On the Road Again…..

We departed Ontario with the usual fanfare at the border with the usual questions – any meat or fruit and vegetables on board? This is not our first crossing so we know not to tempt fate and take food stuffs across so I say “no sir”! The CBP guard looked in the rig and to my embarrassment, we comes out with a tomato, a green pepper and a hand full of blue berries! Oppsss, we forgot about those few things. The guard did leave us with a baggie of celery and an egg! I guess he didn’t feel that we could feed America on that! No other issues so we were on our way – our target was a Walmart 8 miles north of Cincinnati, Ohio for the night. The weather was great and the traffic fairly light until we got to Dayton. The rain started and didn’t stop until the next day and the traffic was heavier but moving well. We arrived at our destination for the night just after dark. We went inside and bought dinner and followed the Escapee Good Neighbor Policy and asked permission to stay the night – we stayed here last year and it was great. This year, not so much as we were informed that due to a city ordinance, no overnight parking allowed! What? We were more than a little tired but the Flying J in Kentucky was only 45 minutes away so off we go! Driving through Cincinnati in the pouring rain at night was not our favorite adventure! I guess Ohio doesn’t want our business any more!

After breakfast the next day, we’re back on the road again. This time our target destination is a Walmart in Calhoun GA (about 70 miles north of Atlanta). It is still raining as we approach Lexington, KY and a little car cut in front of us, I had to stand on the brakes to avoid running over it! As I did this, the ABS and the Parking brake lights come on! We have been having an ABS sensor problem for a while and the auto techs were unable to see the problem let alone find it so I thought it was back – we still had brakes! The rain kept up until we entered Tennessee. We stopped in Knoxville for fuel and the rains came down. It rained extremely hard when we were passing through Chattanooga TN., and the traffic had slowed to 60Kms/hr. There is another long steep hill to descend and we were quickly catching up to the traffic in front of us and I had my foot on the brakes to the floor! Holy crap, Huston, we’ve got problems! By manually operating the trailer brakes and down shifting and I could change lanes, we avoided a serious mishap! I slowed us down enough to catch my breath and decided to safely make our way to Calhoun for the night! Once we were set up and approval to stay obtained, we had a very stiff beverage to celebrate our arrival! BTW, it was still raining when we settled for the night!

The next day, we call Jim & Lydia and inform them that we had arrived and asked Jim to set up an appointment to get the brakes fixed. We limped our way from Calhoun to Jasper (about 40 miles) to meet up with Jim & Lydia at the Home Depot in Jasper. The road over (Hwy 53) is not the flattest or straightest road but using the trailer brakes, we got there. Jim says he made an appointment for 1PM but not sure there is room at the shop for our rig! Hello Home Depot, when asked, they did not mind us leaving the rig there while we determined what the problems are. Jim and I took off to the repair centre while Barb & Lydia went to their villa in the mountains of Bent Tree. The repair folks determined that we had ‘blown’ a brake line to the back and lost almost all the brake fluid. Unfortunately, the brake line runs between the fuel tank and the frame and they need to drop the tank to do the repairs! The other bad news is that they could not possibly get it done today (Wednesday, Nov 23^rd) and they are closed for their Thanksgiving holidays until Monday, Nov 28^th! We inform Jim that we have to extend our stay a couple of days and with some trepidation, actually Barb started crying, he surrenders! Let’s hope the pineapple doesn’t get cut up!

The next day, American Thanksgiving, we go with Jim & Lydia to Cumming GA for dinner with their son Todd and his family & extended family. It was a great time; football of course, was the main event with dinner thrown in between games! Seriously, it was wonderful that they included us with their family and we had a great time meeting them all. The meal was another feast with something for everybody. Whew, someone get the wheel barrow to get me to the car!

The next few days are a blur! Jim & Lydia made sure we didn’t want for anything. And, when time was slack, we went to one of their friend’s home for dinner. Chris and John’s son-in-law, Alvero from Venezuela, cooked one of his favorite beef meals, complete with a Guasacaca dip with grilled sausage for dipping! Wow! He served a Balsamic-Rosemary Butter sauce/gravy for the beef and it was spectacular. Again, I needed a wheel barrow! As Jim would say, we were over served– it’s not our fault that we couldn’t move after the evening ended. After dinner, more of their posse appeared and soon the party was in full swing. We met lots of interesting people which brings lots of interesting stories!

We're looking down from the screened sunroom, watching the wildlife

Saturday and Sunday, we hung out and helped Jim & Lydia get themselves ready to go full timing! They are packing up some stuff for the Store and Lock, moved more stuff into the trailer, completed some electrical work and discovered how the satellite hook up worked with the TV. This is a pre-owned trailer so the Coax labeling is not as it appears!

The new brake line is in!

On Monday, the truck is finally done and we plan to leave on Tuesday which is probably a relief for Jim & Lydia. We are very thankful for such good friends keeping us longer and entertained even as they are packing up to move. To celebrate Jim & Lydia’s new adventure and our departure, we went out for dinner to a little bistro called 61 Main in downtown Jasper. Another friend, Nancy, joined us for dinner and we all had a great time bringing a fun end to our visit. It has been raining off an on for the past couple of days and the weather forecast is calling for snow on Monday night. Oh no, don’t snow yet, we’re here in the south!

 

I’m sure you are exhausted trying to get through this meandering so wishing you well out there and hopefully you will come back for more soon.

T’was the Night Before…..

We can not believe how quick time zips by. It seems that we were gearing up for our Christmas in November with our kids and grandkids! Speaking of which, we all had a great time. Barb & I arrived early to help Terri & Mark with food prep, decorate the tree and to taste test the rum and eggnog! Everything was great but we had to cut down on the ice in the eggnog! Our other kids, Dawn and her family arrived and Corrie and hers, arrived with our grandkids and everyone quickly got into the swing of having a fun time. Soon, the tree was over flowing with gifts and the Christmas fever was soon in full speed with the little ones. I’m sure even the older kids were a little excited but of course, a teenager doesn’t want to show it!

The bird was carved and 15 of us sat down to a feast. The older grand kids complete their verse and light their candle on our Advent wreath then we snap the crackers, laugh at the little gifts inside and some of us revelers donned our paper hats while the noise level decreased as we were all focused on the bounty in front of us! What a meal! If anyone left hungry, it was their own fault. As for me, I could hear the alarm – beep beep beep – sound as I backed away from the table! Christmas is a time for family traditions. Besides the feasting and the Advent wreath, we also have a personal ornament that we each hang on the tree and say a little something about our past year. Some are as simple as wishing us all a Merry Christmas and others maybe are too long! This year, we were surprised by the detail even the smaller kids had in their fulfillment of ‘public speaking’! It was great!

With dinner over and the family traditions done, you know where the kids were – sitting in front of the tree, patiently waiting – oh, okay not so patient but still waiting for someone to assume the roll of Santa! Since we were at Terri & Mark’s, Alex is Santa and soon the paper is flying and squeals of delight and excitement fills the air! All the kids are surprised and happy with the gifts.

All too quickly, the pile of gifts is reduced to a pile of ripped and shredded paper but everyone is happy. The older grand kids soon retire to the TV downstairs but the little ones want batteries installed, see how things work and settle in to play. The older ones (read adults) settle in for another beverage and some chit chat. It was another great family time and the memories help to send us on our way south.

We planned a week for some rest and calm before hitting the road but this week is less than restful. I was just recovering from a cold but was generous to give it to Barb! Our cousin in London came for a visit and delivered a stained glass window. We sent her a design we would like and she did an excellent job recreating what we wanted. We visited with John & Kay again and dropped off Barb’s bears to sell at a craft show in their complex.

Since we have HD TVs and now a HD Satellite receiver, we needed some other equipment to make all the pieces work together so we needed to make a run to get the necessary stuff. Well, that took half a day and more windshield time! We’re into the countdown and started packing stuff away.

We will add more after we cross the border. Hope you have been well and come back soon for another update – we are so far behind – so busy!

Our Canadian Season Comes to an End

After such a busy day Tuesday, we just hung out Wednesday and if we moved, it was slowly! I should be more specific, I’m the only one moving slowly as Barb is a busy bee working on a couple of Christmas sewing projects. But you guys knew this didn’t you! The last couple of nights have been below freezing so I had to put the water line away until morning. I haven’t insulated or placed a heater wire on it yet – and may not, we only have 11 days left before we head south!

Sunday we decided to take our grandsons to the movies. We have reached that fork in the road; our 14 year old grandson has plans with his friends and can not come out to play with us! So with tickets purchased, we load Nate and his mom, Corrie for a great afternoon in front of Puss in Boots! We did the 3D experience and it was a fun flick!

Our family Christmas is quickly approaching for us and we have seriously started our shopping. Not a fun event for Barb because I am shopping challenged! I’m not one to browse and look for the perfect item. You can see her frustration with me! Anyway, it was successful none the less and we (meaning Barb) had it all wrapped before hitting the sack – no not me, bed!

The next couple of days were spent Christmas shopping and being busy. Not sure where the time goes but wow, so close to our departure now. We have heard from some of our friends at The Plantation and the activities are quickly spinning up to speed. It makes us even more excited to get down to our site and be part of the community. Of course, we had our doctor’s appointments and are marking time, awaiting results! That keeps you on pins and needles wondering if we need more drugs to keep us ‘normal’!

In mid week, we tripped down to our good friends for a day/night Mexican Train fix! Diane had a cold and was so kind to share it! It is that time of the year isn’t it? We had a great time, catching up on each others news and of course, playing Mexican Train until the wee hours. Other friends – Ray & Donna stopped by to play too and with a few beverages and some good laughs, we had a very enjoyable couple of days. Soon after, we met another pair of ‘old RVing’ buds for lunch, Kay & John. We met them during our first year of full timing in 2001. We have kept in touch with them since, meeting at various places here or on the road. It’s a great life style and be able to stay in touch.

We hope you are able to do the same, where ever you are…..

A Weekend Getaway!

In our last update, I forgot to mention that while parked at Terri’s, I found some time to check out a couple of chairs we picked up in the spring but stored them until we could get at them. Well, one is in dire need to be redone completely but the other looks like some repair to the caning and then a little refinish work to the wood will make this chair look great! So with a little ‘secret sauce’ and some elbow grease, the chair is ready for anyone to be proud to have in their home. All offers will be considered!

Anyway, we are having a nice visit with my brother, Larry. Back in the summer, I found a rocking chair for sale and asked Larry to have a look at it for me and buy it if it was solid. He did and stored it for us so now I have another project when we are down at the Plantation. I’m hoping to learn a new weave for the back of the chair.

While we’re here, we set up our annual doc appointments to see if we’re ill! We tinkered and tweaked some stuff for Larry and I sanded the rocking chair. Barb worked on editing pictures for her movies and finished a DVD project. We left on Friday for our Ontario ‘winter perch’ then onto Terri’s cabin for the weekend. Terri & Mark picked up a 10’x5’ bow window to replace the old window in the front of their cabin. We offered to help install the beast so fun times lay ahead!

Saturday we were up early and Mark & I were off to the lumber store for supplies. Terri and Barb started the demolition of the old window. It was a time consuming task to get the old window out and down to the RSO (rough stud opening). We found lots and I mean lots of walnuts in the old ceiling and a huge wasp nest under the window sill. We didn’t think to measure the nest but it was about the size of 2 basket balls held together. Here are a couple of links for you. Once the glass was out, we could see what challenges presented to us. The old roof was half rotten and black with mold! Yuck! It was demolished quickly and put in the fire barrel! As we started getting to the RSO, we realized that we needed more lumber to enlarge the opening for the new window and the local lumber store closed in an hour! We quickly made a list and sent Mark on his way to shop! As we continue to remove drywall and get down to the bare frame, we realize that we need additional lumber so I am sent to intercept Mark on his return. The bad news, the road I know was closed and I got lost and ended up at the wrong location! I get back before Mark and we measure the window again and Barb suggests we just remove the plywood end frames and the window should fit!

We carried the window from the barn to the house - about 200 feet! We couldn’t have done it without the girls help. We set it down on the scaffold and see that the window is still too big for the RSO! Hey, why don’t we chisel a ½ inch out of the jack studs? Once that was done, the window went in with a little coxing! Whew, Barb & I are relieved! We feared that we said we could help and the job is relatively easy but after these ‘small’ road blocks, we were thinking that we would have to buy more materials on Sunday, thus covering the window with a tarp for Saturday night! After a very busy day, their neighbors took pity on us and had us over for dinner. We had an enjoyable evening kicking back and meeting new folks. After such a day, we all slept like logs!

Back at the rig on Monday, we went into Waterdown to do laundry and some shopping. We toured around a little to find a better way to and from the campground. Tuesday was a run back to the docs in Markham. I had an 8:30AM appointment so we had to leave the campground by 5:45AM to beat the rush hour traffic. We arrived at the hospital by 7 so we pushed our seats back and caught another 40 winks in the parking lot! I happen to crack an eye lid and saw a lady giving us the once over, I wonder what she was thinking! While I was being run through a gambit of tests, Barb met up with a girl friend from Bell! Wow, Barb worked for Bell 20 years ago, time just zips by! After a short time and dinner with Larry, we parted ways and Barb & I headed home only to get caught up in Toronto’s rush hour traffic. Whew, another busy day!

Another slice of life from a couple of roamers. We wish you all well out there…..

Technology is…..

Well, we arrived in the big smoke of Toronto safe and sound. Our GPS, James (we have James Bond’s voice guiding us) took us on a route that we have not been on before so more colored lines on the map. Anyway, traffic was light until we zipped past Kitchener then into Toronto. We had a little kafuffle when we arrived at Terri’s – both cars were parked in the driveway so that we could squeeze in but not disconnect, so a call to Mark. Oopppsss, he forgot to move the cars. Oh well, nothing too serious so we tried the TV satellite again and again could not acquire the signal! Now, I am really puzzled! We have replaced the receiver, the coax cable and tried a LNB that was working on a neighbors system at Lake Huron Resort. So we made a call to Bell to have a professional come and solve our problem.

Since Roebuck would not allow us to wash the rig or truck, they were truly filthy and deserved a good wash down so I set to do that on Thursday while waiting for the Bell TV tech! Barb was busy making apple and pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. We waited all day and no Tech, I’m sure you can see a little frustration here!

Well, that was Thursday and it was not fixed until Friday evening! Let me try a ‘readers digest’ explanation – they sent a tech to our mailing address then cancelled the order, next order couldn’t find the current location, the phone number, our calling card, didn’t answer them and they couldn’t get their heads around that our system was in an RV! Of course, when I called originally, I made sure the service rep understood that the system was in an RV and that it was not located at my home address and that the contact number would be our cell phone! But when it came to the poor service tech, he was just given the info off the ‘official’ service record, not the tidbits of info from the customer like where he is and what number to call! Anyway, we finally got a nice repair tech to solve our problem – he replaced both coax connectors on each end of the cable and we have TV again! Since we had tried another coax at Lake Huron Resort last Monday, I don’t understand why that didn’t fix the problem then! Oh well, electronics, it can be a mysterious animal!

The weather for Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful so Barb & I decided to borrow Terri’s Mini convertible and take it over to Corrie’s for our family Thanksgiving dinner! We felt like kids again and I’m sure the other cars that passed us thought – look at those old coots in their second childhood! I would like to say that my hair was blowing in the breeze but I don’t have enough! It is great that our family and my brother’s family all get together every Thanksgiving, this was our 26^th year. We all have diverse and busy lives, so staying in touch and seeing all the kids grow, catching up on each others lives also reminds us of how lucky we are! With the weather being so beautiful, we were able to enjoy Corrie’s yard and have a very relaxing day. The kids played in the tree house and had fun being kids!

On Thanksgiving Monday, Barb & I took Kasey (the dog) for a 3K walk and then kicked back in Terri’s back yard and enjoyed the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing! Ahhhh! Terri has a Butterfly Bush in her front garden and the Monarchs are migrating south but they stopped off to get some nourishment! What a site, 6-10 of these orange and black beauties flitting around the blossoms of the bush!

We haven’t done much all week, fed and walk the dog, fed the fish and cut the lawn. Oh, we also did some winter garden prep and cut down some plants for them. On Friday, we went to Mack’s football game in the rain! Mack is a tight end on the defensive line. He’s a big guy and will do well, he understands his job out there and played great. It brought memories back for Barb & me, watching high school football. I was too chicken to play but we went to most games to cheer our playing friends on!

We picked Terri and Mark up at the airport. Terri participated in the Deloitte Habitat for Humanity Adventure in Brazil. After, Mark joined her in Peru for a vacation. The flight was, of course, an hour late so we didn’t get out of the terminal until near midnight! Back at the house, Barb had a cheese and cracker tray ready thinking that they would be a bit hungry and too wired to go straight to bed when we got there! So, a few glasses of wine and browse through their pictures and listen to some stories and whoa, look at the time, after 2AM when we said good night! We hung out on Saturday and took in a movie and dinner. All in all, we had a great time house sitting – except for the Bell service call screw up!

Our nephew was running in the half marathon in Toronto so we decided to go to the half way point to cheer him on. The four of us drove down and got parked and situated ourselves along the barrier at the turn in hopes to spot him when he turns to head back or maybe at the least, he’ll be able to see us! Well, he ran faster than we anticipated and missed him by a few minutes. It was interesting anyway, watching some of the participants as they made the turn for the half and full marathons. Some runners looked fresh and as if they just started while others were dragging a little. You know which group I’d be in! On Monday, the news reported that a 100 year old gentleman completed the marathon in just over 8 hours! Wow! After the race, we all had breakfast and we hitched up and made our way over to my brother’s driveway north of Pickering.

 

After was a warm reception, we got parked and set up – all except for the satellite TV! We have the same problems again! The Bell repair guy mentioned the age of our system so maybe we need to get some new coax! Off to WalMart for a 25 foot roll! As the skies were darkening, I hook up the new coax and Barb says “hey, we got a signal”! How about that, didn’t have to move the dish very much too fine tune for the best signal! I guess 11 years of being hooked and unhooked and suffering in the UV all day, the coax deteriorated beyond being useful!

That is the excitement we have had so far! We hope all is well out there and y’all drive safely……

On the Road Again

I’m sure I have mentioned this before but it’s a little bit sad to watch some of our neighbors pull out for the season. Some are leaving for good and some are traveling. But as we get closer to our departure, we are starting to plan and get excited to move on too!

The weather is nasty here and the fruit trees are dropping their harvest fast. We had hoped to have picked some free apples but now we’ll buy them! It is apple country here in Meaford with plenty of opportunities for fresh apples. This is the weekend for the Scarecrow Invasion and Apple Feast with a parade on Friday evening with a family festival at the harbor pavilion. The town has been busy placing scarecrows everywhere - I mean everywhere! They are hanging from the street lights, in planters, on walls - everywhere!  Well, it rained all day Friday and evening so we did not venture into town to experience this fall highlight! It would have been fun.

Terri, Mark and Alex came up for the weekend. We went down to the fish ladder in Thornbury to watch salmon swim up stream to spawn. We did stop at one of the many road side apple farms to get some fresh apples and Terri picked up some maple syrup and fudge to take with her to San Palo, Brazil for her Habitat build. We found a neat little pub called Leeky Canoe for lunch and some wobbly pops and then had a casual walk around Meaford and the harbor. It was a very pleasant day and the weather held up for us. Holy, look at the time! We have to hurry before the winery closes; we’re going for wine tasting and a sit on their deck and enjoy the view of Georgian Bay with the fall colors quickly approaching. After, we hiked a short distance to the over look I mentioned in an earlier post. The colors are not quite ready yet but almost, it was still a nice view.

 

Our neighbors, Peter and Molly came over Sunday afternoon to chat and ended a great weekend! We traded contact cards and I noticed that Molly’s name is really Marlene! What? Peter calls her Marly but with his British accent, we thought he was calling her Molly! Molly said it was okay, we were the only friends that called her Molly and she said ‘I rather like it’!

On Monday, we drove over to Wellington to visit with our other daughter and pick up our mail. We had some mail arrive that we needed before heading south. On our way home, we detoured to Hastings to meet up with our RVing friends, Pat and Carolyn and had a nice dinner at their home. On our way home, we were stopped by a traffic jam for 30-45 minutes on Hwy 401 and arrived home at 1:30AM! Whew, another long day in the truck! Needless to say, we were not “up and at’em” early the next day!

Barb continues to create new projects for herself and I was busy organizing the basement storage and putting stuff away! I took the truck in for service and found other repairs had to be made before we are loaded up. We had a slashed tire on the inside side wall and in need of a tie rod and ball joint! Wow, it’s like going to the doctor for a physical and coming out having to have major surgery! Oh well, it’s only money and now we feel secure that the truck is ready for another trip!

The weather up here the last days of our stay has not been enjoyable! It has been rainy and cold; just nasty! On Sunday, the weather was more cooperative and we left under dry conditions with some blue sky! Peter & Molly came over to say farewell – they were about the only people left in the park! Traffic was light and the day was good for travel.

We arrived at Lake Huron Resort and started set up and Judy stopped by to welcome us. We are on the same site we have had before but this time we can not find the Bell satellite for our TV viewing! I moved the dish to several different spots but can not locate the bird! A neighbor with Bell TV came out to offer assistance but still no go! It’s getting cold and the rain is starting again and my frustration is rising! We never have this problem – 10 minutes tops normally to find service! Time for a break and headed over to Judy and Larry’s to warm up and have refreshments! We came back before dark and tried again but no success!

Monday brings us rain all day but we still try again to find TV service but still nothing. If we hadn’t found an American TV service satellite, I would have thought we had ‘other’ electronic problems! So, time to call Bell! Well their help was next to zero! We did the few things they suggested but still nothing! Time to go back to Judy and Larry’s, they are hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for us and Anne and Gerry. Arriving we met their neighbors Art & Lorraine who were over for Happy Hour.  They are very nice people.  It was a nice afternoon and evening with lots to eat and conversations abound!

Tuesday, we tried again to get TV service but still no go. We went off to Goderich to buy a new satellite receiver and while there, toured the devastation from the Tornado that hit on Aug 21^st. I can’t put what we saw into words. I hope these few pictures do justice to the damage and toll inflicted!

Back to the rig to see if the new receiver ‘fixes’ our problem. NO! I still can’t find the signal from the bird. Only 1 more day and we’ll be in Toronto and we’re sure we’ll have service from Terri’s driveway! Back to Judy and Larry’s where we headed down the hill to the beach and we were very happy we made it up without a lot of puffing.  Our 5K walks really helped us get into better shape.  Judy & Larry invited us to stay for supper since we are heading to Toronto in the morning and after a pleasant evening we headed home.

 Hoping all is well where ever you are…..

ps: happy now John? Sorry for the delay but the Satellite TV has been driving me more crazy!