Sept 18th & 19th, Sun & Mon 2011 Ont Trip

Up at 7:15, packed, picked two bags of crabapples from the McKee's tree and hit the road. Beautiful Sunday morning, crisp, a little traffic - just beautiful scenery of mountains, the river, farms. We saw more motorhomes today than on our whole trip. Had a phone call from Judy saying that Vicki and LP had a baby girl and everyone is fine. We arrived at Bernie's Mom's at 4 and Rosemary and Brian arrived with supper. What a treat.

On the road by 10:30 and home at 4:30. We stopped in Fredericton to have lunch with Billy before he left for Guelph for 6 weeks. Beautiful day so we had lunch outside at the Lunar Pub.
Last stop at the Green Pig Market in Salisbury to pick up Mustard Pickles for Bernie.

Great trip but great to be home

Sept 16th & 17, Fri & Sat 2011

Had a good day trip to Deb and Greg's - did the scenic route after we drove thru Montreal. A lot of dairy farms, silos and field after field of corn and beans. Their driveway had dried up in the 2 weeks and much easier to navigate. Deb had taught all week so we did appetizers, home grown McKee hamburgs and a cold beer. Lazy night.

Saturday we hit the big city and had lunch with Steph and Nat at one of Steph's local hangouts - an "English Pub". Then off to a STFX - Concordia football game where we watched STFX lose big time. The one happy time of the game was seeing Donnie Davis (UNB mate) who we had not seen in over 30 years. Wow ! Beautiful sunny, warm day so we decided to take in a bit of old Montreal and grab a bite to eat. Oh those nachos with cranberry salsa. Yummy, yummy.
Back to Meizner Road for a quiet evening and night cap. Great to see the Mckees

Sept 15th, Thursday 2011

The rain has stopped and the sun came out. Beautiful fall day - crisp and bright. While eating breakfast with Laird and Elise some wild turkeys walked by, deer in the field, black squirrels running about and a chipmunk chattering away. Perfect scenery. Said our goodbyes and headed to Ottawa where we managed to get right downtown but couldn't find a parking lot. Pulled into a community center on Dalhousie St to get some info on where we could park. They were nice enough to let us stay in their lot. And then we walked and walked. Checked out the Cathedral (a Mass just ending ) and what a huge church and the decor was unbelievable. Saw the Art Gallery (will visit again when we have more time), War Memorial, lunch at the Fairmont (enjoyed all the old photographs), Parliament Hill (only a tour of the Tower and Memorial Room as their was a Head of State visit so all tours were cancelled), the grounds, the War Memorial, Rideau Canal, the Market (picked up items for supper), and a cold beer at an Irish Pub. A very interesting day and we will be back. A lot of languages being spoken, tourists from all countries, fun time people watching and buses everywhere. Have never seen so many buses in one city. After a while we managed to make our way out of the city (they have different routes for trucks) and along the #174 east towards Alfred where we pulled into a campground for the night. Barbecued steak, corn, potatoes and a glass of wine. We did have the furnace on as the temp has dropped

Sept 14th, Wednesday 2011

This morning Bert gave us a quick tour of Aurora and Newmarket. A lot of country, farms, beautiful homes and new condos everywhere. New townhouses everywhere. New houses everywhere. Toronto a nice place to visit but we are glad we are on a country road in the Maritimes. Took off in the rig again and headed east on the secondary roads towards Port Perry where we spent time walking the streets and visiting the shops. Back on the road and headed to Godfrey, an hour west of Brockville. Beautiful drive but the landscape is changing. A lot drier and a lot rockier and more lakes. We found our way to Laird and Elise Weagant's farm house on a lake. They have a beautiful spot on 240 acres - lake with lots of frontage, woods, beaver pond which we saw when we toured with their RTV. Would have been a long walk. We haven't seen them in years and they came to visit NS the same week we were heading to Ont to visit. What are the odds of that. Did manage to have lunch with them in Halifax (after Mike and Alana's wedding ) and then spend the night with them in Ont. Had a delicious barbecue and caught up on news from the last few years. Off to bed with the rain putting us to sleep.

Sept 13th, Tuesday 2011

Up earlier this morning and have recovered from the wedding ! Said our goodbyes to Les (Mom and I will see her the end of Oct on the way back from Scotland) and took the QEW to Hamilton and then the secondary roads north towards Barrie. Made a couple of stops at Dealers (Bryan's and Stewart's) to chat and discuss business. We did stop at one Quilt shop near Georgetown so I could get my fix also ! Saw some great farms, homes and a few dirt roads (trying to get to the quilt shop on the 9th Line). Beautiful drive thru Erin, Morrison, Belfountain, Bolton and ended up in Aurora at Bert and Karen Pendergasts. After supper we hopped in the car and dropped in on Steve and Denyse in Markham. An added bonus as we did not expect to see them again this week. Traffic, traffic, traffic. Bernie has been doing well as we have not yet been in any tough spots with the RV.

Sept 12th, Monday 2011

Slept in till 9:15 ! Couldn"t believe it. Bernie was up quite a bit thru the night with his arm as it is quite swollen and itchy. Leslie had waffles all made and we had another enjoyable meal on the back patio. Dennis took Bernie off to a walk in clinic and Les and I visited the Quilting Bee store. Fun, fun. Picked up a Jelly Roll and borders for a Mystery Quilt class Mom and I are taking at the Fiber Festival in Amherst in Oct. Bernie is going to be fine according to the Doctor - could take 5 days for swelling to go down and he has to keep ice on his arm. We are calling him Popeye. Spent the afternoon touring wineries (Staff, Henry of Pelham, Hernder ) around the Jordan area with Les and Dennis. Fun to see all the vineyards and orchards. Dinner at the local tavern and then Dennis headed back to TO. We spent the evening with Les at Jordan.

Sept 11, Sunday 2011

Oh that night was so short. To bed at 2am and up at 7:30am to pack up and attend a post wedding breakfast at the Inn. All the families and a few friends met to have breakfast, chat about the night before and help remove decorations, etc. For some reason the bridesmaids and groomsmen did not make the breakfast ! Late to bed, late to rise. Annie and Chris enjoyed the breakfast and then they were off to New York for a few days of relaxation. We left, cruised down the QEW and arrived at Les and Dennis's in Jordan by noon. Bernie helped Dennis take off the honey from the hives (the boards filled with honey) and place it in the honey room. They were all masked and suited up for the procedure and no stings. But when Dennis was barbecuing Bernie was stung on the arm by something (bee, wasp or spider). Very itchy and swollen. Looks like Popeye. We had a delicious dinner on their back patio after a thunderstorm rolled thru. The property is surrounded by vineyards and this time of year the "guns" are going off to scare the birds away. It was an early night.

Sept 10th, Saturday 2011

Woke up to a glorious, sunny day - beautiful temp and slight breeze. The hairdresser had arrived at 8am to work on all the girls while we enjoyed breakfast. Off to the mall to find a pair of sneakers but came to the realization that I will wait and buy them at home (more selection). By 4pm we were all dressed and sitting on the patio of the Inn watching all the guests and wedding party arrive. Beautiful spot for a wedding in an old Inn, lovely grounds, patios and perfect weather. The ceremony was outside on a deck, cocktails on the patio and hallway, dinner in a sunken dining room with cathedral ceiling and stained glass window, dance in another room with sitting are on patio and near dance floor. Met lots of Denyse and Steve's friends and Annie and Chris's friends. Speeches were spaced thru out the meal and it was quite entertaining. Steve, Chris's father Bill and Annie and Chris did a fantastic job with their speeches. A lot of laughs. And of course Bernie's blessing was perfect. Billy's influence must be rubbing off on him ! Had a great time wearing my "new fasinator" and even loaned it to Jamie (maid of honour) during the dance. Bernie and I both reminded Chris that now he would have a bed to sleep in at the camp (Denyse's comment years ago " You can have a bed when you marry my daughter") Exited the wedding at 1:30am. Great night.

Sept 9th, Friday 2011

Woke up to sunshine, warm temps, birds singing, coffee by the water. What a day. Bernie washed the RV while I tidied up inside and we were on the road by 10:30. Cruised along the #2 until Port Hood where we picked up the 401. Traffic not bad. Exited at leslie St and spend a couple of hours roaming around Ikea and picking up some bolts for the bed. May have bought a couple of things!! Back on the road and arrived at the Hampton Inn in Mississauga around 4pm. Steve and Denyse arrived shortly afterwards and came to our room for a cold one. And then Annie arrived with her bridesmaids (Jamie, Andrea, Erin, Zoo, Robyn ). Then Steve's family arrived (his Mom - Ruth, Nancy, Mike, Beatrice, Natalie, Kerrin, cousins Rod and Su). The room was full with lots of chatter and laughing. Had a great time. Even did take out from Swiss Chalet with Steve and Denyse. Everything going well and everybody happy.

Sept 8th, Thursday 2011

Slept all night with a marsh full of frogs singing us to sleep. Slept in and on the road by 10:30. We spent the day driving the roads of Prince Edward County stopping at art studios, a cheese store, craft and gift stores,( in Wellington and Bloomfield ) wineries and a fascinating store where I bought a "fasinator"(sp?) for the wedding in Scotland. Maybe I'll wear it to Annie and Chris's wedding ! There are a lot of farms, acres and acres of corn fields, vineyards and it is not as populated as we thought it would be. We found a great campground near Carrying Place outside of Trenton. It is called North Shore camp ground and we are right on the water. Brie cheese, corn on the cob, potatoes, pork chops, donuts, wine. Perfect sunset and evening.

Sept 7th, Wednesday 2011

Had a great sleep, morning coffee and breakfast, Bernie washed the RV. Nice relaxing morning. We drove a few kms down the road to Gananoque where we picked up the ship to cruise the 1000 Islands for a couple of hours. We bundled up to be warm and dry as the temp was 16 degrees, cloudy and some rain. Even though it was foggy and dreary we enjoyed the tour around the Islands with their small, med or huge homes on small, med or huge islands. Some of the boat houses were larger then the homes. To be classified as an Island there has to be 2 trees growing and a area of a 2 square meters. You have to have 2 acres to build a home. 2/3 rds of the islands are in Canadian waters but the acreage between the US and Canada are equal. We sailed around Boldt Island which was very impressive and the boat house was even more impressive to Bernie.(note picture) After the tour we drove west on the #2 and then the #33 towards Prince Edward County.A lot of farms and orchards along the way. Caught the Glenora Ferry (highest rig they ever had on the ferry) and toured along the #33 and #12 to SandBanks Provincial Park. Beautiful big park and campground. Had a walk and then Bernie, as always, did a great job on the pork chops and vegs. Sure glad we brought our long pants and sweaters (as you can see from me being bundled up)

Sept 6th, Tuesday 2011

Woke to a dreary, misty day but soon burned off while cruising thru Montreal on the #10 and then the #20. Traffic not too bad and we soon were off the #20 and onto the #2 running from Cornwall towards Kingston along the St. Lawrence River. Took our time and took in the sights. Stopped at Upper Canada Village and had a good walk around the village. Very deserted, buildings were not open but it was interesting peeking in windows and reading info on the buildings. We had lunch at a park along the river (100's of Canada geese were nearby on their way south). Camping at a KOA outside of Ivy Lea - barbecue, glass of wine, beautiful cloud formation in the sky. Life is good.

Sept 5th, Monday 2011

Had a wonderful sleep in the Rv with the sound of the rain bouncing off the roof. And woke up to it and had it pouring all day while driving. Lots of Labour Day traffic to go with the rain. We drove to Deb and Greg McKee's on the Meizner Road in Bolton Quest (the GPS says they don't exist) which is near Granby but away in the country on a gravel road. Had a wonderful evening and a delicious meal with D and G. and another good sleep in the RV with the rain bouncing off the roof. Talked to Greg today - he spent the day at the cottage with Derek and Katja (who cut her foot on the beach but is OK)

Sept 4th, 2011 Trip to Ontario

We are on the road again heading west, 1 km at a time. Only took us 7 1/2 hrs to reach Grammie Jeanne's. We stopped in Salisbury for a Tims, Fredericton to join Rosemary, Brian and Courtney for Mass with Billy, lunch at the Lunar Rogue and then on the road to Johnville. It will be a long trip to Ont going this pace! Visit from Andy's, Leigh's and Angie's crew at Grammie's house. Great to see everyone. It has been a warm day (27) with a thunder shower.