And The Winner Is...

Rick and Kathy were the first to make it to the location to capture the shot of Phil's friend, who has now been named M.T. aka EMPTY. As you can see by the photo below, M.T. seemed a tad startled when Rick and Kathy walked in on him on the phone. It just so happens that he was on the phone with Phil, what a lucky shot!

"M.T. On The Phone With Phil"
Photo by Rick and Kathy
Rick and Kathy's Flickr Photo Stream


Well after Rick and Kathy left, it appears that Phil stopped by for a visit! M.T. was surprised! As you can once again see by the expression on his face!

"Holy crap! Phil!"


So it would appear that Rick and Kathy take the green flag, we have a new name for Phil's friend. And I will make sure Phil gets a meet and greet and an investigation with Phil in the very near future!

Only The Lonely

It was recently brought to my attention by fellow explorers Rick and Kathy, that Phil's friend from his location of origin was a tad sad and lonely that Phil and flown the coop. As you can see in this photo evidence below.

"Lonely Friend"
Photo by Rick and Kathy
Rick and Kathy's Flickr Photo Stream


After seeing this photo, I had to sit back and think about this for a moment. Phil loves to explore, and loves his new home. But his friend is lonely. Phil has already stated he would never go back in a permanent fashion, only to visit. So, I did the only think I possibly could to keep these guys in contact...I got Phil a Cell Phone! ( And yes, that is a Blackberry Storm, and Phil is spoiled! )

"Phil On The Phone"


Well, as short as this blog was, I figured you all had the right to know what was going on, and also the resolution to the problem at hand.
But I did have one more point to this...The first person to provide me a picture of Phil's FRIEND with HIS cell phone will get an exclusive meet and great, and Urban Explore with Phil. As well will be offered to name Phil's friend for future blog reasons.

Happy Hunting!

Special Edition: The Making Of...

I am sure you have all wondered how Phil, being a mug, is actually able to get into these abandoned places...Well, I will let you in on a little secret, he has a little help!

So, this blog today is to show you, the viewers, the behind the scenes on a typical day with Phil.

As you recall from the last blog, we saw Phil exploring a abandoned home in Silverdale. What you didn't see was how Phil was actually able to get in to this home. As you can see from the photo below, Phil was strategically placed on the window ledge, as I snapped his photo. You can also see Ian was snapping a photo of me snapping a photo of Phil, while Dave was snapping a photo of Ian, snapping a photo of me, snapping a photo of Phil.

"Behind The Scenes: Part 1"
Photo by Dave J
Dave's Flickr Photo Stream


In our next location, where Phil had met some friends, in reality, Dave and Ian helped me pick out these fellows from a pile that was next to the building, which we placed on the foam ledge to get that perfect shot.

"Behind The Scenes: Part 2"
Photo by Ian G
Ian's Flickr Photo Stream


And finally, a little creative camera work by Dave, as he snapped this next photo of me preparing the chalk board at Eden Christian College for Phil's photo. Phil is pretty smart, but due to the lack of hands and fingers, it was just not possible for him to accomplish this. Hence, a little help was necessary.

"Behind The Scenes: Part 3"
Photo by Dave J
Dave's Flickr Photo Stream


And last but not least, Dave snapped a picture of me taking the final shot of the day of Phil.

"Behind The Scenes: Part 4"
Photo by Dave J
Dave's Flickr Photo Stream


As you can see a lot of time and effort goes into preparing JUST the right situation for Phil, so I hope you have all enjoyed this behind the scenes look into Phil. Until the next adventure!

An Epic Journey And Long Day For Phil

Wow, what a day, Phil dragged me around the entire Niagara Region, but it was well worth it. And Phil insisted that I get this blog posted ASAP ( I think the fame has gone to his head )

Our story begins in Port Colborne, where Ian and I met up with Dave, our intention was to find some old houses that were previously scouted in the Lincoln Township area.

Our first stop was an abandoned home in Silverdale. The second we got out of the car we heard someone nailing something, and soon after discovered that it was the owner of the property to the left of the abandonment. We decided the best bet would be to approach this guy and let him know our intentions, which turned out to be a good idea because he had a dog that wasn't to fond of people it didn't know, and was on the loose! We learned the the house was from the 1940's and that the woman that lived their had died, and her daughter lived right down the street, in fact you could see her house. AND, she was walking over. In the time it took her to get to us, the neighbour explained that she was constantly fending people away from the house, mostly photographers, and wasn't too pleased when people stopped by. We were even told that a Photography class from Niagara College had stumbled onto the property without permission.
In the end she allowed us to photograph the home from the road. It was the best we could do under the circumstances. So you can imagine how upset Phil was that he didn't have the chance to explore!

"Silverdale Abandoned Home"


After we had photographed the house all we possibly could, we decided to head back the way we came to check out another possible location that Ian had spotted, also in the township of Silverdale.

"The OTHER Silverdale Home"


It turned out to be a great location. We parked right out front. No one really cared, or bothered us. The abandoned home had seen better days, but were still able to gain access and Phil of course was the first one to spot our point of entry.

"Phil Climbing In A Back Window"


Once inside we found that the place was very unstable, Ian actually fell through the floor on 2 separate occasions. But, Phil being the skinny, light chap he is decided to taunt us by going up the stairs and playing around.

"Phil Taunting Us From The Top Of The Stairs"






After we were done shooting the interior, we finally got Phil to come down. But of course he didn't use the bathroom on the way and needed to go. So, going completely against our warnings, he rushed to the bathroom in the house, need I say more...

"Phil On The Can"


Once he realized that the conditions of the bathroom were well below sanitary spec, he opted to use the out house, it was a lovely HIS and HER, I could only snap one shot, as Phil is a little PEE SHY...

"Phil In The Out House"


Once Phil had done his business, we had a little meeting to decide where to next. We decided to head to back to St. Catharines on the back roads, and I remember this great 2 story farm house that I had only had a chance to check out for a short time in the past. The problem. This house is now on the same land where the new Hospital is being built. AND they had security. Like that has ever stopped Phil!

"Phil Being A Rebel"


"The 2 Story Farm House"


Actually, we walked up to the Security Guard and asked if we could take some pictures of the place before they knocked it down. He really didn't care, I don't think he was too pleased to be there, he was old, not too bright, and well....
Anyway, they have sealed the place off so all we were able to get were exterior photos again, and the Security Guard was keeping a watchful eye on us, so our session was cut very short. BUT, of course, Phil had to make a point to try and get it. But alas, he wasn't able to.

"Phil Trying To Gain Access"


Just down the road from the farm house, there is an abandoned office building called "The Admiral", we have had some odd experiences here in the past, but we figured it wouldn't hurt to check it out again since we were so close.

"The Admiral"


We did a complete walk around, and it was sealed up tight, new windows, and new locks on all the doors, it also appeared to have power. Once we got around back and turned the next corner, we saw that our trip wasn't a complete waste of time. Phil bumped into some old friends!

"Phil With His Friends"


We were finally able to get Phil to say his goodbyes, and just as we were about to leave, we noticed a building off to the side that was on the property. We began to photograph it and I tried the door, and sure enough it was open! So we went in for a little bit to get some shots.

"Side Building"


Once inside, we really couldn't figure out what this place was, it looks like it's original use was that of some kind of break building, or recreation area. But it also looks like it was someones house, AND it also appeared to have been worked on recently. Either way, Phil had to snoop around as usual and I caught him checking out one of the rooms.

"Phil Exploring A Room"


After closing the door behind us, we decided our last stop of the day would be the old Eden Christian College out in Niagara On The Lake. Dave had been before, but he was not able to get in.

"The Former Eden Christian College"
Photo by Ian
Ian's Flickr Photo Stream


We arrived and thankfully were able to gain access. Ian and I had been to Eden many times, and it's very upsetting to see how much destruction has taken place there since our first visit. Practically every window inside was broken, massive tagging, ceiling tiles pulled down, and even rads torn from the walls. Just as we were discussing this, I turned and what do I see? Phil with a can of spray paint! Thankfully he never got off a squirt!

"Phil Making The ATTEMPT To Tag"


We continued to Photograph the building, and we ended up in one of the upstairs class rooms, where Phil found a piece of chalk and decided to make himself known.

"Phil Making Himself Known"


Well, that about does it, as the title says, it was quite an epic journey, and a long one. But it was a great day, and we hope there will be many more to come! Hope you all enjoyed!

Abandoned Garage/Apartment

Today during my lunch, I promised my good friend Gord that I would run down to Lock 12 of the 3rd Welland Canal to grab a few shots for his website, since the pictures he had were only black and white and he needed colour ( www.wellandcanals.com ) which will be up and running shortly, so check it out!

On the way home I decided to stop at an abandoned Garage that once housed an apartment upstairs as well. Recently there was a gas explosion that now makes entering completely unsafe.

"After The Explosion"


As unsafe as it was, Phil couldn't resist once again being a rebel and ignoring all warnings, even a "Police Line Do Not Cross" tape surrounding the location.

"Crossing Into Unknown Dangers"


I yelled at him to stay put, but he just ignored me as usual, and made his way up to the first point of entry he saw, which was a lower window.

"Point Of Entry"


Due to the fact the roof was collapsed, and there really wasn't much to see, there was no point in sticking around. But yet another journey to add to the collection of Phil the Abandoned Mug.

Mountain Locks - Second Welland Canal

Today, I went for a short hike with Gord and Ryan. Now before I get into the adventure, I have had numerous suggestions that the abandoned mug needs a name. So, after careful thought, and consideration, I have come up with the clever name of "Phil".

Now, moving on. The hike started out bad when I realized that I had brought all my camera gear except a compact flash card. Hence, I was not able to take any pictures of "Phil" with my camera. But thankfully Gord had his camera with him and I was able to snap a few of Phil's journey.

The Mountain Locks are part of the now abandoned 2nd Welland Canal, located in the South end of St. Catharines, Ontario along Bradley Street in Mountain Locks Park.

We parked and headed for our first stop, which was lock 19. Phil I have noticed is pretty brave, as you can see in the picture below;

"Phil At Lock 19 - Second Welland Canal"


Our next stop was Lock 21. Where the only access was over a fence and on to an old bridge. Phil had no issue scaling the fence, and disregarding warnings;

"Phil Scaling The Fence At Lock 21"


Once over the fence, here we see a shot of Phil posing on the old bridge with a scenic picture of Lock 21 in the background:

"Phil On The Old Bridge At Lock 21"


Although a short journey today, it was still worth while and worth a blog. Stay tuned for more adventures of Phil the Abandoned Mug soon!

Abandoned Home

I figured it would be best to make the first exploration post the mugs original home.

Set on a service road on the St. Catharines/Niagara on the Lake border, lies an abandoned Motel with an abandoned home out front.

My best guess is that whom ever owned this home was either the owner of the motel, or the manager/grounds keeper. Behind the motel, there is a small trailer park consisting of about 10 trailers. I would guess that only 4 of these are still occupied.

I did a quick walk around of the home, and found a point of easy entry in the rear. Great that it was easy, and even better that it was a back entrance, which gave me coverage from the close road and passing traffic. As mentioned in my first post, my entrance took me directly up a short stair case to the kitchen. This is where I first saw the mug and was blown away by just how literal the text on the mug actually was.

After a full investigation of the home, I came to the conclusion that the occupant died in the home, or was close to death in the home. My reasoning behind this was the evidence that was presented. There was a hospital bed instead of your standard box spring and matress, as well as a bag of depends with only a couple missing. I believe that the occupant had some sort of home care in his or her last days.
There was a lot of articles left behind. It looked as if family had come in, taken what they wanted, and left what didn't interest them behind. I am glad the mug didn't interest them, as this blog would never exist if it had been removed.
From pictures, phone books and magazines in the home, it appears that the last year it was occupied was 1996.

All in all, it wasn't the most exciting urban explore, but it has started a saga, which I plan to continue and keep up with on a regular basis for your reading and viewing pleasures.

"The Abandoned Home"


"The Original find and location of the mug"

And so it begins...

As an Urban Explorer, I have been to many locations that have intrigued me, confused me, excited me, etc... It's always the most exciting when I come across a location such as home that still has "things" that were left behind, a window into those that lived there in past per say.

A couple of weeks ago, I explored a home, just such as mentioned above. The moment I walked in the door, I was in the kitchen. I turned to the left and there, upon the counter was a coffee mug that read "This is NOT an abandoned mug". I was literally blown away, here I am exploring and photographing an abandoned house, and to find something so literal as this mug was amazing.

Normally Urban Explorers follow a very strong rule, "Take only pictures, leave only footprints", it is rare that I break this rule, but in this case I HAD to have this mug! It was too perfect to leave behind.

After returning home from my adventure, I spoke to a fellow explorer, Ian, and mentioned my find. He made an excellent suggestion. He thought it would be a great idea to take the mug with me everytime I explore a new location, and photograph it in each location. I thought this was a fantastic idea. And so I started this blog. And will post everytime I explore a new location, and include a photo with my new mug!