Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Phil wanted to see the Light...

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Phil wanted to see the Light...

    ...House at Point Clarke. MaximPhil, to be clear.

    Sounded like a good destination to me, so we made a plan to meet up at Anna Mae's Restaurant for breakfast, and head out from there. Somehow we both managed to arrive at 10am sharp. Breakfast was fairly cheap at this home cooked / Mennonite run place in the middle of nowhere that is always busy, and known for the fresh baked pies. http://www.annamaes.ca/

    Here is the route we took. http://prntscr.com/cbwmkn

    Within four concessions of cruising the first prime agricultural back county road, we found ourselves at an unplanned 'fork-in-the-road' so to speak, when a detour offered two choices; north on gravel, or south on gravel. We retraced back one concession for pavement and got back to cruising.

    Very light traffic, and a nice surprise to me was the 90km limits. Until we hit #21 and followed a boat on trailer for what seemed like a long time.

    Turning off #21 put us on a slow but nice meandering road up to the Lighthouse.

    ...and there it was!






    We rolled into a parking lot and lined up with a couple other parked bikes in what appeared to be a sensible bike parking area, dropped some ATGATT weight, paid the requisite $5 admission and was lead by a young lass up the 114 steps. Phil went fist and had the "better" view upwards than I got

    Info on the place is here is your curious
    http://www.huronkinloss.com/point_clark_lighthouse.cfm

    We were treated to a great view from the top...

    Our tour guide advised "...to the south you can see Grand Bend..."



    "...to the north you can see the Bruce Nuclear plant..."



    "...and west out into the lake you can see the bouy that marks the shoals extending 3km out..."



    I nodded and said "oh ya" but continued to squint and strain my eyes, and then made a complete fool of myself looking in alignment with her outstretched arm and pointed finger for what seemed like quite some time before saying "OH YAAAA!" She was patient, probably used to it I surmised.

    The real show pice was of course the LIGHT!



    Apparently modified like most things these days by some over zealous Health & Safety type from the original version that floated in a mercury bath

    So we saw the light, and thoughts turned to heading back down. This time, I spoke up and said I was going first (without saying why of course)



    At the next level down, Phil insisted pon getting the FULL tour, and we convinced the young lass to unlock that tiny door the the BALCONY! Out of pure modesty for Phil, I refuse to post the picture of him going through THAT!



    I was thankfull for the railing, and the view was quite good, again...




    ...but we noticed we couldn't see the bikes behind those trees. hmmmm.

    Then the tour guide pointed out the narrow window,



    ....and one with a "LIGHT...



    ...LUNCH pail...



    ...and then I heard a terrible hollow rumble sound, and Phil muttering something about the time of day and not having eaten lunch yet!



    Putting aside basic human needs, Phil insisted on the full tour, and into the tiny Lighthouse Keepers home we went to see displays, the parlour and bedroom








    ...and the place where the weather was recorded...which we should probably have taken a cue from...



    But we dallied and took yet more pictures




    ...before discovering out bikes had been systematically blocked in by subsequent arrivals of CARS. Now I was hungry too, so it was without any remorse 'I shoved the baby carriage out of the bloody way and nearly scaped the BUFF against the car bumpers to get out!

    So off we went to Goderich, to look for the well know town "Square" apparently planned at a time before trains, when the British thought Goderich would be the Capitol due to the shipping port.

    They say this is the square, but I swear we rose in circles for quite some time


    ... before finally stopping and neartly chewed off a local persons arm asking for the nearest best place to eat.

    We got a great seat with a view at Park House Tavern and had fish and chips.



    After that we set off for Exeter, undeterred by grey skies, to visit John who claimed to have some parts.

    I'm not sure if we met John, but pretty sure it was either Cheech, or Chong, can't remember which is which, but I swear one of them lives in Exeter now

    I was full on rain by this point, so off we went to Stratford, where we parted company, soaked through to nuts, but happy for a great day of fun!
    Last edited by dbbrian; 08-29-2016, 06:56 PM.
    '78 XS1100E (the newest bike I've ever owned)
    '74 CB350F1 (under restoration)
    '72 RT2 MX360 (gone but not forgotten)

  • #2
    stupid time limit...

    Here is the Park House Tavern view. My apologies for the inability to edit my post, after being repeatedly asked to log in again...

    '78 XS1100E (the newest bike I've ever owned)
    '74 CB350F1 (under restoration)
    '72 RT2 MX360 (gone but not forgotten)

    Comment


    • #3
      Hi Brian,
      That is fantastic. Almost feels like being there
      Your pictures turned out a lot better than mine. I did not notice you taking so many but am very glad you did. It was a good ride. I have been trying to visit that light house for 4 summers.
      Phil
      1981 XS1100 H Venturer ( Addie)
      1983 XJ 650 Maxim
      2004 Kawasaki Concours. ( Black Bear)

      Comment


      • #4
        It's ALWAYS good to go ride.
        Looks like Phil got in about 500 km.

        Interesting lighthouse and history. Says built in 1855-1859 of local limestone in the same style as the (i guess) Huron's other five limestone 80 footers.

        Saved a few ship wrecks over the years i'm sure.

        Oh, i've always wanted to ask (but never dared to); what is with ALL the Concessions. Somebody can't hold there ground up there?? I'm not sure why so many roads are named 2nd Concession, 3rd Concession, 9th Concession etc. Just seems odd nomenclature when concession = lost. Who lost out? I'm pretty sure it doesn't mean its the fastest road a concession stand so wondering how the lines in the sand were drawn back in the days of old.

        Jeff
        78' XS1100 E
        78' XS1100 E
        78' XS1100 E

        '73 Norton 850 Commando
        '99 Triumph Sprint ST
        '02 G-Wing GL1800

        Comment


        • #5
          In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped Crown land to provide access to rows of newly surveyed lots intended for farming by new settlers. The land that comprised a row of lots that spanned the entire length of a new township was "conceded" by the Crown for this purpose (hence, a "concession of land")
          Seamus Ó hUrmholtaigh
          Niimi Moozhwaagan

          NOTICE: No trees were destroyed in the sending of this message. We do concede, however, that a significant number of electrons may have been inconvenienced.

          Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.


          Member of "FOXS-11" (Former Owner of XS-11)
          and SOXS
          2008 Nomad "Deja Buick'

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by hamjam View Post
            In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped Crown land to provide access to rows of newly surveyed lots intended for farming by new settlers. The land that comprised a row of lots that spanned the entire length of a new township was "conceded" by the Crown for this purpose (hence, a "concession of land")
            THANKS hamjam. I always wondered about that. And the orientation / compass direction of the parallel roads since it at least appears that the Upper part roads run in parallel to the NW but the Lower portion east of Toronto run NE. Is there a zero (0,0) point somewhere in Toronto that all this was surveyed from? Maybe a historical marker or something?

            Interesting stuff. I'm always curious why things got the way they are and the dynamics that lead to those decisions.

            Jeff

            btw: i recall riding on some Concession roads following you & John up to Haliburton. A really really enjoyable ride & rally.
            78' XS1100 E
            78' XS1100 E
            78' XS1100 E

            '73 Norton 850 Commando
            '99 Triumph Sprint ST
            '02 G-Wing GL1800

            Comment


            • #7
              Reason for Point Clark lighthouse

              In the image you can see the Alpena Amberly Ridge that stretchges out from Point Clark (top right corner of the white legend) to the north west, creating the shallow dangerous shoals that the ships have to navigate around

              '78 XS1100E (the newest bike I've ever owned)
              '74 CB350F1 (under restoration)
              '72 RT2 MX360 (gone but not forgotten)

              Comment


              • #8
                Hi JeffH,
                it is what is know as a 1000 Acre Sectional System. There are Concession roads and Side Roads also called Lines. On the QEW you will have seen Guelph Line in Burlington and 3Rd Line in Oakville the others have been renamed over time. Concession roads are 2 Km apart or 1 1/4 miles ( 100 Chains in the old surveys)
                Fun stuff. Lord Simcoe started it all so blame him
                Phil
                1981 XS1100 H Venturer ( Addie)
                1983 XJ 650 Maxim
                2004 Kawasaki Concours. ( Black Bear)

                Comment


                • #9
                  Nice!

                  Brian,

                  Great pics and write-up ...

                  Love the view from the tavern!
                  Marco

                  Current bikes:
                  1979 Yamaha XS Eleven Special (SF)
                  1979 Honda CBX
                  2002 Kawasaki ZRX1200R

                  Rest in Peace, Don Glardon (DGXSER) 1966-2014
                  WE MISS YOU, DON

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X