Motivated Motion

Monday, July 17, 2006

Oh It’s Hot, Hot, Hot…………..

Today is the hottest day we have had.

It is 32.2 degrees Celsius with a Humidex of 41.
In Fahrenheit it is feeling like more than 100 degrees.

Click this LINK and you can see the whole information page from Environment Canada on my area.

So to translate, it is very windy here. And it feels like it is hotter than 100 degrees Fahrenheit today.

Normally we have tropical heat. Our humidity at temperatures this high would make the trees sweat. Ontario is usually like a boreal rainforest in the depths of summer. We don't get daily rain like in Vancouver, but we get hot moist air even on clear days.

Ontario is the Province of a million lakes, and the huge forest. We have all 5 great lakes (that are the size of large seas) plus we have close to a dozen lakes the size of small seas as well. Intertwining is a vast array of regular sized lakes, rivers and streams. Many of our water bodies are joined by waterways, so one can literally boat through the province without ever touching land. We have settlements like in Berlin, Germany where there is a huge waterway. Peterborough where my Son Alex usually lives has one of these large waterways and it has the oldest liftlocks in Ontario. I want to say Canada but I dont want to speak out of turn without doing some research on my claim.

What strikes me about places like Berlin, Germany is that folks built huge multifamily dwellings and high rise apartments close to the edge of the waterways. In Ontario people feared the rise and fall of the water too much to build right close to the waterway. Factories that required the water for power would build close, but there are only a small number of homes on the water edge.

Now I am not considering the Great Lakes as a waterway in my terms. They are huge shipping waterways for sure. I am talking more of rivers that you could in most cases throw a stone across if you had a good arm. Berlin does open up, but evenually all waterways open up to a river and most often, then a lake, or a sea.

We must have predicted correctly when building in Peterborough. For in a cycle, with large numbers of years in between, places like Peterborough flood from the rains rising the water too high.

They have piers and break walls like the canals of Berlin but ours are not so high. I was really surprised by the long steps down the sides of the breakwall piers to the water's edge. I noticed this in parts of Paris as well.

Often there is less than a metre (3ft) from the top of the breakwall pier to the waters edge in Peterborough.

Here in Newmarket there is an old waterway. The voyageurs used to use it to canoe up river. The Holland River and its tributaries used to take us north. Now our tributaries are at a slow trickle. The pictures you see on the right are Newmarket. We will show you Peterborough another day. We are a city of over 70 thousand people, but we look like a village in the downtown, and more urban on the perimeter. Funny though, the perimeter is on the edge of the farmland. Which will set me up for an awesome slideshow.

Our waterway is peeny compared to the canals of Berlin, but we were a transportation hub in the past. The Holland River runs through the town in a North to South. In the past all of our businesses were very close to the water. We had a large grist mill and a tannery on the river.

We had several reservoirs created in our earlier history, and for environmental reasons most are back to their origional state, thus the waterways are with low water now, and not passable by canoe for long distances.

If I travel 15 km south, (approximately 8 miles) I would be able to see the haze hanging over the city of Toronto in the horizon.
Toronto is just over 50 km South of Newmarket.

If Newmarket didnt have such a narrow waterway it would be the one waterway in Ontario where more folk live within metres of the breakwall edge. Alas Newmarket's waterway level is very low compared to the old days.

Alex and I really enjoyed our day.
We had a blast feeling like tourists. It wasn't too long on our tour that we decided that the terrace of a new restaurant was so inviting.

The Cachet Restaurant is located in the the old Hydro Electric building. They have dressed up the place really nice.

Located at the edge of the sleuce of Fairy Lake, it makes for the perfect spot to enjoy the old village flare of Newmarket.

The summer heat wasn't going to stop us from enjoying the day.
We sat under our red umbrella, and our skin took on a rosey pink glow.

Cachet has a great menu plus an extensive drink selection, and a nice accompanying wine selection.

Cachet is located right at the foot of Main Street where it meets Water street.
500 Water Street
Newmarket, ON

905-836-9415

I ordered a Pino Grigio and Alex ordered a beer. Can you guess what beer?
Oh and I destroyed my great wine with a whole tumbler of soda water. Bad me and my having to reduce the alcohol content of EVERYTHING so I can drink it.

Regardless the wine was awesome! I really enjoyed my self-made spritzer! And the waitress didn't laugh at me either. She was very understanding.

Did you guess Al's beer as Stella Artois?
Look at the frosty, cool beverage!
Aren't you jealous?

The amazing waitress gave me a super sized wine glass because she knew I was going to add the soda water to it.
So now my glass is full, and icy, and waiting for a sip.

Alex ordered a burger with french fries. The meal was wonderful. The burger was a hand-made paddy and it was on a crusty kaiser roll with fresh tomatoe, lettuce, pickle and onion.

The paddy had a gentle spice to it and the fries were lovely. The alternative of salad over fries is available.

Alex forgot to tell them not to toast the kaiser. So if you don't like toasted kaisers, remember to tell the wait staff.

I ordered the Mussels. It is on the appetizer menu. The Mussels are in a great steam butter diced tomato, green onions and I think cilantro.

The garnish to the steam softened the tast of the Mussels. The side wedges of french stick were perfect to begin and end my feast

The Mussels tasted very fresh.

So nice to eat in the afternoon.

This is the view of the front of the Cachet. The interior is very inviting.

A central lounge bar accented in black with water blue backlit glass at the back of the bar.
Bar stools rim the bumper of the bar.

The lounge area has high tables and high chairs, perfect for conversation.

The perimeter of the room is all windows and a table set for each window gives every diner at low tables a view.

Look at the great view we had from the terrace.
The breezes from Fairy lake were making our day so comfortable.

We were amused by a silly goose who caused a ruccuss with the traffic and then was frantically trying to figure out how to get to the water. He never quite caught on to the idea he could have just flown.

Why fly in such heat when you can walk?

Newmarket has tried to preserve its village flare. It has the iron horse posts along the streets. And great pains have been taken to keep the Main Street building fronts as genuine as possible.

We are heading North on Main Street.
Folks from Newmarket are proud of our town.
The flavour of the downtown is in tact because of a strong merchant association that works hard to preserve the historical buildings of Main Street, and ensure that businesses have a chance to thrive in the old village centre.

Just North of the central downtown area we quickly move out of town.
On the edge of this area is the Olde Tannery.

The historic Tannery was saved from demolition by a ingenious group who made it into a high-end mall.

Unfortunately the mall idea didn't take off, but there are still a few nice shops in there, and one of the area train stations is located here too. Medical and Municipal offices take up the suites.

The Tannery needed water to make the location favorable. So it is built along side the Holland River Waterway.

Our waterway stream used to be a nice deep waterway.

We can imagine the Voyageurs heading North from Muddy York(the original name for Toronto) all the way up to Lake Simcoe.

So why mention Berlin if I am not going to show you? So as promised....here are the beautiful buildings along the canals of Berlin

35% of Berlin is covered in water. Thus the intricate canals move throughout the city.

35% is greater than the amount of Venice, Italy that is covered by water

The architecture in this city is amazing! You can understand why so many wish to live there now.

Boathouses along the canals are great homes for the more adventurous people of Berlin.

The New suites Condos are well over a million dollars a piece for each residence

The beauty of old and new.

So from our peenie waterway to the grand canals of Berlin.
Makes my imagination soar.

I hope you enjoyed the contrast.

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