Hosting Adventures: Cycling, Guests, and Life Lessons

We put a hold on accepting cross-country cyclists as guests for a while, but we’ve still been doing our fair share of hosting this past week. My sister was here for a couple of days, though she doesn’t really count as a ‘guest’, more like an occasional resident. We ate nachos at a waterfront restaurant and had lunch at a cafe, but we were rather disappointed in ourselves when we realized we’d gone an entire visit without ice cream. We’re slipping.

After she left, we hosted a Vancouver woman and her daughter (a student in Toronto). They’d requested a home exchange so they could have a beach getaway together. We initially turned her down, but then she proposed that if she and her daughter could stay with us for a couple of nights, Nick would be welcome to stay with them when he gets to Vancouver (he and Megan are planning to move there once he finishes his masters degree this fall). We said they were welcome to stay with us if they didn’t mind that we’d be around during their stay. They spent most of their time at the beach, but when they were around they were easy-going and thoughtful. We’ll probably stay in touch and either Nick, or Ray and I, will stay with them at some point in the future. We also received a thank you card from a cyclist couple we hosted, saying we should look them up when we’re in Victoria. I love making these fortuitous connections.

One of our parenting philosophies was that you open as many doors for your child as possible and then let them choose which ones to go through. The rest of life is similar – the more doors you open, the more opportunities you’ll be presented with. That sometimes means saying yes to things without really knowing what the outcome will be.

After those guests left, our friends Anne and Sanjay visited from Calabogie. They were cycling from Wellington to Brighton, and Ray and I cycled to meet them half-way. On the ride home, I struggled to keep up, despite being the only one on an e-bike. I upped the power level but it felt like I was pedalling through sand. That’s when Anne pointed out that my back tire was flat and I was riding on the rim.

Ray and Sanj got out their bike repair kits and set to work trying to fix it, while I called Bill. They did eventually get the tire patched, but I didn’t want to take a chance riding it until I was sure it was going to hold. Bill and Lorrie came to my rescue and the other three carried on without me.

We had a great couple of days showing them around Brighton and chilling in the back yard, something we haven’t done enough of this year because of the stifling heat and humidity. We had dinner at a waterfront restaurant one night and pizza in the gazebo the other night.

I’ll admit that I was a little stressed prior to Anne and Sanjay’s visit. They live in a gorgeous house on the river where everything is magazine-spread perfect. On top of that, they’re fabulous hosts, who are super-organized and think of everything. When we arrive at their place for a dinner party, the table is already set for eight, with matching place settings.

Ray and I can’t even use the dishwasher because we only own like six spoons. Anne makes ice cubes with fresh fruit inside. I remember that I should have made ice when I’m about to offer our guests a drink. Anne and Sanj make signature cocktails. I hope the guests brought wine because I forgot to pick some up.

It’s funny how our insecurities get tangled up with our admiration for other people’s qualities. I admire Anne and Sanjay’s sense of style and their graciousness as both hosts and guests. The fact that I don’t share the same strengths shouldn’t be cause for concern. I have my own strengths. Shortly after arriving at our place, Anne said she admired the way that Ray and I have set up our retirement, and that she loved how I’d done a 60 at 60 list.

We all have unique personalities, with different strengths and weaknesses, and that’s what makes people interesting. Learning these life lessons is an ongoing process, even when we’ve learned the same lesson many times before. You be you. I’ll be me.

Meanwhile, Nick’s been his usual active self. He attended a bachelor party in Montreal that involved a steak house dinner, a casino night, three hours of dodgeball, basketball and soccer in a round-robin tournament, then a gym workout with sauna, hot tub, cold plunge circuit. By the time they were meant to be taking Montreal’s clubs by storm, they were all pretty worn out. It ended up being a much tamer night than planned, but it sounds like they had a good time.

Nick stayed on in Montreal afterwards for an international symposium at Concordia University, where he presented part of his master’s research. For those interested in what he’s working on, the abstract is below. Everyone else, just skip on past the italicized bit.

Evaluation of Flight Parameters in UAV-Based 3D Reconstruction for Rooftop Infrastructure Assessment

Rooftop 3D reconstruction using UAV-based photogrammetry offers a promising solution for infrastructure assessment, but existing methods often require high percentages of image overlap and extended flight times to ensure model accuracy when using autonomous flight paths. This study systematically evaluates key flight parameters—ground sampling distance (GSD) and image overlap—to optimize the 3D reconstruction of complex rooftop infrastructure. Controlled UAV flights were conducted over a multi-segment rooftop at Queen’s University using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro V2, with varied GSD and overlap settings. The collected data were processed using Reality Capture software and evaluated against ground truth models generated from UAV-based LiDAR and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS). Experimental results indicate that a GSD range of 0.75–1.26 cm combined with 85% image overlap achieves a high degree of model accuracy, while minimizing images collected and flight time. These findings provide guidance for planning autonomous UAV flight paths for efficient rooftop assessments. 

Nick’s still not quite used to the idea of travelling on someone else’s dollar, so instead of staying at a hotel, he booked a room in the student residences…with no air conditioning…during a heat wave. Even his advisor called it a “very questionable decision”.

After the conference, he was off to his annual cottage weekend with high school friends. There was a talent show and much silliness. I’m not really sure what’s going on in this particular pic, but they seem to be making good memories.

And, finally, for your viewing pleasure, a few of Ray’s bird sightings from this week.