And we’re off……..

 

Our Location:

Olympia Village Rv Park, Flamborough, Ontario

We woke in the dark, finished a few last minute things, hooked up and had the wheels rolling at 7:51 AM. Heavy dew turned to fog as the sun started the day, not thick but very obvious. A 5 minute stop at brother Rick’s house (dad, and others there) hugs, see you laters, left the Cabin keys behind and at 8:03 am we pulled out.

It was a very good day, our only issue was a fuse before we even left our spot this morning. Too far on the first day though, 8 - 4, with only a few stops. However we arrived here safely and will be here a couple of days. 

Super moon…..

Made some super fog……

Which the sun tirelessly burned off…

It did take a while though…..

Just an interesting piece of information, we pulled out at 8:03 but didn't  actually begin heading south until 10:17 am. We must travel north and east for a couple of hours before we begin actually going south. We are thinking of taking the ferry next year, but we shall see.

Pulling out…

In the Espanola hills…

Close to Sudbury, about 25 minutes before we actually head south.

The weather is sunny and fabulously warm here, 70 F/21 C. We are talking about shorts.  We can hardly wait! 

Of course I called Dad when we were settled.

Thanks for stopping by, until next time…….

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Still moving along…..

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Salem, Illinois

A pretty quiet night but I was still up at 4 am. This is not a new thing for me but it does make for a long day. Riley rolled out at 7 am and even though it was foggy we were on our way by 7:30 am. It was  pretty foggy until we reached the Interstate, a mile or so away and then it started to clear quicker, I guess between the sun and the heat being produced by the road top, it helped the process along.

Fog this morning.

Missouri welcome centre.

This is a very small section of the parking.

Lots of pathways to stretch your legs.

Some interesting things along the pathways.

We stopped 3 times overall, two rest areas and one fuel. Diesel prices are rising the farther north we go. We are regularly seeing above $4.00, but if you watch it is also available for the $3.80-3.95 range.

The dandelions look used up.

As you can see, very wide spaces.

We are enjoying the drive.

We are entering the state of Illinois.

The roads were rough for a while.

We had an easy day today, travelling only 232 miles/373 km, we used about 15 gallons/56 litres of fuel, we travelled for 4 1/2 hours. By my thinking we averaged about 15 1/2 mpg. Our average speed was 57miles/91 km. Again I have no complaints.

We crossed the Mighty Mississippi River to leave Missouri for Illinois.

Spring is working hard…

Blossoms are visible.

The roads were decent overall, Arkansas roads were good, a few patches here and there but good overall. Missouri roads were a bit rough in places but again, after a while they smoothed out. Illinois roads started off pretty rough and were rough overall in most places until just a while before we stopped. The Missouri welcome centre was fabulous, 20 miles inside the state line but it is huge, tons of parking places with spaces wide enough to put slides out. The first rest area in Illinois was closed, it looks like for quite a long time, but the second was open. Lots of folks parked for the solar eclipse event in the rest areas and currently at the Walmart as well. The parking areas are ringed with cars and people.

We touched three states today, Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois, we travelled on I-55 and I-57. Tomorrow we will arrive at a campground for a stay of 4 days. It is sunny, a bit on the coolish side at about 70 F/21C. The eclipse has been underway for approximately an hour and while it is getting darker outside, it is not a night time dark as I write this post up.

The eclipse has ended, it was an eerie twilight, that lasted a minute at most. No we didn’t look up but I did snap pics. Almost all of the watchers have left, within 5 minutes they were gone. Enjoy. 

Until next time……

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

A few quiet days at Buttercup Ridge....

 

 

Our Location: 

Buttercup Ridge, Roseneath, Ontario

 

The past few days have been quiet and peaceful, a little rain and then a lot of rain yesterday. However I have managed to do some raking and while I'm not finished, it's a good start. Yesterday was a busy day for me, Judi and I tackled the garage, quite by accident, but after a couple of hours we were finished and with Dennis' truck (we had to push it out, dead battery, glad it's a stick) out of the garage, and with everything cleaned up Judi can now put her gym in that space. We spent some time getting out the summer furniture, planters and lanterns, etc. Winnie of course was ever present with her ball wanting someone to toss it. Riley obliged in between laundry loads, and Winnie was excited to see Riley each time she stepped out of the house or the Igloo. 

 

 

The outside fire place here at Buttercup Ridge.

The pizza oven was covered for the winter.

Tulips in the front yard at the base of two black walnut trees.

The driveway needs some attention, it was a tough winter with no real frost.

We headed into Cobourg shortly after 5 pm to meet daughter Courtney at the Via Rail Train station, the train was delayed and didn't arrive until around 6:40 instead of the 6:10 originally planned. We headed out to The Ale House, a local pub, for some food. It wasn't the greatest but it wasn't bad. We managed to chat during the entire meal and get caught up on a lot of things. A brief stop at the Igloo for an hour or so and then into the house to meet Judi and Winnie as well as a brief visit before C, R and I came back to the Igloo for a while. Courtney headed off to the house for the night and will catch up with us this morning. We will deliver her back to the train station some time today for her return to Toronto. 

 

A bit better view of the backyard kitchen. There is a big Weber, sink and fridge under the tarp.

 

Some turkey vultures on the barn roof.

A quiet place to rest and overlook the fields.

 

This morning is foggy and a very heavy dew.  The sun is trying to come out and is burning the fog off quickly as you can see in the photos. I hope you enjoy them. 

 

Meet Winnie, she's 8 years old and loves to chase balls.

 

The fog was dense when I opened the curtains around 6.

 

And started burning off quickly.

Until next time....

 

Take care, stay safe, 

 

Deb