We are home...and some very sad news...

 

Our Location: 

Summer Spot, Manitoulin Island

Ontario, Canada

Our winter season is over and we have journeyed many miles to arrive back here to this very spot where our Igloo waits for us. We left Cabo, Mexico on Monday, April 27, 2026 arrived back in Toronto, Ontario, Canada after 5 hr flight. We spent two nights in Toronto, rode the Via train to Sudbury on April 29, a taxi ride into town, another over night at a hotel and on April 30 my brother Rick picked us up and returned us to the Island in the waters of Lake Huron. It is wonderful to be home but folks it is cold. Even by Island standards, the spring temps seem to have forgotten they should have arrived by now. 

One of the many colourful sights on our nightly stroll.

A recap of our winter. It was our first full immersion into Mexican culture and for the first 2 weeks I wanted to come home and brave the winter. However we toughed it out and it wasn't long before things started falling into place and we began to enjoy our experiences a great deal more. We picked a winter that was hotter than usual and we did struggle with the high temperatures. My initial research indicated that the temps would be similar to the southwest desert of California we have enjoyed for nearly a decade. However the research proved to be wrong this year and even the locals were commenting about the heat. 

We stopped in here for a drink.

Sits at a little cantina near our AirBnB. 

Our AirBnB was a 2 bed, 1 bath with a nice little kitchen/living room. We have booked it again for this coming fall/winter. We enjoyed the easy access to most things of importance to us, we took a couple of Uber rides but mostly just walked. It was good. We found favourite places to go for certain things and just tried to enjoy the sounds and the people. We ventured out in the cooler evening hours and avoided the hot sun of the day. We met numerous foreigners visiting Mexico, some first timers, some returners, and some that simply never went back home. English is spoken by many and we are learning some Spanish, which reminds me of learning French, very similar in many ways. I can ask a few things, state a few things and while it may not be perfect, it is passable. I understand and read much more than I can articulate but hopefully that will come. I will admit we did not do any tourist things, no tours or rides, etc.  We live in an old quarry, we are surrounded by water as we live on an island and so many of the popular things are water and the Arch related in Cabo and therefore did not interest either of us. We did discuss a couple of tours but neither of us were interested in riding a camel, an atv or a horse. The only thing I truly would have been interested in doing was zip lining, however Riley shook her head and went off to her bedroom when I mentioned it, I took that as a no.  Perhaps next winter, but I won't hold my breathe. 

On the Via train heading for Sudbury, just leaving Union Station, Toronto.

We have touched base with all of our family and have enjoyed our first week back although the heavy frost is quite the contrast to 25c/77F at the same time of morning a few short days ago. A few solar bugs to iron out, a few repairs to the cabin in the form of glass, and all will be back to normal. I'm holding off putting water in the tank for another few days, it is just a bit too cold for that I think. If the daytime temps ever get out of single digits, 10c/50f I will be loading the fresh water tank but for now we will just keep refilling our smaller bottles. I'm sure the tank would be fine but I'm not going to tempt fate. 

Heading to Sudbury, the view out the train window.

There is a haunting beauty here, a land unremembered. 

Riley and I started back to work on Thursday, May 7 at the Buckhorn Motel, South Baymouth, Ontario. If you are travelling to or from the Island and require a place to stay, give them a call, check out their website and get a room. Clean, friendly, ideally located for ferry travel. Anyway, you get the idea, I have faith you can follow the path! Just something to keep in mind.  We have missed the fabulous ladies there, they are absolutely wonderful. Laughter, smiles, a few cusses all make the work easier and faster. We are happy to be once again be back with the Wild Bunch!

The sad news fits here, on Friday, May 8th my dad died. He was at home, where he wanted to be, he simply fell to the floor and was gone.  He was not sick, he had no medical conditions, he was 88 years old. His life was full, he lived a long time longer than he wanted. He missed mom and I guess he decided it was time. Dad was close to all of us, Jan, Rick and I,  he talked to us all maybe not everyday but most days, we all visited as often as time allowed, and while he frustrated us at times, he also made us laugh, he made us know we were appreciated and loved. For those that have spent much time with me you will know the temperature both inside and outside the house was one of the topics we discussed every night I called him, you may find it comforting to know, he put wood in the stove an hour before he passed, and I can say with certainty it was a good one. It has been a rough time for our family since the year began, dad lost a sister in law Sandra, December 27, 2025,  his youngest sister Eileen, February 10, 2026 and another sister in law Margaret, four days later on Feb 14. I will miss him more than I can say.  Perhaps I will do a post at a later date about dad, time will tell I suppose. 

I would like to offer my condolences to the Leeson family in the passing of Nancy. A very cheerful, boisterous, and fabulous lady. 

To the Pearson family in the loss of a brother, father, grandfather Rob.

Rhubarb is starting to grow.

Belated April birthday wishes to Joan (my aunt who isn't), brother Rick, cousin Daisy, nephews Allan and Jesse, and cousin Bob. A happy birthday wish to my youngest grandson Lincoln, he turns 4 on May 12.  

Last years onions are coming back.

I truly have barely turned on the new Bluetti, it wasn't needed for the slide openings and we haven't been home long enough to test the fridge for more than an hour, but for that little test it worked great, and by all indications it will do what I want, which is to run the fridge overnight, with ease. It indicates that it would run the fridge for approximately 20 hours before the Bluetti would power down. It is a huge fridge freezer combination, about 18cu ft.  It will take a while but I will at some point try to post an update. It is very heavy, it takes both Riley and I to move it, I am waiting for cables to hook it to a single solar panel to start, and go from there.

Cold and damp on my way to Dad's for coffee.

A beautiful sunrise right here on the path.

I'm glad all of my lithium batteries are self heating, the temps have been just at the 0c/32f mark every morning and I've not worried at all about them. The best peace of mind for me.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate it.

Until next time.......

Deb