We Play Tourist!

This morning when I woke up I heard pouring rain on the roof so I stayed in bed until 8:30 a.m. I think I could have slept all day but I got up and went for a walk around the new campground. The rain had stopped by then. There are people here from all over, 2 from California, 2 from North Carolina, 1 from Florida and 1 from Tennessee. There is also 1 each from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta and Nova Scotia as well as 3 from m Ontario. I was quite surprised. People must be up here to see the autumn leaves.

Me standing in front of mural featuring prominent people in Quebec City's history

One of the streets in Old Quebec

Late this morning we decided to go into Quebec City. I thought we would take the ferry but we were on our way west on Hwy 20 in the truck when I realized we were driving instead. We found a place to park on the street and walked around Old Quebec and took some photos. Old Quebec is a really interesting place with cobblestone streets and lots of quaint buildings and little shops. Quebec's Old Town (Vieux-Québec) is the only North American fortified city north of Mexico whose walls still exist. There were lots of people there and we wondered why until we looked down at the St. Lawrence River and there was the Queen Elizabeth II sitting majestically in the harbour.

QEII in the harbour

Gate to Old Quebec

Ceiling in Ste Anne de Beaupre Basilica

Another ceiling in Ste Anne de Beaupre

Ste Anne de Beaupre Basilica

Front doors to the Basilica

After we left Old Quebec we drove around in circles for a while trying to get east of the city to go to Ste. Anne de Beaupre to visit the Shrine of Ste. Anne de Beaupre. Saint Anne is proclaimed patroness of the province of Québec and is also supposed to be that grandmother of Jesus. The present Basilica was built in 1923 after a fire destroyed the fourth church. The first one was built in 1658. This is a beautiful church. I would say it’s even nicer than Winchester Cathedral in Winchester, England. I wasn’t terribly impressed with it. We spent some time at Ste Anne de Beaupre, took photos inside and out and then headed west to go home but stopped at Montmorency Falls on the way. We went in at the base of the falls and took some photos, looked at the prices for the cable car, decided not to take it (I’m not much for heights anyway) so drove to the top of the Falls and walked along the walkway. Gordon walked part way over the bridge that goes over the top of the falls but I declined. While there we had a really pretty rainbow.

Montmorency Falls

Gordon waving to me from the bridge over Montmorency Falls

Rainbow over the Falls

We started to head home about 4:30 p.m. thinking we were probably going to get tied up in rush hour traffic but it wasn’t bad even going south on Hwy 73 and we arrived home around 5:30 p.m.

It’s been a long day but we saw a lot!

Now Near Levis, Quebec

Our site at Camping Transit

Photos I took this morning on my walk

This morning when I got up it was cold but bright and sunny. I went for a little walk around the park and looked at the beautiful views over Lac St-Augustin. It really is a beautiful setting, just too bad us techno folks can’t do without our communications gear. After breakfast both of us walked up to the office and got our refund for the rest of the week, then back and packed up. We left Camping Juneau shortly after 10:00 a.m. and with very little traffic on Hwy 73 proceeded to cross the St. Lawrence and arrived at Camping Transit within ½ hr or so. We were set up by about 12:30 p.m. complete with internet and TV so we’re here for a week at least. The good thing about this campground is that it’s $99.00 plus tax for a week. There are no scenic views but it’s a nice clean open campground with a nice laundry room.

Thanks to Carolyn for putting us in touch with this campground.

I got the laundry and vacuuming done and made a pot of stew. It’s supposed to rain tonight and except for this morning, its been mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks. Sure hope it’s a nice week. We’ve got a lot to see here!

We’re hoping to take a side trip to the Gaspé so will probably stay a couple of days there. It will be different to stay in a motel for a change. We were in the Gaspé in 1994 and wanted to go back so since we’re so close we may as well go. This is something we wouldn’t have been able to do with Bib.

We Arrived in Quebec City

We left Ottawa Municipal Campground at 8:15 a.m. Sunday morning, crossed the border into Quebec at 9:55 a.m. and were through the worst of Montreal around 11:00 a.m. We arrived at Camping Juneau near Quebec City at about 1:45 p.m. We checked in but it didn’t look like the site she had allotted to us would access the internet so she said she had one down by the lake and we should be able to get internet there as it was south-facing. NOT! This was a tight squeeze and not easy to get into but Gordon did a good job backing into it. He tried to site in the internet satellite but there was no way, just too many trees. We were mostly set up at this point however back to the office we went and told her that we couldn’t get our internet signal so she suggested other sites but the place is surrounded by trees so I asked her if she would refund our money and she said she would. We told her we would stay tonight and look for another campground. It’s really too bad as the view is very pretty from our back window which overlooks Lac St-Augustin. I would say that next to Double M in Lindsay this is the best view we’ve had from right out our back window.

This is our site

This is our view

One of my internet friends who reads my blog had suggested a campground at Levis, QC so off we went in search of it. We found it and Gordon thinks we shouldn’t have any problem accessing the internet and TV satellites from there. It is quite a ways outside of Levis and the only road across the river is under construction and backed up forever but there is a ferry that runs from downtown Levis to Old Quebec so we’ll probably use that to get across the river while we’re here. We’re scheduled to head to Camping Transit tomorrow.

We drove around Levis and found the ferry terminal but were unable to find any open wifi networks to post our location so everyone will have to wait with baited breath for tomorrow.

So no internet tonight and we’re using the aerial for TV and they don’t get CTV so I miss the season premiere of Desperate Housewives! We get CBC and Global in English only. I’m tired anyway so will probably have an early night. I kept waking up last night every hour as I wanted to get up early so we could get on the road early. I did get up at 6:30 a.m. which is why we got away so early today.

Getting Ready to Leave Ottawa

Yuck! I got up this morning to rain although it wasn’t cold. It was raining hard enough that I decided to forego my walk. Around 10:30 a.m. the rain stopped for a while so I took a short walk making sure I wasn’t far from the RV in case a downpour started.

I have had a minor medical problem this week and couldn’t decide what to do about it so this morning I decided to go to our doctor’s after hours replacement clinic just to have a check so I called this morning and made an appointment for 1:30 p.m. I left here at 11:00 a.m. and headed over as the clinic is in the Carlingwood Shopping Centre so I walked around there, bought Gordon some splash pants, he’ll probably need them tomorrow. The doctor checked me out, told me it was nothing to worry about and sent me on my way. The problem with having medical attention before you leave is with travelers medical insurance your pre-existing condition has to be stable for six months. If you have a recurrence of the pre-existing condition while away, it isn’t covered. I think this is terrible. It makes people afraid to seek medical help in case they should have a recurrence while away and it wouldn’t be covered. That could be financially devastating! They should just charge extra for pre-existing conditions. I expect this would also make payment for claims quicker as the claims department wouldn't have to contact your doctor to verify that the condition is pre-existing. Oh well, I guess that might make travel insurance too expensive for most people.

After I got back, I watched TV for a while and read, tried to take a nap and then the sun came out so away I went on a walk and took a few photos. The sun wasn’t out long nor was it very strong.

Tomorrow is not supposed to be a very nice day but we’ve made the commitment to leave so leave we will. Forecast is for rain following us east and thunderstorms. We really hate travelling in rain but we've made a reservation, another thing we hate to do for just this reason. Anyway, we went out tonight to get fueled up. Diesel has gone down to 82.9. It was 87.9 a week ago. That’s always nice to see. We hope to get started early tomorrow morning but we’ll see!

I took today's photo in the campground.

Friday's Happenings

It was sunny and cool this morning for my walk. Our electric blanket worked really well last night, maybe too well. I had it turned down as low as it would go and wound up turning it off but it did it's job warming the bed before I got in!

I had asked Gordon last night if he wanted meat loaf or chili for dinner and he chose chili. It’s probably been well over a year since I made it. I used to have the recipe in my head so this morning I made chili and I guessed at the recipe. I could have looked one up on the internet but decided to wing it and it turned out pretty well.

Late this morning I headed out to do more errands. I had to go and pick up a prescription for Gordon that they will only give him month to month. They didn’t want to give it to me. I can’t imagine what will happen next month when I ask for six months’ worth.

This afternoon we relaxed and watched some TV as it had mostly clouded over outside although it wasn’t cold. Around 5:00 p.m. Gordon told me that one of the hard drives in the Desktop PC had died so he removed it and we headed out to buy a new one. We wound up at PC Cyber in Bells Corners where we got the hard drive as well as extra memory for his PDA so I inherit his old card that was in his PDA. I have been getting a window telling me that I’m running out of memory on my PDA for quite a while now so it appears we’re all set up and upgraded.

I was supposed to hear from our US travel medical insurance today about my excess hospital account that they didn't pay but no phone call. Hopefully I'll hear at the beginning of the week or I'll be back on the phone again.

We’re getting excited about heading to Quebec City. Gordon thinks we may be there for two weeks depending on the weather. If next week doesn’t bring good weather maybe the following week will. Good weather to him means good photographing weather.

Season premieres tonight of Ghost Whisperer, Close to Home and Law & Order!

I didn’t take any photos today so you’ll have to make do with my mundane drivel.

Errands and A Walk in the Woods

Me at the campground in my new green vest

Photos below from our walk in the woods

Today was sunny and cold when I got up 3C (37F). I decided to walk within the campground hoping again to see some wildlife. This time I lucked out and saw three deer but they were too quick for me to get my camera ready. There was a lady from Germany walking behind me and I stopped to talk with her for a while. She spoke some English but we managed to communicate. Her English was definitely better than my German. They had rented an RV on the internet last November and she said it was much cheaper than renting it before they came. They were enjoying their trip and really liked Ottawa.

After breakfast and Regis and Kelly Live I went out to pick up some things. I stopped at WalMart and found an electric blanket for $99.92. I didn’t buy it but we are wanting one to replace our electric mattress pad which isn’t working that well. When it’s cold I like my bed to be warm when I get into it and the mattress pad just isn’t cutting it.

We have decided to stay here till Sunday and then leave for Quebec City. We like to travel through large cities on Sundays so that’s why we’ve elected to stay here till Sunday. We may be traveling in the rain but we’ll have to deal with that.

It was a really beautiful Fall afternoon so we went out and did some errands. First stop was to book our time here in October at Rideau Heights from October 16^th to 25^th, then on to WalMart and bought our electric blanket. Then we headed back toward the campground and parked in the parking area for the P3 trail on Corkstown Road. We walked quite a ways on the trail. It was quite pretty and reminded me of walking in the forest in my childhood. We took some photos there then headed back to the RV and packed up some of the outside stuff and put up the awning as after today it’s supposed to be rainy so probably won’t be spending much time outside. We also like to put the awning up when it’s dry so it doesn’t smell mildewy. Then we came inside and put the new electric blanket on the bed and disconnected our electric mattress pad. We want to be sure it works before we leave Ottawa and it seems to be fine. We’ll know tonight. It’s supposed to get down to 4C (39F)!

Cloudy, Cool and a Visit

This morning was cloudy and cool but at least there was no rain so got in my 20 minute walk. It remained cloudy all morning so we watched TV and did internet stuff. Gordon’s friend, Leroy was talking to him via internet so he went to Leroy’s for 11:30 a.m.

I hung around the RV, watched TV, had a shower, called One World Assist, the insurance carrier for our US travel medical insurance as the hospital is indicating that they have no contract with our insurer and therefore they can bill us for the amount over and above what the insurance paid. This time I got to speak to a really nice lady who indicated that their group doing the negotiations was contacting the hospital again to get this straightened out. She is to contact me on Friday with an update. Sure hope we are both healthy this winter when we’re away. We have gone with the same insurer for the winter and I know having worked in Auto Claims for 26 years that these things don’t happen over night but I would really like to see the end of this! I think other than the hospital all the other carriers have accepted the negotiated amounts as I haven’t heard from anyone else.

Since I didn’t take any photos today I’m featuring a few that Gordon has taken lately while we’ve been here in Ottawa. A couple were taken here in the park and the others are Ottawa scenes taken at night.

The Alexandra Bridge

The Museum of Civilization with Parliament Hill in the background

Tonight we went to Margie and John’s for a visit before we leave Ottawa for some short trips. We haven’t decided exactly where yet but are thinking of Quebec City and then Montreal. If so, we’ll probably leave Sunday morning so we can get through Montreal on Sunday when the traffic will hopefully be better. The only problem is it’s supposed to rain on Sunday. Unfortunately Danica had just left so we missed her but while we were there, Nick dropped in on his way back from Pembroke with the ambulance so it was good to see him especially since he was in uniform. I also got a beautiful bright green vest which was an exchange gift from one I got on my birthday that didn’t fit. Thanks again to Margie, John and Danica.

Margie was on vacation last week and she and John took a couple of days and went to Quebec City. They brought us a whole bunch of literature and brochures which is one of the reasons we are probably going there and also because it’s a place Gordon has wanted to go back to with his camera.

We got back in time to watch the season premiere of Criminal Minds.

I often find myself quoting my father or saying “Dad would have said this”. Here’s a little poem he used to recite when we were kids:

A wonderful bird is the pelican

His bill will hold more than his belican

He can take in his beak

Enough food for a week

But I’m damned if I know how the helican.

I always thought it was cute and true! The pelican was one of Dad’s favourite birds when he went to Florida. He came back with all sorts of pelican knickknacks and I’m sure we all had them in our houses.

A Visit and More Errands

I woke up to rain this morning so although I’m not a fair weather walker and if it’s just sprinkling I will go however this was rain, so no walk. It’s supposed to rain most of the week too so we may not be leaving here on Friday (unless our spot has been rented out to someone else).

We got an email yesterday from our friend from Ohio, Mel. He and Janice visited us here in June. Since then Janice has had some rather serious medical problems and has recently had surgery and is in the hospital. We are thinking of her and hoping she gets well soon! Pictured above is Mel and Janice at the Museum of Science and Technology that I took when we visited there in June.

I took my extra Nexium last night and my throat is already improving. I can swallow now without it hurting so I will take two per day for the next week. My body aches seem to be gone but I’m still not feeling 100% and I don’t think the rain helps.

Around 11:00 a.m. the rain stopped and the sun came out. YEAH! A friend of mine from my former employer, Breconridge dropped by to see us at lunch time. It was good to see John again and have a chat. I had seen him when I went into work in May but it’s not the same. He is envious of our lifestyle and has been checking out the Titanium since we went on the road in 2004. He needs an MPRV for his motorcycle though.

After John left, I went to take my sneakers back to Sears as they bother my back but the outlet for Sears in Bells Corners wouldn’t take them back as I had worn them. So off I went to WalMart in Barrhaven and got what I needed to get, stopped at our vet on Greenbank to tell him to close our file then went to the Sears Home Store where they did take back my sneakers. On my way to Barrhaven I was going south on Richmond Road and just before the Esso station there was a little fawn on the side of the road. He was so cute.

From there, home I went, then went out for my walk that I missed this morning. It was partly cloudy for most of my walk and the pictures above and below reflect that but it was very pleasant outside. I also stopped at the office to find out where you go when you go through the gate at the back of the property (like Alice through the looking glass?) They told me not to go back there as that’s where they throw brush and stuff but I’ve already been back there and there is a trail. One of the maintenance guys said it will take you right to Carling Avenue if you don’t get lost but they don’t recommend walking in there as it’s NCC property however there isn’t a NO TRESPASSING sign.

A Nothing Monday

It was cloudy and fairly warm on my walk this morning. I didn’t really feel like going as I’m still not feeling all that well but I went, then went out and got some errands done so this afternoon I’ve been resting. I still feel achy and my throat is sore which usually means my GERD is acting up so I’ll be increasing my Nexium today. Don’t think that has anything to do with the achy feeling though.

I have been keeping my fruit outside in a hanging basket but Gordon had to bring it in early this morning as there was a little raccoon that was trying to help himself in the wee hours. I guess I’ll have to keep it inside until we’re out of raccoon territory. In the southern US, you see RVs all the time with fruit hanging from them. I had put it outside as we were getting fruit flies and they are really annoying!

Nothing else to write about for today. Hope I feel better tomorrow.

Not Much Going On Today!

Today has been mostly cloudy with a few sunny breaks and some wind. When I walked this morning it was cloudy but fairly warm. I walked farther than usual. I guess that gave me the energy to do the vacuuming and wash the floors this morning.

Gordon tried his farm fresh eggs this morning but said he didn’t see much difference.

After lunch I sat outside for a while but it didn’t seem to be that kind of day. It was warm when the sun came out but cool with the wind when there was no sun so I came back inside and spent some time on the computer.

Late this afternoon I started feeling achy from the back of my neck, all down my back and into my legs. My doctor has always said for body aches, take Tylenol so I’ve done that and I think it’s a little better but I’m still feeling kind of yucky.

No photos today so I’ve borrowed one from Gordon again.

Running Around

Fog over the fields this morning at 7:00 a.m.

Carp Farmer's Market

Our RV taken from the visitor's parking area this morning

This morning I was up at the crack of dawn - 6:30 a.m. as we were going to the Carp Farmer's Market. We were told to get there early. I didn't get my walk or my breakfast first thing as usual but instead headed to Carp, taking some photos along the way as we had patchy fog. We arrived well before opening time and just wandered around. Our purpose for being there was to buy farm fresh eggs. My husband has been bugging me about this for some time. So now we have them, so what do we do? We go out for breakfast. After we finished at the Farmer's Market, other than the eggs I also bought butter tarts which I have been told are excellent and some brussel sprouts for dinner.

We then headed east on the Queensway to downtown but traffic was backing up at Carling Avenue because of construction so we got off and took Richmond Road into town. Lots of construction everywhere! We had breakfast at Woody's on Elgin Street and got a table right in the window. Shortly after we arrived they opened the windows so it was almost like eating on a patio. We returned home via the Ottawa River Parkway, very beautiful this morning and stopped to pick up my new sneakers at the Sears catalogue office. They had notified me by email late yesterday that they were in. On our way south on Pinecrest, the truck turned 100,000 km. From there, we headed home and spent the afternoon relaxing.

We had a nice dinner of whipped potatoes, fresh brussel sprouts and barbecued pork tenderloin with tapioca pudding and strawberries for dessert for Gordon's birthday.

A beautiful day today, mostly sunny.

On a sadder note, it's one month today since Bib left us.........

Happy 60th Birthday to My Wonderful Husband!

Friday Errands

This is a photo of Grace and Luke that Michelle sent to us.

Another cloudy, not very nice morning but at least it wasn’t raining at all for my walk. After breakfast I got the laundry together and headed over to the campground Laundromat but it seemed that was everyone else’s plan today too. I was only able to get one machine so when that load was finished washing I packed it all up and went to the Laundromat at Britannia. It’s the first time I’ve been at that one and I wouldn’t recommend it. Some of the washers say $1.75 but they won’t work unless you put $2.00 in them. They are very finicky about quarters, some don’t work and their dryers take FOREVER to dry! The washing machines do appear to do a nice whitening job though. Some Laundromats don’t. I think I’ll either wait for the facilities here in the future or find another Laundromat.

This afternoon I decided that I wanted the awning out so we went out to get some tie down straps. We had three. We need two for the awning which hasn’t been out since we arrived here and one for each satellite dish so we went in search of two more as one of them doesn’t work very well anymore. We went to Canadian Tire, too expensive; Zellers, no price on them even taking them to the price reader. So we went to Home Depot and made our purchase there. Now we need to buy another corkscrew stake but didn’t think of that till we got home. Gordon put the awning out anyway and used the stake that we bought at Quartzsite.

Gordon went downtown this evening to take some night shots of Ottawa while I decided to stay home and watch TV.

More dentistry and Errands!

L to R: Grace, Faith and Luke

Luke

Some red leaves that I saw on my morning walk

This morning it was misty with a light drizzle when I went for my walk. I thought I might see some wildlife so I walked within the campground but the only wildlife I saw were some squirrels, crows and a few dogs being walked by their masters.

Gordon had to go to his dentist this morning to get an impression and get the tooth put on his lower plate so I watched TV, then had a nap. This afternoon we had to go back to pick up his denture so we went early and got the truck plates renewed as there is a Ministry location at Westgate Shopping Centre. That over with, we headed back home. Not an easy task as Carling Avenue is all ripped up. We wound up going out Merivale Road to Baseline and through Bells Corners to Moodie.

It’s been overcast and a bit rainy all day. I was hoping it would clear up. Maybe tomorrow!

Yesterday we got photos of the kids from Michelle so I have posted a couple of them above. The girls sure like to stick out their tongues!

I had made chicken cacciatore yesterday so we had that for dinner tonight. Yummy!

Doctor, Dentist & Visit

Well, today marks the end of the beautiful days. I woke up to intermittent rain but not being a fair weather walker, away I went. I managed to get a 15 minute walk in without getting too wet. It's supposed to clear up by Friday.

Gordon had an 11:00 a.m. doctor’s appointment this morning followed by my 1:00 p.m. dentist appointment so we headed out for those. We decided that we would stay at this campground another week. I think we’re getting lazy with spending a month in locations this month and after only a week, it seems too soon to move.

We got doctor and dentist appointments overwith and all my sensitive teeth were fixed by painting some kind of resin over them. The enamel is eroding which is causing sensitivity. I’m always thinking she’s going to want to do something drastic and every time I come away from her office very happy with what she’s done and usually without much pain!

After we got home, I did some interneting and returned some emails.Then read for a while until the usual happens when I’m reading, I get sleepy but it’s a day to be sleepy. It’s a steady rain and very misty out. The RV was quite damp when we got home so we got the heater going and it’s doing better. I hate going out in the evening this time of year when it’s raining as the dampness just seems to seep inside. We could run the furnace but that depletes propane and we’re paying a fortune to stay here at this campground so using the electricity!

Tonight Margie and John came over for a visit. John brought a John-designed foam pillow for our bathroom sink for traveling. It should cushion the sink it just fine!

Getting TV Satellite a New Setup & More Errands

Wow! Three nice sunny fall days in a row. I got up a little later this morning at about 8:15 a.m. and it was still pretty cold out but had a nice walk just the same.

I was a bit headachey this morning, sat in my massaging cushion but although it seemed to help my back didn’t help my headache. Gordon gave me a shoulder massage as the massage cushion doesn’t really do shoulders and that and an Excedrin helped. I don’t like to take Excedrin because of stomach problems but sometimes it’s the only thing that helps.

This afternoon I went out to pick up some groceries and stopped at Hazeldean Mall. The Source there had a tripod for satellite dishes so they put it aside as I said my husband would have to look at it. When I got home Gordon went out to see it while I took a nice hot shower at the campground showers. He bought the tripod, a meter for setting up the TV dish. Then he went back out to buy a pole to put into the tripod to have something to attach the dish to. When he came back he took the TV dish off the ladder and put it on the tripod. It’s much easier to maneuver the dish on the ground than when it’s on the ladder.

Not much else for tonight, just TV and thinking about going to the dentist tomorrow!

I didn't take any photos today so I borrowed one from Gordon that he took of one of the monkeys at the zoo in Peterborough last week.

A Nice Early Fall Day

This is Bree. She might look real, but she's not!

This is a photo I took on my walk this morning. It's pretty even with the power lines!

Another beautiful morning for walking. Last night Gordon had to fast as he had blood work to be done this morning. He has also had a tooth that’s been bothering him so we went to his dentist’s office and she fit him in. He had the tooth removed and has to go back on Thursday when the dentist will take his lower denture and have the new tooth put on so he can pick the denture up Thursday afternoon.

I didn’t say much about my new poodle (stuffed) last night but Danica got me the poodle so I wouldn’t be lonely for Bib. She tried to get an apricot one but wasn’t successful. This poodle is black and has pink bows in her hair so we have determined, it’s female. Last night when I was thinking about it, I kept thinking ‘Breeze’ so I’ve decided to call her ‘Bree’ not after the character on Desperate Housewives but because of the breeze (like wind). She’s so cute and cuddly and you don’t have to feed her, walk her or listen to her whine. However, she does make a lousy watch dog!

This afternoon the sun was shining and there was a breeze so I sat outside in my lawnchair in the sun and read for a while. It was actually quite hot in the sun. Late in the afternoon I went for another walk with my camera. I took some photos but none that were great.

Errands, Presents & Dinner!

This is Jasper, Margie & John's wire-haired terrier.

This is the group minus myhusband who was also taking a photo and John who was doing the kitchen cleanup.

It was sunny and 7C (46F) when I got up just before 8:00 a.m. today. Fall is definitely in the air, at least this week. The sun was warm though and I had a beautiful walk out on Corkstown Road. It’s closed at the March Road end right now for construction so there’s no traffic. The sign for the road closure is just to the west of the campground and there’s only one farmhouse past there. I saw a couple of deer cross Corkstown in the distance. It was a perfect morning to walk.

After breakfast I went out to do some errands. Pepsi was on at Shoppers today only for $1.77 for 6 bottles so I had to stock up. Gordon is a pepsiholic! I also got some photos processed for Nick and Becky and Margie and John to give to them tonight as we’re going there for dinner for our birthdays. Gordon had processed six of them when we were in Lindsay so I had printed them out on our printer and I think it did a better job than Loblaws processing especially since I bought the photo paper.

We arrived at my sister’s place around 3:45 p.m. and Nick and Becky arrived shortly after followed by Danica and her friend, Jeff. We all sat around and had a nice chat, Gordon and I opened our presents. We got some very useful things including clothing for me and gift certificates from John and Margie for fuel, a stuffed poodle and a notebook from Danica and gift certificates for restaurants from Nick and Becky. Some very thoughtful gifts. Thanks everyone!

Nick and Becky also had their wedding photos from the photographer. She took some beautiful photos. Unfortunately we don't have room for photos so we had to be content with looking.

Margie had a bit of a catastrophe when cooking dinner. The heating element in her stove burnt out causing sparks so our turkey was cooked on the barbecue and was excellent. It was yummy to have stuffing. I love stuffing! Nick and Becky also brought a blueberry pie for dessert and Margie made strawberry fluff. I haven’t had fluff for ages. Mom used to make raspberry fluff all the time.

We got home shortly after 9:00 p.m. tired and stuffed!

Happy Birthday to Me!

This is a cropped photo of the blue jays

This is our new massaging cushion

I'm 58 years old today! I can't believe I'm that old!

This morning dawned damp and cool but I still went for my walk. Not a very nice day for my birthday weatherwise but there have been worse like our first year of RVing in 2004, it poured rain all day from one of the hurricanes that was passing through.

This morning we went to Carlingwood Shopping Centre to see if we could get the sneakers that Gordon wants. They didn’t have them in the store so we’ll have to order them from the catalogue. We also tried to find a tripod for our StarChoice dish at The Source but they didn’t have anything. We had a coffee at the Food Court, then stopped at GNC to get some stuff. While there, Gordon had a free massage in the massage chair that they’ve had in their store for a long time and suggested we buy one as we both have back problems so this is my (our) birthday present as Gordon’s birthday is next Saturday. The price with my GNC Gold Card was fairly reasonable. See it pictured above.

We came home for lunch and settled down to watch ‘Bite the Bullet’ with Candace Bergen and Gene Hackman. It turned out not to be something we wanted to watch so Gordon went for a nap and I watched some sitcoms till I fell asleep so I turned off the TV and then couldn’t sleep so went for my second walk of the day around the campground. The sun was out so I walked back into the area that’s now closed off hoping to see some deer but all I saw was a groundhog and on the way back near our campsite, two bluejays on the grass. I took photos but they were too far away for my camera.

Tonight we just relaxed and watched a movie on TV.

Back in Ottawa

Today was a beautiful sunny day with some cloudy periods. We packed up and left Double M RV Resort and Campground at 10:43 a.m. and arrived in our campsite at Ottawa Municipal Campground at 2:45 p.m. We were set up by about 4:00 p.m. just in time for the cloud to set in. We sat outside in our lawn chairs for a while to get cooled off as it had gotten to be 27C (81F) on our arrival. It hasn’t been that warm in Lindsay for a while.

The trip was a good one with only one car holding Gordon up enough so he had to pass her (on a 2 lane highway). It’s pretty bad when a 38 foot fifth wheel passes a car for going too slow! She was the type of driver that would slow down, then speed up again, really annoying! Anyway, someone on one of Gordon’s forums had asked him the other day if people up in our area painted their barns or not. So, on the way to Ottawa I surveyed the barns along Highway 7 and over twice as many barns are unpainted as are painted. That’s today’s little bit of trivia.

It’s quite windy here so we’re not putting out the awning tonight. The ground is really hard with underlying rock so it’s difficult to get the stakes in the ground to hold the awning. Maybe tomorrow! We got a thunderstorm around 5:30 p.m. so we got set up just in time.

We're back in the same site that we were in when we stayed here in June.

Boat Trip!

Betty and I in the bow rider just after we got gas in Bobcaygeon (photo by Gordon)

The photos below are some of the scenes taken on our trip today. You can see with the rocks in the pictures that we are in the Canadian Shield.

The entrance to Catalina Bay is only 28 feet wide!

The plan today if the weather was nice enough and Sturgeon Lake wasn’t too rough was to go out in the boat. Gordon had never gone through a lock so I thought that we would go through a lock, toodle around a bit in another lake and come back. Betty called early this morning and indicated that all systems were go. When we got to the cottage we found out that Garth had decided to take us to Catalina Bay where we were to go last Wednesday but couldn’t because of the weather.

So with layers of clothing on (it wasn’t that warm at 10:00 a.m.) we headed out. Sturgeon Lake was fairly calm and got to Bobcaygeon. The lockmaster saw us coming and opened the gates almost right away. Another boat came in behind us so it took no time at all for us to get through the locks. Garth stopped to get some charts of the area we were going to but they didn’t have what he wanted so we headed into Pigeon Lake, then Big Bald Lake and Little Bald Lake and got to Catalina Bay without much of a problem. However when we got there we found out that Crocodile Bob’s is now only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The plan had been to have lunch there and head back. It only took 45 minutes from the time we pulled into Pigeon Lake to get to Catalina Bay so we headed back to have lunch in Bobcaygeon. Again, on the return trip we had little problem finding our way, stopped for gas, got through the lock as after Labour Day they close at 3:30 p.m. and then went to the El Toro for lunch. Wouldn’t recommend it but it’s just across the street from the lock so it was a nice location. Betty and I took a quick look through some of the shops and she bought a T-shirt that she had looked at when we were there a couple of weeks ago.

Sturgeon Lake was getting pretty choppy as we headed home from Bobcaygeon and I got a little wet but it’s better to get wet on the way home than on the way on an outing!

We saw a couple of osprey which Gordon photographed and some loons but other than seagulls no other bird life.

We arrived back at the cottage at about 4:00 p.m., only stayed for a few minutes and then headed home to get started packing up. We got some gray water dumped so we can do dishes and stuff tonight as we’ve been full for a few days, packed up chairs, BBQ etc. so we’ve got a head start on tomorrow morning for our return to Ottawa.

Happy Birthday to Michelle, Lots of Errands and Dinner at Pleasant Point!

Betty and Garth on their dock at sunset

Our name plaque is finally up!

Misty morning on the Scugog River

Happy Birthday Michelle! Gordon’s daughter turns 30 something today so he called her this morning to wish her well. Their son, Luke (almost 4 months old) apparently wasn’t thinking of his Mommy when he woke her up about twice last night!

Busy day today! I started out by getting up about an hour early. There was a possibility that we would be going for a boat ride but it all depended on the weather and Betty was to call me around 8:15 a.m. I looked outside and it was foggy. Not a good sign for a boat ride. Gordon was out taking photos so I walked around the park and took some as well and then went on my walk. I was back in lots of time for the phone call. No boat ride today – 70% chance of rain. I had no sooner finished the call than it did start to rain but it didn’t rain much. So, tomorrow is supposed to be a nicer day so we are going to try for our boat ride tomorrow.

I called this morning and got our medical appointments set up for next year for our annual physical, got a dentist appointment for me for next week and called Brian Sanderson at Sanderson Insurance to get our US travel insurance.

Since tomorrow is sort of planned and I wanted to get laundry done, I packed up the laundry and headed to the Laundromat. After that was done, I stopped at a First Choice Haircutters and got my hair cut. I again thought about getting bangs and again decided against it. It’s taken so long for them to grow out that if I decide I don’t like them, it will take another 3-4 years to grow them out again. Then I went into Lindsay and got our US medical insurance cards from Sanderson Insurance as they are located here in Lindsay. This is the same company that had our insurance last year and they paid up for my hospital stay in Cincinnati and it was the same price as last year. But, you have to be stable with no changes in medication or anything for 6 months. I’m ok (at least at this point) but Gordon started another medication in June so we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed there. If you’re not stable for 6 months, you’re not covered (for that malady). Then I stopped and got some more groceries and came home.

When Betty and I were out shopping yesterday my back started to bother me again. I’ve been hearing things about how to wear a backpack properly for the school kids lately on TV so wondered if my purse might be creating a problem. I started carrying it in my hand and my back was much better. So, I’ve shortened the strap and hopefully that will help. If not, I’ll have to think about downsizing my purse. After about 50 years of carrying a purse that has everything in it you need, that would be very difficult.

We arrived at the cottage just before 5:00 p.m. and went for a walk down by the boathouse as Betty said their blue heron had returned. We did find him but he flew off just as we arrived. We had a really nice dinner and showed Betty and Garth some photos of the grandchildren as I had taken my computer over to show them information on a condo they hope to rent for two months this winter.

We got home around 9:00 p.m. Lights out! Tomorrow will be another full day!

Shopping in Port Perry

Another cloudy day. I’m starting to feel like Texas in the winter of 04/05 when all we got for about three weeks was cloud!

Gordon hung our plaque with our names on it this morning. Not bad – it’s only taken since Mesa, AZ to get it done. It’s hanging quite low right now as we have to adjust the front end to make the RV level so the front end is quite low.

Today, Betty picked me up at Double M RV Resort at 1:15 p.m. and we went shopping in Port Perry. Port Perry is a pretty little town but it’s not on the Trent-Severn Waterway. We didn’t buy much but it was a nice afternoon. We sat outside at a little coffee shop in town and had a coffee. It didn’t rain and the sun came out on our way home.

Our time here in Lindsay is coming to a close. It’s been great to spend some time with Betty. They are planning on being in Florida for February and March 2007 so we may see them there!

No photos today. I didn't even take my camera with me as it was so cloudy.