Day Eight – Clear Sailing to our Home Land, One Leg to Go!

CanAm Parking Lot, London, On

On Tuesday, Apr. 19^th we woke up early. Gibbs and Bill had to take care of business and that was at 5:45. Bill didn’t come back to bed but I rolled over and tried to get more shut-eye. Gibbs dropped off right away and I rested. My mind was non-stop, not worries, just things. 😊 It was a quiet restful sleep last night.

I meant to share this picture with you yesterday
Bill is trying to type comments
and someone was desperately trying to get his attention
In the pix on the right, his paws are on Daddy's back

I got up at 6:45 and I’m glad I did. We were dressed and had had our cereal right away. As we were making our thermos drinks, with a plan to leave at 8, the State Police pounded on our door. He must have thought we were still asleep by the force of his ‘knock’. “This is not a Rest Area; you need to be parked back where those trucks are”. Bill answered politely that we had permission and that we were pulling out shortly. We still were grateful for our peaceful slumber.

At 7:45 we pulled out under cloudy skies, 33F/0.55C and onto dry pavement. Yay! The snow had stopped last night around 8. I meant to get out and take a picture of our location last night when I took Gibbs out but I was too busy laughing at him playing in the snow. ♥♥ Gosh, that was hilarious! He loved it, throwing it, eating it and poking his nose in it. 😊

On the road again
with 2 stops for parcels

A commentor wondered why we were coming to Port Huron and not crossing at Detroit/MI, which would be a direct route to London where Can Am is. We have a shipping address in P.H. and have a couple of parcels to pick up at Bluewater Shipping. Also, this year, because my brother-in-law has a parcel at SCC (another parcel pickup) on Lapeer Rd., we’ll pick his up too. SCC was closed on Sunday when they needed to leave the U.S.

Because we left the BP Station earlier than expected, we had to wait until they opened at 9. No worries, we are parked right across the front of their building. 😊 It didn’t take long to get all our parcels and at Bluewater we opened the trailer to use the bathroom and I brought Gibbs into the front seat with me. It would annoy Bill (& me) to have him barking in the back. This way, I can control that.

Approaching the Blue Water Bridge
over the St. Clair River

The crossing guard was pleasant and spoke to Gibbs right away. Always a good sign. He asked where we were and how long, he asked for documentation/receipts of what we spent and he asked if he could take Gibbs off our hands. ♥ We were prepared for it all, obviously he saw the ArriveCan info on our passports. It was 9:30 and no line ups. Took 5 minutes and we headed for the 402 and London. 😊

The drive was clear until we got closer to the city and the brisk tail winds were bringing snow into our vision. They have more snow than we had in Ohio. It isn’t what anyone hopes to receive as a heartwarming greeting! Oh well, we’re back in Canada and we’re happy to be here regardless. A welcome smile and hug from Peggy made the cold weather disappear, even temporarily.

O' Canada!
Ontario's spring welcomes us - blech!

She had a spot right in the front north corner of their building allowing us hookups for the night or however long we need it. ♥ Inside, we discovered that gfi breaker was not in stock at their supplier so we’ll pick one up back home. We had sandwiches for lunch and sat back to relax. Remember that we picked up a huge 76 lb. geode for our friend, Monica? She wasn’t in today so we put it in her office. She’ll be a happy gal when she returns. 😊

CanAm for the night
It's ccccold!

We were happy when Keith, from Aylmer, drove in for a visit and then surprised when Ken and Kim texted that they were in the area. They stopped by also for a visit. I think the biggest surprise was Gibbs. With some ‘serious’ admonishment from Keith to stop jumping, he behaved so well! Then when Kim and Ken were here, he was also quite good, actually sleeping on Kim’s lap. 😊 He’s getting better!

He sat pretty good on Keith
knowing this man won't put up with his nonsense 😍
I appreciated Keith's tips

Bill was trying to sneak a picture of Gibbs being a good boy
on Kim's lap but unfortunately Kim is hidden in the photo 😌

Bill and Ken chatting it up

For supper, we had cut up sausages air fried and I made mac and cheese for our side. No potatoes in the house and the vegetables are shrinking. It was good and I’ve discovered a new, quick way to cook sausages. 

These sausages were delicious done this way
and cooked in half the time

After dishes, my son, Patrick, who works in a countertop/cabinet shop in London, came in from St. Thomas. We wanted his opinion on how to replace/cover/repair our table top and/or hutch. 

I couldn't resist this picture
Two 💓men in my life
on their knees 

Thank you Patrick for coming out tonight
after a full day of work 

This has been a full day from beginning to end. Seeing our friends and my son all in one day just added the cherry to the top!

Our spot for the night
Good night!
(*sigh*, we're almost home)

Thank you for stopping by and all your encouraging, welcoming words on Facebook and my blog.

Return to Canada, Return to CanAm, Return to Cold Weather, Return to Ridge!

The Ridge, Priceville, Ontario

As I mentioned last night in yesterday’s posting, we arrived back in Canada safe and sound. We drove into the front of the CanAm RV Centre lot and called their front desk. Richard, who answered, advised us that our Service gal, Peggy, was on the phone but very graciously told us that we were entirely welcome to park and stay. That was wonderful to hear, they’ve never let us down.

The sky to the east this morning

As we were preparing to shut down, right where we were, Marshall came out to greet us. From an appropriate ‘social distance’ of about 5’, he greeted and welcomed us home. He was advising us where to move to once business staff left for the day when Peggy came to the door of CanAm and told him that she had reserved a spot for us down the side, with hook ups.

So, here is where Peggy had us situated with hook ups
to electric and water if we needed it

Dave, one of the crew, drove the tractor to show us and help us get the Suite backed in. We’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The staff here at CanAm are absolutely amazing. We are hoping to stay for 3 nights at the most and then move on up to the Ridge. That will need to be worked out once they open their doors and we can chit chat with Peggy. Things could change drastically here for them as well, if they are forced to shut down during the course of the week.

The sky to the west was pretty too

I just wanted to mention that we were accepted ‘royally’ and that sure improved our situation 100-fold. Meanwhile, it is Saturday, Mar. 21^st. We woke up cozy and warm with just our blue flame heater and the fireplace running overnight. The temperature dropped to a chilly -4/25C but until we step outside, we didn’t notice. The sun this morning is up there and the sky looks like it is going to clear out and leave us nothing but blue.

Bill and I saw the colours in these clouds
Not really sun dogs but maybe

We had our coffee and tea together at 6:30 and I finally caught up on your blogs, at least the last day. I feel relaxed even though things are still unsettled for a few days. 

It has been a few days since we've enjoyed a nice hot breakfast

Bill and I at one point this morning, after breakfast had a discussion about why we were hanging around. I was pushing to get up to the Ridge and so, to appease me, Bill checked the weather over the next couple of weeks. When he realized that CanAm could close as early as Monday, he said to go ahead and text our buddy, Rob. I think he was just trying to shut me up! Ha ha, no just kidding.

Within 15 minutes, Rob responded with a picture that the Ridge was very accessible. He must have hopped in the truck right away! The snow was gone where we park, the laneway clear and at our request, he left the gate open. WE WERE GOING HOME! Bill got a bit of info from Andy and received a dump valve for the Suite. Ours has gone screwy and that is something Bill can work on at home. We packed up and by 12:30, we were on the road. We stopped at the Pilot/Flying J for fuel and to dump. It is on the east side of London.

Our drinks from Flying J

Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the dump valve to open, it was frozen. Since I’d already paid the meagre $5, using our Good Sam card, I went in to see if they issued refunds. The manager came out and said ‘no’ but to go and help myself to a couple of coffees or something to eat. 😊 They were very nice about it. I got a coffee for Bill and a hot chocolate for me, the smallest size. I thanked the cashier as I walked back and she said ‘you should have got the biggest ones!’ I was appreciative that they helped with that. It makes sense that they've never been asked to refund a dump before!

Nice day for a drive

We had a full tank of fuel and had a beautiful day for the drive. We followed the 401 and took the scenic way home through Tavistock, rather than Stratford, which can be a challenge with the large rig. 

Old and new barns

Only a couple of the lovely homes

 The roads were smooth and unencumbered with traffic. It was nice to sit back and enjoy the scenery without snow. There are a lot of nice homes along that route and other buildings in the small towns. As we entered Durham, I took a picture of the sign and texted it to our buddies.

Entering Tavistock and Milverton

Approaching North Line and our lane, it was easy peasy getting up into our spot. Bill backed  straight onto the boards we left in place last fall. It was cold but he was bustling around hooking up the hydro and I was inside setting things up, so we were warm. After putting our propane heater and the fireplace on, Bill brought in an electric heater from his Hangar just for a boost of heat. We were plugged into power so why not? A small heater in the bedroom/bathroom would help warm that area.

Approaching Varney, last town before Durham

Durham

This road should look familiar
It is the road I walk every morning up here
Baptist Church Road near Turbine lane

I’d finished straightening things and quickly was feeling light-headed. It was a weird feeling but I figured it was due to being hungry. My legs felt weak so I sat down. We’d eaten a good breakfast of bacon and eggs at 10 and it was 4:30. After resting for a bit, I had some cottage cheese and then walked out to find Bill. 

Bill swung around and backed into our space with ease
More pictures tomorrow of our set up

We explored the garden, the bunky, outhouse and his Hangar. Things were looking good all around. Dry and the only evidence of mice was in the outhouse, small fluff balls from the garbage. They left the t.p. (that I forgot to put away) alone! He obviously isn’t a hoarder!

Looking back down the laneway
Bunky on the right hand side

Looking across the frozen pond towards North Line

We had a large bag of mail and Avon that Gerry left in the outhouse so sat down and went through all of that. Lots of stuff, mostly good as junk mail doesn't get forwarded. 

Looking to the back corner where my garden grows
The ground is firm, The gravel tracks are visible
from the swing around

We really appreciate Donna and Gerry collecting our mail for us while we are gone. We have it forwarded from the time we leave until – well, in this case until Apr. 30. We thought we’d be a lot later returning. On Monday, we’ll call them to cancel it and see if they issue refunds. They should since we are back over a month early. We will have our new mailbox up by then too.

We sat and went through mail
His, mine and Mom's

Garbage went on the floor for burning

I made myself a cup of tea around 6:15 and prepared our pork tenderloin. I spiced  and pounded the two pieces and sautéed them. In the inner pot I mixed up a box of dressing and added some mixed veggies. I’ve never done tenderloin in Madame IP before so I hope it turns out. While it was cooking, I sat and caught up on my blog. I cannot express enough how wonderful it is to be up here for our 2-week quarantine. I feel elated and relaxed and wonderfully isolated.

This is the lane as we're driving up

The feeling we usually relish when we come home will have to wait. The part about seeing family and friends and getting those hugs we missed. Happy hours will be just between the two of us and maybe during a video call but we are following protocol. We have had a few offers of assistance to help us with food etc. and that is just the kind of friends and family we have. Thank you! So far, we are fine. We may need to top up with water but we’ll work that out when we need to.  

Pork tenderloin
tender and moist

Dressing and vegetables - perfect

My plate before I added apple sauce

 So, why was I concerned about supper? Well, I’m not sure but I’m happy to say that it was an unnecessary worry. 20 minutes on Manual plus 10 minutes NR and the pork tenderloin, stuffing and veggies were perfect! I need to write that recipe in my Word folder for the next time. 😊 For dessert, we each had a dish of Cherry Creamy Jell-o and that emptied another fridge container. It was delicious too!

Dessert

Bill washed and I dried the dishes after catching the first Ridge sunset of the spring. I’m sure there will be plenty more and although they won’t match the Arizona sunsets we’ve witnessed all winter, they will be beautiful. This was a great day and we are now home where we belong for at minimum, two weeks.

Good night from the Ridge
We are happy, safe and well.

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Mild Spring Day! Parting = Sweet Sorrow, Home to Canada

CanAm RV Centre, Colonel Talbot Road, London, Ont.

We woke up on Friday, Mar. 20^th and it was very mild. How appropriate for the first day of spring! It was still windy but not near as bad as it was when we went to bed at 10. The overnight temperature didn’t drop below 64F so it was a nice sleep without heat or heavy blankets necessary. The boys wanted to get on the road early again this morning so we washed, Bill had cereal and we packed up.

The sky was just lightening up when we followed Ken
onto I-70E

After a bit of a chit chat with the Wilson’s, we pulled out behind the Journey at 7:15 am. The rain had stopped and the winds were minimal although it sounds like we could get some strong gusts along the way today. We’ll just be mindful of that and do what we need to do. It was 66F/19F. There was a wee fingernail sliver of a moon in the southern sky but I couldn’t see it for long and the clouds covered it up.

It was a ball throw back and forth with the sun and clouds
Batter up!

It was sure nice to drive on dry pavement with a hint of sun in the sky. We’ll take it compared to the rain for sure! We followed Ken on I-70E and just before the hubbub of Indianapolis caught the I-465 bypass. Kim was keeping us informed of the upcoming Exits and we caught 44B back onto I-70E. We didn’t want to go I-69N, instead heading to Dayton, OH.

Once on the other side of the big city, Ken found a Travel Plaza for fuel at 9:30. Bill also took the opportunity at the Flying J to get our propane tank filled. We’ve been talking about that over the last week so now we’ll be good to go for a while. We got fortunate with the weather on this last travel day as we’re not needing to bundle up each time we are in and out of the truck. The big guy is looking down on us. 😊

A few collages today so you can see a bit of what we saw
Solar field
Entering Ohio

Fuel prices are gradually climbing but we expected that. We paid $2.85/gal this morning. We were back on the road just before 10 and travelled on dry pavement to connect back to I70E and then I-75N where we heard of an issue. Hmm, we took our chances and took exit 33B. 

An unfortunate turn of events for someone

The sky opened up and for about 5 minutes we all got dumped on. Then just as things slowed down, the pavement was dry. Weird how that happens.

We stopped at the Piqua Rest Area and regardless of more inconsiderate car drivers, each found a spot. We took care of business and then ate our sandwiches. When we were ready, we walked down to the Journey and said goodbye to our friends. 

Ken and Kim got off I-70E because of road closure warnings on their Garmin
so followed a detour for about 30 minutes before
coming back on to the interstate at Findlay
They had a nice drive regardless and then learned the closure didn't start yet

We’ve had a really good time traveling with them these last winter months and getting to know them better. We will be making a stop for fuel and making a pick up at Bluewater Shipping in Port Huron before crossing the border and they don’t need to do either one. ☹ Parting is such sweet sorrow.

                                                          Our last fuel stop was a decent price

We pulled out of the rest area at 11:40. The journey from there was pretty easy going. We stayed on I-75N for quite a while, turning into the Michigan Information Centre Rest Area for a break. Next on our agenda was one last fuel fill up so we took Exit 17 to a Love’s. We are still pleased with the fuel prices, not as low as we were seeing back in OK but still okay at $2.65/gal. That fill up will get us to London.

Detroit airport was close
I love when the jets have to go overhead

The winds have been evident over the last couple of hours but it isn’t interfering with our traveling other than maybe hampering the fuel consumption/mileage. Donna and Gerry were out at the Ridge and it is looking pretty good up the lane. 

My pictures are probably not in order but I am tired so forgive me

The weather has been mild but is cooling down ridiculously so they didn’t get up to see where we park. When we are ready, Rob has offered to check it out for us. As for here, approaching the border (25 miles), it is now a cool 45F/7C.

After the bypass 275 around Detroit
we caught I-94 to Port Huron

We saw a lot of these signs as we approached Port Huron

We drove to Bluewater Shipping in Port Huron to pick up a small parcel that we’d ordered a couple of weeks ago and that was easy peasy. 

We ordered new numbers for our Suite door lock

The bridge to Canada

Yay! Thank you!

From there to the Bridge to Canada, paid the $9 toll and drove right up to the customs booth. They were all empty, 1^st time ever! We were asked 4 questions and out of there within seconds. Literally. The cute young guard handed us an info sheet on the Covid-19 virus regarding quarantine etc. We were ‘home’!

Four teminals open and we drove right up to the booth
Never, ever seen it like this before

 There ensued a lot of texts, more than usual because of the concerns, and once family and our closest friends were notified, we relaxed and drove to London.  Kim and Ken weren’t far behind us and should be arriving at their home within 30 minutes to an hour of our arrival at CanAm. We have to be quarantined so cannot get the Suite worked on until after that. Things right now are a bit up in the air and we’ve had some nice suggestions and some generous offers so will keep you informed.

O Canada! Glorious and Free!
and some blue sky showing to welcome us

Thanks for all the support. I’m not keeping this post going any longer, the evening will be short as we are tired. We’ve been on the road for 10 hours. It is windy, very cold (30F/-1C) but we are happy to be home. 😊 

Thanks for stopping by. Yay Canada! I'll update in tomorrow's post about our arrival at CanAm.