Turn Around, Go Back
We flew back from Newfoundland without incident or turbulence thankfully and as promised Mr. Gouley was there to pick us up when our flight arrived. We picked up our trailer and headed straight to our campsite at Laurie Provincial Park. A stunning park right on a lake. We got the bikes out and went for a ride that night and then again the next morning. It was still a bit on the chilly side so we didn't bother trying to go for a swim.
I was excited because we were having company join us for dinner. I have a friend from Banff named Barb who lives 20 mins from Peggy's cove. We have been in contact since we arrived on the east coast and she happily agreed to drive the 2 hours to our campsite for dinner. That is one thing that has astonished me. The lengths that people have gone out of their way to see us. We are so blessed to have so many great people in our lives.
We had such a great visit and it was lovely to meet her partner as well. We figured it had been about 6 years since we last saw each other at a Banff Springs hotel reunion but before that it must have been close to 30 years. Wow!
Unfortunately all great things must come to an end so we said our goodbyes around 9:30 and they headed for home and we headed for bed. We were leaving Nova Scotia the next day but we were tired so we didn't bother to pack anything away before we went to bed. This ended up being a big mistake as sometime during the night a huge rain storm blew in and it didn't stop. By the time we got up and around it was pretty much a torrential downpour and now we had to do the pack up in it.
We have worked out a system whereas I do all the inside shut dnd clean up and Joe does the heavier outside stuff. Let's face it, I can't even reach over the top of the tailgate of the truck let alone pack something away in there. Poor Joe looked like a drowned rat by the time he was done. I appreciate our system more than he does I think.
We got on the road by 9 and headed for Moncton. My cousin's wife still lives there since his passing so we decided to stop and see her on our way through to Quebec. Her name is also Barb and her husband Asher died a couple of years ago. I have not seen Barb since I was a child so we arranged to meet at the Walmart in Moncton, leave our rig there, then go back to her place for a visit. Its amazing the memories that come up from visiting a relative you haven't seen since your childhood. And she was full of great stories. I know it must still be hard for her losing husband of so many years. She seemed genuinely happy we had stopped by for tea.
We had arranged to boondock with our new friends near Fredericton and seeing as we were still storm chasing, I have to say I was grateful for having made that decision.
The rain had let up just long enough for us to see Barb. The thunder and lightening put on a terrific show as we drove right into the storm. (This won't be the last time either)
As we pulled into Susan and David's place the rain was intense. I got out of the truck to direct Joe to back in the driveway and basically got as wet as he did that morning when we left Halifax. The blessing here was they were waiting for us with a hot dinner, nice wine and a full evening of travel stories. This is way and above anything that we would expect from a boondocking situation but they were so generous and insistent, how could we refuse! We didn't even bother unhooking the trailer. I hope we are able to return the hospitality to these two some day soon.
The next day we got up not too early and headed for Quebec. We did not have a place in mind to stay but we thought we would stop somewhere north of Montreal. The weather turned incredibly hot over night so as the day wore on we were watch the outside temps climbing into the mid 30's. Not wanting to sleep in that heat without electricity to power the a/c we decided to keep driving. Just as we were getting close to Montreal I got a text from my cousin Lynda in Napanee saying that if we happened to make it all the way to Napanee that night, our rooms would be ready. I text back and told her we probably would make it but we would stay in the tiny house. She wouldn't hear of it besides the heat wave had really rolled in and it was about 36 degrees at 6:00 with no sign of cooling off.
We arrived at their doorstep exhausted around 9:00 p.m. 12 hours driving and about 1100 Km's in one day. We wanted to get there that night because we could think of no other place we wanted to spend Canada day than in and around my home town.
Next morning we got up and went to the Canada Day parade in Bath Ontario, a little hamlet just outside of Kingston. The thermostat on their deck in the blazing morning sun was a whopping 46 degrees. I thought it was broken until I opened the deck door and got hit with a wave of humidity that I haven't experienced in forever. Sweltering is a good word. Sticky, muggy and hot was used overtime we opened our mouths. The parade was really fun and afterwards we went out to the the Wilton cheese factory for curds and a drive around so we could stay in the air conditioned car just a wee bit longer.
Lynda and Leonard once again took great care of us for a few nights and we are eternally grateful for all they did for us, especially as we were leaving.
The cheapest gas in Canada was just outside of Napanee and Joe was determined to roll into Napanee with an empty tank so he could take advantage of the $0.99 gas. What we didn't realize was just "how" empty he had the tank.
Leonard was driving in the direction of the gas station so he told us to just follow him then he would carry on to where he was off to. We barely made it 2 km's down the road when the truck started to spit and sputter and lurch. Joe quickly pulled off to the side of the road near a farmers field and laid on the horn hoping Len would hear and see us and pull around. Thankfully he did because we were completely empty of gas. He came back, picked us up, took us and two jerry cans to the gas station then drove us back and went on his way. More than a little inconvenient to save 17 cents a litre...just saying. Joe and I had words to the effect of "Well that won't happen again, RIGHT???!!!" Geesh
That night we were staying in a campground not far away at Yarker Lake.
We got one of the last sights and seeing as we were going to our friends Krista and Mark's place for dinner once again, it wasn't like we were going to be spending much time there. Still blistering hot, as soon as we pulled in we plugged in the a/c and went for a long swim. I forgot how much fun it is to swim in such a warm lake. Not quite as warm back home. After our swim we got ready to go for dinner and when we arrived we were surprised to see Debbie and Charles as well as Krista's mom who I have not seen since I left home in 1981. It just brought tears to my eyes to see her again. She was always so wonderful to me as a kid, I thought if I ever had to have another mom I would want it to be Veronica. I want to thank her for making the effort to come see us. It just made my heart sing.
And considering Charles hadn't been feeling great we were super surprised to see them as well. We have been so spoiled by these folks.
We had a wonderful night and headed out to our campsite on Yorker lake where the sunset was just spectacular. But all good things must come to an end and we other folks to catch up with. We are headed to Sibbald Point Provincial Park, my old stomping grounds from my Katimavik days. We have booked in there for 3 days before we head down to my brother Ken and his wife Donna’s place to ultimately start the Long drive home. Sibbald point is in Sutton Ontario on Lake Simcoe. Joe had never been to this area before and I was happy to show him around.
We pulled into our first campsite only to realize there was a camp full of young kids screaming their heads off and the parents mildly drinking beer listening to really loud salsa music and ignoring the kids all together. As much as we love kids, this is not where we wanted to spend the next 3 nights. So I hop on my bike, go to the gate house and request a different site, as it wasn’t busy she told me to go pick a site then come back and tell me which one we wanted.
We found a huge site so Joe went about parking the trailer, backing in oh so carefully only to realize the hookups were on the other side of the site and our extension cord wouldn’t reach it. (By this time I had gone back and changed sites again) so you guessed it, we pulled out and over one spot to what would be our final destination in this campground. One more trip to the gate on my bike and we were all set. It had taken most of the day to get here and set up so we basically just settled in for the night. We were excited because my old friend Erik Meyerhoffer and his wife Heather were coming to visit the next day.
It was such a great visit! We had dinner together and sat around reminiscing, Erik brought some photo albums from our Banff days together bringing back so many fond memories! Erik had recently been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He has the most positive attitude and outlook. And its a good reminder that we need to take care of our health now and in the long run. As we sat around chatting, the weather became suddenly very unruly once again and the down pour that came after the thunder and lightening was just too much for us under our awning. We had to retreat to inside the trailer. Now, our trailer is very comfy but it is only really comfy for 2, so to say it was very cozy is an understatement. We finished dinner and then it was time for Erik and Heather to head back home. Unfortunately, the weather rotten as it was, decided to follow them home to Barrie which in good conditions takes just over an hour...I think it took them closer to 2 hours. Dang!
The next day the sun was shining and the lake was calling our names so we went and splashed around for what seemed like hours then came back to the camp site for dinner and got ready to hit the road the next day. We are headed down to Aylmer which is near London Ontario.
Still sunny we headed out fairly early as we planned on taking the most scenic (read LONG) way to Ken and Donna's in order to divert the nightmare of the 401 Hwy through Toronto. I had no interest what so ever of driving a 49 ft truck and trailer through 16 lanes of insane traffic on the busiest highway in all of North America...
Lets just say the 2.5 hour drive to Aylmer from Sutton ended up taking us about 4 hours because we went so far out of the way of the 401. No regrets. Got to drive through a lot of pretty little Ontario towns because of it.
We arrived at Ken and Donna's at the height of a heat wave. Funny story, its always a heat wave when I go to Ken and Donna's except for their wedding and it was - 15 C or something crazy like that.
I don't really do that well in this kind of heat, especially with the 100% humidity that southern Ontario is known for. Thankfully they have a pool, an air conditioner and plenty of refreshments to keep us comfortable. And besides, we love spending time with these two so much, it wouldn't matter if it were raining, sleeting, snowing, blowing or 40 degrees and for the record we have been with them in ever kind of weather know to man thanks to our fateful trip to Ireland last year in February!
pic
We had a great visit with them for about 4 days sitting by the pool, listening to tunes and just feeling like we weren't travelling at a breakneck pace. It was just what the doctor ordered as I was starting to suffer from "On the road" burnout.
With the batteries all recharged we made our plans for the long trip home.
I was excited because we were having company join us for dinner. I have a friend from Banff named Barb who lives 20 mins from Peggy's cove. We have been in contact since we arrived on the east coast and she happily agreed to drive the 2 hours to our campsite for dinner. That is one thing that has astonished me. The lengths that people have gone out of their way to see us. We are so blessed to have so many great people in our lives.
Unfortunately all great things must come to an end so we said our goodbyes around 9:30 and they headed for home and we headed for bed. We were leaving Nova Scotia the next day but we were tired so we didn't bother to pack anything away before we went to bed. This ended up being a big mistake as sometime during the night a huge rain storm blew in and it didn't stop. By the time we got up and around it was pretty much a torrential downpour and now we had to do the pack up in it.
We have worked out a system whereas I do all the inside shut dnd clean up and Joe does the heavier outside stuff. Let's face it, I can't even reach over the top of the tailgate of the truck let alone pack something away in there. Poor Joe looked like a drowned rat by the time he was done. I appreciate our system more than he does I think.
We got on the road by 9 and headed for Moncton. My cousin's wife still lives there since his passing so we decided to stop and see her on our way through to Quebec. Her name is also Barb and her husband Asher died a couple of years ago. I have not seen Barb since I was a child so we arranged to meet at the Walmart in Moncton, leave our rig there, then go back to her place for a visit. Its amazing the memories that come up from visiting a relative you haven't seen since your childhood. And she was full of great stories. I know it must still be hard for her losing husband of so many years. She seemed genuinely happy we had stopped by for tea.
We had arranged to boondock with our new friends near Fredericton and seeing as we were still storm chasing, I have to say I was grateful for having made that decision.
The rain had let up just long enough for us to see Barb. The thunder and lightening put on a terrific show as we drove right into the storm. (This won't be the last time either)
As we pulled into Susan and David's place the rain was intense. I got out of the truck to direct Joe to back in the driveway and basically got as wet as he did that morning when we left Halifax. The blessing here was they were waiting for us with a hot dinner, nice wine and a full evening of travel stories. This is way and above anything that we would expect from a boondocking situation but they were so generous and insistent, how could we refuse! We didn't even bother unhooking the trailer. I hope we are able to return the hospitality to these two some day soon.
The next day we got up not too early and headed for Quebec. We did not have a place in mind to stay but we thought we would stop somewhere north of Montreal. The weather turned incredibly hot over night so as the day wore on we were watch the outside temps climbing into the mid 30's. Not wanting to sleep in that heat without electricity to power the a/c we decided to keep driving. Just as we were getting close to Montreal I got a text from my cousin Lynda in Napanee saying that if we happened to make it all the way to Napanee that night, our rooms would be ready. I text back and told her we probably would make it but we would stay in the tiny house. She wouldn't hear of it besides the heat wave had really rolled in and it was about 36 degrees at 6:00 with no sign of cooling off.
We arrived at their doorstep exhausted around 9:00 p.m. 12 hours driving and about 1100 Km's in one day. We wanted to get there that night because we could think of no other place we wanted to spend Canada day than in and around my home town.
Next morning we got up and went to the Canada Day parade in Bath Ontario, a little hamlet just outside of Kingston. The thermostat on their deck in the blazing morning sun was a whopping 46 degrees. I thought it was broken until I opened the deck door and got hit with a wave of humidity that I haven't experienced in forever. Sweltering is a good word. Sticky, muggy and hot was used overtime we opened our mouths. The parade was really fun and afterwards we went out to the the Wilton cheese factory for curds and a drive around so we could stay in the air conditioned car just a wee bit longer.
Lynda and Leonard once again took great care of us for a few nights and we are eternally grateful for all they did for us, especially as we were leaving.
The cheapest gas in Canada was just outside of Napanee and Joe was determined to roll into Napanee with an empty tank so he could take advantage of the $0.99 gas. What we didn't realize was just "how" empty he had the tank.
Leonard was driving in the direction of the gas station so he told us to just follow him then he would carry on to where he was off to. We barely made it 2 km's down the road when the truck started to spit and sputter and lurch. Joe quickly pulled off to the side of the road near a farmers field and laid on the horn hoping Len would hear and see us and pull around. Thankfully he did because we were completely empty of gas. He came back, picked us up, took us and two jerry cans to the gas station then drove us back and went on his way. More than a little inconvenient to save 17 cents a litre...just saying. Joe and I had words to the effect of "Well that won't happen again, RIGHT???!!!" Geesh
That night we were staying in a campground not far away at Yarker Lake.
We got one of the last sights and seeing as we were going to our friends Krista and Mark's place for dinner once again, it wasn't like we were going to be spending much time there. Still blistering hot, as soon as we pulled in we plugged in the a/c and went for a long swim. I forgot how much fun it is to swim in such a warm lake. Not quite as warm back home. After our swim we got ready to go for dinner and when we arrived we were surprised to see Debbie and Charles as well as Krista's mom who I have not seen since I left home in 1981. It just brought tears to my eyes to see her again. She was always so wonderful to me as a kid, I thought if I ever had to have another mom I would want it to be Veronica. I want to thank her for making the effort to come see us. It just made my heart sing.
And considering Charles hadn't been feeling great we were super surprised to see them as well. We have been so spoiled by these folks.
We had a wonderful night and headed out to our campsite on Yorker lake where the sunset was just spectacular. But all good things must come to an end and we other folks to catch up with. We are headed to Sibbald Point Provincial Park, my old stomping grounds from my Katimavik days. We have booked in there for 3 days before we head down to my brother Ken and his wife Donna’s place to ultimately start the Long drive home. Sibbald point is in Sutton Ontario on Lake Simcoe. Joe had never been to this area before and I was happy to show him around.
We found a huge site so Joe went about parking the trailer, backing in oh so carefully only to realize the hookups were on the other side of the site and our extension cord wouldn’t reach it. (By this time I had gone back and changed sites again) so you guessed it, we pulled out and over one spot to what would be our final destination in this campground. One more trip to the gate on my bike and we were all set. It had taken most of the day to get here and set up so we basically just settled in for the night. We were excited because my old friend Erik Meyerhoffer and his wife Heather were coming to visit the next day.
The next day the sun was shining and the lake was calling our names so we went and splashed around for what seemed like hours then came back to the camp site for dinner and got ready to hit the road the next day. We are headed down to Aylmer which is near London Ontario.
Still sunny we headed out fairly early as we planned on taking the most scenic (read LONG) way to Ken and Donna's in order to divert the nightmare of the 401 Hwy through Toronto. I had no interest what so ever of driving a 49 ft truck and trailer through 16 lanes of insane traffic on the busiest highway in all of North America...
Lets just say the 2.5 hour drive to Aylmer from Sutton ended up taking us about 4 hours because we went so far out of the way of the 401. No regrets. Got to drive through a lot of pretty little Ontario towns because of it.
We arrived at Ken and Donna's at the height of a heat wave. Funny story, its always a heat wave when I go to Ken and Donna's except for their wedding and it was - 15 C or something crazy like that.
I don't really do that well in this kind of heat, especially with the 100% humidity that southern Ontario is known for. Thankfully they have a pool, an air conditioner and plenty of refreshments to keep us comfortable. And besides, we love spending time with these two so much, it wouldn't matter if it were raining, sleeting, snowing, blowing or 40 degrees and for the record we have been with them in ever kind of weather know to man thanks to our fateful trip to Ireland last year in February!
pic
We had a great visit with them for about 4 days sitting by the pool, listening to tunes and just feeling like we weren't travelling at a breakneck pace. It was just what the doctor ordered as I was starting to suffer from "On the road" burnout.
With the batteries all recharged we made our plans for the long trip home.
Comments
Post a Comment