Time in Ottawa was brief, but good. It was nice to hang out with the kitties, and to see Mom, Sis, Colleen and Connor. After a few more health checks we loaded our life back up in our little red car, and headed north and then west.
The drive through Ontario is always the longest, but stunningly beautiful in places. And we’ve done this so often now that we’re starting to develop regular stops. The first was North Bay, with the requisite pub visit. Then in Wawa when we woke up to the requisite snow (sans snow tires, of course):
This whole trip west happened way too fast this season. Our wonderful house owners in Penticton wanted to leave earlier this year, which means we had to be there early as well. Sadly, this also means we had little time to stop and visit with our many friends along the way.
Cathie and Joe in Selim (Rossport) are dear friends whom we love spending time with. But sadly we had to keep our visit to a few hours this time. And even Thunder Bay was reduced to a couple of nights. Still, we managed some great time with Paul, Julie & Coralie along with Tony and Maryann. Paul, who is recently retired, has discovered the joys of 3D printing. While we were there he printed a new visor clip for our car, and helped us with our tire change through the loan of some equipment.
Of course, a visit to Thunder Bay would not be complete without spending time with Ben & Sherilyn’s growing family. Olivia is my favourite Olivia ever! And now I have a favourite new Molly.
There are so many other people we would have loved to see, but time was too short, so with snow tires now installed, on we pressed. First stop: Kenora. Then on to the lovely and ever-stimulating Prairies 🙁 .
Thank g-d for trains:
We spent one night in Moose Jaw at a motel we’ve now stayed at a few times before. Decent rooms and cheap rates; that’s our ambition. It even has a nearby restaurant full of family nuts 😉 .
We pulled into Calgary and moved into one of our growing ‘homes away from home,’ staying with Donna & Sam. The following day D&S hosted a late Thanksgiving meal, which brought out the whole Phillips clan, including even Tasha who flew in from Toronto just to see us (at least, that’s what I choose to believe 😉 ).
During the few days in Calgary we helped Peggy out a little with her house, patching a drop-ceiling tile. We ate well at home, and at a fancy french restaurant (thanks to S&D), and we got to see Donna’s new office digs … pretty snazzy!
But the highlight — at least for Ann, was learning to play ping pong, or as the snooty-snoots call it: Table Tennis.
The time passed all too quickly, and we had to hit the road once again, making our final push to our winter home in Penticton. This is our third winter here at our Penticton house-sit, so it really does feel a bit like a second (or third, or fourth…) home now.
Unlike previous seasons, the drive through the mountains was uneventful and easy. We arrived in plenty of time, and got to spend a whole day with house owners Leslie & Dave. It’s always nice to see them, and to catch up on their adventures. But mostly it was great to see our little grumpy Maxi is still doing well:
It’s been a week now, and we’re both settling into our Okanagan life. I’ve joined a local “senior’s” choir (senior is anyone over 50) … two actually. Ann is busy swimming. And we’ve both decided to take up learning the ukulele. We’ve even bought our own.
… did I mention the ukulele lessons are being taught through the nearby Senior’s Centre … yes, we’ve joined that too. I guess this means we’re officially Senior Citizens now.
