Big Bobber Floating Beer Cooler

This is a perfect gift for the fisherman that has everything. The Big Bobber looks like a gigantic size fishing bobber, but is actually a floating cooler!

With ice it can hold 12 cans of “pop”. Just fill it up with ice and your favourite beverage then tie it to your canoe and off you go!

You could use this just about anytime you are in or by the water just floating around.

Big Bobber Floating Beer Cooler

Bring it to the cottage and tie it to the dock, there’s no need to get out of the water or run back to the cottage for a drink. Planning a day of floating down the lazy river? The Big Bobber would be great to float along with you full of water so you don’t get dehydrated. Maybe you are planning on a portage. Although it wouldn’t be great carrying across land it sure would come in handy having a cold beverage paddling across those big lakes and it doesn’t take up any room in the canoe!

Simply a fantastic idea and I would love to get one for my upcoming birthday!

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Story Telling Sunday

Each Sunday I will write a short story that continues from the week before as a means of improving my writing skills. At the end of each story I will give 2 choices for you to decide how the story should continue. The choice with the most comments as of the following Friday will win and I will continue the story in that direction.

I hope you enjoy it and help make this a full time post on the Everyday Weekender.

Reginald Baker, a retired teacher and full time hermit, had managed to make enough money from an inheritance and some smart investing that he was able to quit teaching at the age of 45. Reggie sold his home and most of his assets, aside from his 1990 Jeep YJ, and purchased 10 acres of land up north. There was a 50 year old log cabin on the property and 300ft was waterfront. Reggie spent most of his days fishing in his Old Town canoe, chopping wood, and playing guitar. He wasn’t interested in current events or society in general. The only time he even saw anyone other then his own reflection was when he drove into town to get some groceries and supplies.

Reggie was very fond of making his own wine and beer which kept him occupied for good chunks of the day. He documented everything sugar levels, carbonation levels, and temperatures so that he could perfect the art of making wine and beer. One day after spending most of his time in a separate building he liked to call “the lab” he stepped out of the doorway to go back to the main cottage to find himself face to face with a black bear. This wasn’t the first time Reggie had encountered a bear, but it was the first time he had ever been that close and completely caught off guard. Reggie stopped in his tracks. The bear stared him right in the eyes and then stood up on its hind legs showing its dominance. Reggie looked from side to side to see if there was anyone or anything that could help him. There was nothing. He had two choices:

  1. Run for his life
  2. Play dead
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Yard Art For Your Home And Garden

There are times when I will not be able to make it to the cottage on a given weekend for whatever reason. So I have slowly been trying to make my backyard more of a get away sanctuary surrounded by plants, flowers, and lanterns. I’ve recently put in an interlocking patio and I’m going to add bench seats to the deck so there is adequate seating when people come by on the weekend for a barbeque.

I’ve been looking around for backyard decorations and found this site that specializes in Yard Art. I was impressed with the simpler items they have like the Asian Reflective Pillar and the small colourful lily. I find it accents the garden and adds something to your yard to look at and enjoy.

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My Old Town Canoe

As I mentioned in What Are You Doing this Long Weekend I purchased a canoe from a river touring company and I have to say I am very pleased with my purchase. I had narrowed my choice down to two canoes, the Old Town Discovery 158 and the Nova Craft Prospector after reading some reviews.

When I met Adam from Heritage River Canoe & Kayak Company in Brantford Ontario he was able to provide a lot of information on the uses of the two types of canoes. Visually the Nova Craft looked better. It was newer, held it’s colour better, and had webbed seats as opposed to the Old Town’s plastic moulded seats. The Nova Craft was priced slightly higher then the Old Town. But the big thing that swayed me from the Nova Craft to the Old Town was when Adam told me the Nova Craft will take some getting used to for novice paddlers because of it’s curved hull. The Old Town had a flat hull making it stable which is good for a family and for fishing. It’s a little slower in the water, but my wife and I aren’t going to be in any races so it was perfect for us.

My Old Town Canoe

We took it to Lake Simcoe this weekend to test it out. My wife, dog and myself got in and the first thing we noticed is how stable it was. We were practically standing in the canoe with one hand on the dock. We were immediately at ease on the water even with my dog leaning over the edge drinking from the lake. The next thing I noticed was how comfortable the plastic moulded seats were. I was in the canoe for over an hour with no back pain or a sore butt.

I had a lot of fun out on the water this weekend practicing my J-stroke and C-stroke. I would like to thank Adam for his help with purchasing the canoe and getting it tied to the top of my car.

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Paintball And All The Fun It Brings

I’ve played paintball a number of times, but mainly on the weekend when it has been someone’s stag. It seems having fun shooting one another is an appropriate thing to do when guy is about to get married.

Recently some of the guys from work have been talking about doing this on a more regular basis. If we are going to do this I figured it made sense to purchase our own equipment instead of renting all the time. I found a paintball store online they sell paintball guns, paintball equipment, paintball gear, paintball gun parts, milsim paintball, and paintballs. Luckily for us there are both indoor and outdoor paintball ranges so when the snow starts falling in the winter we can keep on shooting!

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Dominican Republic Can’t Be Beat

Although I have not traveled around the world as much as many people the Dominican Republic is one of my favourite places for vacationing. The flight from Canada is relatively short and the prices for an all inclusive trip really can’t be beat. I could get a return flight from Toronto to Vancouver for the same price as a 1 week all inclusive 4 star resort vacation in Punta Cana. Which one would you choose?

Before I had traveled to the Caribbean I had always heard that the food in Cuba was not very good and I expected the same from the Dominican Republic, but that has not been the case. I have thoroughly enjoyed the food at the resorts I have stayed in. The last resort had a Japanese restaurant where I tried Sashimi for the first time and loved it!

If you are looking for more then a weekend vacation with great food, great service, fantastic beaches, all for a low price then the Dominican Republic is the place for you.

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US Open Labour Day Weekend

This weekend brings the third round and quarter finals for men and women’s singles at the US Open. One of the biggest stories is Roger Federer…once again.

Roger is going for his 4th straight US Open title and by luck of the draw will not have to face a seeded player until the quarter finals! Roger is truly one of the best athletes of our time. There are not many people that have dominated a sport like he has.

Roger Federer - Tennis

Since winning Wimbledon in 2003 Federer has won 11 of the 17 grand slam tournaments. That’s a 65% winning percentage! If things go as planned Federer will meet his biggest American opponent in Andy Roddick in the quarter finals, but Federer has dominated Andy and I wouldn’t expect that to change. If you follow tennis at all you would expect to see Nadal facing Federer in the finals, but Nadal’s knees have been bothering him and I would be surprised if he can hold off the pain playing on the hard court surface of Flushing Meadows. Third seeded Djokovic beat Federer in Montreal as a prelude to the US Open so it would be interesting to see a rematch under the lights, noise and pressure of New York.

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The Best Golf Tournament Ever

A couple of my friends started a golf tournament a couple of years ago called the Hacker’s Cup. It started with 16 regular joe golfers competing on two teams.

This year will be the third year and we are now up to 32 players through word of mouth. The format is probably the most enjoyable and competitive tournament I’ve ever played in. Here’s how it works.

Two teams will be made so you have an even number of player on each team. Opponents must be matched up based on their handicap or skill level. Two members of Team A will be paired up with two team members of Team B for the first 18 holes. The first 6 holes are played in a Scramble format which involves choosing the one best shot following every stroke, with each team member then playing again from that one spot. The team that has the lowest score at the end of the six holes wins 1 pt. The next 6 holes are played as Alternating Shot, where team members alternate shots hitting the same ball. The team with the lowest score over those six holes wins 1 pt. The last 6 holes are played as Best Ball, where each team member plays their own ball and the lowest score for each team is the one used for scoring. Teams are awarded 1pt for each hole won and .5pts for each hole tied over the last six holes.

Everyone breaks for lunch, tallies up their scores, talks about their best and worst shots, and then are paired up against one player from the other team for 9 holes of match play. Again, winning the hole in match play equals 1pt for your team and tying a hole equals .5pts. Once everyone is finished all the points are tallied up and the team with the most points wins!

It’s a great day with friends so if you are thinking about starting a tournament consider this format, you won’t regret it.

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What Are You Doing This Long Weekend

This weekend is a long weekend with Monday being Labour Day. Labour Day is the first indicator of the end of the summer and that means back to school for most students. For me, however, the Labour Day weekend means Ribfest!

Every year a number of restaurants from across Canada and the United States compete against each other on the shores of Lake Ontario at Spencer Smith Park in Burlington, Ontario.

Ribfest - mmm Ribs…

Over 100,000 patrons come through the park gates over the course of the weekend to listen to live bands, browse the craft stands, drink beer, and of course eat ribs! Prizes are given for the best ribs, best sauce and best roast chicken.

Once the Blue Ribbon winner is announced for the best ribs people will wait in line for hours just to get a taste. My friends and I usually split up and everyone orders a half rack from different vendors. Then we meet in the beer garden and share a rib or two so that we can all taste a variety of ribs. Go to the Ribfest website to learn more.

After Ribfest on Friday night I am going to purchase a canoe from a river tour company as I mentioned in my Buying a Canoe article. I’m hoping to get a fairly decent deal on a canoe that is not too banged up and damaged. I’ll see if I can get the guy to throw in a couple of paddles and roof rack kit. That’s as good as I get when it comes to negotiating.

Once I get my canoe I’m off to Lake Simcoe. Friends of mine have a family cottage there and have invited my wife and I up for the weekend. Simcoe is a pretty big lake so the waves might be too much for a canoe, but I’ll give it a try anyway.

That’s pretty much the plan for the weekend. Eat a lot of meat, drink a lot of beer, play some bocce ball, and just have fun! I hope your long weekend is just as enjoyable.

Cheers!

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Weird News This Weekend

Here are some odd stories from around the world that happened this weekend.

A fossilized penis from an extinct walrus was sold at an auction this weekend in Beverly Hills. Even more surprising was that the auctioneers expected the 1.4 meter long penis covered in weathered skin and dry muscles to go for more then the $8,000 it was purchased for. More details at Canoe.

The world we live in is definitely a little scarier when members of a simple running club are suspected of being a terrorist. Two people were seen sprinkling a powder in the parking lot of an Ikea store and authorities were notified. The entire store was evacuated and the runners were charged with first degree breach of peace. It turns out the powder they were sprinkling was flower and was there to help guide the rest of the running group along the predetermined trail reports Yahoo.

A Malaysian paper printed a picture of Jesus holding a cigarette this weekend and was told to stop printing papers for one month by the Malaysian government. Deemed as hurtful and a desecration the newspaper said that the picture was published by mistake and has published an apology according to AOL News.

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