July 21st, Sunday

8 weeks ago today we left for our trip across Canada - 17500+ kms later we are arriving home. Fantastic trip and what a country - beautiful to see. We ended our trip with a visit with Derek and Katja. Mom, Dad and soon to be little boy are doing great ! Delicious supper and then on the road to cross the border into Nova Scotia and back home. Feels good to be home. Thanks for enjoying our trip across Canada with us. It was fun to know you were along.

July 20th, Saturday

Almost there ! Last big day of driving - thru Quebec ahead of all the rain and thunder storms. We were lucky on this trip with no real bad weather to give us a problem. We stopped in Grand Falls to have a picnic lunch and see the Falls. Not much rain lately so the water was not flowing.

Between Bath and Perth Andover we saw a huge number of bikers on their annual Toy Run for the local hospitals.

Arrived in Bath at 2:30pm and spent the afternoon and night with Grammie Jeanne. The air has cooled so it was quite pleasant sleeping without the AC on.

July 19th, Friday

Had a great time last night. We went to dinner with Laird, Elise, and their daughter, Christy and her husband Shawn at Mr. B'z, a small local restaurant in Ottawa. Food was delicious. The play was held at the Ottawa little Theatre (101 years old) and was called "Noises Off". A farce about the behind-the-scenes of a play. Quite entertaining. They gave us a quick tour of downtown Ottawa and then delivered us back to our campsite. This morning our UNB friend "Doc" picked us up and we met his wife, Linda at a local restaurant for a 2 hour brunch. Have not seen them for 3-4 years so it was fun to catch up on their news. Pulled out of Ottawa just before noon and headed east on the 17, 50, 158, 40 and then the 20 ending up in Montmagny for the night. Everything is green, roads are busy, rained on and off, and traffic heavy around Quebec City.

Bernie managed to get the barbecuing done even with a downpour and lightening. Our last barbecue before we arrive home.

July 18th, Thursday

Heavy showers and thunderstorm during night but didn't seem to cool off the air any. We drove to Ottawa today with a stop at Petawawa to tour the Military Museum on the Base. Another little peek into our Canadian history.

Spending the evening with Kubota Dealer friends, Laird and Elize Weagants at a comedy dinner show in Ottawa. It will be great to see them.

July 17th, Wednesday

Another day closer to home. We had a delicious dinner out last night at the Docks restaurant on the waterfront at Sault Ste Marie, a stroll along the waterfront and then a time relaxing in the lawn chairs at the campground.

My new friends - the bears and two little girls. Today was a trip along the #17 towards North Bay. As we travelled along with the sun shining and 35+ degrees Bernie asked if I recognized anything. I said no because the sun was shining :-). A few minutes later it started to rain heavy and it changed everything. We recognized the rocks and trees ! We stopped in North Bay at the Dionne Quints museum just as a heavy wind storm and rain arrived. So much dust and dirt was flying you could hardly see across the parking lot. The museum and their original house was very interesting but oh what a life they lived. Exploited by the government and so many people. I can remember Mom and Grammie talking about the Quints when I was a kid.

We stopped at one campground but they had no power because of the storm so we went another 60kms and found one on the Ottawa River at Stonecliff. Barbecue again and a great night for sitting outside. Along the way we saw a Mennonite couple cruising down the highway today

July 16th, Tuesday

Not a very exciting day on the tourist end. We headed along the coast of Lake Michigan towards Sault Ste Marie and the border. This area looks like it has been hit hard by the recession - motels closed, restaurants closed, businesses closed. All woods except for a bit along the shore where there is sandy beaches and a view of the lake. We stopped at a park site and had a gourmet peanut butter sandwich and chips on the beach.

Soaked our feet in the bath warm water and enjoyed the sun and view. Crossed the border at 2:30 with no problems and glad to be back on Canadian soil. Spending the night at a KOA campground in the Soo and plan on dinner at The Docks downtown. Feels and sounds like a thunderstorm rolling in.

July 15th, Monday

Closer and closer to home ! Woke to the crowing of a rooster and the sun shining on us at the campground in Irvington. Perfect ! Headed east again through the State of Wisconsin where most of the country roads are marked by letters and not names. First time we have ever seen this way of identifying roads.

We have dropped to 390m of elevation, straight roads with no mountains, fields of corn and then changed to trees and woods. Just like the Maritimes. We drove along the #8 (north of the major highway #94) thru small towns with well kept properties and small businesses. All the towns were marked with a sign of the town and population even if it was only 93 people. Kind of neat. Met dozens of motorhomes and 5th wheels returning from a Music Fest in Rhineland. (info gathered at a lunch break at a picnic site). Areas along #8 would be defined as a bible belt area by the number of churches in the towns.

We saw a log church, dozens of antique stores, western facades on shops, little traffic, and not many places to get a coffee. Bernie's only complaint of the day. On crossing the Wisconsin - Michigan border we lost another hour and now into Eastern time. One of our laugh out loud moments today was coming to a "steep hill" sign and it was 1/100th of the size we went thru in the last couple of weeks. The second was following a DOT truck putting pylons on the road. It was a hoot because every 6th or 7th would go flying. Things are getting simple :-)

And then we found a great campground in Escanaba, chilled out with a frosty and ended with a steak barbecue