Fraser Park in Trenton is a great place to have a summer time stroll. There's a marina nearby, so it's nice to sit on one of the benches, eat a sandwich  and look at the boats that are coming in from Lake Ontario. Over the Christmas season, this park is all dressed up for the season with lights and Christmas decorations, but I much prefer it in the summer. It's a very pretty little spot right in downtown Trenton. These pictures were taken on a rainy day, so it might look a little gloomy, but it isn't always like that. It's usually quite bright. The archway leading into the park is a real reflection of Trenton's Loyalist past. It was erected by the local chapter of the "Daughters of the Empire" and it honours the men who gave their lives in the first world war. The list of names could ve... 05/18/2011

The other day I blogged about how there were seven Tim Horton Coffee shops in Trenton. Today I'm going to feature another coffee shop, one that I go to the most. It's conveniently located downtown, and has a very modern feel to it. it's a pleasure sitting in the stools at the window and watching people go about their business. It's more of an urban atmosphere and there's always good music playing at a reasonable decible level. This shop just opened last year and seems to be doing a very good business. Tim Hortons isn't everybody's cup of tea (or coffee), and The Grind offers a nice alternative. All the tables chairs and stools are well placed, and it gives everybody the opportunity to sit down without bumping into each other and rubbing shoulders (which is important when you're carrying... 05/17/2011

The Cenotaph in Trenton, Ontario is pretty impressive for a town of this size. Perhaps this has a lot to do with the strong military presence created by Canadian Forces Base Trenton. I am pretty sure that just about every town in Ontario has a cenotaph, but usually they are not as big and prominent as the one we have in Trenton. I had always assumed that the word "cenotaph" had a military connotation, but it actually means "empty tomb" and they are erected in honour of a person or a group of people whose remains are elsewhere. A cenotaph doesn't necessarily have to honour soldiers, they can be built for other purposes, such as the one in Hiroshima commemorating the lives of citizens who died in that bombing. The Cenotaph in Trenton was erected in honour of the mean and women from Trento... 05/16/2011

The building that houses the Quinte West Public Library and City Hall was finished about three or four years ago. At the time some people derisively called it the Taj Mahal and implied that it was a grand waste of money. I personally didn't think so, it's nice to have a great facility like this in our town, and it's great that we have a building that we can be proud of. I go there often enough. It's a nice quiet place where I can sit and read, and the reading area has large windows that overlook the Bay of Quinte, so it's pleasant being in there. I can also go there to pay my taxes and water bills as well as pick up garbage bag tags. On those occasions I'm not as happy to visit. I often see people using the computers in the Library. There are a dozen or so computers, and this section of... 05/15/2011

This isn't a real estate related blog post despite having a title that might have been written by a home inspector. This is about a place located at 50 Elgin Street in Trenton named Foundations (or Foundations of friendship and faith - to use the long version). It is run by the San Damiano Foundations Inc, and it provides a place for teenagers to go during the evenings where they have a safe place to congregate and to have fun in a wholesome supervised environment. Too often kids in smaller towns don't have many entertaining options and can easily start down the wrong path with excessive drinking and drugs. This won't be tolerated here, and the younger teenagers have older kids who they can look up to at Foundations. There are rules and regulations that must be abided by. From their web... 05/14/2011

A measure of a society is found in how it treats its weakest and most vulnerable citizens. This "truism" may be accurate in other places, but a measure of a Canadian small town is often found in how many Tim Hortons coffee shops it has. Using this yardstick, I'm sure that Trenton has every other comparably sized town in Canada beat by a country mile. We have seven Tim Hortons in this town of less than 20,000 people. Seven?? Can you believe that??? That's nuts. When I first moved here, there were three, and I used to laugh at that. They are all busy, one can rarely ever go into any of them and not have to stand in a lineup. You wouldn't logically think that a town this size could support seven. Belleville, which is three times the size of Trenton only has six. Will Tim Hortons not rest ... 05/13/2011

The weather has finally turned for the better. Yesterday the thermometer peaked at over 20 degrees C., and today it is expected to do so as well. this will be the first time this year that we have had two consecutive days of that. It also hasn't rained for a couple of days now. Apparently the geese knew that it was spring before I did, and it looks like they were busy reproducing. It's fun watching all the little geese and their parents swimming around and pooping on the lawn. Don't get too near them when they have young ones about, they can get very aggressive. These ones were hissing at me as I followed them, I was a bit worried that they would charge at me, so I backed off and let them slip into the water unmolested (not that I would molest a goose). The real estate front has picked ... 05/12/2011

Do you remember when Ontario used to have a "License Bureau" and we would all have to go there on seemingly random days to get our licenses renewed? We no longer have a License bureau, it's now called the "Driver and Vehicle License Issuing Office" and we have to line up on or before our birthdays to get our license plate stickers for the following year. I had that pleasure last month. When you go to do this task, just make sure you have your insurance slip with you. I remember how long the line-ups used to be when I lived in Toronto, and that it seemed to be an excersize that I would dread. In Trenton the whole procedure only takes about five minutes, and I've never had more than one person in line in front of me. I suppose that this is one of the benefits of not living in the big city... 05/11/2011

Well, perhaps rocking the "canoe" would be a more accurate title. I was sitting on my usual bench wondering what I should blog about today when I heard squeals and screams and a lot of laughter coming from down the river. It was a class of high school kids having a lesson in canoeing. Both my kids underwent this ritual, it's part of their physical education class, and I believe every local high school has this as part of the curriculum. It sure looked like the kids were having fun. I can remember running around a track, tossing medicine balls at one another, climbing ropes and playing sports in school, but we never did anything as fun as canoeing. I think it's great to introduce kids to something like this in a safe environment with adequate supervision. Maybe one of these kids will dev... 05/10/2011

I have been told quite often (mostly by my dad - come to think of it) that being a good pool player is the sign of a misspent youth. Well, truth be told, I'm not really all that good. I suppose my misspent youth must have manifested itself in other ways. My son and I play pool on Sundays, not every Sunday, but maybe two out of every three Sundays. It's something we can do together and not have him totally bored hanging around with his old man. If he's going to misspend his youth at least for now he can do it with me. It seems like a win - win proposition. We go to Stix and Stones Billiards on Front Street in Trenton. During the day it's a really good pool hall with eight or nine pool tables and one snooker tables. Some days we play pool and some days we opt for snooker. Personally I hav... 05/09/2011

Sushi really isn't Thai food, however, fusion cuisine seems to be becoming a very popular concept, and this particular blend of Japanese and Thai food seems to work very well. It was a little surprising to find such a sophisticated restaurant in Trenton. I could name a dozen places that serve really good burgers and a couple of great chip wagons, but one would expect to find an eating establishment like this in a bigger town. It is well run, the decor is very nice and the ambience is good. It's right downtown too, and lots of parking is available close by. The food is also superb. I'm a sucker for miso soup, so every meal I have there starts out with a bowl of that. I do enjoy sushi, but I usually rely on whomever I'm eating with to order too much so I can siphon off the extra. This str... 05/08/2011

Trenton is situated on the MacDonald-Cartier Freeway, or the 401 as it is more commonly known. The 401 runs from the Detroit-Windsor border to the Quebec-Ontario border, which is a distance of 816 kilometers. With a drive of that length, it's natural that one may have to stop and pee somewhere along the way, especially after driving through the Toronto stretch of the highway which is the busiest stretch of highway in North America. Well, if you're ever in that predicament, I have just the place where you can stop and relieve yourself without having to run into the tall grass beside the road. It's a shiny new facility called On Route, and you'll find it just as you get into the Trenton area (which isn't the busiest stretch of highway anywhere). It was just finished earlier this year and... 05/07/2011

The first weekend in May is usually the busiest weekend of the entire year in Trenton. That's because it's the Kiwani's Walleye weekend fishing Derby. This annual event is one of the largest derbys in North America, with over $250,000 in prizes. Money, boats, fishing equipment, and all things of interest to those interested in freshwater fishing are on the line this weekend. This year will be the 31st year that its been held in Trenton. The turnout the last few years has dwindled a bit, but numbers are way up in 2011. Over 5000 people have signed up. The fishing starts at midnight, and there will be a ton of people putting their boats in the water as soon as the clock strikes 12. That's how avid some of these folks are. I don't fish, so I don't really understand the enthusiasm, but I su... 05/06/2011

One of the small life changes I've made over the last few years is to walk more. It started out as a health thing, but unlike most other "health things" I have actually come to enjoy walking. It gets me off the beaten track. I used to be one of those fellows who would hop in my car just to visit the neighbours (well actually, I'm not the "visiting my neighbour" type of guy - more like a surly nod - but you get the point I'm trying to make) but now I actually do things like walk to the store if the weather and time permit. I haven't taken to wearing tie dye t-shirts and attending drum circles yet, but I'm starting to appreciate being outside more. It's really amazing the things I have discovered by not having a windshield seperating me from the rest of existence. There are actually plac... 05/05/2011

Sometimes families need a little help making ends meet. With the rising cost of utilities, gas and groceries, it can be very hard for people to put food on their tables. This is where the Trenton Care and share food bank comes in handy. It gives families the extra boost that they might need in a tough pinch. It's located on 38 Gotha Street and is open every weekday except for Wednesdays from 8am until 12.30 pm. Clients have to bring a rent reciept and something showing their income, but other than those small hurdles it shouldn't be too difficult for people in need to get a bit of help. The Trenton Food bank also has a snappy new website that people can visit and get wholesome recipes that might help stretch the budget a little bit. According to the website; Most Needed Foods Pasta pro... 05/04/2011

The Century 21 Brokerage in Trenton is a unique building. It is the former home of the Lower Trent Conservation Authority, and it's a great place to come to work every day. It's located on the west bank of the Trent River right alongside the Quinte waterfront trail. We have a bench alongside the water on the grounds, and although the weather hasn't been terribly warm yet, I can envision myself eating my lunch time sandwich on that bench and watching the swans, ducks, Canada geese and other birds that congregate around the building. We even have our very own groundhog who I have slowly been building a rapport with over the last few weeks. Everybody else seems to think he's a pest, but I rather like him. He's been named Ed in honour of a particular agent who works here. I think the name i... 05/03/2011

Trenton is the gateway to the Trent Severn Waterway, a 386 km stretch of rivers, canals and lakes that connect Lake Ontario to Lake Huron. Between Port Severn on Lake Huron and Trenton, there are 45 locks, 39 swing bridges and 160 dams. This intricate system enables boaters to reach the high point of 263 metres above sea level at Balsasm Lake. Some of Ontario's finest cottage country is located on this stretch of water, and this waterway is used almost exclusively for recreational purposes these days. It wasn't always so. At one time this waterway was vital to the burgeoning economic engine of Upper Canada. In the mid 19th century, it was used to transport lumber downriver to points where it could be milled and trasnsported. At the time, the waterway hadn't been completed, and it wasn't... 05/02/2011

  Earlier this afternoon I was showing some houses to clients of mine. They are great clients and it's fun touring around with them. The houses we are looking at fall under the "cosy" category. We entered one particular house and were greeted by three rather young cats who started nuzzling around our legs as we walked through the house. Not a problem, this is quite common, they seemed nice enough. When we were leaving the house I encountered a problem that I run into often enough. I forgot where I put the lockbox cover (I'm smart enough to leave the key in the door so I don't misplace that - experience is a good teacher). So, me being me, I took the key out of the doorlock and embarked on my search for the missing lockbox cover. I told my clients to go look around the backyard for a min... 04/21/2011

Some things just go without saying. Who would have known that coconuts are wonderful in coconut cream pie? Perhaps if the person at the grocery store who is responsible for writing the little blurbs about the fruits and veggies had been a real estate agent s/he would have come up with something a little more exotic than this description. Puffery. We see that a lot in this business. A rat infested tear-down becomes a "handyman's dream". A house backing on to the highway will be described as "conveniently located". Some agents go so far as to categorize homes with a small creek in the backyard as "waterfront properties". These are common practices in the real estate industry, and most people reading the blurbs aren't fooled by them. The public at large has become quite sceptical about wh... 04/14/2011

It's no secret that the internet has become a vey important part of most North American's daily routine. Just imagine where we would be without email. How would we be able to look up certain products, how would we book hotel rooms, how would we stay on top of breaking news?If you are trying to sell your home, how will it be found by potential buyers? 83 % of people start searching for their new home on the internet before they even contact an agent. If your agent isn't visible on the net, then is your home really getting the marketing it deserves?Do yourself a favour before deciding on an agent who will assist you in selling your home and maybe finding another. Do a quick search on the internet and see whos name comes up. It doesn't happen magically, it takes a bit of work, and those a... 04/11/2011