Brockville, ON

And we are having more truck problems. The throttle cuts back to an idle and we lose all speed. It eventually 'picks up' again but it is a little inconvenient! This has now happened about 4 times. We figure we really weren't out of fuel back at Sault Ste Marie.

We took it to the dealership this a.m. and there are no parts in ON so it can't be fixed anytime soon. You think maybe it's an known issue?  We decided will continue our trip and hope for the best. Hopefully we will find this part as we go. (maybe in the US)

So while our truck was in the shop, we spent the day at the library and genealogical room that is located in the museum. I did find some interesting family info. We took our lunch break at a nice little deli in downtown Brockville.

Now we are on our way back to the campsite. We will pack up and leave in the morning.

Monday Eve in Mallorytown, ON

Rockport Lighthouse Campground
Site #22 - $31.80 (x2), p/w/s, Temp 19C

I'm feeling rather lost not having a baby over my shoulder this evening! Things are pretty quiet with just Ron & I now. We were getting pretty comfy with our daily 'grandparent routine" and we will certainly miss it!!

We didn't drive very far today. We were set up at our campsite just past Brockville, ON by 1:15 p.m. We took the scenic route along the St. Lawrence River and really enjoyed the view!! We drove through some pretty 'quaint' towns with lots of old and beautiful buildings. This is the "1,000 Island" region. There are all these tiny rock islands with a lone cottage/home built on it. The only access is by boat. Cool !!

So we picked up a few groceries and went for a bike ride along the bike path. The library wasn't open, so we'll head there tomorrow and check out the geneological section. We will likely stay a 2nd night.

Leaving Ottawa

Well, we are leaving Ottawa this morning. It is always tough to say goodbye. We will really miss those little ones!!

We will spend tonight in the Brockville area south of here and we will see if we can find any of my grandfather's (Shook) family records.  From there we will head to the US, crossing the border at Sault Ste Marie. We'll take our time, go to the Black Hills et al!

Sunshine Day

It's always a little bit of a break here when Connor goes down for his nap at 1:30.  The baby is snoozing also.  Ron just took the truck to see if he could get an oil change and Kim is doing laundry -- that never ending job !

It rained most of yesterday but sun is shining today. We went for a walk and then to the park to play on the swings & slide. Ron took Connor out in the rain yesterday. He loves to be outside.



                      Watching Dad play hockey
Other than that, not much else is new. Our days centre around the kids and their schedules. Connor goes to bed about 8:30 so we get our visits in with Greg after that. I think he is taking Friday off and we may go to the science centre.

Beer Break

Ottawa & Connor's Birthday!

Guess what??  We are pretty busy here! I am taking a few minutes now while everyone is having a nap except Grandma! (Though I feel like I could, my eyes are pretty heavy right now!!) Connor 'goes down' at 1:30, so I have the sleeping baby with me, so mom can have a nap. Dad is at work and Grandpa is lying down in the 5th wheel.

It was a bit of a 'tight fit' backing in to the driveway with the tree on either side, but with a bit of maneuvering, Ron made it.  It is much nicer to be parked close than commuting to and from the campground which is 1/2 hr. out. We can't open the slide, but that's not a big deal as we are mainly just sleeping & showering in here. So, since arriving Sat. There was the prep and then Connor's birthday on Sunday. It was a Construction Theme. How cute it that!?

The kids all got 'hard hats' and little orange aprons (free from Home Depot) when they arrived. There were signs and caution tape around the yard. "Kid's at Work" hung over the sandbox and Greg & Ron picked up a bag of gravel so there was even a 'gravel pit'. Kim made a 'dump truck' cake with crushed up oreos in the back for 'dirt'. That was quite an ordeal -- I won't go in to big details, but she was up until 1 a.m. Sat night trying to get it all together! Icing melting off and one side fell over after it was half iced!! I felt bad for her, but it ended up turning out so very cute!

This morning Ron & I took the kids for a walk. Ron pushed Connor on his new tricycle and I had the baby in the stroller. 

The days are going by so quickly. And it's always very busy!

Still Friday . . .

Morning Mist Campground
Site #17 - $29, p/w/s, Temp 30C & MUGGY!!

We were too tired to drive the last 2 hrs. to Ottawa, so decided to stop at a Prov. Pk. Only problem is?? THEY ARE CLOSED!! And you don't know that until you head up the driveway and see the closed gate!! So, we were trying to back out of a very tight spot and we ended up stuck in the soft gravel shoulder (on a downhill !!). No way we were going ANYWHERE~!! (yes, Jim Kesslar, I know what you are saying!! A 4x4 Dodge would do the trick!!)

Well, we are stuck but, no problem, right??  We will just call our "Good Sam" service.  OH YEH !!! NO CELL SERVICE HERE!! Telus doesn't work ANYWHERE in ON!!

Ron stands on the side of the road trying to wave someone down, but of course noone's going to stop! So I make this big sign:  "NEED CELL PHONE TO CALL TOW" and some kind gent pulled over right away!! Before the "Good Sam" people got their truck dispatched, a highway service truck stopped and he provided the tow we needed!

We then drove back 10 min. to a campground we had passed and knew was still open.  We are now having a much needed relaxing evening.

                                             (Ron is on his 3rd beer!! it's been that kind of day!! *smiley*)

We WILL see you tomorrow Greg & Kim.  We would have loved to have been there for Connor's swim class, but, we just won't get to Ottawa & set up in your driveway on time. (Maybe next Sat??? Hope he has a class!!)

It's FRIDAY!!

Lakeside Park, Thessalon, ON
Site #45 - $22, p/w/s, Temp 29C & cloudy

We arrived at Thessalon on the North Channel of Lake Huron around 5 pm.  From this campground you can walk across the street to the beach. It feels very hot & humid to us 'dry country' folk. We sat at the fire until about 10 p.m. when it started to rain. 
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Friday:  It is 1 p.m and we are almost there! But would you believe we ran out of fuel -- just a few km out of Sudbury. We barely got pulled off the highway!! yikes! Luckily Ron carries a jerrycan with some extra!! So we are now stopped in Sudbury for fuel (for the truck AND us!) and we are about 500 km from Ottawa.

The heavy traffic, high winds and driving through the small towns along the way certainly slows the trip down!  It will likely end up taking us another 7 hrs!

We haven't seen a lot of sun the past few days and we are a little early for the fall colours. However, some of the maples are starting to show red. It will be beautiful in another couple weeks.

We are looking forward to meeting Carter and we will be celebrating Connor's birthday on Sunday with friends.  It will be fun!!

Note: The "check engine light' wouldn't go off after fueling up. Ron ended up calling the dealership in Sudbury. He suggested disconnecting the batteries for 2 min. Luckily that did the trick !! Ron was a little concerned something else may be wrong!

Mon, Tues & Wed: humming along . . .

Well, if you can call a diesel "humming' !!!?

Redden's Trailer Park
Site #18 - $30, p/w/s, Temp 21C

We spent Monday night at this campground that we had stayed at 2 yrs. ago.  It is just past Kenora on the lake. We are in the same site even. It was another good travel day except for the last 55 km. THE DREADED CONSTRUCTION!! You think you'll be there in 1/2 hr and then the signs appear. It seems like a LONG stretch at 60 km/hr with stops, and it took well over an hour to travel that last leg!

Anyway, we arrived at 6 pm (local time) and enjoyed another relaxing evening around the fire sipping wine.  And we had a good night's sleep without the trains!
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Tues. Sept 4:
Our goal was to go beyond Thunder Bay to Rossport area at the northern tip of Lake Superior. However, once again we were slowed down for road work.  As in stopped and/or reduced speeds. One section was completely stripped down to the gravel. This seems strange on the #1 Hwy! For the most part and in our favour, the traffic is light. In fact we've commented that at times it seems like we are the only ones on the road!

So it was a gruelling trip but we made it to Rossport.  Driving 9am to 6pm is just about too much for us old folks!! We didn't make good time with all the road work and then the traffic picked up considerably after Thunder Bay. Also, we ran in to some pretty thick fog just before we stopped for the night. Very scary!! (Glad it wasn't dark yet!) We hit a bird - a large yellow one, so felt bad about that! and we got a stone in the windshield, damn!! We'll take it a little easier the next couple of days!
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Rossport Campground
Site #E2 - $29, p only, Temp 18C & cloudy

Once again, Rossport was a beautiful camping spot. It provides such a picturesque view of Lake Superior and there's the soothing sound of the waves lapping on the beach -- Love it!!  And then the TRAIN rolls by AGAIN!! What a way to ruin perfection!

We enjoyed another campfire but it was early to bed.  We are trying to adjust to the time change. We were so tired and slept so well that we didn't even hear the trains through the night! There was more fog when we left at 9 a.m.

Night at Grenfell, SK

Grenfell Regional Park

Site #1 - $15, p only

We made pretty good time today and drove until 7 p.m. In Ron's words: "It is so nice not to be driving in the wind." That was the deciding factor to keep going!  The trip went pretty quick for me. I worked on the computer most of the way -- getting caught up with my 'scrapbooking" or my digital photo albums. I hadn't worked on them all summer.  And then we arrived in Grenfell.

It's a good thing we don't speed.  There were 3 cop cars sitting in the ditch between Regina and Grenfell. Guess they were picking up all the speeders heading home after the long weekend!

This is a decent little campground. We pulled in to a drive through site that was completely level and it even had  a box of wood sitting by the firepit for us. Nice welcome!!  It was almost too good to be true. And, yes it was !!! There were TRAINS!! ALL NIGHT LONG!

Anyway, it was a beautiful evening.  We hadn't anticipated that we'd have any fires along the way -- and we may even do some Walmart parking lots, but it was nice to relax here last night.

I didn't sleep well, but Ron seemed okay with the trains. He said "there were only 2 through the night".  I said if that is all you heard, you were lucky!! There were at least 6 !

We were on the road by 8:45 am.  Tonight we'll make Kenora or beyond. The wind is coming straight at us today, so it's not smooth sailing like yesterday.

Fall 2007 - Ottawa & USA

Well, we did it... all packed and ready to hit the road....  We are getting away a day early as Ron's team had to cancel tonight's windup for lack of caterers on this holiday Monday!!! They'll get together tomorrow night, but we don't want to stay the extra day...

so we'll be in touch along the road when we can...  We hope to be in Ottawa by Saturday for a week to 10 days.... (if Greg & Kim will have us that long)... we should be able to park in his driveway as it is long enough to accommodate us.... so that will be nice!

and then from Ottawa to to states etc. and take our time home...

Probably won't get home until mid October...
anyway... must go...