Some Sightseeing in San Antonio

It was another beautiful sunny, warm day! We left this morning to do some sightseeing, stopping at two old missions, the Espada Mission and the San Juan Mission and then heading downtown taking a short walk on the Riverwalk.

It reached 75F (24C) today, pretty much perfect!

Tonight Gordon went to downtown San Antonio to take some photos.

Sunset taken right outside our RV

Riverwalk in downtown San Antonio

San Antonio River taken on the trail behind the San Juan Mission

Me sitting on the stone fence in front of the Espada Mission

The Espada Mission

Moved to San Antonio

This is our RV in the middle across the "Five Acre Lake" fishing pond

This is our site at Braunig Lake RV Resort

I took this photo of a butterfly that landed near our RV before we left Austin this morning

This morning was sunny and 38F (3C). It was warmer in Ottawa! Definitely time to move on!

It’s too bad neither of have felt better while we’ve been in Austin. Consequently we didn’t see as much as we would have liked. I’m glad we got out to see the Capitol building and the downtown area although I would have liked to see the Warehouse District of downtown and the Lakes more close up.

We left Oak Forest RV Park at 10:35 a.m. under sunny skies and 52F arriving at San Antonio about 12:45 p.m. under sunny skies and 75F. We had to do some maneuvering

to get the RV in the site with room to park the truck as the site isn’t as long as some. Sites here are also quite close together. Fortunately we’re on the end and there’s no one beside us for the time being. We have a view from our living room and patio of the fishing pond.

After we got set up we walked around the park to get the lay of the land. It’s quite a large, spread out park and has a really nice pool and spa. It’s not as nice as Oak Forest in Austin nor is it as cheap but it’s home for a week!

Today is Our Last Day in Austin

Sunny but only 45F (7C) this morning! Gordon took the truck in for service early this morning. I stayed behind and did some internet stuff and watched some TV. He got back about 10:30 a.m.

We didn’t do much again today. I guess you can tell we haven’t been up to par this week but we’re moving on to Braunig Lake RV Resort at San Antonio tomorrow anyway. I’ve booked us in for a week there.

I think I mentioned before that this is a really nice RV Park. They even ask for suggestions! The only things I could think of are they need wifi installed throughout the park, not just at the office and recreation areas. They also could use an ironing board in the laundry room. They are getting ready to put in a doggie bath which is a really nice thing to have. I've only seen one other one at the Lakeland RV Park in Lakeland, FL. If there was one in other parks we've been to, I missed it. The staff were very helpful even looking up and printing directions from MapQuest (even though they weren't very good directions), the thought was there.

It was a nice sunny day and we got to a high of 66F (19C) but it got cold last night 45F (7C) and is supposed to be colder tonight. Time to move on!

Danica will be happy to know that I mastered my first game of Sudokhu on my PDA today. It was actually the first game I played on it. Here’s the proof! Unfortunately it’s blurry. My camera doesn’t do well on close-ups of this nature.

A Very Windy Day in Austin!

It was 56F (13C) and windy when I walked this morning but the sun was shining and it’s pretty much always windy in Texas but last night during the night and this morning it was mostly coming in gusts, enough so that it knocked the internet satellite dish out of wack but with some tweaking it was back. This had to be redone several times during the day. Amazingly the TV satellite wasn’t knocked out.

This park is pretty much perfect. The only real thing we’ve found is that they don’t have wifi throughout the park. You have to go to the common areas if you want to use it but since we’re in a site close to the office, I can sometimes reach it from the RV.

Finally tonight the wind has gone down.

Didn’t do much today except the laundry. Gordon made an appointment to take the truck in for service tomorrow and we still don’t know where we’re going on Friday yet so stay tuned…..

No photos taken today so I’m featuring one that Gordon took of Luke and I when we were at Michelle and Eric’s.

What a Beautiful Day!

Yeah! Bob Chiarelli is no longer Ottawa’s mayor! I’m so happy that Larry O’Brien got in! Maybe Ottawa will finally see much needed changes.

It was 71F (22C) when I got up this morning. I went for a short walk but didn’t feel much like it. I did feel better though.

We both needed an outing and we needed lubrication for our slides so we found out where the closest RV dealer is and headed there to get what we needed. We found out they have an RV park on site for $20/night. The sites are really close together though but it’s an option since we have to leave here on Friday, just in case we’re not ready to leave the area. After that we stopped at the SuperWalMart to pick up a few items and then headed home for lunch.

This afternoon after a nice leisurely shower in the campground showers (they are very nice), I sat by the pool for a while. I was alone there most of the time. It was such a beautiful sunny day and around 80F (27C). I’m also happy to be feeling better! Today's photo is the view from my lawnchair at the pool.

Neither of Us Are Feeling Well

Today I woke up to mostly cloudy and 64F (18C). I did go for a short walk but neither of us have felt all that well the last couple of days so we haven’t been anywhere or done anything. It’s nothing severe, I just have a mild nausea but I’m still hungry. Go figure! Anyway, sorry for the short posts. Hope we both feel better soon!

It was sunny and warm today, too bad we couldn't enjoy it. Gordon did go outside a couple of times to fix the TV dish and to walk in the live oaks.

We Spent a Quiet Sunday at Home

It was 46F (8C) when I got up for my walk this morning. I think that’s the coldest it’s supposed to be at night for the next week. I think it got to a high of 74F (23C) today with mostly sunny skies until later in the afternoon when it clouded over.

I finally got to sit outside in my lawnchair this morning and Gordon came out and set up our satellite TV. They have free cable here but we’re paying for StarChoice so we may as well use it. A couple of our neighbours stopped by to chat.

This afternoon we spent resting and relaxing so not much to report today.

Happy Birthday John!

This is the pool at our campground

You can see our truck and RV in the distance

This is our site at Oak Forest RV Park

Happy Birthday to our brother-in-law John!

We also take this opportunity to remember those who fought in previous wars and are fighting in wars now to keep us safe on this Remembrance Day.

We slept with the windows open last night. The temperature dropped a lot during the night so it was only 48F (9C) when I got up this morning. This RV park is all paved streets so it was nice to walk this morning for a change. There is a grove of live oak trees that is part of the park and that’s where the dog walk is. They also have a fenced area for dogs which is always good for dogs to be able to run around off leash. Bib would have liked it.

This morning we went to the local SuperWalMart and got some groceries. On our way there and back we looked around the area a bit just familiarizing ourselves with the area. I meant to buy a map of the city while I was there but since it wasn’t on my list, I forgot. Gordon went to the office this afternoon and signed us up at this park until Friday. They have someone coming in Friday so we’ll have to move on then.

This afternoon we drove around Austin some more. We drove up Mount Bonnell, the highest point in the city to see the skyline of Austin and around the Colorado River as it runs through the city. We also drove around the downtown area and to the Capital building then tried to find Town Lake. We saw it between buildings but didn’t find out where we could actually get close to it until we found the Tourist Bureau where we also got some maps. Austin is quite a pretty city and very clean for a large American city.

Just before sunset, Gordon went out to take some photographs. He went down to Town Lake and got some photos of the Austin skyline at night with the buildings reflected in the water. To see his photos, click here

We Move From the State Park to an RV Park

Photo taken at McKinney Falls State Park

It was a very hot night! We didn’t run the air but had the bedroom windows open and the fantastik fan running as well as my little fan that I run every night regardless of temperature. This morning when I woke up it was still shorts weather, but cloudy so I went for a walk around the park loop. I haven’t been walking as we’ve either been traveling or there’s been no place to walk (like at Shell Lake). Today we had to move from McKinney Falls State Park so I made a reservation at a local campground, Oak Forest RV Park, about 12 miles away. This morning we did some looking around McKinney Falls State Park and found the two waterfalls there. They aren’t much at this time of year as waterfalls go but the area around the falls is very pretty.

We hooked up and moved to Oak Forest RV Park this afternoon and got settled in. This is a very nice campground. We haven’t been in one like this probably since Catalina in Desert Hot Springs and the best part is it’s Passport America so it’s half price! We’re in a pull through and we can see the satellite. There are beautiful complete washrooms with huge showers, a pool and hot tub and we’re on a concrete pad. I hear a lawn chair calling me in the very near future!

I really liked being in the State Park and being out in nature but this park is VERY nice! We may stay here for a week.

We need to get a good map of Austin and get oriented. There are things to see here, of course, being the state capital but there are also some scenic areas but we need a map to find our way around the city. It’s a lot bigger city than we thought.

It got to 91F (33C) today so we’re no longer complaining about the cold. It’s nice to have the doors and windows open again although we did run the air this afternoon. There’s supposed to be a cold front coming through tomorrow to drop us 20 degrees. The high for tomorrow is supposed to be 69F (21C) but it gets back up into the 80’s next week.

So, we’re here in Austin, enjoying the weather. Couldn’t be better!

Leg 5 - Mount Pleasant to Austin, TX

This is our site at McKinney Falls State Park

We left Mount Pleasant this morning at 9:50 a.m. under cloudy skies and a temperature of 68F (20C). Along the way we had both sun and cloud but by the time we reached Dallas it was sunny and hot and we had to turn on the air conditioner. I had the window open some of the time but it was quite windy today. We were battling headwinds all the way. Luckily we only had to go around the Dallas bypass this time and only about ¼ of the way as we were coming in on I-30 and leaving on I-35E so from the time we got on the bypass to the time we got off on 35E it took about 30 minutes. We saw lots of construction all along our route.

Something of note is that we saw our first palm tree in Waco, Texas. It was one of those little squat ones but a palm tree all the same. With the weather and the humidity, it now feels like we’re in the tropics.

Our plan today was to stop at Austin at a state park called McKinney Falls and stay for a week. We arrived at the park around 3:00 p.m. however they could only give us one night as they are full for the weekend so our plan is to find another park in the area and come back on Sunday. By the time we got set up it was nearing dark so we didn’t get to see much of the park but we did see quite a few deer. It’s nice to stay in a state park for a change. The sites are larger and there’s more nature around. Of course we have to have our creature comforts so the internet satellite got set up. As we’re only staying for one night, we didn’t bother with TV.

It was a horrendous drive today, lots of traffic and big cities. Gordon is very tired so he’s off to bed early. I’m tired too but not the same kind of tired so my plan is to try to watch Gray’s Anatomy. Although we can’t get it with the aerial, I can get it on my little 3 inch portable. Just hope the batteries hold up!

Finally ! Leg 4 of our Southern Trek!

It was foggy when I got up this morning so we didn’t rush to get underway. Thank goodness I was feeling better. We were both ready to get on the road! We left Shell Lake Campground at 9:40 a.m. and headed west under sunny skies. By the time we had packed up it was warm enough to ditch the coats at 52F (11C). It was sunny and got continuously warmer as we made our way west hitting a high of 86F (30C) after we crossed the border into Texas.

Our site at Mount Pleasant KOA

We stopped at the Welcome Center where Gordon took my photo (shown above), picked up some pamphlets and continued on to Mount Pleasant, Texas where we are spending the night at the Mount Pleasant KOA. It’s a nice campground with free cable TV and free wifi (which doesn’t seem to work). Since the wifi doesn’t work, Gordon set up the internet satellite.

The drive was uneventful, lots of truck traffic in this area. Most of Arkansas is flat, agricultural land with some forest area and some hills south of Little Rock.

We’re happy to be back where it’s warm. We went out to get groceries after we set up and no coat needed, only short sleeves. While we were out, we treated ourselves to dinner at Wendy’s. I really like their salads so I had the BLT salad and Gordon had his burger (sans bun) and chili. Now we’re back to watch some cable TV!

Onward for Leg 5 of the journey tomorrow.

The Flu

I was sick overnight, consequently we’re still in Heth, AR but hoping to move on tomorrow. Nothing got done today other than me trying to recuperate so this is today’s post!

A Rainy Day in Heth, AR

It was pouring rain this morning so we’re here for another day!

In last night’s blog I mentioned the Peabody ducks but didn’t elaborate that much and since today there’s not much to say, I decided to elaborate as this draws a huge crowd making it very difficult to see the ducks leave their fountain. Since I couldn’t get close enough to get photos of the ducks last night, I located a video that someone took of them. To see it, click on this link.

The decades-old tradition of the ducks in the Peabody fountain started back in the 1930s. Frank Schutt, general manager of The Peabody® Memphis, and his friend, Chip Barwick, returned from a week-end hunting trip to Arkansas. The men had had a little too much Tennessee sippin' whiskey and thought it would be fun to place their live decoy ducks (it was within the law then for hunters to use live decoys) in the beautiful Travertine marble fountain in the lobby of The Peabody. Three small English Call ducks were placed in the fountain and the reaction was nothing short of enthusiasm. Thus began a Peabody tradition that has endured and is now firmly established as an American icon around the globe. After 80 years, the marble fountain in the hotel lobby is still graced by five North American Mallards and their ceremonial March of The Peabody Ducks still takes place daily at 11am and 5pm. At 11 a.m. the ducks waddle from their home atop the Peabody Hotel followed by the Duckmaster into the elevator and on the red carpet through the Grand Lobby and into the Italian Marble Fountain where they swim around for the day until 5:00 p.m. comes and the ceremony is reversed. Each time, there is a ceremony and the tradition is explained to the crowds that line the lobby and the mezzanine. This is tradition in all Peabody Hotels which are located in Memphis, Little Rock and Orlando.

I wasn’t able to get close enough to take photos so I’ve found some on the internet to feature here.

By the way, we’re now in the Central time zone so we’re an hour behind Eastern.

Other than having a long nap and getting the laundry done, that was my day!

We Celebrate our Anniversary in Memphis

Happy 16^th anniversary to us!

Blues City Cafe where we had dinner

A "drive by shooting" of Graceland

Trolley on Main Street

Gordon and I with the Hernando de Soto Bridge in the background. This is the I-40 bridge that takes you from Memphis into Arkansas.

This morning we hung around the RV not doing much. My sister, Betty called to wish us a Happy Anniversary and we chatted for a while. This afternoon Michelle also called with anniversary wishes. We signed up for another day at this campground and tried to set up the TV satellite dish. What an ordeal! We do have a signal but it isn’t very strong.

This afternoon we drove a bit around the area where the campground is located. Not much here except fast food and truck stops but I did find a post office. Then we headed into Memphis on SR70 which is the original road prior to I-40 being built. We drove around Mud Island, did a drive by of Graceland and then parked and walked around Beale Street. We had dinner at the Blues City Café which is supposed to be famous for its ribs. Gordon took a chance and had the ribs and I had catfish. In my opinion, I’ve had better in both cases. Then we went to the Peabody Hotel in time to see the Peabody ducks leave the fountain and march into the elevator and go away for the night. This is repeated in the morning when they bring the ducks back to the fountain. Too cute! After that it was nearing dusk so we took some photos around Beale Street (the local Bourbon Street of Memphis) of the neon lights, then headed back to the RV.

It was fun to do something different for our anniversary!

Leg #3 of our Southern Trek

Shell Lake Campground at Heth, AR. Shell Lake is behind the trees

Sunny and 32F this morning. Definitely an improvement. It didn’t get as cold as they forecast last night. I even heard birds singing this morning. Haven’t heard that in ages!

We left Cave City about 9:15 a.m. at 46F (8C) and arrived at Shell Lake Campground at around 2:30 p.m. This campground is west of Memphis on I-40 on the way to Little Rock. Again, it’s not much of a campground and it’s right at an interstate exit so there’s lots of truck traffic. It was formerly Lakeside KOA. Shell Lake looks very pretty in the sunshine and 65F (18C). Hopefully there won’t be any possibility of us freezing tonight.

We were trying to decide tonight if we wanted to stay over an extra day and see some Memphis sights including Graceland but we’re both too tired tonight to make a decision. Rain is coming in for Sunday afternoon and Monday so if we stay here one day, we’ll probably have to stay for two and leave Tuesday. We’ve decided to wait until tomorrow to make the decision.

2nd Leg of Our Southern Trek-Columbus, OH to Cave City, KY

When I got up this morning although the sun was shining it was only 20F (-7C)! It’s warmer in Ottawa! We had to wait to leave until the temperature got above freezing so the plumbing wouldn’t freeze so we pulled out of Alton RV Park at 10:17 a.m. The temperature was 36F and continued to be 36F until we were on the Cincinnati bypass then it rose to 41F (5c).

Our site at Singing Hills Campground

The high for today on our travels was 53F (12C) and it was 51F (11C) when we arrived at Singing Hills Campground at Cave City, KY. We arrived at 2:50 p.m. Central time. The campground isn’t much but it’s Passport America so it cost $14.00 for 30 amp service. We only got electric and water as we’re only going to be here one night and they have a dump station anyway. We were set up by about 4:00 p.m. Central (all times from now on will be in Central time). We averaged 13.5 mpg on this trip of 324.4 miles. We’re only a couple of miles from Mammoth Cave here but we’ve both been there before so it won’t be one of our stops. This is just an overnight. We’re hoping to stop somewhere southwest of Memphis on I-40 tomorrow night.

Got Our Truck Back!

Today was bright and sunny when I got up at 8:00 a.m. but very cold at 26F (-3C). I went for my walk anyway and with the sun out it wasn’t too bad.

About mid-morning Gordon called the dealership to see if the part had come in for the truck. It had but the truck wouldn’t be ready until afternoon. So much for my hopes of getting out of here today so around noon I went and paid for another day.

Mid-afternoon we hadn’t heard anything about the truck so we took a drive over there and they were just out test driving it, so we returned the rental car and Enterprise drove us back to the dealer where we paid our deductible and picked up the truck. We then took it for a little spin around the area to be sure it was working okay. Everything seems to be fine. The guys at Trader Bud’s Westside Dodge were really nice and very helpful and we’ll go back there for service if it’s needed when we’re in the area. It’s really close to the campground.

While we were out driving around there was a really pretty sky with sunrays, photo above. Also featured above is a photo that Gordon took of me holding Luke. He has it on his web page as well but for those of you that don’t check his web page, I thought I’d put it up on mine as well. If you want to check his web page and don’t know where it is, click here.

Best Laid Plans

Big Larry gets taken to the Dodge Dealer on a flat bed

This morning was 36F (2C) when I got up at 7:30 a.m. Gordon still hadn’t returned from staying with Michelle and the kids. I decided to start to prepare for leaving this morning instead of walking. Gordon coasted (literally) into the campground just before 9:00 a.m. The truck had stalled out just before turning into the campground. He said he had had some problems with it on the way here. So, it was on the phone to the ERS who got us towed to the local Dodge dealer who determined it was a fuel pump (covered by our warranty less our deductible) and they couldn’t get the part until tomorrow so we now have a rental car also courtesy of our warranty and will be staying here in Columbus for at least tonight and probably tomorrow night.

This afternoon after we had some lunch I took off in the rental car to go to WalMart to get some groceries as I had almost cleaned out the freezer before we crossed the border. Sure was nice driving a car for a change! When I came out of WalMart it was raining but it was more like sleet so rather than go anywhere else I decided to come back to the RV.

It’s going to be 27F (-3C) tonight and down to 21F (-7C) so it would sure be nice to be able to get out of here tomorrow although I don’t think we can drive far enough tomorrow to outrun the cold.

October Expenses

Campground Fees – 743.54

Groceries – 595.44

Laundry – 25.00

Wine/Spririts - 32.95

Entertainment – 11.20

Snacks – 9.87

Eating Out – 72.58

Fuel for Truck – 545.51

Propane – 99.19

Repairs/Service RV/Truck – 123.40

Misc – 366.49

Insurance – 157.03

Internet/TV – 258.75

Cell Phone – 227.39

Medical/Dental – 192.37

Gifts – 151.83

Total - 3612.54

We paid more for campground fees this month as we were staying for shorter time periods. Groceries cost more due to stocking up on items we can’t get in the U.S. Of course our fuel costs were higher as we starter traveling. With some reminding our internet satellite company finally billed us for last month and this month. I had to buy a new cell phone as I dropped mine and broke it. Misc is higher this month as I did a bit of splurging. I got my hair done and bought some new sneakers. I also bought some Christmas gifts before I left home.

I had guesstimated our budget for our months in Ontario as $3600/mo. We did much better than this for most of the months so I’m pretty happy with the overall total.

A Day Spent With Family

This is Michelle, Eric, Grace, Luke and Faith with her back to the camera. She didn't want her picture taken.

Here's Grandpa and Luke

And Faith with the giggles

And smiles from Grace

L to R - Michelle, Faith, Grandpa and Luke

Another cloudy day! I think it’s following us! It was 59F (15C) though when I went for my walk. Not a lot of places to walk to here. The sidewalks are in poor shape so I walked around a new subdivision just east of us. I’ve missed walking the last few days.

Late this morning we went to Michelle & Eric’s and spent some time with them and the kids. Luke was all smiles for his Grammy and we got to surprise Grace when she got off the school bus. Faith was her cuddly self for a while but she’s been sick so she spent a lot of her time watching TV. We were both exhausted so earlier this morning we had cancelled our trip to Dayton and Cincinnati so we didn’t get to see Ian, Tracy and their kids or Gordon’s sister, Carol and her husband, Rick. Carol and Rick might come and see us when we’re down south this winter.

It rained most of the day today, much like we’re used to so our sunny reprieve of yesterday was over.

Tonight Gordon went over to stay with Michelle and the kids as Eric has to fly out of Cleveland in the morning. I stayed at home to keep the place warm and be sure the furnace works as it’s supposed to be colder tonight.

I’ll be late posting our October monthly expenses as I’m still waiting to see what Sun Life will reimburse as far as our prescription expenses for the six months we’ll be gone this winter.

The First Leg of Our Trip South

We left the Mallorytown KOA this morning at 7:45 a.m. under sunny skies. It was a long trip – 11 hours from door to door with 4-15 minute stops for a total of 598.1 miles. Originally we were going to overnight at Erie but we reached Erie by 2:15 p.m. and decided it was too early to stop so continued through to Columbus. Luckily we had called ahead for a reservation at Alton RV Park as she is nearly full.

On our trip we kept watching the temperature and we hit a high of 74F (23C) just before Cleveland. It continued at that temperature till the sun started to set and it is still 57F (14C) at 9:40 p.m. It’s so nice not to be bundled up in fuzzy slippers and gloves while sitting in the living room. We don’t even have the heater on!

We have quite a day lined up for tomorrow. We’re seeing all of the family tomorrow and then heading out on Wednesday morning for points south. I probably won’t post tomorrow night as we’ll be back late and very tired.

I took today’s photo of the sunset as we were traveling south on I-71. It’s been so long since we’ve seen a sunset with all the rain!

Our Last Day in Ontario

We had really strong winds overnight. It was forecast yesterday that we would have gusts of up to 100 km/hr so the RV was being buffered about. The wind is supposed to get worse during the day today so Gordon took down the internet satellite as we have free wifi at the campground and it’s pretty good and fast. That will be one less thing that we have to do tomorrow morning as we want to get away early. It looks like the only nice day to get out of here.With the wind, the water in the campground is drying up. The winds are coming from the west this morning so if we had gone today we would have been driving right into it for almost the whole way with the exception of going south on I-81.

I took a short walk around the campground but it was just too wet and muddy. I spent most of my time trying to walk around or jump over water puddles.

Most of the day we spent relaxing. Gordon went into Brockville to fill up on diesel at 86.9 at the Canadian Superstore. When he got back we went to the campground showers and this time they worked. We also dumped the gray water tank but since we don’t have any water at the site to backflush that’s all we did.

Tonight I’ll get the inside of the RV prepared so we can get on the road early tomorrow.

All it Does is Rain!

I took this photo out the window this morning. It's worse now!

All it did today was rain, rain, rain and usually quite hard. It started last night before I went to bed and continued all night. The campground is like a sea! We just stayed inside and vegged, no walk. They turned the water off in the campground today and blew out the lines so we’re using our on board fresh water tank. We walked down to the campground showers but they were blowing out the lines so there wasn’t any water. Oh well, later!

Putting in Time Till We Can Get Out of the Cold

Happy Birthday Grace! Our oldest granddaughter turned six today!

It was -5C (23F) this morning when I got up so I decided that I wouldn’t walk as I didn’t want to dig out my winter coat!

Just a note in case I forget. When we’re traveling (if we can ever get out of here/, I probably won’t be posting daily as we probably won’t set up the internet satellite so don’t worry. I’ll post it when we’re situated. Right now it’s looking like we might be here at Mallorytown until Monday.

Late this morning we went into Brockville to pick up a few things. We got there in a roundabout way. First we went west on Hwy 401 to see how bad the construction is. If it was something that would tie us up when we were leaving we would take the Thousand Islands Parkway but they are doing bridge work and only one lane is blocked so traffic isn’t stopped. We drove toward Brockville on the 1000 Islands Parkway and took some photos along the way. Gordon said today that after all the beautiful places we’ve seen, this is a beautiful spot too.

For those that aren’t familiar with the area, the Thousand Islands Parkway is a scenic parkway bordering the St. Lawrence River between Gananoque and Brockville in the 1000 Islands Region.

We got home mid afternoon, the sun was still shining but looking like it is about to leave us. We’re scheduled for a weekend of rain – Again!

Below is a photo I took of our RV in the park this morning

We're At Mallorytown KOA

Our site at Mallorytown KOA

This is something our brother-in-law, John designed to protect our bathroon sink when traveling. It's made of heavy duty foam.

We got a slow start to our move this morning and only left Rideau Heights at 11:20 a.m. but arrived safely at Thousand Islands Mallorytown KOA about 1:00 p.m. and were checked in and set up by 3:00 p.m. This was the second campground we stayed at when we began our odyssey. It is an older KOA and needs some work as the roads and sites are narrow but Richard and Susan are very nice and we’re closer to the Bridge to the USA here so hopefully we’ll be able to get on the road early on Sunday. The days are shorter now but we’ll probably drive as long as we can on Sunday and just stop and rest at a truck stop or something. There is one campground open off I-90 crossing NY and LeRoy. We stayed there on our way back from the south in 2005. That’s an option but I think we’d like to get further than that. Hills Campground at Erie, PA. is also open. We stayed there on our return from Ohio in the spring this year so that’s another option. We also opted for 50 amp service here so we can run the heater on high. Hopefully that will help with the propane that we’ve been using.

Today was a very gray day. I thought the original forecast was for sun but if it was, it hasn’t found us and it wasn’t sunny anywhere between Ottawa and here. Around 3:30 p.m. we saw a brief showing of sun but it was very brief.

Nothing else happening here today, just relaxing and trying to stay warm.

Still in Ottawa and Cold!

The sun actually came out today. This is a photo I took from the window of the RV late this afternoon.

As it turns out yesterday was our second last day in Ottawa but who knew?

I got up a bit early this morning as I thought we were leaving to go to Ivy Lea KOA however we’ve decided to stay here for another night for a couple of reasons:

• Ivy Lea KOA closed early this year to do some construction (I found out on their KOA website this morning)
  
• It’s supposed to rain today

So like most of our plans lately, they changed.

Gordon went out this morning and paid for another day to stay here and was advised that the laundry room and washrooms will be closing tomorrow so I decided to do a last load of laundry. The manager is leaving to go south on Saturday so the campground will be closing.

Our plan B now for tomorrow is to go to the Mallorytown KOA tomorrow. Their laundry room is outside hence my decision to do laundry today. Also I imagine their laundry facilities have been closed down. I called this afternoon and they are open until October 31^st.

This afternoon we filled the propane tank. We’re going through a tank about every 3-4 days now.

I checked weather for Rockport, TX and it’s (27C+) mid 80’s F there right now.

Our Last Day in Ottawa (for this Fall)

I got up late today. I woke up at 7:50 a.m. and thought I heard rain on the roof so decided to stay in bed where it was cozy. I got up at 8:30 a.m. and realized that it was just misty out so went for my walk then. It was a bit warmer than yesterday but not much.

I spent some time this morning researching RV parks in the Rockport, TX area. It looks like the Raintree RV Park is booked up for December but when we know what dates we will be there, I’ll call them. They are usually fully booked but we may be able to get a week there. There are lots of RV parks in the area so I’m sure we’ll be able to find something.

This evening we dropped over at Margie & John’s to drop off Gordon’s big box of duplicate software and photos as our plan is to leave for Ivy Lea KOA tomorrow (weather permitting). It seems strange that it will be six months before we’re back in Ottawa again.

Danica very thoughtfully gave me an Ottawa U travel mug as she saw that my old State Farm one was getting rather ratty looking. Thanks, Danica. That was a very thoughtful gift. See my new mug pictured above.

A Little Pampering

My new cut and colour

Another cold, cloudy morning. It sure makes you want to stay in bed where it’s warm but I did get up and walk.

I decided this morning that I was going out to get my hair coloured and cut. I’ve been doing the colouring myself since we went on the road so decided to give myself a treat. When it’s this cold, you just don’t feel like doing much. Since I don’t have a hairdresser that I go to regularly usually frequenting First Choice salons, I saw a Magic Cuts in Barrhaven and went there. The hairdresser/manager was a nice young Chinese guy from Beijing but has been in Ottawa about 10 years. He did quite a good job. My hair is no longer all one length and is much lighter (as in weightless). It’s good for a change but I’ll have to get used to it. It’s a wash and go style. While I was out I picked up some needed items before we head south and got Gordon some candy at Bulk Barn so he’s okay until we get to the U.S. where they have ‘decent’ candy.

Since we need to stay in Ontario for 5 months (which we’ve done) and Canada for six months (which unless we stay until October 29^th we haven’t, we’ve decided to leave here and stop at the Ivy Lea KOA until Sunday and then head south from there so we’ll be legal!

After I got back from shopping, I lay down for a while but couldn’t nap so got up and made stew. It’s definitely stew weather!

Apparently while I was gone, my brother-in-law, John came over for a visit. Margie was sick all weekend and is off work today. Both Gordon and I have been fighting something this weekend as well.

A note of sadness: Gordon’s cousin, Judy’s daughter, Katy and her husband and baby were in an accident on the weekend. Her daughter and baby are okay but her husband was killed instantly. They all live in Ohio.

It's Just Too Cold For This Lifestyle!

Today's photo was taken by Gordon in the Sonoran Desert this past winter when it was sunny and warm. I miss palm trees!

TOO COLD! TOO COLD! TOO COLD! It was -1C (30F) at 8 a.m. I’ve actually worn my gloves the past couple of nights while eating dinner. These rigs are well-insulated but not for this kind of weather. Being full timers, unfortunately with having to spend five months in Ontario and six months in Canada, we have to spend some of April and most of October under these conditions. I bundled up for my walk but it wasn’t really very pleasant although it hasn’t started raining yet. It’s supposed to rain here for the next two days so I don’t think we’ll warm up inside too well as high temperatures are supposed to be 6C (43F) and 5C (41F).

We had some wet snow this afternoon but mostly it rained. We occupied ourselves watching a couple of Harrison Ford movies and napping while wrapped up in blankets.

Breakfast Out and Saturday Errands

This morning it was cold and cloudy 2C (36F). Since it was Saturday I took the opportunity to cross Prince of Wales and walk on one of the streets across the way on the Rideau River side. There is a new street there (probably 5 yrs old) with monster houses and no yards and barely room to walk between the houses. I hadn’t walked on that street before (actually it’s a court) so it was interesting.

This morning we went in search of propane. Superior Propane where we usually get it is closed on the weekend so we wound up driving all the way over near Lincoln Fields before we found some. On our way back we found two places on Merivale south of Hunt Club. We’ll have to store that in our memories (yeah, sure) for next time.

After we dropped the propane tank off at the RV we decided to go out for breakfast. Gordon mentioned Cora’s on Merivale but there is one on Bank Street as well so we decided to go there. However, when we got there it was lined up and we’d probably still be waiting so we walked down the mall and found the Bella Vista where we had 2 breakfasts including coffee for just over $10. Bet we couldn’t get it for that price at Cora’s!

I dropped Gordon at the RV and headed to Bayshore to pick up the last prescription. While I was there I found a cute hat with pink and brown in it on sale at Zellers so I bought that and a few items at the fruit and vegetable market in the mall then headed home.

We did get some sun today and the temperature reached a high of 8C (46F). Boy will we be glad to get out of here! Forecast for tomorrow is rain and a high of 6C (43F)!

Since I didn't take any photos today, I borrowed one from Gordon that he took in San Diego of the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean. I thought it would help me to get warm, but it didn't!

A Snowy Visit

Aunt Ruth and I

Fields on our trip north on Hwy 416 towards Ottawa

Hwy 401 Eastbound just leaving Brockville, ON

This evergreen tree is in Aunt Ruth's parking lot

It was much colder this morning and cloudy 5C (41F). My new sneakers worked really well. I’m hoping that they might cure some of my back problems. I’ve tried on about a hundred pair over the past few months but these felt the best from the time I put them on and that’s saying something for buying shoes for me!

Today was the day we had decided to go to see my Aunt Ruth in Brockville so we headed out just before 1 p.m. By that time it had started to rain heavily and when we neared Brockville, the rain was turning to sneet. We arrived at my Aunt’s just at 2 p.m. It is always so good to see her. We had a very short visit and it started to snow very heavily just after we arrived and was getting steadily worse. So by 3 p.m. we decided to leave. It snowed till just around Kemptville on our way back and then turned back to rain. Most of the trip was 0C (32F) reaching 1C 34F when we arrived at Ottawa’s outskirts. We arrived back at the RV at about 4:15 p.m. and the furnace was running so it must have gotten below 17C (63F) in here while we were gone. We always unplug the electric heater when we’re not here.

Margie John, Danica and Romper came over tonight for a visit and other than that, just TV!

More Errands and Housework

Happy 10^th Anniversary to Michelle and Eric!

It was another fairly warm morning (for this part of the country) but was still cloudy with the threat of rain. It rained briefly during the morning while I was getting ready to go out yet again but by the time I left it had stopped and I didn’t have any rain while I was out. I'm still sticking with the Greens+. I tried it with V-8 this morning but found it pretty heavy for first thing in the morning. It tasted better though.

I have been looking for new sneakers for a while. My old ones were looking pretty grungy and were 8 years old. I remember buying them when I joined the gym when I worked at Nortel in 1997 so they were only used for the gym for the first three years of so. I finally found my new sneakers at Tender Tootsies in Bells Corners and the guy at the checkout said the heel was gone in my old ones and they really should be replaced every three years. I just hated to give them up because they were the only shoes I own that don’t kill my back after half an hour.

I got our six months’ worth of prescriptions picked up and shelled out $1500.00+ for which I will be reimbursed at least 80%. When I get up to a certain amount they reimburse 100% so we’ll have to see if I’m there yet. There was one prescription they didn’t have in stock so that means another trip to Bayshore.

I got home around 1:00 p.m. and put the clothes in the washer in the park laundry. Gordon had done the vacuuming while I was gone. After I finished the laundry and got it put away, I had a well deserved nap.

Since the impending weather on the east coast doesn’t look so nice in the long range forecast, we’ve decided to head west through Ohio to see the grandchildren and I would like to see Luke as a baby since we missed out on seeing Lillian as a baby. Then probably head to Palo Duro Canyon in Texas as a starting point.. It was on our plan for next year but plans change and looking at the weather forecast for Amarillo, this destination may change too but from there, who knows. We’ll just have to be near Fort Myers, FL for March time frame when Betty and Garth are there. We’ve been talking about this all week and have finally come to a decision. We’ve notified Gordon’s daughter so I guess that’s our route!

Again, no photos!

More Shopping

Wow! A heat wave! It was 11C (52F) when I got up this morning. Today I started taking Greens+ as recommended by a fulltimer RVer friend and my chiropractor. I sure hope it does a good job as it’s pretty gross to drink! It’s high in antioxidants and is supposed to improve your immune system which in this lifestyle is important. It’s also supposed to stop cravings for sugar. After gagging (almost) my way through my 1 cup of Greens+ I went on my walk as the rain has stopped, at least for the moment.

Late this morning I left to run errands. I had to get some travelers cheques for our trip, do some other banking, get some gifts for Christmas, go to the chiropractor and get some groceries that I didn’t get yesterday. When I got home my back was killing me from being out for 4 hours so I lay down for a while then got up and made Chicken Cacciatore. I like to make it a day ahead so the flavours intermingle. I also wrapped a few Christmas presents to drop off at my sister’s before we leave.

I’m ready for a quiet evening!

No photos today. Not a photo taking kind of day and definitely wasn’t anywhere that was picturesque.

Lots More Rain!

It was very cloudy this morning and about 5C (41F) but I went for my walk. There’s not much of a place to walk here. There’s a short street outside the campground that merges into Prince of Wales but at this time of morning you don’t walk on Prince of Wales as there is no sidewalk. So I walk the short street and around the campground to make up my 20 minutes.

I checked the long range forecast for next week and they’re calling for snow showers. YUK! We have to drive through mountains on the way south through Pennsylvania so hope they are wrong. We have to pass through Watertown and Syracuse, NY which are known snow belts in the area so say a prayer for us!

This morning I had my periodontist appointment to get my teeth cleaned and Gordon had a chiropractor’s appointment and got his hair cut. It started to rain while I was in getting my teeth cleaned as had been forecast.

After lunch I headed out in the pouring rain to get the shopping done that I didn’t get to do yesterday. I got most of it accomplished but wanted to be home before rush hour so I still have a few stops to make.

I have a doctor’s appointment at 7:00 p.m. tonight and then we’re going out for dinner compliments of the gift certificates that Nick and Becky gave us for our birthdays so I’m posting early. Thanks Nick and Becky!

No photos today. Too much rain!

Back in Ottawa Again

Today was bright and sunny for a change so I went for my walk even though it was cold -2C (35F).

As we were scheduled to leave for Ottawa we got packed up and left the campground in St-Martin-de-Beloeil at 10:50 a.m. It was quite a drive through Montreal but Gordon did really well and the traffic wasn’t too bad. We had decided to take Hwy 20 to the 401 and 416 into Ottawa so we arrived at Rideau Heights Campground at about 2:15 p.m. It was mostly sunny for the whole trip. It took till nearly 4:30 p.m. to get set up and when we were done with that I headed out to go to the chiropractor and pick up some groceries.

At that time of day rush hour traffic was in full swing so it took me almost an hour to get from the campground to the chiropractor’s office so I only made one stop to pick up a few items after that then headed back to the RV as I don’t like driving in the dark. I got home around 6:00 p.m.

We’re both tired tonight and since I didn’t get to a real grocery store, the choices were to go out or have left over spaghetti. Gordon decided he was too tired to go out so left over spaghetti it was along with some fresh green beans that I bought at the fruit and vegetable store that I stopped at.

Now we’re settled in to watch TV for the evening and get rested up. We’ve got a lot to do this week to prepare for heading south next Wednesday.

I expect you’re tired of seeing photos of our site at Rideau Heights so today’s photos are ones I took along the highway en route.

Leaving Montreal Tomorrow

This is the Montreal skyline that I took while traveling across the Champlain Bridge today

Didn’t walk this morning, too cold, didn’t feel well. I lay around all morning and watched TV. Gordon went into Montreal’s Old Town for sunrise and got back around 10:00 a.m.

This afternoon we went out to scope out a route for us to leave tomorrow for Ottawa so we’ve decided to take the Champlain Bridge as that will put us at the west end of the city and hopefully avoid most of the traffic as long as we leave mid-morning tomorrow. I’m glad to be leaving Montreal. It’s too big and too busy.

Other than TV that was all that happened today!

Gordon has been updating his web page this week. To get there, click here.