughter, Jolee, and my son Spencer were able to join us. Talk about lowering the average age of the team - and increasing the average jumping vertical.... They are both great kids and we enjoyed playing with them. Both are off to school this year, so it's just us old guy's agin for this season....
Last spring I had a wonderful Surfing trip with Spencer. He wanted to go on a Surfing trip on his spring break, but all his buddies bailed on him. I offered to go with him, and to my surprise, he agreed. It was an excellent adventure. Each day we had to take the local bus (an adventure in itself) from Puerto Vallarta to Bucerias where the surf shop was. From there, we went with our guide in his 4x4 to a "secret spot" north of the city. We parked off to the side of the road, and then hiked into the beach with all our gear (about 1/2 mile). We had lots of fun, with four days of surfing. I think our guides were surprised at how well we did. l think they are used to tourists who give up after a few hours. Spencer got up on his first try. It took me a few tries, but by the end of the first day, I was getting the hang of it as well. Lots of fun, but also lots and lots of work!!! Wow - I think I will stick with windsurfing.
I think Spencer had fun - and I think he is hooked.
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| In March, Louise and I went to Las Brissas in Mexico for a short holiday. We met up with our friends Bob and Wilf, who like the spot because of the volleyball. It was very hot - and I may have overdone it a bit with tennis, volleyball, and snorkeling, but had a lot of fun. Louise and I spent many hours floating in the lagoon, looking at the coral and fish. I think Louise liked the beaches, fancy drinks, and the atmosphere. I would have been happy if it had been 10 degrees cooler, but still had a great time. We are going to try it again at the end of January in 2012.
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Las Brissas, Mexico |
Ted pouring a brew at the Garrison Brewin Company |
In June I was able to go to a Halifax for a few meetings. It was a full week, with the first few days meeting with other City Managers, and the last few days with our council at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities conference. Unfortunately it was a very busy time for Louise, so she wasn't able to go with me. Too bad, because Halifax is one of her favourite places. Lots of history, sea food and friendly people. |
| I am still a windsurfing fanatic. I did a bit of sailing at home this year when it was windy, but did most of my sailing down south in Hood River. We have a group of between 12 to 14 guy's who do a twice annual treck to the Columbia Gorge - once in June and once in September. We had lots of sailing this year, and some very big winds. This fall, we probably had the windiest four days in a row that we have ever had in the ten or so years we have been doing the trip. After two No-wind weeks, the locals were glad to see us arrive as it seems that for the last few years, we tend to bring the wind. This fall, our reputation was enhanced, as with little for a forecast, the wind rocked!!
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Snorkelling in Mexico with Louise |
Getting a little Air on Dried Meat Lake |
Windsurfing at home. |
We had a slow start to our summer - with a cold and wet spring. I have rarely seen so much rain and water. In spite of that, we got out in the boat quite a lot, with lots of skiing, wake boarding and wake surfing. My brother in-law Ross, who is now retired, came out every Tuesday night, for a "Mens" night of boating. This was great, because it forced us out - even if the weather wasn't perfect. I probably had more time on the water this year than the last few. Spencer and Graham also had fun trying to outdo each other on the wake surf boards.
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Spencer and I on our Bikes! |
Learning how to Jump the wake! |
Still trying to Slalom Ski... |
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Louise and I also had fun watching a pair of Eagles raise two chicks in a remote location at the far end of the lake. They have a huge uegh (nest), and always provided us with a show.
The Pelicans also provided a great side show, with literally hundreds of them...You can see my bird photos under the Other Tab.
My friend Bob Klatt moved to Camrose this fall. He is a real badminton enthusiast, and I am enjoying playing with him at the local club. He is hoping to take over coaching at the high school, and I hope to be able to help him with that. |
I participated in the Wetaskiwin Toys for Santa Bike Ride
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All in all, a very action packed year. Next year looks even busier. (I can't believe I will be turning 55 in April). It won't be that long before I start thinking about retirement.....
Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! |
| For extra fun - have a look at our Christmas Past !!! |
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