After saying our goodbyes to Carol & Pete and the menagerie of critters we moved our mobile home back to Sam & Donna’s place in Calgary. Our next house sit wasn’t until mid-November, so there was no rush. But we did have a few things to accomplish, including getting the little motorcycles ready for long-term storage. Donna also had Ann doing more admin tasks (stuff Donna hates and Ann loves).
We also got to watch the results of the latest federal election where absolutely nothing changed. Good one Trudeau 🙄. We had to vote by mail again on this one, and it was touch-and-go whether Ann, or rather K. Ann, or is it Kathi Ann, or is it just Kathi…? was going to get to vote. She finally did get a mail-in ballot after much ado.
The days passed quickly, and the warmth of Summer slipped into the chill of Fall. The colours of the west aren’t as varied as Autumn in Ottawa, but they are just as stunning and vibrant. And there’s something about the dry crunch of leaves that lets you know you’re not in damp Ontario (so says Ann). So we enjoyed our time, with walks and swims and the occasional flaming BBQ!
As a way to move three vehicles with only two drivers, I decided to head to the cabin by myself. Naturally, I picked one of the windiest days to do the drive. Good thing I didn’t check the forecast before I left — I’d have never tried it 😧. Happily, I made it and got to spend a few days on my own at Beauvais.
Ann drove down after a few days to pick me up, and then we both headed up to Calgary to help celebrate Donna’s big B-day (89…? I forget 😉). Nique and Phil also came over, and they brought the lovely bottle of champagne that Mom & Kathy had given them for their wedding. We all got to taste it, and raise a toast to the old gal.
And since it was Donna’s special day, almost everyone (including me) let her play with our hair. Don’t ask… it’s a Donna thing.
After the big celebration, Ann and I headed back down to the cabin, this time with the car and her bike. We had the pleasure of hanging out at the cabin once again, before heading over to the Crook farm where Kevin and Barb had once again agreed to store our little bike. It’s always sad to leave them, but we know they’re safe in the barn.
The fun thing is we got to spend the day at the farm, doing a few chores before putting the motorcycles into storage. We picked some potatoes, hung out with some horses, and laughed at Jasper the donkey.
We even got to spend some time with Edna. She’s 95 now, and doing amazingly well. She still lives in her own farm house (with K&B’s assistance), and has hardly changed a bit over the years. Must be that healthy country living.
Assuming the world gets back to something like normal, and we can get back to our boat, we may not see them for years now. Sad, but we know Kevin & Barb, and Jasper & Tiny, and the barn owls, will take good care of them.
After thanking Kevin and Barb, we headed back to the cabin for a few more days of bliss. Donna & Sam came down bearing Thanksgiving meals (thanks!), and Donna and Ann spent time sorting through some old photos.
We soon headed back up to Calgary for our final few days. Eventually we packed our little car, said our goodbyes, and pointed the bow east. The journey was easy and uneventful. We’ve done the drive so many times now that we can do it with eyes shut, which is definitely the way to do it through some of the Prairies 😉.
At Ann’s urging (insistence 😤) we did take a detour off the main highway so we could make another pilgrimage to Rouleau, SK — aka Dog River, the fictional setting of Corner Gas. After that we stuck to the secondary highway through to Winnipeg, which took us to a few new and nice places to stop. We had a lovely lunch stop at this little park in Deleau, MB, and had fun in the ancient playground (didn’t they make these things illegal?):
After a few long days we made it to Thunder Bay, and into the welcoming hands of Paul & Julie. Our wonderful friends of old once again opened their hearts, and their camp, to us wondering vagabonds. Their camp is located south of Thunder Bay. It is right on the shore of Lake Superior, not far from our last land house. It feels very much like home being there.
We spent nearly two weeks at the cabin, and got to spend a fair bit of time with J&P. They are as busy as ever — maybe even more so since Julie just retired (whoa who!!). We helped out where we could, doing some chores around the camp, assisting with some gardening and basement renos, and helping get the boat covered for the winter.
Our other great friends in the area live up past Kakabeka Falls: Ben & Sherilyn, and their oh-so-cute-and-amazing girls, Olivia & Molly. It’s always such a treat to spend time with these sweet people. So, we took an afternoon and just hung out. It was a great time. We even pulled out the ukuleles when we saw that Sherilyn had one, and had an impromptu jam session.
We spent a few more days in Thunder Bay with J&P. Had a few more wonderful meals together, talked about past adventures and future plans, and enjoyed a few more peaceful nights in their cabin by the Big Lake. But eventually the time came to pull up stakes and resume our journey east.
Our next stop wasn’t far down the road. We were heading for our great friends who live in the suburbs of the metropolis of Rossport😉; Selim to be exact. It’s such a joy to spend time with Cathie and Joe. They have such a wonderful life and lifestyle, and they are always so welcoming. Since the start of the pandemic we’ve been keeping our visits here brief and “physically distant,” but with everyone well vaccinated, we were so pleased to accept their offer to stay a few days.
As usual, the days were spent in good conversation, fun stories, great food and drink, with a smattering of small chores thrown in just so we could feel useful. We moved some wood, did a little Apple technical support, but mostly just relaxed in the company of such fine people. Thanks to you both!
After a few wonderful days we said our goodbyes and loaded Little Red so we could continue our slow journey to Ottawa. The drive along Superior’s eastern shore is always stunning, and sometimes adventurous. This time it was only the former.
Ann had managed to pick up a minor cold in Thunder Bay. She was pretty much done with it, but we wanted to make 100% sure before arriving in Ottawa. So we lingered two nights in Sault Ste. Marie, and then another two nights in North Bay, before finally pulling into Kathy & Mom’s place.
The condo was a bit more cramped than usual, thanks to an unwelcome infestation of cockroaches in the building. They’re not much in their condo, but the whole building needed to be fumigated and treated. This meant Kathy and Mom had to pull everything out of all the cupboards and drawers, and keep them out while the chemicals did their thing. They still found room for us, and we still had a great, relaxing time hanging out and doing a few minor tasks (mainly throwing stuff away).
One exciting thing we did while in Ottawa was go to the pub! This was the first time we’d been there since the world fell apart. It was wonderful. Things really hadn’t changed that much, except for some added plexiglass between booths, and the need to show vaccine status. But the food was still good, the atmosphere the same, and the beer was yummy. We even got a few personal greetings from staff who remembered us. It all felt a bit like the show Cheers!
We spent a little over a week in Ottawa before heading off to London to begin our first of four house-sits for this season. The home is an apartment in 100+ year old building. Apparently it was the residence for doctors at the old St. Josephs’s Hospital here in London. Our main task is to keep the master kitty named Sub company and happy. He’s pretty easy.
So much fun to follow your summer!
Great pics . Thanks for the update!
Thanks mom. See you both soon.