Summer Job

Hello Readers,

This is a opossum skull a child
found outside the museum.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

This summer I had a student position as Visitor Services/Reception at the Lambton Heritage Museum in Grand Bend. I was excited to start a summer position in my Tourism field of study. This position was approximately 67km from my usual residence in Canada, but I had the opportunity to live with my sister which was only 20km from the workplace. This was an option I knew I had but was hesitant because my sister and I hadn't lived under the same roof in about 6 years.

I started my job on June 1st and I worked Saturdays to Wednesdays. Thursdays and Fridays were my days off. It was hard to make plans to visit with friends but that is life and it was much better to be working in my field gaining some experience. I also got to learn more of the History of Lambton County (where I come from) because the Lambton Heritage Museum is the museum that covers the county as a whole.

This is from my personal Snap chat.
My last day was August 29, 2018.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The job consisted of sitting at the reception desk and answering any phone calls that came in, ensuring the books were stocked on shelves, answering Tourism Information related questions, and taking admission to the museum.  I was to give an overview of the museum to each customer so they knew what areas they could explore and some key information about different exhibits. The museum was celebrating 40 years open this year so the special summer exhibit contained 40 artifacts over the 40 years from different areas around the county. It also told the story of how the museum started and gave information about the 2 men (Fred Walden and Peter Eisenbach) that donated approximately 6,000 artifacts each when the museum began in 1978.

The customer interaction at the museum is what particularly enjoyed about my time at the museum. I loved hearing about where people were coming from and what they thought of the history of our area, especially if they didn't know anything about Lambton County before coming to Lambton Heritage Museum. The museum is always trying to update the facility and improve their interpretations and exhibits. A task I was completing this summer was re-labeling the entire permanent exhibit, The interpretation labels will soon be put up and they will specifically tell the guests where in the county that specific artifact originates.

 If you are ever in the area to check out the Museum I do recommend it. There is a lot of information and history in this specific museum. If you are from Lambton County and are reading this, you can always go to your local Lambton County Library Branch and obtain a "Free Pass" you check it out just like a book and you have the chance to check out the museum free of charge. This also works for the partner museum located in Oil Springs "Oil Museum of Canada". The Oil Museum of Canada is part of the County of Lambton family which gives you that perk. It is very informative of the 1858 Oil History in North America - The first Commercial Oil Well in North America specifically and details the Oil Industry locally. If you do not have a chance to see these museums in person, be sure to check out their websites as they also have virtual exhibits with a lot of information as well as different exhibits you can not find in the museums.

I am very happy with what I have gained in knowledge this past summer working at Lambton Heritage Museum. I feel like I got to use my tourism knowledge as well as my customer service skills to give the guests a great experience.

Thanks for reading...Don't forget to hit that follow button or add your email address to get updates on when a new post is posted.

Starlite Drive-In Theatre

Hey Readers,

My sister and I waiting for the Show to start
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

I am sorry for not posting but I am finally settled into my summer position at Lambton Heritage Museum in Grand Bend, Ontario. I am working at the Front Desk as Visitors Services - I amexcited to finally work in the Tourism sector, gaining experiences while in school. Expect to see some good throw back posts about past trips and some new things here that I will experience living with my sister.

Back on June 2nd - I went to the Starlite Drive-In Theatre in Shipka (just outside of Grand Bend). I saw Deadpool 2 and Super Troopers 2 (which I fell asleep for...oops). Make sure you check out their website for upcoming show times. It was a great experience for a reasonable price. They even have 2 screens so there are a few options each weekend for their showings.

The movie was hilarious - the only problem was that the Drive-In company put this on the small screen and it was very busy that night - it would have been better, more spacious and easier to park. However, it was still a lot of fun and when they decide which screen to play the movies it is done through a process of which movie they think will sell more spots.

Deadpool 2 - Photo Credit: Amanda Gadsby

I will try and give a review of Deadpool 2 without giving any spoilers for those who have yet to see the movie. I thought this movie was just as good as the first, full of humor and like most people say Ryan Reynolds was born to play Wade Wilson. This movie had what seemed like more action and a much better plot.

Again, I did not watch Super Troopers 2 (I have actually never seen the first one either.) so i will not be giving a review of that one.

I will try my best to post more.

Bye for now...

Flight Adventures

Hello Readers….

Passing the Time at the Airport
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

As promised in the last post, I will give some feedback and insight into what happened when my flight had been delayed in Toronto. I went to the Airport Via Robert Q bus from London at 2:30pm January 7, so I had said good bye to my family in London, Ontario. When I reached the airport the attendant at the Check-In desk informed me that the flight had already been delayed. It was originally scheduled to leave Toronto at 8pm but at this time it was delayed until 9:40pm. Given that I was traveling in the middle of winter from Canada it wasn’t entirely a surprise to have a delay due to weather conditions.  I was slightly concerned as I had a connection to make in Iceland, however the Iceland-air Attendant during check-in informed me that if the connection was missed that Iceland-air makes it their responsibility to reschedule my flight.

Anyone who knows me, knows that usually I would have panicked and gotten upset at this point however, as I continue to travel and gain experience I managed to stay calm and decided to just go with the flow at this point. It was completely out of my hands, and it was the flight coming from Iceland that had been delayed due to storms. I enjoyed some dinner at my gate, and got comfortable to sit around for about 3.5 hours at the airport, thank goodness for technology.

The flight boarded late around 9:30pm which meant take off was around 10pm. They had to de-ice the plane so that created more delays for take off. Once in the air it was smooth sailing. I did get around 2.5 hours of sleep and enjoyed some Orange Juice and some great movie options from Iceland-air. Once the plane landed in Iceland it was local time 9:40am. My Flight to Germany had departed at 7:20am. I had missed it. What was next??? I had to go through security as I was entering Europe and then proceed to the Customer Service Desk. The line was relatively short and moved quite fast, as I am sure they were expecting us (pretty much our whole plane was in line). I got to the counter and they informed me that I would be re-directed with a flight to Oslo, Norway and then to Munich, Germany my final destination. I also received a voucher for some food as they apologized for the delay, I was very grateful as I was getting hungry. At this point they also informed me that I would have to go to baggage claim and re-check into the airport and go through airport security, I had time since my Flight wasn’t until 12:50pm local time. The line to check-in was abnormally long (Again mostly all of the travelers from Toronto) but there was only one check-in counter open. This to me was the part where passengers would get very angry, which some in line were getting impatient, but again it was out of my control so I remained calm and went with the flow. I got to the counter, the man checked me and my luggage into the airline and away I went to security. The bonus for me was that I had done airport security in Iceland from the trip I took with my parents in the fall 2016.

Snapchat from Oslo Airport, Checking
Flight Status Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

The flight boarded and left on-time from Iceland, even though again the plane needed to be de-iced. It was only a 2.5-hour flight, but I managed to sleep about 1-hour. I arrived in Oslo, Norway (checking in with my family the entire trip, so someone knew where I was at all times). I had even woke up mom up out of a sleep at one point. I had never seen Oslo, but even though it was local time 4:30pm local time it was already pitch black. So I got to see the Airport J. I still had my sandwich and some snacks left from home, so I enjoyed those at this time while waiting to board. I had about 1.5-hour layover then to travel to Munich. This flight also boarded on time, it wasn’t full so there was no one sitting beside me, thank goodness for extra room on this flight. Again it was a 2.5-hour flight and I managed to sleep another 1-hour or so.

I landed in Munich at local time 9:10pm January 8. This was 3pm the next day at home in Toronto. I had been traveling for over 24hours and still wasn’t to my apartment in Kempten yet. I had some naps but not an actual night of sleep. I managed to get a ticket on the last train from Munich to Kempten and finally arrived to my apartment safe and sound at 1am Tuesday January 9 (7pm January 8^th in Toronto).  Whew!!!!

I showered and went straight to sleep, and slept the entire day Tuesday. I finally got adjusted by Wednesday evening to the time change and have been fine since.

This was a different adventure than I had expected, but I did it and was treated very well by Iceland-air. There was nothing I could do, nor could they change the weather so making the best out of the situation was all I could do.

Although they only happen occasionally, I hope you can make the best out of unfortunate situations.

Thanks for the support from my Mom, and Sister through this. Love you.

Bye for now…

Presentation about Canada

Hey....

This is my presentation of Canada. I will present it to the Culture Club this Friday here in Kempten. They wanted to know about Canadian Culture, Food, Traditions and Music. There are some links as well to some Youtube videos I found that show more about Canada.
I hope you enjoy it.

Talk soon - Venice blog is coming soon...still organizing my photos.

Big Red Chairs

Heyyyy....

Big Red Chair located at Home Hardware in
Grand Bend, along Highway 21.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

Summer of 2017, I spent it working, between my studies in Finland and commencing studies in Germany. Along side my neighbour, who was busy with her summer studies, we decided to try and travel around taking photos in as many Big Red Chairs as we could. We didn't get too many but I will talk about a few and what we did while there. I will also recommend a few things to try out if you are in these areas.
The photo to the right is at Home Hardware in Grand Bend, Ontario. We were on our way to my sisters with my dog. We had to take the dog to the chiropractor for her back. We saw this chair and decided we better take some photos, since every time I head to my sisters with my parents, my dad always joked with me that we would take my picture here. The Hardware Store had even built a nice little staircase to step up on, so we could get into the chair. While in Grand Bend, you can also check out the beautiful beach along Lake Huron, or get some hiking done at the Pinery Provincial Park. Grand Bend is a great beach, camping, hiking, fun location in the summer...but very busy with tourists.

These are Parks Canada Chairs at
Point Pelee National Park in Ontario. Most difficult to find...on a trail.
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

This photo is at Point Pelee. This is along Lake Erie.  Again a great beach location, and there are trails for walking, exploring birds and such. They have many other activities in this park. We did not have to pay to get into the park because for 2017 all National Parks were free to celebrate Canada 150, you just had to apply and get a park pass. Parks Canada decided to celebrate the 150th Celebration by putting the red chairs at National Historic Sites and National Parks. We decided to travel around and check a few local ones out...thinking they were going to be large, but they are just regular size, still awesome though. These chairs were very hard to find, there is no direction or anything, and we found them back on a trail in in the swampy area, there are bugs...so wear bug spray. However, it was an adventure, and there is a boardwalk throughout the swamp so you don't get your feet wet or anything. Great place to relax and go bird watching.

While out at Point Pelee, we drove past this restaurant called Birdie's Perch and decided on our way back to Windsor, we would stop here for lunch. My dad was with us and we all decided to try it out. The absolute BEST Perch Tacos I have ever had. If you are in the area here you need to check out this Double Decker Bus, fish and fries restaurant. There are other good things on the menu,but the fish was awesome, and that's what their known for, so I definitely recommend it.

Stopped here for Lunch. Best Fish Tacos EVER!!!! Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

These are Parks Canada Chairs at
Fort Malden in Amherstburg, Ontario. 
Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

These Parks Canada chairs are at Fort Malden in Amherstburg. This is a National Historic sight near Windsor, Ontario and it is known for its military application from the War of 1812. There are barracks, and a building that shows a private residence, there are cannons and other military representations. These red chairs are just like the ones in Point Pelee, just a much different view.
Below, is the view of the Detroit River from the chairs. The Island in the left of the photo is Bois Blanc Island (Also known as Boblo Island). There used to be an Amusement park on this Island but it was closed in 1993. Today the Island is being developed with homes and condominiums. It has restaurants, a lighthouse, a marina, and many other things for the residents of the island.

This is the view from the Chairs at Fort Malden.  To the Left is Boblo Island. Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

 The last photo I have added is my Neighbour and me in our last Red Chair of the summer. My dad found it at Patio Palace in Windsor. It was very weird trying to get into this chair as they did not have the nice stairs like Home Hardware in Grand Bend. We had to climb in from the side, under the arm of the chair. They are much higher off the ground then anticipated. It was also awkward to take the photo, this was a very busy road in the city, so many cars were zooming past us as we climbed up to take our photo.

Big Red Chair at Patio Palace in Windsor, Ontario Photo Credit: Danielle Gadsby

This was our fun adventure that we embarked this summer. It was a great couple of trips we could fit into our schedules while getting to spend a lot of time together. Hopefully, we can check out a few more areas in Ontario next year or maybe come up with something else to try and see. So much fun...Thanks Cassie for embarking on this adventure with me.

Bye for now...