RV to Dealer and Road Trip

Up this morning shortly after 6 a.m. We had an appointment at our RV dealer to get the RV caulked and were to be there between 9 and 9:30 a.m. We actually arrived shortly after 9 a.m. After the RV got unhitched, we left it and took off for a scenic drive.

First stop was in Franktown (Lilac Capital of Ontario) for a photo of St. Paul's United Church. It has a very unique and interesting steeple and bell tower as you can see from the photo below.


Then we stopped for breakfast at the greatest breakfast restaurant in the area. It's called The Roosteraunt. There are all sorts of figurines, stuffed roosters, pictures of roosters, rooster towels all over the restaurant.

We had gone last year and since we were in the area decided to go again and it didn't disappoint. It's always good when a meal agrees with Gordon. While there we parked near the locks and walked around a bit. I had seen a bead store downtown (Bead Buddies) and since I didn't go to Sassy Bead Co yesterday and it's going to rain this weekend, I decided I should get my crimp beads. They are much, much more expensive there than what I paid at TMG-Beads in Cameron last month so that's all I bought. I priced their crimpers - $36.95 - no, thanks.

The Falls in Smiths Falls

Pretty flowers in the park at Smiths Falls


While I was looking in the beading store Gordon walked around a bit. There is a little RV park right on the Rideau Canal called Victoria Park Campground so he went in and got some information. Their sites are large enough for us and some of them back right on the canal. No problem with a clear view of the south either and it's a short drive or a long walk to The Roosteraunt!

From there we set Miss Pinky to take us to Delta, Ontario. Gordon had been there a few years ago helping a friend close down his cottage for the winter. There's another campground there that we checked out called "Lower Beverley Lake Park" but it's quite expensive considering it's out in the middle of nowhere.

The Old Mill in Delta - if I had been quicker I could have gotten a photo of a blue heron flying by.

The trees were very pretty.

This was a cooperative dragonfly

What a beautiful, sunny day. It reached 26C (79F). Today was better than a lot of days we had this summer!

Have you ever seen a cemetery in the middle of a corn field?

By then it was after 2 p.m. so we decided to head back to the dealer and when we arrived the RV was ready. After we paid the bill (oh my goodness, heart attack!), we got home and found out our water hose is still leaking. Gordon tried putting a washer in but that didn't work so we had to go out and buy a couple of new hoses as we need about 35 ft to reach the tap in this site.

Now we're both exhausted and looking forward to a hot shower!

Just a Beautiful Day!

I was up at 7 this morning and actually got some photos just after sunrise while I went for a short walk. It wasn't too cold this morning so I didn't have a problem dragging myself out of bed.

I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for 10:15 a.m. so I got ready and left the RV around 9:10 a.m. and since we were down to 1/4 tank I stopped and fueled up before arriving at the doctor's office about 10 minutes early. I had my last colonoscopy in 2004 and the doctor had said she wanted me to have one every 5 years so I wanted it booked for early May 2009. Thus the appointment today. I have no idea why I had to go in but I did need another prescription for my eye drops so got that.

After I was done there I went back to the Carlingwood Mall as they were having a craft sale there and there were some things I wanted to look at including some beads. I wound up buying a couple of strands of chip beads at $3/strand. That was a good price and the chip beads look good for the invisible necklaces. I also bought some at our great Canadian dollar store, Dollarama. Now I need some crimp beads. I had planned to stop at Sassy Bead Co. as well today but decided that could wait for another day. I ran a few other errands while at the Mall and then headed back to the RV park arriving around 12:30 p.m.

Today was such a beautiful day, sunny with a nice breeze and 24C (75F). I sat outside for a while and then walked around the park. The only real noise was from the road and that is intermittent during the day. The rest was the squirrels, chipmunks and birds making themselves known. It was very pleasant to sit there and listen to them for a while.

Today was nicer than most days we had this summer! I tried to have a nap later this afternoon but couldn't sleep, imagine that!

Errands and Appointments in Ottawa

It's soooo hard getting out of bed on these cold mornings. No walk this morning as we were getting ready to go in to Ottawa. I didn't even do exercises since we had a chiropractor's appointment at noon. Both of us had dental appointments at 2 p.m., mine at my periodontist and Gordon at the dentist. They're both in the same building so we make them for the same time.

We left just after 10:30 a.m. and had to stop to pay for a new hard drive that Gordon purchased from his friend, Leroy (where I bought my computer last August). The hard drive we bought in June quit on us and it's not something that Gordon will return even if it is under warranty due to all the stuff that's on it.

This tree has changed its colour quite a bit since last time I took a photo of it. To see my last photo, click here.

After that, we went to our chiropractor's appointment. My chiropractor told me that after my adjustment today I have the body of a 29 year old and I even look like a 29 year old! Ha! Ha!

We went to Carlingwood Mall and had lunch at the Carlingwood Restaurant. Actually we both had breakfast, then on to Bulk Barn to buy a few things. We arrived at our dental appointments early and my hygenist actually took me early today for my cleaning.

We had to stop to pick up some corn wraps (tortillas) for Gordon on the way back. There's only one store that carries them now. Sure hope they keep stocking them! Then back to Carleton Place. I decided to go for my walk when I got back as it was so beautiful, a sunny 22C (72F) this afternoon.

When I got back I finished my Debbie MacComber book. Looks like I'll have to do a library run soon!

Photos today were taken on our way back from Ottawa and on my walk.

Low-Key Day

It was a bright, beautiful but pretty chilly morning for my walk. I took my camera but didn't see much of interest. I did see a woodpecker but if I had taken a photo of it it would have been black due to where it was and the sun shining on it. When I got back I did my exercises, had breakfast and then cleaned the summer stuff out of my closet.

Here are some photos I took on my morning walk.

Frosted spider web

Frost
Lots of birds in the dead tree

Wild flowers under an old tree

Autumn leaves reflection

Bird on the water, may be a loon, I couldn't get close enough to tell.

If we go south, we will probably have some warm weather through November and into December but probably not real shorts weather except for a day or two. If we stay here, I'll have to bring all the clothes to wherever we're staying along with food items. I think if I package up bedding and blankets and put Bounce in with them, they should be okay but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Other than reading, napping and surfing this afternoon, I didn't do anything!

Another Quiet Day

After such a beautiful day yesterday, it was surprising to see a thunderstorm just as got dark. I knew we were supposed to get some rain but hadn't expected the storm.

This morning dawned bright and sunny again but colder than yesterday. It's getting harder and harder to get up out of a nice warm bed in the morning these days when it's colder outside and consequently colder inside as well. I did however do my walk/run as well as my exercises.

After I had breakfast and got the daily chores out of the way, I returned to the couch to read. Just after lunch a big Cameo Carriage pulled in beside us. We've gotten spoiled with smaller rigs beside us since we've been here but this one definitely takes up the whole spot. Here's what we see out our side living room window.

And a view of how the sites are set up.

Being tired of reading and surfing, I decided to make a necklace. I didn't have anything pink so this is what I made. Someday I will graduate to more strands.

Not much else happening here today.

A Beautiful, Quiet Day!

Today was a quiet day. We lazed around till mid-afternoon, then had to go into town to get the propane tank filled. I also needed to pick up some groceries.

Gordon went first to the local Canadian Tire store for propane (it was 2:15 p.m.) and was told that both the guys that do the propane were at lunch.What's with that? Talk about bad management! So Gordon dropped me at Walmart and went to the other place that sells propane at the other end of town and got filled up. He got back just as I was looking for a checkout so that worked out ok. This Canadian Tire has given us problems before, as in, we don't sell propane after 4 p.m. Guess they just don't want to sell propane! It's more convenient but they definitely have management problems! The manager's name is Ball as in 'on the ball' but in this case he 'dropped the ball'!

It was a beautiful day but there seemed to be a threat of rain in the air. It was sunny and windy and the temperature when I walked this morning was 11C (52F) getting up to 22C (71F) this afternoon.

I sat outside for a while when we got back, read and listened to the birds in the trees. I couldn't see them because of all the leaves but they seemed to be having a good time.

Pictures today are from my morning walk. The bottom one shows where I walked this week by going straight ahead but you can also turn right and walk between the fields then a ways down if you make another right it brings you up to the main road. It's about a 40-50 minute walk.

Oh and Happy Birthday to Jenny, one of our rv-dreams chatters!

A Day on My Own

Gordon left before I got up this morning to spend the day doing photography with his photography friend, Jim who has just moved to Ottawa from Clinton, NY so I had the day to myself.

I got up at the regular time and it was 2C (36F)! The day warmed up nicely however and we had bright sunny skies. I went for my walk/run and I have to say that today is the best I've felt since just before we left Lindsay. Must have gotten a bug of some kind.

I pulled a real dummy this morning when I got back from my walk. I decided to charge the battery on my camera. That was okay. A couple of hours later I took it out of the charger, put it in the camera and proceeded to delete the photos I took on my walk. I usually charge the battery at night and then delete the photos once I have downloaded them to my computer so no photos from my morning walk! Duh!


So this morning I coloured my hair, had a nice hot shower and then mowed the lawn around the RV. The big mower that Dave uses can't get that close to the RV. I couldn't move the picnic table by myself so I just mowed around and under it as best I could. I also read a bit and listened to satellite radio. Gordon likes it to be quiet in the RV when he's working on the computer so I don't get my background music very much but it was nice for a change.

After lunch I took another walk and tried to recreate some of the photos but the light was wrong so most of the them didn't turn out very well but I had a nice walk. I sate for a while on the bench down by the beach and enjoyed the solitude.

Gordon didn't get home till just after 6 p.m. so it was a long day for him traveling around the area taking photos.

A Day at the Dealer

Today I was up just after sunup as we were taking the RV into our dealer for a check up. We arrived a few minutes after 9 a.m. (They open at 9) and they took us pretty much right away and got started. We had a list of things for them to look into, one of which was that our electric hot water heater has never worked. It turned out to be a loose wire so now we have an operating electric hot water heater for the first time in four years! They did a lot of work on it today. We didn't leave until nearly 5 p.m. It has to go back in next week and they will recaulk the whole unit.

We leave our RV in the garage.

Here it is being washed late this afternoon.


This morning while they were working we stopped at McDonalds and Gordon had a coffee. I can't drink the stuff anymore so he brought it along and we went to our favourite trail, Jack Pine. The first thing we saw was a chipmunk, then we went on to the marshy area and saw lots of mallards and a couple of geese. When we came out of the swamp there was one section where the chickadees and one nuthatch kept flying around our heads. It was really funny to watch them. Of course photographs were taken!



A lone leaf


We stopped at Wendy's for lunch and then went back to the dealer thinking they might be done but they did a lot more than we expected including washing the roof and the sides of the RV. Next week when they take it in to caulk it they will shine it up so it looks brand new! So we sat around in the dealership, in the truck, I read, Gordon had a nap. It was a pretty boring day but this is a great dealership, I would recommend them to anyone.

We got back and were set up again shortly after 6 p.m. Tired!!

It was sunny but chilly all day today and we're supposed to get down to 1C (34F) overnight, that's in the city so there's a good chance it will be colder here in the country especially where we are by the water.

Here's a photo that Joy (that I met in Tucson this winter) sent me of their site in northern Idaho near Coeur D'Alene. Note the moose going through their site.

It's Wednesday at Our House

Gordon left around 7 a.m. to take the truck into Ottawa for service. He's noticed some uneven tire wearing so Southbank Dodge performed an alignment and did the oil/filter change even though it's not due yet. We're about to run out of extended warranty so he wanted to get it in to see if anything needed to be done that would be covered under warranty before it expires. All seems well.

While he was gone I walked, did my exercises and a bit of work to get ready to take the RV into our dealer, Vos Trailers tomorrow for service. As it's over four years old now, they need to go over it and be sure everything is holding up, especially the caulking. If water gets into the RV as a result of poor caulking it can mean a lot of dollars to get it fixed!

Here are some photos from my morning walk.





This morning and again this afternoon I took some time to do some beading. If anyone is interested in a Yahoo forum site for beading, click here. You will have to be approved by the moderator. There's also a beading chatroom here.



The rest of the day I read and had my daily nap. From sunny and windy this morning to some rain this afternoon, then back to sun, it's been a variable weather day. Our high was 21C (69F).

Birthday, Nightmare, Visit to GP & Errands

Today is my husband's birthday - Happy 62nd Birthday to my wonderful husband! This photo was taken in Lindsay.

One of the nightmares I seem to have fairly regularly relates to working in the insurance industry. I dream I am still an adjuster (I worked there for 26 years) and was assigned a single vehicle accident, drinking involved, kids had taken the parent's car, parents out of town, injuries, no witnesses and no police called. I hated those! First problem - permission to drive the car, 2nd problem - injuries, 3rd problem - impaired driving (which is real hard to prove without police and a breathalyzer. I think I suffer a panic attack or something when I have these nightmares as when I wake up I feel oxygen deprived and lethargic. Boy I'm sure glad I'm out of that business. I'm sure that the stress I suffered while working there has contributed to some of the medical problems I have today. I sure do appreciate what adjusters have to go through though, which is probably why I haven't hassled the adjusters for our travel insurance! Our claim has yet to be paid. I do keep calling every 4-6 weeks for a status though. They tell me it was a very busy year for travel medical which is their excuse for it not having been paid.

Gordon had an appointment with out GP this morning so no walk again. It was really cold when I got up and I didn't feel like going through all the bundle up to walk due to time constraints so only did exercises again. We arrived a bit early and Gordon was taken right away. Good news! His liver enzymes are back in the normal range! It will be checked again next month to be sure but we were very happy!

After that we had just enough time to squeeze in an appointment with our chiropractor as we hadn't been since before we went to Lindsay and our own chiropractor has been gone since May. He's back and he did a good job today.

I stopped to do my monthly blood pressure check for my graph that I give to the doctor each year when I have my annual medical. Gordon is also starting to keep track of his so I can do one for him as well.

Then back to Carleton Place where we went to the License bureau to get our renewal stickers for the truck. Another job taken care of!

We got back in time for a late lunch, then I went for a long walk down the side road, Cram Road and then onto the farm road since I haven't been doing my morning walks lately. I was ready for a nap when I got back!

Clouds over corn fields

Woodpecker, not sure if it's a downy or a hairy

Cram Road
Farm Road
End of the road

The corn is tall!

It's a long way back!

The horse barn and one of the horses (the farm is for sale)!


Trees are starting to turn

Trees along the river are already turning.

This bush is laden with berries

Ike, Laundry etc.

Ike visited us over night last night with a bit of wind and some rain, sometimes heavy but mostly not too bad considering what others had gotten. Apparently the worst of the rain went north of us. We're very thankful for that!

In the rv-dreams chatroom we've heard from a lot of the people from Texas and all of them seem to have had some type of damage but all are ok, that's the main thing!

When I got back from my walk this morning Shonagh and Dave were just on their way out so I asked if they had any water hoses for sale in the office. Turns out all we needed was a washer which he did have so he put that in and saved us a trip out for a new hose. I love it when things happen like that!

Today I got the laundry ready. Since there is no laundry here at the campground, I headed into Carleton Place to do it there around noon when I hoped it wouldn't be so busy. As it turned out it was a pretty good time to be there. After that I stopped for a few groceries, then went to the library. My sister kept me in books when I was in Lindsay but I'm on the last one now so I needed to stock up!

I came home, put everything away and tried to have a nap but didn't seem to be able to sleep although I felt tired so I read for a while.

We had a few showers today but also a bit of sun when I was in Carleton Place so Ike didn't do much damage here, thank goodness. I feel so sorry for the people that it has affected with loss of lives, damage to homes and no power for long periods. I can't imagine how difficult that must be.

I didn't take any photos today so I'm featuring a photo that Gordon took of the Scugog River while we were in Lindsay.

Another Birthday Celebration

More rain = no walk this morning. I slept in and lazed around but did my floor exercises. I read, napped and surfed. It didn't rain all morning, in fact we did have some sun at one point so Gordon went out around the park to take photos. He just loves not having to drive somewhere to photograph something nice.

Around noon we started getting ready to go into Ottawa. My sister and her husband were having a birthday dinner for both of us since my birthday was last Tuesday and Gordon's is this Tuesday. (He's much older than I am, of course.) We took our time getting that done too! Danica, Nick and Becky were there for the celebration. Remember that we've already had one celebration for our birthdays in Lindsay at the beginning of August.

We arrived at my sister's around 3 p.m. and sat around chatting for a while. We had a delicious dinner of roast pork, green beans, corn and a really neat potato with spices with peach cobbler pie and raspberry fluff for dessert. And I got another gift from Nick and Becky - a gift certificate for a pedicure at The Spa! I finally get to have my pedicure!

Jasper or Jazz or Jazzy depending on who's talking to him was really playful tonight and kept wanting you to throw a toy but then he didn't want to give it up. Reminiscent of our dog, Bib.


Nick and Becky - a good photo of Becky, I thought.

Nick, Danica and Gordon intent on finding something on the internet.

We got home shortly after 8 p.m. to find our water shut off. Apparently our hose sprung a leak so someone shut off the water. So tomorrow we'll have to go in search of a new water hose. Thanks goodness for a full fresh water tank.