Sunday, October 26, 2008

Rock Climbing, Hockey and Perth

These past few days have been busy. Thursday Night was our Venturers meeting and we went indoor rock climbing. This is something I had never done before but the rest of them had done it many times. It was fun. I did two accents in total in two different areas of the gym. Half way up I was thinking "I can't do this" but somehow I made it to the top both times. My toes were really hurting. You have to wear very tight shoes so you can get a good grip on the holds. Louisa wants to try so we are going to go give it a shot some time.

Friday night Louisa and I went to the Ottawa Senators hockey game. They were playing Anaheim. The sens lost, they didn't really try until the third period. Even so it was nice to go to a game. Sure was different than watching on tv at home. I like to get to one game a year so I guess that will be it until next year.

Yesterday it was raining all day so we stayed at home most of the day. We did go to mass in the afternoon and there was a parish potluck afterward. Not a huge turn out, probably due to the rain.

Today we went for a day trip down to Perth, Ontario. Luckily the weather was nice. I took Louisa to Camp Opemikon where we had Rovent last weekend and we walked around the town. We had lunch at a great restaurant called GoodWood.

Tomorrow is my first day as an Assistant Buyer at Costco. Very happy to finally be starting my new position. I will be working with a great bunch of guys.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Rovent / Woodbadge I for Senior Sections



I spent the weekend camping in a tent. Something I have done many times in my life, but not in a while. This was my first scout camp in a number of years. I was at Camp Opemikon, a Scouts Canada area camp site. This weekend was their annual camp called Rovent. Rovent which is an event for Rovers and Venturers, this year they also invited Pathfinders from the Girl Guide program. There are older youth between the ages of 14-25.





Rovent is based on a medieval theme. Many participants came complete with costumes such as knights, court jesters, peasants, etc. They also had a royal family comprised of youth from the organizing Rover Crew. There was a story line weaved throughout the weekend. One of the highlights for the youth is the siege. They build catapults and launch bags of flour at each other. The air was filled with flour and they made quite a mess, but they sure had fun.





My Venturer company did not attend, I went solo. I went to take a training course called Woodbadge I for Senior Sections. It is a compulsory course for new Venturer and Rover advisers. I spent the majority of the weekend in training so I didn't get to spend too much time walking around but I did manage to get around a bit.

Since I was going solo I found another group to camp with. The 1st Nepean Rovers adopted me for the weekend. I brought my own tent and personal gear of course, but they fed me. In addition to these fine folks I met a number of other great people that I know I will see again at future camps and events.

We had a good size group of people taking the course. We were asked to come up with a Scouts Own on Sunday morning at the closing ceremony. For those who don't know what that is, it is a spiritual reflection of some sort. I shared with them my story of what brought me back to scouting. They asked me if I was willing to share that with the whole camp so as part of the Scouts Own I did just that. What I said was the following.

My name is Joe Vautour and I am a 1st year Venturer Adviser. I have a rich background in scouting but I was inactive for a few years and I am just getting back into it. Like many of you I was a Beaver, I was a cub, and I was a Scout. I have been a Beaver Leader, I have been an Akela, and I have been a Troop Scouter. I have not been active the last few years, mostly because I was moving around a lot.

One morning two months ago, it was a Monday in August. All of a sudden out of no where I started to think about Scouting. About all the great times I had, the camps I had gone to, the people I met and the friends I made. I became very happy remembering all those great memories. Right then and there I looked up the phone number for Scouts Canada and I gave them a call. I told them I wanted to get back into scouting and they helped me find a group near where I live.

They very next day I was at work and my mother phoned me. My mother does not usually call me at work so I knew something was wrong. She called to tell me that a man I knew had passed away. His name was Robert MacVicar and he was a great man and he meant a lot to me. He was a retired fireman, in fact he was a District Fire Chief when he retired. He was very involved in his church, and in the community. And he was my troop scouter. This man had a huge influence in my life. As far as male role models in my life go, he was right up there with my father.

She them told me that he had a heart attack on Sunday. That is when it hit me. He died on Sunday and Monday I had this sudden urge to get back into scouting. I have no doubt that his spirit came to visit me and was urging me to go back to the Scouting movement.

That is my personal story that I want to share with you. Now each participant is going to briefly say what scouting means to them. For me Scouting is a lifestyle.


And then each of the other people taking the training said what Scouting means to them. I received many compliments afterwards on my story. There was over 300 people there in around the flagpole and it is not easy to hold their attention for long. But while I was telling my story you could hear a needle drop. I had everyones undivided attention.

I had a great time, met a lot of new people and I look forward to the next camp. See all my photos from the weekend on picasa.


Rovent 2008

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Merrickville

Last weekend I went to Merrickville with the Venturers as described in my last post. I was so taken by the little town that I decided to take Louisa there this weekend. Merrickville is only a 45 minute drive away from Barrhaven. Just take the 416 south as if you are going to Toronto and take the Kempville exit. Merrickville is along the Rideau river and part of the Rideau Canal. So if you were going by boat it will take you right to downtown Ottawa.

We arrived around 10:30 in the morning and didn't leave until after 4 in the afternoon. What a wonderful day we had. We had breakfast and The Goose And Gridiron. The food was real good and it cost almost nothing. The entire bill was around $11.00 for the two of us. There are much fancier places there if you want.

We spent the whole day walking down the main street (and a couple of side streets) looking in the all the cute shops. They have at least three glass blowing shops, Mrs. McGarrigle’s Mustard, and an assortment of artists gallery's and unique boutiques. We did buy a few things here and there but it was just fun looking at all the neat things they had. Many of the buildings are very old and the shops seemed to have endless rooms full of treasures.

In addition to shopping we walked across the bridge to explore the ruins and visit the foundry. We even watched they Parks Canada staff operate the locks to let a boat pass through. And to finish it all off we went into a candy & Ice Cream store and the air was filled with the most amazing smell. They make their own waffle comes fresh. I had an Apple Pie Ice Cream in a waffle cone. It had to have been the best tasting ice cream I have ever had, I have had a lot of ice cream in my life.

It was such a nice time to take this day trip with the changing of the leaves. We truly had a marvelous day. I recommend it to anyone in Ottawa who want to get away for a day trip without spending a fortune. They have some nice Inns and B&B's if you want to make a weekend out of it. And of course for the less pampered approach they have a campground right there along the canal.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Crazy Canuck Challenge

Today was my first outing with the 25th Nepean Venturer Company. We went to Merrickville for the Crazy Canuck Challenge. It was a great day weather wise for this event. We had 4 out of our 5 venturers go.

Andy and I drop them off at the start and the received their instructions. They had to use a compass and put their orienteering skills to use. We met them at the first check point where they had to mount their mountain bikes. One of our guys forgot to bring his bike helmet but luckily we found someone with an extra to lend. Lucky for him otherwise he wouldn't be able to participate in that portion of the course.

Shortly afterward they had a stop at a rock quarry where they did some repelling. Just as they were entering the quarry one of the guys ended up flying through the air over his handlebars and had a little spill. He had a small cut and hurt his fingers on his left hand. He wasn't seriously hurt but he choose to let the others continue on without him and he joined Andy and I in the chase car.

We then waited for them at the next check point. When they arrived we fed them some lunch and they set off in the canoe. We then picked them up at the finish line. We actually we were waiting at what we thought was the finish line. Luckily we figured out it wasn't the right spot before they arrived. I don't know their official time or standing but I think they did pretty well.

At the finish line they had a fun activity of crate Stacking. They are rigged in a rope harness and try to see hoe high they can build a stack of milk crates while climbing on top. I hear the record is 14. They had a lot of fun with that. Pictures are available at my Picasa Albumn

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Sometimes Politicians do Listen

We are in the middle of a federal election campaign and as always the city becomes littered with election signs everywhere you look. The incumbant in my area is conservative candidate Pierre Poilievre. He has a lot of signs at intersections, and often on all four corners. There is one near my home where Woodroffe Ave and Cresthaven Dr meet. It's exact location made it difficult to see traffic coming up the hill when turning onto Woodroffe from Cresthaven. So I called his campaign office and asked if they could move it back a few feet as it was a safety hazard. They listened and within 2 days it was moved back. Now I know that he didn't move the sign himself but I am very pleased that the listened to the request of a single voter.