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.

Nothing Going On Today!

It was 3C (37F) and party cloudy for my walk this morning but probably wasn’t as cold as yesterday as there wasn’t as much wind.

Gordon had gone back to the Jean Drapeau Park again this morning to take some sunrise photos and this time he managed to get some he was happy with.

This morning was spent on the internet until the satellite went down, having showers at the campground shower house. They have heat in there so it’s nice but lots of campgrounds don’t provide heat in the showers. That’s something I hate at this time of year about showering in the RV. It’s too cold!

We had rain this afternoon and we stayed inside and tried to keep warm.

No photos today!

Suzy Homemaker

This is a photo of the Montreal skyline that Gordon took at sunrise this morning

Gordon left really early this morning before rush hour to get into the city to take some sunrise photos. I got up at my usual 8:00 a.m. and it was bright and sunny but only 4C (40F). I decided to forego my walk for a while. It was still only 8C (46F) when I went out for my walk just before noon and it was mostly cloudy by then.

I spent last evening and some of this morning programming my new phone. It’s easier to understand than the last one or maybe it’s just because I got to know how to program the last one and this is similar. It also has a camera which I didn’t have before and probably won’t use much as the girl at the store said you have to email your photos to yourself and I don’t want to start that as it will drive our bill up and it’s enough as it is!

Gordon went out again this afternoon to try and get some more photos of the Montreal city skyline and this time was successful although it was cloudy over the city. When he got back, I realized that he was running out of food. Having Celiac disease in Quebec isn’t fun. I haven’t been able to find corn wraps at all so he’s almost out. I realized I had a package of gluten free French bread but when I went to make it, I didn’t have any yeast. (When I opened the package there was yeast in the package but it didn’t say on the package). So off we went to the grocery store where I picked up yeast and we got some other staple items that he can eat. It was when we returned and I started making the bread that I found the yeast inside the package of bread flour. So today I baked corn bread and white French bread. That will tide Gordon over till we get back to Ottawa where we can get him some supplies.

Tonight was TV as usual!

Road Trip

This is a photo I took of the Fall sky on the way home from our road trip

It rained quite hard during the night but was fairly mild and the rain had stopped when I went for my walk around 8:00 a.m. 12C (53F).

We decided that today was the day that we would go to Plattsburgh to get my cell phone replaced so we headed out around 10:30 a.m. We had a bit of rain on the way. We got to the border – long lineups and of course, we got in the wrong lane so we waited 50 minutes in line to get through. The customs agent was a good ole boy that was very chatty but we had no problems and arrived in Plattsburgh around 12:30 p.m.

We were both hungry so went to the mall to see if they had a Taco Bell. That way Gordon can have Taco Bell and while I like it, I’m not doing well with cheese these days and most things there have cheese in them. Indeed there was a Taco Bell so he was able to satisfy that craving and I got a salad at Burger King. There was still cheese in it though.

There was a Verizon kiosk in the Mall right beside the food court so we stopped there but were unable to get the phone we wanted. They had one but it wasn’t on their inventory so they couldn’t sell it??????? She had already started the application as we have to sign up for another two years or else pay full price for the phone. So we took the application with us and went to the local store. I got my new cell phone but still had to pay $107.00. I did get a leather case this time. Hopefully that will cushion its falls. There is a $30.00 mail in rebate that I’ll have to send in. If I could have waited till November 27^th, I would have gotten a free phone but my luck isn’t going that way, I guess. Now I have to reprogram it will all my phone numbers.

After that we picked up a few items at the grocery store. Gordon had run out of grits and you can’t buy the instant kind in Canada (at least not that I’ve found). That’s his staple breakfast. After that we headed home as we didn’t want to get stuck in rush hour traffic around Montreal. It can be quite beastly. On the way back we stopped in St. Bruno and picked up a few groceries. Not impressed with their grocery store, Provigo – very expensive! Hopefully what I got will tide us over till we’re back in Ottawa on Monday.

More Rain and Household Drudgery

This morning was cloudy with a hazy sun in the sky but mostly obscured by cloud. It started to rain shortly before noon and rained on and off all day.

I packed up the laundry to get done, picked up my phone to take it with me, opened it to turn it on and promptly dropped it and it broke in two so now I don’t have a phone so if anyone needs to call, please use Gordon’s number for now. We’re only about an hour away from Plattsburgh, NY so will make the trek down there to get a new phone at the Verizon store in the next couple of days. After I finished the laundry and put it away, I got the vacuuming done so I think that’s enough housework for today.

Other than a nap and TV tonight, that about describes my day.

Since I didn’t take any photos today, I’ve done some computer art work to a photo that I took at Jacques Cartier National Park last week. If you double click on it, the palette knife treatment shows up better.

A Little Bandit

Sorry for the photo error yesterday of our site. The correct one has now been uploaded.

Today it was mostly cloudy and a fair amount of wind for my walk. It was supposed to be mostly cloudy here today with a high of 12C (54F) with a chance of rain overnight.

We got a late start this morning but headed out to a Dodge dealer to see if we could get service done today. We’d already gone over our mileage so didn’t want to wait till our return to Ottawa next week. We got that done, drove around the south shore a bit, then came home as we were both tired and hungry.

After a nap and some food, we headed into Montreal and up to the observation area on Mont Royal. Unfortunately at that point it was too dark for my camera so I used Gordon’s Minolta to take some photos of some little bandits that we hanging around the observation area and looking for food in the garbage cans. Even with the Minolta, I couldn’t take photos of the Montreal city lights but I expect Gordon will post some. Below you will see one of the little bandits. Thanks to my husband for doing his magic on the photo. These little buggers are quick. I wanted to get a photo of him with his head sticking out of the garbage can but it was so dark that the camera was taking a long time to flash so we'll have to make do with this one.

It was a bit of a chore getting there with bumper to bumper traffic on Hwy 20 until we got through the tunnel that goes under the St. Lawrence River, then to find our way to Mont Royal. Montreal is a very big city! Then finding our way home in the dark was a bit of a challenge too! It had also started to sprinkle a bit on our way home but only for a short time on the north side of the river.

Now near Montreal, Quebec

Our site at Camping Alouette

It was sunny and bright but still chilly this morning as we packed up to leave for Montreal. We left shortly after 10:30 a.m. and arrived here at Camping Alouette just outside of Montreal and south of the St. Lawrence at around 1:15 p.m. Most of the drive was in cloud but as we neared the campground the sun came out and the temperature was about 20C (68F). After we got set up, I sat outside for a while enjoying the weather, then went for a short walk around the campground.

This campground while larger and twice as expensive as the one near Quebec City is not as nice in some ways. While this one is still rural, the sites are smaller and it’s in an industrial park with an RV dealership and repair shop as part of the facilities. It does have a pool and hot tub which appear to still be open but as the weather is to change in the next day or so, I doubt that we will be taking advantage of it.

I’ve seen one of my pet peeves in Quebec (in the Lévis area anyway) – line ups of cars in front of shopping malls with their four way flashers on while the owner runs in to pick something up from the store. That annoys me to no end. I don’t know why people can’t park in a parking spot and walk a few feet further without taking up one aisle of the driving lane. We’ll see if it happens in the Montreal area. While you see it occasionally in Ottawa, it was almost the norm in Lévis.

View from my lawnchair

My Girlie Day

Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians out there!

Today was another bright, sunny day and a bit warmer than yesterday but with some wind. After my walk and breakfast I got ready to go into Lévis and do some girlie things like go to the Mall and WalMart and get groceries. I’m photographed out for a day or two, at least until we get to Montreal tomorrow.

When I got back, I sat outside and read for about an hour but I found it quite chilly.

I’m planning on doing the Thanksgiving thing tonight since we’re moving tomorrow. I wasn’t able to get a turkey breast but I was able to find a turkey leg so Gordon will have chicken while I get my dark meat!

That’s about it for today. Desperate Housewives tonight!

When we were out on Thursday, I took a photo as we were crossing the old Pont du Quebec. It’s quite an interesting bridge so I took a photo as we were driving. See it above.

Ile d'Orleans and Le Trait-Carré

This is a view of the Shrine of Ste Anne de Beaupre from Ile d'Orleans

Today our destination for sightseeing was Ile d’Orleans. This large island was settled in the mid 1600’s and runs from approximately Vieux Quebec to past Ste Anne de Beaupre (measuring by mainland). It is a very pretty island with all different sorts of houses, all well-kept and reminded us in spots of New Hampshire. It’s a very artsy island with little artisan shops but also lots of roadside stands of fruits and vegetables and a lot of farmland. We stopped at the Information Bureau as soon as we crossed the bridge onto the island and picked up a booklet of the island then headed west on the highway stopping here and there to take photos. I didn’t take many today as yesterday had me pretty much photographed out.

This guy drove his truck down onto the rocks in the St. Lawrence River with his boat trailer to pick up his boat. There are some guys there in hip waders to guide the boat onto the trailer. Not something I'd want to try!

This is a view of Old Quebec from Ile d'Orleans. There are two more cruise ships in the harbour today.

We spent the better part of the day there and on our way back took a detour to Charlesbourg looked for Le Trait-Carré. This area was founded by the Jesuits in 1665 and was the first colonization not centered on water. Following the signs led us to an area of older homes and a church but I’m still not certain that we found the actual place we were looking for. We’re finding the signage in Quebec rather lacking for those of us that don’t know where we’re going.

We got home just before 4:00 p.m. in time to get the heater on before the sun goes down. It gets pretty chilly inside once the sun leaves us even with the heater and the furnace running. We run the furnace when the inside temperature reaches 64F.

I’ve uploaded some photos to my Yahoo photo site over the last couple of days. They are under Quebec 2006 and Jacques Cartier National Park for anyone who’s interested.

My camera card failed a couple of days ago and I was lucky that Gordon was able to retrieve the photos I had taken so looks like I will be in the market for a new one. Hope the camera doesn’t give up the ghost as soon as I buy a new card! I really like my little Sony.

Jacques Cartier National Park

This morning when I woke up, Gordon had turned off the water as it got to -2C (29F) overnight. Lots of frost on the ground this morning but was bright and sunny. It was 1C (34F) when I ventured out for my walk.

There are still people here from all over. I saw 1 from British Columbia, 1 from Florida, 1 from Nevada, 1 from Michigan, and 2 from Texas.

Since it was such a pretty Fall day, we decided to go back to Jacques Cartier National Park that we had tried to go to last Saturday but it had too much traffic trying to get in. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that today was FREE! We stopped at the Interpretative Centre but didn’t stay there long preferring to continue along and take some photographs. The road was paved but narrow beyond the Interpretative Centre for a few kilometers then after we crossed an old bridge it became a dirt road and with the air that we have to have in our tires for towing it was also very bumpy. Anyway we went into the park to the 18 km. mark, taking photos along the way. It is a very pretty park but has the usual problems for photographers – too many trees and plants in the way and nowhere to pull over to take the shots you want.

Photos in the Park

By the time we headed for home, this being the Friday of a long weekend, traffic had started to back up and it took us over ½ hour to get across the bridge to the south side where we are parked. The photo below was taken out the windshield on our way south on Hwy 73.

Tonight Gordon is going into the Old City to take nighttime photos. Since my camera doesn’t take nighttime photos, I’ve elected to stay home and keep the place warm!

A Tour of the Local Chutes (Falls)!

Wow! Sun! What a concept! It was beautiful, bright and sunny this morning. I hardly recognized it, its been so long since I've seen it! I would have thought that with all the rain and heavy winds last night that the leaves would be gone but they aren’t.

Today we had to make up for four days of being housebound and waterlogged so we headed out to see some places that a photographer from Quebec had recommended to Gordon via pbase.

Chaudiere Falls (Chutes de la Chaudiere)

Jacques Cartier Beach Park

Kabir Kouba Falls on the St Charles River

All three spots were very pretty at this time of year and all of them except for Jacques Cartier Park had lots of stairs so we got exercise! I said that I’ve climbed more stairs in Quebec City than I did in the 11 years we had the house!

All our stops had very beautiful places to walk with the trees and water all around. I probably liked the St. Charles River itself the best with all the rapids just above the Kabir Kouba Falls. The Falls themselves were hard to photograph with my camera as we were too close to them but you can see them on Gordon’s pbase site at www.pbase.com/merriwolf. The Chaudiere Falls were very pretty too and the pathways were really nice for walking, lots of pretty leaves.

St. Charles River above Kabir Kouba Falls

Jacques Cartier Beach Park

Chaudiere Falls

More Rain and More Rain and More Rain.....

Photos around the park taken in the fog this morning




It was very foggy this morning so I took some photos while on my walk. Late in the morning the sun tried to shine.

After lunch we went out to the grocery store. I wanted to try Maxi as the Super C here isn’t like the one I usually go to around Ottawa. I wasn’t all that impressed with Maxi either. When I went into the store it still hadn’t started to rain but when I came out it was raining. They had called for heavy rain this afternoon and heavy rain we had and high winds as well. I swear that if it rains tomorrow I’m going to the mall and not coming out. It was rainy and windy enough to knock out the satellites, Gordon got the internet back on but not the TV so now I’m going to miss the season premiere of Lost. Having just missed the season premier of Desperate Housewives, I’m getting supremely ticked off! Today I’m ready to pack it in and go back to living in a stick house!

Another Crappy Day Weatherwise!

Some scenes from around the campground

It wasn’t raining this morning when I got up but about half way through my walk it started, not very hard so was able to finish my 20 minutes.

This morning I got the freezer defrosted, some gluten-free cornflakes put through the cuisinart for making coating for chicken for dinner tonight, watched TV, read and did some surfing.

It remained cloudy all day with a bit of hazy sunshine here and there along with a few sprinkles of rain. We’ve definitely not had good weather here so we’ve decided we’re not going to the Gaspé this time but will have to come back and take the fifth wheel somewhere closer. It’s quite a distance to go from here all the way around the Gaspé.

Today we decided to do something we’ve never done before and use the pay showers at the campground. It costs a quarter for 3 minutes. We thought that was probably cheaper than heating our water with propane. Gordon’s shower took 2 quarters and mine took 3 (I have more hair on my head, that is). All in all, it wasn’t wonderful. The water wasn’t that hot and the pressure wasn’t that good. Our own shower is probably better but it was different being in the shower with shampoo on your head and the water stops, then trying to get the quarter to work. Definitely easier at home!

Gordon had planned to go into the city tonight for night photos but the rain has foiled his plans again. Thursday, Friday and Saturday are supposed to be nicer.

We also have to decide on a campground at Montreal for next week. They recommend Camping Alouette here and have brochures. I emailed them and they want $200 plus tax for the week so definitely more expensive than here! It’s on the south side of the St. Lawrence and looks like a fairly easy drive into Montreal from there so maybe we’ll give it a try. Camping Transit is a really nice campground so if they recommend Camping Alouette, we hope it is as well.

Housework

I thought I heard rain on the roof when I woke up this morning but it was only wind so away I went on my walk. It felt good to get out again. I’m really starting to miss walking if it’s nasty weather. Walking in the mall yesterday just didn’t do it. I have to walk first thing in the morning while my back is rested.

After breakfast, I got the laundry ready and went over to the laundry room. No one else there. BONUS! After that and lunch, I did the vacuuming and cleaning, then cleaned out the storage area under the bed and in my closet and disposed of a few things and rearranged other items.

The sun started to come out around 1:30 p.m. but was very short-lived.

Nothing much happened today.

The photo today is one that Gordon took this morning of one of the ducks in the park.