We're finally home.....

Our Location: Summer Home, Tehkummah, Ontario

A few very cold, wet and dreary days at Buttercup Ridge, but also one really nice day that helped to dry up some of the water, and the constant wind also helped with that but still soggy and muddy. We had to re-level once and would have had to so again if we stayed longer. We didn’t do much over the last remaining days but managed to do a few little errands.  

Toronto sky line, circle K (who knew we had 'em in Canada), and getting closer to C & M's.

We had one remaining goal while at Buttercup Ridge and that was a trek into Toronto to visit oldest daughter Courtney and her hubby Matt. They live on the east side of downtown which meant we didn’t have to go all the way through the city. Toronto like any other major city is just busy all the time. Except for the DVP (Don Valley Parkway) the traffic flowed relatively well with only a few slow downs, so we were fortunate. The DVP was stop and go the entire way, lucky we weren't going too far. We spent a few hours visiting C & M, catching up and just enjoying their company. It’s always wonderful to see my girls and their other halves but they lead very busy lives and so we keep our visits short.

Courtney & hubby Matt. Courtney, Riley and Matt.

We decided we’d pull out on Monday, April 29 and head north due to the incoming bad weather. We decided it’s better to be high and dry in our summer location even if it’s a few degrees cooler, it’s only for a couple of days. So with that in mind we pulled out of Buttercup Ridge around 8 am  on a bright and sunny Monday morning. 

 

Some sights along the way.

A leisurely drive along ON 7 to ON 12 North brought us to the small town of Orilla, and from there we hopped on ON 400 North bound for the rest of the day. A stop in Parry Sound due to yet another issue with the rear tire on the Igloo had us at Seguin Automotive Repair at Exit 214. Darcy and Dave both agreed it was a wheel bearing issue. I watched as Dave pulled it apart and made note that the wheel bearing was loose but otherwise in perfect condition. Now how could that be? Both sides had the same issue but only wear on one tire. Hmmm…. I think there may be another issue but I’ll have that dealt with in the fall on our way south again. I know the perfect place in Hamilton to have it looked at. So Dave reset and tightened the wheel bearings on both rear wheels, replaced a tire and checked everything else. They could find no other issues. We only went a few minutes down the road and pulled in at a Walmart. We called it quits for the day. It was now mid afternoon. 

 

Strawberry Channel (top L), Hwy 6 S (top R), Hwy 400N (bottom L), Hwy 69 N (bottom R)

Morning found us up and on the road by 8 AM with a mostly sunny sky above and the decision to bypass our regular stop in Lively to visit friends Randy & Linda. We instead opted to go all the way through to our home spot, we'll be visiting with Randy & Linda on Sunday at their camp on the island. A stop in Espanola for fuel, a dump station and a few groceries would be the last stop until we were parked in our spot. 

A single turbine blade for a wind turbine. I think I heard they are 90 feet long.

At 2 pm Riley was opening the gates to let us on to the farm and by 3 pm we were up the big hill, turned around (which is always a bit of an adventure) and with the basic set up complete. Not a bad amount of time for us. We pulled on our shoes and headed up to see Dad for a quick visit. He was surprised to see us, he hadn’t been home when we came by and so didn’t know we had arrived. 

Top - along ON 12 N heading toward Orilla. 2nd-snow/ice on ON 400N, 3rd-water in the farm fields Hwy 17 E. 4th one of the many little inland lakes with ice along Hwy 6 S.

Back home for a light snack, a bit of reading and around 7 pm we climbed into the Dogsled to drop in for a visit with my brother Rick and his lovely wife Barb. Son Jason wasn’t there at the time but is around for another day.

So there you have it, our last few days. We have now arrived home and over the next week will set up our Igloo for the summer and begin enjoying our time with more family.  

 

Top Left- town of Espanola. Bottom- crossing the river into Espanola, Top R, snow in the bush along the way.

A belated Happy Birthday to two nephews, Allan and Jesse. Allan was 35 way back on April 21, and Jesse turned 23 on April 28. Allan is my sister's only son, and Jesse is my brother’s youngest son.  Jesse and girlfriend Claudia just bought their first house and moved in 2 weeks ago. So a congratulations to them on that as well.
 

Crossing the swing bridge onto the Island. The North Channel which flows under the bridge above.

Thanks for stopping by, I’ll do one more update before I stop blogging for the summer months. I just don’t seem to have the time to do a blog while we’re here. As I type this it is raining, today and tomorrow will be rain events on both days but after that the good weather starts and we are looking forward to it.

Until next time… take care, be safe,

Deb

A bit stressful, some rain, some sun, some heat.....

Our Location: Walmart Side Parking Lot, North Bay, Ontario

A pretty sleepless night for all of us, the air was so humid it was almost impossible to sleep. We all were up and moving around by 6 am, and into the store around 7:30 am for a couple of little forgotten items. 

Small towns along the way. Sorry for the mirror. 

A very rainy kind of day.

Rain threatened, rain fell, rain pittered, pattered and finally blew in and out again and again. We left Sudbury around 9 am and only had a short drive but managed to take our time and pulled into the Walmart on Fischer Road in North Bay around 11:30 am. It was at this point things started going a bit side ways. We noticed water coming from the bottom of the Igloo.  I called a couple of places and settled on Northern RV 2850 Hwy 11 N, North Bay, a very short distance away, and we could get right in to be looked at. 

Rain, mist and over cast skies were the order of the morning.

Lots of little towns along the way.

Arriving there I chatted with a few fellows, explaining my problem and listening to hear the magic words, “ Yes we can help you right away.” And they did. Claude kept us company off and on over our entire stay, his son is the manager and Claude was helping out. Joe, a Kiefer Sutherland look alike was our technician along with another fellow who came to help after Joe had introduced himself. Long story short, we had a crack in the sink drain where it goes through the floor, it’s been leaking for a while but nothing on floor to indicate this leak. They repaired the leak, replaced a missing bolt on the awning and I purchased two screens for the hot water heater cover and walked away for $236 CAD in about 2 hours. I was very happy it wasn’t something more major. The underbelly will dry out eventually and hopefully we have no more issues. Thanks again fella's at Northern Rv in North Bay. 

Of course we had construction to contend with in a spot or two as well.

Along with the speed up, slow down of small towns dotting the road sides.

We headed back to Walmart, parked once again at the front of the lot near the main highway, started making lunch when a nice gent and his lady stopped by to tell us we couldn’t park there or we’d be ticketed. We hadn’t seen any signs but he pointed ONE sign out and sure enough it wasn’t at the drive we’d come in. We were going to go inside and ask anyway but decided that after lunch would be soon enough. Knowing we’d have to pack up and move once again did nothing for my headache or appetite and as soon I’d finished I headed inside to ask about parking. 

One of the many farms along our journey today.

Luck is still riding with us as we were informed we couldn’t park in the front lot but in the side lot overnight parking is most definitely allowed. So for future reference the parking lot across from the TD Bank is the one to use. 

Looks like a sod farm....

Contact with my nephew Allan found we weren’t going to be able to get together for a coffee after all. Oh well, perhaps another time.

A few sod farms in the area....pretty isn't it?

We headed out to North Gate Mall which is attached to the Walmart, for a look see. I have found what I think may be the solution for us regarding internet however I’ll have to think about it.

Love the sod farms....

The day has cleared up, the rain seems to have gone, and the sun has once again made an appearance. A chat with my dad had us hearing of high winds, downed limbs and a great deal of rain overnight and in the morning hours. The afternoon turned sunny, less windy and warm for them.

Small town Ontario.

So there you have it, our second day out. I can tell you we’re certainly enjoying our selves even though it’s been a bit stressful today. Everything worked out well for us and we’re yet we’re looking forward to moving on tomorrow to the Ottawa area. We’ll be staying put for a couple of days in that area, maybe getting rested up and perhaps even doing a bit of sight seeing. 

On the side of the road way...

Thanks for dropping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.

Blurry but lots of water on both sides of the ride here to North Bay.

Until next time… take care, be safe,

From our old spot, we moved to the left of the yellow end of the building, and to the front of the TD bank over there.

Deb