Friday, July 22, 2016

Dealer Campground and a New Week Started

After a ‘quiet’ weekend (def of quiet: absence of noise or bustle; silence; calm.) at the Chatham airport for Bill’s fun fly
 (see his blog “On Our Way” clembillpat.blogspot.ca for details), we headed to our RV dealer in London for some minor service on the Suite.

Everyone’s definition of quiet must be different. For some it means no kid noises, no animal sounds, no traffic. For us, it means no sirens as well. It doesn’t necessarily mean no overhead air traffic sounds, obviously. Yes, there were pretty constant sounds of rc jets, While there we met up with Jeff and Joan, fellow rc flyers.
They sure love Clemson

wing tips even had wheels!
whirlybirds 

rc chopper


bi-planes,
It took a few tries to get all 5 WW1 war birds in one shot.
and the occasional drone of a Harvard or 2 seater 
but this type of sound has been part of our life together. We can still find peace amid it all.

We arrived at CanAm www.canamrv.ca
 around 1:30 pm on Sunday (it isn’t really a campground but for us, it worked as one) to a fairly empty front parking lot with only one couple transferring belongings from one 27’ Airstream to a larger 30’. 

Once we backed in and unhooked both trailers it soon became apparent that we were only to be the first arrivals of many.

Airstreams pulled in one after the other plus a couple of travel trailers and the empty lot soon transformed into quite the compilation of rvs leaving only a space large enough for a single vehicle to pass through. It was quite a show and we were happy to be on the sidelines, out of the way. 

Well, since Bill has a knack for parking rv’s and has worked for CanAm, he was out directing traffic if they needed assistance. Never shy, Bill even drove a 30’ Airstream into the tight space for a young owner who admittedly said “I’m not very good at parking this thing yet!”. They’d had their new unit for 2 weeks so it is understandable that he is out of practice. Our new American friends called Bill the "Welcome Greeter".
We all have our calling, right?
Bill pulled a 30' Airstream from the top left corner of the lot through
the narrow path here
....and that is the Airstream to the left of the photo neatly parked
Some rv’s were in for service and others here for storage. People from Toronto who purchased their rv’s here are quite happy to take their vacations and return the unit here for storage because they have no room at home. I’m sure the prices at CanAm for storage are much more appealing than anything closer to home in that case.

Who says parking at your dealers can’t be fun? We’ve met a few fellow rv’ers in the 2 days we have been here. Everyone who ‘trips’ to Arizona in the winter highly recommends a spot or two to stop at, with Quartzsite being at the top of the list.
Steve, Phil and Don, Airstream owners, are great guys with whom we have exchanged information and plan to meet up with in the desert. Yes, Quartzsite in January will be the next time we see them, at least that is the plan. Looking forward to that for sure!

On Monday morning, bright and early Steve and Dan (?) brought out the tractors and made short order of the mess we created in the lot. *sigh* I know Bill is good at moving trailers but these guys had them all moved within just over an hour. 
Lickety-split! (Def: as quickly as possible; immediately
Synonyms: at full speed, very quickly, on the double)
Yup, just like that!

Next thing we know, our Suite was being hooked up and taken in. The 3 new batteries, a couple of shelf additions and a backup camera were done by Andrew and it was ready for us by the end of their shift at 5 pm. The little tractor brought it back out front, we plugged into hydro and settled in for the night.

While all this work was being done, Bill and I nipped into London to run a few errands. Clemson got a manicure, pedicure, shampoo and haircut at Rose's home salon while we tidied up some of Mom’s investments that were due. Dealing with the traffic of the city made us so very grateful for our chosen country summer living.

At dinner time we decided to use a gift card from Swiss Chalet www.swisschalet.ca and enjoyed a nice meal and a caesar. Yum. It was a beautiful night for sleeping with the windows open so said goodnight to Don and called it a night.

Tuesday morning we were up, wandered around the lot and chit chatted, took some photos and said Bon Voyage to our friends at CanAm and new acquaintances. A stop at Costco on the way through London and Henry's for a tripod and lens and we were on our way home.

We made arrangements to meet my son, Patrick, in Milverton after he finished a job in Stratford so I rode with him in his CRV and turned at Teviotdale to Hanover while Bill carried on through to The Ridge.

It was a lovely visit with Mom,
even though she wasn’t up and about as easily as she’d like and after an hour we said our goodbyes. Patrick was glad to have the opportunity to see his Grandma before her surgery.

Bill and I were happy to have the 2nd of 6 children come to see our home on The Ridge and glad that he was able to stay for supper before he hit the road at 7:30pm for St. Thomas. I wasn’t too bright, enjoying my time with him rather than snapping photos. Darn!
So, not a picture from Tuesday but my handsome son all the same!
That was our weekend and into the week. Things are busy but I couldn’t be happier. I feel so content with every decision we have made that brought us here.

Thank you for reading, I hope your summer is going well!

13 comments:

  1. What a wonderful lifestyle that we have enjoyed for close to 10 years now. Always something to do and things to keep you busy AND no schedule that you need to keep anymore.
    No matter where we park is always and adventure.
    Great posting.

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    1. We are so happy to be part of it. Friends left us from a visit today and she said "retirement is looking pretty good! "

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    2. We are so happy to be part of it. Friends left us from a visit today and she said "retirement is looking pretty good! "

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    3. Retirement is absolutely wonderful, enjoy every day while we can.

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  2. Seems to me that you two have more visitors at the Ridge than when you lived in London! Great post sis.

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    1. Yes it is true! At least we have more room here to entertain in the outdoors! Thanks.

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  3. Always something to fill a day, whether it is planned or not. Being retired means you just have to go with the flow, and if you aren't enjoying what you are doing do something else.

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    1. Love that definition, Gayle, of being retired. Haven't found too much that we don't enjoy, even yard work is at our own pace and only when we want to do it. :)

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  4. Since we missed seeing you in London on Monday we'll just have to find time to visit later. Since you mentioned Quartzsite, we have reservations at a campground for the month of December. January will see us boondocking, visiting the Big Tent and maybe wandering into Hot Springs California. If you are heading that way I'm sure we can meet up.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Thanks for your comment, Kathy. We will definitely hook up during December or January at Quartzsite. Looking forward to meeting you and all the wonderful things the southwest offers.

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