An Island in the Sun

Link to the Actual Blog - Click Here!

Tuesday 30th August (Cont)
Never did find the Fundy Trail.  Thanks to a monumentally stupid start to the journey – heading east instead of west on the highway – for which I take full responsibility.  In an attempt to correct the error our GPS proceeded to send us on various unpaved roads.  This is in spite of being instructed to do no such thing.  When we went on the third (gravel road) over the top of a mountain and it said we had 22km to go we rebelled.  Thanks to some very helpful road works guys we unhitched the Miata and managed to turn the behemoth around and gave up on that particular quest.

The intent had been to stay the night in the campsite in the Fundy National Park (nowhere near the trail) so we headed for that instead and things started to go smoother.

Camping in Fundy Park is not cheap though.  The $32 for the campsite seems reasonable but then you have to pay to be in the park on a per person basis every day you are in it.  Even for old codgers it was $6.80 each.

Wednesday 31st August
The weather is gorgeous, clear skies but not too hot.

After putting the top down on the Miata we drove down the hill to Alma stopping for the view on the way.

The Hopewell Rocks are a big tourist attraction in this area so we took the coast road.

Another payout when we got there, but it is very well organized and they do have a lot of tourists.

You can rent the Kayaks.

 The whole area has these ‘Flowerpot’ rock formations.

 Drove back to picturesque Alma

 & had takeout from place on shoreline, fish & chips for Carol & clams & fries for me.

A second night in the Fundy National Park, our first national park in the RV.

Thursday 1st September
Moving on through the outskirts of Moncton, past Shediac (where we’ll be stopping on the way back) and onto the Confederation Bridge to P.E.I.  Carol has never been to P.E.I. and it’s nearly 40 years since I went, long before the bridge was built.   It’s a long bridge.

Before leaving I Googled boondocking on PEI.  Boondocking is finding a place where you can just park the RV for the night.  I’d found this place in North Rustico, on the wharf there.

Turned out to be a fabulous spot.

 With clean washrooms.

 An outdoor gym (no we didn’t partake.)

 Our own Osprey nest.

With attendant adults.

Between the baby and the adults they never stopped screeching from dawn until dusk.

Oh yes, a wonderful local seafood store.  Fresh haddock ($6.50 a pound – beat that) was our first night’s catch.

Friday 2nd September
Yet another bonus for this fabulous spot is free wi-fi courtesy of Janet Gallant, whoever she is, but thank you Janet.

The weather is wonderful, warm and sunny.

We needed some victuals so we made a trip by car into Charlottetown to the Atlantic Superstore.

Saturday 3rd September
North Rustico is very near to Cavendish Beach, probably the most famous tourist Mecca on PEI.
We headed off with Buddy in the car only to find no dogs allowed on the beach so we returned Buddy to the RV and set out again.

I took a dip and it was only a dip – very cold.  Carol preferred some zzzs

Our local seafood store sells lobster meat already extracted.  Cold with garlic butter – doesn’t get much better.

Sunday 4th September
Carol pointed out that when we’d visited the beach the day before we’d had to pay and the pass extended until noon the next day so she thought we ought to get our money’s worth and take Buddy a walk along the trails in the park.  One of my memories of PEI was that the sands and the rocks are all red.

PEI has become quite famous for its mussels.  And although the North Rustico Harbour walls are lined with lobster boats there was also this strange vessel specifically equipped for harvesting mussels..

Fries from the local take-out and 3lbs of fresh PEI mussels and we had moules et frites for supper.

Monday 5th September
The most easterly campsite in PEI is at Campbell’s Bay.  Since PEI is really not that big we took a trip there.

They have a big pretty much empty beach.

 Here’s a mansion with an ocean view.

Wind’s picking up – the weather is changing.

Tuesday 6th September
We’d decided to stay another day if the weather held but the rain started so we packed up and moved on to the south and Murray River.

 They have some whimsical stuff in the river, this fooled us at first.

Wednesday 7th September
We’d promised ourselves we would have lobster again before we left so we headed back to North Rustico.  Unfortunately, they’d sold all the lobster meat so we had to settle for whole lobsters.  They were even better!
Another benefit of the North Rustico wharf is the free electricity.  Since the sun went away it had cooled down substantially so we plugged in and ran our electrical heater – luxury.

Thursday 8th September
Our last day (and night) before heading back to the mainland and this time we took a campsite on Malpeque Bay, famous for its oysters.

It’s a huge bay that practically cuts PEI in two.  Hard to photograph.

In spite of the forecast the clouds cleared away and the sun beamed down again before a beautiful susnet across the bay.

 

Friday 9th September

Time to leave the island, pay the toll and cross the bridge.

We hadn't gone ten miles from the bridge when a strange noise we'd had the day before re-occurred and this time I found out the inner rear wheel on the passenger side was shedding its tire tread.

So we had an impromptu stop by the side of the road while Good Sam roadside assistance found someone to send and rescue us.  Fortunately, last time we bought a tire we bought two and made sure we had a good spare, so once the guy arrived we were on our way again within half an hour.

That Was the Summer, That Was

Link to the Actual Blog- Click Here!

Monday  11th July
Visited Ira and Ann in their luxurious apartment in the middle of Montreal.

We stayed for supper and watched Perry Mason on “Access TV”.  Access TV is intended for the visually impaired and is just like watching regular TV but with a voiceover describing everything that’s going on – quite bizarre and addictive.

Tuesday  12th July
Some while ago Carol got to go round the Montreal Biodome and I didn’t.  So when a trip to the Biodome with Ken’s brothers and families was suggested we were glad to tag along.
Next to the Olympic stadium,

the Biodome is the old velodrome  from the 1966 Olympics and had been converted into a multi-climate animal and plant habitat.

There are huge beavers,

and monkeys that refuse to look at the camera.

 My  favourite, the otter who wouldn’t stay still for long enough for a sharp photo.

Capybaras,

parrots,

an aquarium with lots of huge sturgeon,

and some kind of flightless bird just wandering around.

Afterwards we took a walk round Old Montreal and the port area.

Wednesday  13th July
Ken and Cheryl had tickets for Eddie Izzard at the Just for Laughs festival  so we took the opportunity for another visit to Ira and Ann

Thursday  14th July
Just hanging out for the day.

Friday  15th July
Got a call that the replacement RV fridge cooling unit had been delivered so it was time to head back to Ontario.

Saturday  16th July
Back at 5th Depot Lake, Sandy and I started work on removing the fridge.  While he and Carol did some shopping in Kingston I managed to lever it out 6” ready for removal.

Sunday  17th July
Sandy and I removed the fridge from its spot and separated the cooling unit (the whole fridge wouldn’t fit through the door) and carried it outside.  Here’s the new one ready for installation.

 That was the back view.  The front looks like this.

And the idea is to stuff that great block of Styrofoam with the embedded tubing into the cavity in the back of the fridge itself.

We had Sandy and Ellen’s very good neighbours Don & Debbie over for supper.

Monday  18th July
We had early morning thunderstorms & heavy rain but it cleared up later and Sandy and I continued working on the fridge, dry fitting the cooling unit several times before finally taking the plunge and siliconing it in place.
After just putting it back in place out of the way we called it a day.

Tuesday  19th July
Things hadn’t gone quite perfectly  with putting the fridge back together, so a little silicon was necessary around the insides.

Wednesday  20th July
Before Sandy went off to play golf we connected the burner and electrical stuff back up and fired up the fridge.

Thursday  21st July
Hmm!  The fridge is working but the temperature range just isn’t right.  Since there is no temperature control per se there’s not much one can do about this.

Friday  22nd July
Time to leave another spot and move on.  Because it is so hot (record temperatures everywhere) we decide to give the fridge (and us) a chance and go to Sandy Mountain Campsite where we can run the RV air conditioning and also run the fridge on electricity to see if that makes it work any better.

Saturday  23rd July
Since the master plan involved towing the Miata (which we had left with Lena and Peter) behind the RV, we needed to go to the farm to swap cars.  When we arrived we found that the same wind storm that blew away a stage at the Ottawa Bluesfest (and also blew down a tree at Richard Hayward’s) had blown down a tree that we had parked the RV under previously – as in this picture.

 The tree now looks like this.

Sunday  24th July
Went over to Colin and Caroline’s and did a bicycle rack swap.

Monday  25th July
After talking to the guys who sold us the replacement fridge cooling unit, I tightened the bolts that pull the parts together – maybe this will help.

Tuesday  26th July
The fridge seems to be working better now; maybe it’s going to be O.K.  Time to leave the campsite and get traveling.  So after gassing up (ouch!) and propaning up we hitched the Miata on to the back of the RV and headed East.

On the way we stopped at Fireball Automotive in the middle of nowhere to get the RV transmission tested.  Nothing seriously wrong, thank goodness, just a sensor misbehaving.
In thunderstorms and rain we drove to Ken and Cheryl’s in Montreal and parked half on their driveway and half on the neighbours’.

Wednesday  27th July
Read up a bit about RV fridges and found that although there isn’t a true temperature control you can make things cooler by moving the temperature sensor further up the fins that it is clipped to.

We went for supper at an Indian restaurant before going to see Paul F Tompkin (very entertaining fella) in the Katacombes as part of the Just for Laughs.  It’s a weird place – here’s an example of the decorations.

Thursday  28th July
Ira and Ann came over to meet Ken and Cheryl and we all had pizza from our favourite Montreal pizza place.

Friday  29th July
Part of the deal with the new cooling unit for the fridge was that we had to return the old unit (they refurbish them and then resell them).  Fedex came very early to take away the old unit, waking us all up!!  And then we prepared the RV for moving on.

By early afternoon we were heading east to Quebec City.
By 5 o’clock we were parked in John and Rejeanne’s driveway in St. Jean Chrysostome.

Saturday  30th July
A day for tidying up the RV.

We had a visit from Rejeanne’s sister’s brother-in-law, Normand, who is a good friend to John and Rejeanne and a great guy.
We had supper outside and sat by the backyard fire for quite a while.

Sunday  31st July
Another day cleaning up while John was at work.  I gave a ride to their next door neighbour, Sylvie, who has always wanted a ride in a convertible.  I even let her drive it which tickled her pink.

We had Rejeanne’s famous tofu veggie pie for supper – just the best.

Later Sylvie, her daughter and Michelle the person she shares the house with came over to sit by the fire.  Another night for me being the only non-French-speaking person in the group.

Monday  1st August
Thunderstorms and heavy rain and yet another RV roof leak – sigh!
We all intended to go to the local seafood place but after the ladies had got all dolled up, we found it closed on Mondays – sigh! Settled for pizza.

Tuesday  2nd August
Got to go to the seafood place.  It was excellent.  They have a very odd pricing arrangement from Tuesday to Thursday (which worked well for us)  In one section of the menu which had rather pricey meals, if you ordered one of them, you got a second meal from the list free!! (Go figure!!)

Wednesday  3rd August
Time to move on.  John had left early for work so after saying goodbye to Rejeanne and spending a couple of hundred bucks on a gas fill-up we were on our way.

We stopped for lunch with a view of the  Lake Témiscouata that we stayed alongside last year.

We stayed in a campsite that night in St. Basile – very near Edmunston.  Apparently it’s rained there every day this summer and although our site looks dry it was pretty damp there – and raining.

Thursday  4th August
On to Carol’s sister’s place in Quispamsis near St. John and time for us to forsake the RV life for a couple of weeks and live in an actual house.

Friday  5th August
After emptying stuff out of the RV, we moved it over to park it in Jean and Tim’s son’s driveway.  Teddy and Kim have lots of land and a huge driveway.

We were invited over for supper but had to break in as the dog had locked Kim and baby Nathan out of the house – don’t ask.

Nathan is nearly two now and is a big lad.

Saturday  6th August
Polish restaurant on the way to Hampton for breakfast.

It was beautiful day so I took a ride in the Miata with the top down round the twisty roads of the Kennebecasis Valley.

Sunday  7th August
A little booze shopping but not much else.

Monday  8th August
Time for a dental visit and have a missing filling redone.   Plus a trip to Lords Seafood in the old City Market for their special smoked salmon. 

Tuesday  9th August
Got to go to the movies - Crazy, Stupid Love.  Well Emma Stone was great.
Carol feels like she’s getting a cold, this is not good.

Wednesday  10th August to Monday 15th August

Carol in the throes of a very nasty cold.

The weather here in late August has lots of foggy days as it rolls in from the Bay of Fundy.  This is how the ferries looked one evening from Jean Tim’s deck.

Tuesday 16th August
Carol’s feeling better so it’s out for a shopping day and a trip to the movies - Capt America in Real 3D.  Not bad for a superhero movie.

Wednesday  17th August to Sunday 21st August

Carol still not feeling 100% so not doing much of anything except for a supper over at Teddy and Kim’s on the Friday.

Monday  22nd August
A trip to the hairdressers for Carol and what’s this, now I’m catching a cold.

Tuesday  23rd August
Day one of cold misery

Wednesday  24th August
Day 2 of cold misery – this really is a doozy

Thursday  25th August
Day 3 of cold misery

Friday  26th August
Finally feeling better so it’s back over to the RV to start getting it ready for a trip

Saturday  27th August
While Carol cleans and tidies, I do various jobs around the RV.

Sunday  28th August
Irene is on its way and the rain has already started.  However, our preparations continue.
Battened down the RV hatches ready for the worst.

Monday  29th August
We woke up to no power.  However, it was very local blackout and when we got to the RV Teddy and Kim had power.

We moved the RV back over to Jean and Tim’s and started loading all our stuff back in again.  Supper was takeout Chinese over at Teddy and Kim’s.

Tuesday 30th August
The original plan for summer was to visit Newfoundland.  RV fridge repaqirs and various other delays put a stop to that.  So we decided to visit another island instead.

The day started foggy but soon cleared to a really nice day and by  1 pm we were on the road in search of the Fundy Trail.

A Karmic Debt Repaid and Back to Our Home and Native (?) Land With Cheese

Link to the Actual Blog
 
Thursday 12th May
Wisconsin is the land of Frank Lloyd Wright and they pay homage to his memory in the most beautiful rest-stop buildings on the planet.

Steve and Kathy give us a warm welcome and we parked the RV next to the behemoth trailer they have bought to load all their worldly goods into.



Friday 13th May
The weather has suddenly changed to cloudy and cool.
Started the trailer loading and moved a stack of boxes aboard before lunch – maybe I went at it a little too vigorously to start.

In the afternoon we moved the freezer, sewing machine and more stuff aboard.  Wow! At this speed we’ll be done in no time.

Went to local watering hole for a fish fry supper.  Cod cheaper than walleye - ?

Saturday 14th MayOn to day two.  An early finish for the day – I seem to be coming down with a cold – not a good time.  Steve soldiers on.

Sunday 15th May
Back to sunny again, but cool.  Another early finish to the day, not feeling so hot.
We had an invite out for supper by a lake at Matt and GiGi’s, two of the many friends of Steve and Kathy.

Monday 16th May
Sunny again but now cold.
While everyone else carried on I took a day off to get over the worst of my cold.

Tuesday 17th May
Another cool and sunny day in northern Wisconsin.
Took it easy in the morning but cut up cedar planks for Steve in the afternoon while he nailed ‘em to their shed.

For days we’d been piling ‘combustible’ things on Steve’s burn pile and finally conditions were right for setting fire to it.

It was quite a blaze, I was afraid we were going to set the entire forest ablaze.

Flames were going up 30 feet.

Wednesday 16th May
Once upon a time Steve and Kathy’s house was ‘off the grid’.  Their obligatory battery storage consisted of eighteen 2V lead-acid cells.  Only thing about each cell is that they are a couple of feet high and weigh 120lbs.
We started moving them from their utility building to trailer.

Thursday 19th May
With some help from Allan Servoss, another friend, we finished moving the batteries and a bunch more stuff with help from all sorts of people who showed up at odd times during the day.

After killing abut a dozen mosquitoes in the bedroom we hit the sack.

Friday 20th May
Still sunny weather and getting warmer.

Did some RV caulking to try and prevent a pesky roof leak.

Started moving stuff from the garage/workshop which was full of serious tools: radial arm saw, table saw, band saw etc. plus shelves and shelves of stuff which Carol had the job of emptying.

Off to the Larrabee Lodge for fish fry supper again.  Tried fried cheese curds – a Wisconsin ‘delicacy’.  Our arteries will never recover.

Even more mosquitoes needed extermination before bed.

Saturday 21st May
Things - like furniture – are disappearing into the trailer fast and it’s starting to fill up.

We watched a movie - 10000BC – hmm!

A thunderstorm in the night & very heavy rain - no leak – woohoo!

Sunday 22nd May
It’s sunny and warm and on we go.

However, we had another invite for supper at Allan and Gail Servoss’s – another lovely place by a lake.
Allan is a talented guitarist but he actually makes a living from his art.  We got a tour of his studio

and found his work quite original and beautiful.

Monday 23rd May
Endlessly more stuff to move but we got another invite out, this time to Noreen and Frank’s.

Carol got to cuddle a chick.

Tuesday 24th May
Did something different.  Moved a dock from the lake to span some swampy bit to make an easy path from a piece of Kathy and Steve’s land to the lake.

Wednesday 25th May
We’re getting close now.  Just Steve’s office left and various odd and ends.

Supper at friends again - Patricia & Martha's

Thursday 26th May
Up early to cram the last few items in before the truck arrives to haul the trailer away.

One last melancholy photo of Steve and Kathy in front of the house they built themselves and brought their daughters up in.

By the end of the morning we were on the road, all in the RV.  We stopped for fuel at the co-op in Bloomer and used as much of Steve and Kathy’s leftover gas credit as we could.

Our destination for the night was Barbara & Ted's.  They have a lovely place much further south in Portage.

 I was curious about what was in the big building next to the house and what their ‘pattern making’ business was. Using large computer-controlled cutting machines they carve up wood and other materials to make molds for packing materials etc.  Seemed like a neat way of making a living to me.

Friday 27th May
In the morning we plowed on further south to Steve’s sister who lives just south of Milwaukee and parked in yet another back yard.

Another warm welcome - we had intended to move on but we were persuaded to stay as it was Memorial Day weekend and the roads would have been filled with holiday travelers.

Saturday 28th May
After a homemade blueberry pancake breakfast – thanks to Kathie (Steve’s sister) we were on our way to brave the drive through Chicago and into Michigan.
We were lucky to get a campsite for the night as it was the with it being the  Memorial Day weekend.  The campsite in Byron Center, Michigan was almost completely full.

Sunday 29th May
It’s time to leave the US and cross the Blue Water Bridge into Sarnia and back to Ontario.  It’s too far to make the drive to Ottawa so we stayed at the Trout Haven campsite in Strathroy that we’d stayed in the previous fall.

Monday 30th May
Along the 402 to London and then the 401 to Kingston.  By the end of the day we’re back in friend Richard Hayward’s driveway and we’re meeting a lady friend, Nancy.

Tuesday 31st May
Breakfast at Royal’s in Richmond – hard to beat.

We decided we hadn’t seen a movie in such a long time so we checked the listings.  Not too much we wanted to see, “Bridesmaids” being the best bet.  However, apart from the now obligatory gross-out part, it was a good movie.

Back at Richard’s we met his actual girlfriend Cheryl.

Wednesday 1st June
Another movie day.  Richard and Cheryl met us for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 in 3-D IMAX.  All I have to say is, I don’t know how many millions they spent on the thing, but couldn’t they have a spared a mill for a really good script.

Thursday 2nd June
Got the Miata out of storage ready for mounting the towbar.

Friday 3rd June
Hanging out at Richard’s during the day and meeting Bob (we used to be partners in a business once upon a time) and Elaine for supper in Carleton Place.

Saturday 4th June
Jessica, the daughter of Ken and Cheryl, our friends in Montreal,  is getting married in July and today’s her shower.  So off we go, leaving the RV behind.

I dropped Carol off at the shower

and then headed over to our other Montreal friends, Nick and Eve. 

After picking Carol up at the end of the shower, we ate at Nick and Eve’s and actually watched a hockey game!!!,  the 2nd game of the Stanley Cup.

Sunday 5th June
After Nick left for Chicago we headed over to Ken and Cheryl’s to help dispose of some of the shower leftovers.

We then watched possibly the worst Nicolas Cage movie ever – Angry Driver.


Monday 6th June
After our traditional Montreal breakfast – lox, scrambled eggs and bagels, we headed back to Ottawa.

Tuesday 7th June
Richard’s wife Sarah donated her body to medical science and Ottawa University has an annual memorial service for those who have done this.  It was very emotional at times when relatives spoke some words.
Our other American friends ,Ira and Ann, whose lifestyle we kinda copied , had sold their RV and descended on us for a few days.


Wednesday 8th June
A visit to our investment councilor in downtown (why do people locate there, in summer it’s a mess with roadworks and other irritations).  That was a depressing experience.
 Over to Kemptville to do some serious laundry and pickup up some clothes more suitable than shorts and t-shirt for the upcoming wedding

Thursday 9th June
With Ira’s supervision I installed the Miata towbar.  Surprisingly easy to do.

Friday 10th June
Awning installation day.  This is a small one to allow us to keep a window open on rainy days.

Saturday 11th June
Ira and Ann left for their summer in a Montreal  apartment.

Sunday 12th June
Richard had won a couple of on-line auctions to benefit the musical arts and had already had had one concert in his house and today was the second.

In the afternoon we were treated to Stefan? Lemelin playing Beethoven, Schuman and Ravel.

Monday 13th June
Hanging out in Prospect.

Tuesday 14th June
Lunch with Bob and Harry (also an ex-partner and our accountant)

Wednesday 15th June
Suddenly came to the realization that the Miata registration had expired so while Carol went off for a doctor’s appointment , I took it for an emissions test (it passed – whew!  ‘Cos last time it didn’t first time) and got it registered.


After readying the RV for travel we head off to Merrickville and a lovely little campsite by the river/canal.

Thursday 16th June
We got to talk to our next door neighbours in the campsite, Colin and Caroline Abbott and got invited to their place for Sunday lunch.

Drove to Lena & Peter's place near Smiths Falls, the horsey people who we always love to stay with.

Friday 17th June
Started installation of the backup camera I bought in the US. So I can see the Miata when we’re towing it.
In the afternoon we drove the Miata to Harry and Barbara’s to take our taxes and play cards which we did ‘til midnight.

Saturday 18th June
Did some lawn mowing on a riding mower – hey, this is fun.
Lena and Peter had organized a backyard BBQ for the afternoon with her son Ryan, his girlfriend Laura, their friends Randy and Judy.

All food was excellent.

Sunday 19th June
Drove to Chesterville, Ontario, home of Colin and Caroline, the people we’d met in the Merrickville campsite for a lovely lunch and afternoon in the middle of nowhere. 

Colin has some very old cars.



Monday 20th June
Trip into Smiths Falls to get more towing bits from Canadian Tire.

Tuesday 21st June
Today we have an invite for a poolside afternoon and supper at Richard and Felicity’s in Kanata.
A lovely cooling swim – it’s hot.  Lots of catching up to do over a terrific meal.

Wednesday 22nd June
Carol had lunch with friends  while I drove around Ottawa doing various errands.

Thursday 23rd June
The weather has turned bad, heavy rain and thunderstorms. Carol is off visiting friends and I drove the RV with the Miata in tow (all went well) over to one of our good RV spots, the Robert Guertin (or Hull) Arena where one can park for free and there’s water and a dump station.

Friday 24th June
The rain is heavy and continuous and the RV has sprung a serious leak.

Saturday 25th June
The rain has abated a little but the RV is still leaking badly – damn, I thought I had this licked.

Sunday 26th June
Hanging out in the arena parking lot – lots of activity.

Monday 27th June
Things to do in Ottawa and caulking to buy.  Repairs effected, hope I’ve got it this time or at least for now.

Tuesday 28th June
Time to move on to our storage in Kemptville.  Another thunderstorm and heavy rain but no leak.  However, the RV transmission started acting up again while driving through Ottawa rush hour traffic.

Wednesday 29th June
This was a serious driving day.  First to Carleton Place to drop Carol off at the haridresser's, then to Kanata for lunch with Richard W, then back to Kemptville to pick up Buddy from the RV.  Then to Carleton Place to pickup Carol.  Then to Kanata for a dentist appointment and finally to Barrhaven for supper before the final drive back to the RV in Kemptville.    Crazy!  One would think.

Thursday 30th June
Dropped off the Miata at Lena and Peter’s and drove west through Perth and on to Fifth Depot Lake where Sandy and Ellen live.

There's progress in their construction.  They've moved out of the cottage and sort of moved into the 'house' but it's a work in progress.

Friday 1st July
It’s Canada Day and Richard and Cheryl come over for the day. 

We had lovely day and even went for a swim in the lake.

Later in the day our fridge alarm in the RV went off – not good.  It doesn’t appear to be cooling.
So we turned it off for while and then restarted before we went to bed.

Saturday 2nd July
The fridge appears to be OK again ???
Took a trip into Kingston with Sandy for some man shopping.

Sunday 3rd July
Thunderstorm and heavy rain during the night but no leaks.
Carol did some RV cleaning while I did some things one needs the generator running for. There’s not a lot of power available here because Sandy and Ellen are very much ‘off the grid’.

Their power comes from these puppies (over a kWatt).

They feed these humungous batteries.

Our fridge conked out again.  This really is not good.

Monday 4th July
Ran the generator again to try the fridge with that and tapped the fridge coils – seems to be working again.
Sandy found these guys in New Brunswick on the net that provide replacement RV fridge cooling units.
I decide we need a car so Sandy drove me to Richard’s to pick up the Subaru which he (hopefully) doesn’t need now he’s got rid of the really very unreliable mini and bought a brand new car).

The a.c. compressor had gone so I just cut the belt – who needs to be cool?

Tuesday 5th July
Broke down and ordered the replacement fridge cooling unit to be delivered here – this is messing up our plans more than a little.

When we’ve been here before, the deer flies seemed confined to the woods and the road in but this year they’re everywhere.  Protection is required when walking Buddy.

Wednesday 6th July
We’d booked the RV in to have the transmission fluid replaced in an attempt to fix the intermittent transmission problem.  So we drove it to Vaughan’s (a popular local auto repair spot) and also took the opportunity to visit a dump station and get water – another scarce commodity  at Sandy and Ellen’s.
However, on the way back the transmission did its strange thing again – sigh!  I guess this is the year of the repair.

Thursday 7th July
The long drive into Ottawa for a memory test for Carol – apparently there’s nothing wrong with her memory, in fact it’s really very good – who woulda thunk it?  (:-)

Friday 8th July
Sandy headed off to Toronto for work and we’re left to mind the fort.



Saturday 9th July
It's great day for a wedding.  So with Buddy in a packed Subaru we headed off for Montreal.

We arrived at the Ken and Cheryl's (the brides parents) as everyone was getting ready for the big event.

The bride's mother was understandably nervous.

The brides father looks on as the photographer does their thing.

The groom's parents relaxed in the conservatory.

The bride and groom were ready.

 

 On to the wedding.  It's a sign of the times when the wedding officiator is reading from his iPad.

It was a great party with good food, free wine and beer and endless (loud) music that went on until 2 in the morning. 

Sunday 10th July
The morning after and lots of us went to Eggs-Frutti for brunch.

The bride and groom the day after.

Carol still tucking in.