Back at Home Base

Gordon got me up early this morning saying he wasn't feeling well either and we'd better hit the road. We were out of the KOA around 7:45 a.m., crossed the border shortly after noon. We declared what we had planned to, paid our taxes and went on our merry way. There wasn't much of a lineup at the border either.

Heading out


Very few people in line at the border

This was on the truck window in the lane next to us

Welcome to Canada

Back in our home province after nearly six months

Some of the Thousand Islands
Crossing the Ivy Lea Bridge into Ontario

Go east!

When we had our sticks and bricks house we lived in Nepean.

Coming into Ottawa from the south, lots of houses have built up here in the last few years. This used to be fields not so long ago.

A very familiar sign around here although we did notice a few of them around Ohio

This is another familiar sign. Canadian Tire isn't just tires, it's like a department store of stuff for the house, the car, the garden and lots more.

The freeway in Ottawa splits, you go right to go to Montreal and to the left to go to our campground

The road to the campground runs along the Ottawa River



On our way north on Hwy 416 we were listening to an Ottawa radio station. They said that our main (only) east/west route was down to one lane for construction in one spot going eastbound and was backing up so we decided to detour through the city and come out on the other side of the construction. Amazingly considering the time of year we saw very few little snow patches along the route.

We arrived at Recreationland east of Ottawa shortly after 1 p.m. They have free wifi here and our month cost us $582.75 including electric on 30 amp service. It's quite a distance from our doctors and my sister but it's a pretty good price and things are bustling in the east end of the city.

Entrance to Recreationland

Our row

Our site - not a lot of people here yet


We've signed up for a month here with an option for another month.

I think we reached about 16C (60F) today although I wasn't really checking too closely.

Gordon is not feeling very well, I hope he doesn't get bronchitis again! Sure glad he was able to get us home AGAIN...........

We're so glad to be back. It always seems like such a long haul and it's worse when you're sick. Sure do miss Texas!

Checking out Campgrounds

It's getting very cold around here especially overnight. The geese are heading south so we think we should be going too! Unfortunately we have to wait for a few weeks yet. I saw in the forecast on AccuWeather that they're forecasting snow for this area one day next week. Looks like it will just be snow flurries and will melt but still. It's way too early for that! That also means temperatures below freezing at night. Have I mentioned that I really hate this time of year in a an RV?

Returning to Ottawa at the end of April is always a hassle. Most parks don't open until mid May although Dave here at Tranquil Acres has let us come in early. Tranquil Acres is on a flood plain so part of the area down by the water is often still very wet. Today we were looking for a solution to this problem

First we went north and a bit west to a park called Grainger's Tent & Trailer Park. On our way we saw this field of beautiful sunflowers.

It was a nice enough park and a definite consideration however they have no laundry facilities since they are on septic and the nearest town is about 15 minutes away which means quite a distance for groceries, laundry and the like. He could accommodate us coming in early but only if it was dry enough in the park.

This barn was right across from the RV park. Definitely some nice scenery around the area.



I had heard about a park in the east end of Ottawa but had never gone to see it so that was our next stop. The name of the park is Recreationland. This is a very nice park (FHU) and it's about 5 minutes away from the town of Rockland which has a brand new Walmart Superstore plus various other shopping conveniences. They also have a laundry in the park although it's quite expensive. They also have free wifi which they claim is very good. This park opens often as early as April 10th so we're covered there. We decided to sign up for a month beginning when we return in April. Here is a shot of one of the pull through sites where we would be located. They are quite a good size too. Since it's at the other end of town we'll also have some new places to explore. It takes about 25-30 minutes to come in to the west end of the city where our doctor and pharmacy are located.

This is one of the pull thru sites at Recreationland.

A scene within the park

One of the churches in Rockland

A building beside the church - love the looks of this old house.


After a couple of stops to pick up some supplies at Sassy Bead Company (prices are much better than the bead store in Smiths Falls) and at a grocery to get some grits for Gordon for breakfast, we returned to Tranquil Acres.