We pointed the car east and began our trek towards our new temporary home on the shores of Lake Huron. The drive was mostly uneventful, although we did hit a nasty stretch of white-out blowing snow in the Prairies, and then icy conditions through northern Ontario.
Because of our very tight schedule we blew past Thunder Bay and Rossport. This was hard to do, and pretty sad :sad:. Normally we spend time with all our wonderful friends up there. But time did not allow it. The only consolation is that we expect to have more time in May so we can hang out with everyone :grin:.
We did spend one (expensive!) night in our old home town of Marathon. It felt weird being there. So many good memories are tied up with that place, but most of the people we knew are gone (or we’ve lost contact with). But the town looked pretty much the same, and Pebble Beach is still spectacular.
We arrived at our new temporary home and were warmly greeted by our new hosts: Rosie and Barry. We got moved in, and Barry gave us a quick tour of the surrounds, including a drive through Kincardine. The house is located about 15 minutes outside of town, right on the shores of Lake Huron. The home, the views and the area are spectacular.
The first evening we joined Rosie and Barry for dinner with their neighbour, Jan. We’d agreed to look after her place as well, so we got the tour of her lovely cottage, and had a yummy meal to boot! It was great to meet them all. Barry and Rosie are definitely fun loving people. Really great to be around.
The next day we saw them off and got settled in. The house, and the location, really are wonderful. We had a clear view of the Lake, so get to experience its changing moods. Over our time there we watched it move from calm and clear to churned up and stormy. It was so nice being close to water again.
Shortly into our stay my mom accepted my invitation (and all our encouragements) to come visit for a while. This place really is a little slice of heaven, so I was happy when she said yes. So I hopped in our little car, and headed off to Ottawa. The drive was longer than I normally do, but other than getting through Barrie, it was pretty easy, and I arrived in time for a pub night!
I’d planned to spend an extra night in Ottawa, but a storm was threatening, so Mom and I piled into our little car and headed back the next day. Again, the drive was uneventful, and we only got lost a couple of times 😉 .
We spent the next week and a bit just hanging out, reading, cooking, eating, and generally taking it easy. For our anniversary (32 years — it’s getting serious!) Mom took us out to the Erie Belle. It’s a locally famous Kincardine restaurant that claims to have the Best Fish ‘n Chips. Not ‘in the region’, or ‘in the province’, just “The Best.” I was skeptical, but after tasting them I’m now a believer :razz: . Or maybe it was just the good beer talking 😉 .
Mom spent about 10 days with us, and then I drove her back to Ottawa. Hammi missed her too much 😉 .
The days moved on. We enjoyed the walks, the snow, the bird watching, and of course Ann enjoyed the swimming. Mostly we just loved being in such a beautiful place. It was very much like a holiday.
Sadly though, our time on the beach came to end. But happily we get to move onto another beautiful rural home in the same area. Wendy and Bob are friends of Rosie and Barry, and it just so happened that they needed house sitters at just the right time. They have a wonderful home on its own acreage, with a beautiful copse of trees out back, and a huge front green space that runs along a creek.
But best of all they have Cooper!
