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

We are back in Ontario…

 

Our Location:

Valens Conservation Area, Flamborough, Ontario, Canada

A quick update for the folks out there wondering about us.

Day 1- April 6, 2025

We left Ogilby Road, in southeastern California, at 7:20 AM PDT,  stopping to dump the tanks at the Chevron station, our wheels officially turning toward home at 8:00 AM PDT. We rolled along easily, filling whenever we reached the half way mark, which ended up being 3 times throughout the day. Our day ended at a rest area in Fabens, Texas just east of El Paso. Which means we crossed one time zone, losing an hour of our day. We pulled off the road and 7:20 PM, MDT. Yes, 7:20; I thought it a bit odd too. We had no issues, but a long day, travelling 610 miles.

Day 2 - April 7, 2025

We had our wheels rolling from the Fabens, Tx rest area at 7 AM, MDT. A quick Dogsled repair at Van Horn, Texas and we were off once more. Our plan was the DOT Rest Area near Ranger but we somehow rolled on past. We opted at that time to make a big change of plans and continued along thru Fort Worth, Arlington, ( the only slow down occurred at the edge of this city), and Dallas, continuing to Walmart, Greenville, Texas. The end of rush hour was nothing like we expected, very little traffic and almost totally smooth sailing. We arrived at Greenville at 8:10 PM, CDT, shutting down for the evening.  Another very good day, with only a hiccup, we travelled 651 miles on this day, with another time zone change to Central Daylight Time.

Day 3 - April 8, 2025

(This was our original day of departure, with a long 9 day trek in mind, but we opted for a different plan.)

We left Greenville, Texas at 7:30 AM,CDT and motored along smoothly all day. We left Texas, crossed through Arkansas and stopped Big Dog in Missouri, at the Haiti Welcome Center, 20 miles inside the state line. Another good day, no issues. A much shorter day as we arrived at 4:00 PM, CDT, travelling only 481 miles. Green grass, lots of green leaves and flowers, along with a couple of otters in the pond. Spring has reached Missouri.

Day 4 - April 9, 2025

We left Haiti, Mo at 7:10 AM, CDT after a fabulous night’s rest, but we left in long pants and heavy sweaters. Rolling along with no issues we crossed from Missouri to Illinois to Indiana (another time zone) and finally into Ohio. We stopped at Walmart, Napoleon, Ohio at 6:30 PM EDT. It was a rainy, drizzly kind of day all day and evening too, we are happy we put new wipers on just this morning. We are back in our own time zone now. Travel was 556 miles. 

Day 5 - April 10, 2025

We left Napoleon, Ohio under rainy skies, cold temps and mittens on our hands. The time was once again 7:30 AM EDT.  We crossed the Ambassador Bridge into Ontario, Canada and were waiting in line at 9:43 AM. The scrutiny is longer, only two lines , things were at a stand still. We quickly hopped lines when a third one opened shortly after 10:00 AM. We answered questions for about 5 minutes, given our passports and we rolled off on our way shortly after. The weather is a mix of rain and snow, the air is very cold but we are excited to be back in Ontario.  We continued on to our current location, adding an extra week to our stay here, originally we were to be back on April 17, but as you have read, we changed that plan. We arrived here around 2:00 PM.  Travel today, 283 miles.

We are getting closer..

It is a very ugly travel day.

In 5 days we travelled 2581 miles, it leaves us still 400 miles from home. We will be staying here until April 24, when the wheels will roll again taking us home to our Island.

Thanks for following along. We do hope your days are filled with better things than yesterday, but that tomorrow will be even better. 

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

We are in Ohio…..

 

Our Location:

Walmart, Napoleon, Ohio

The weather today was fabulous! Shorts will be a must tomorrow.  

Yesterday was a busy day, shopping, money exchange, visiting Bradey and the boys before heading back to the park. It was a long day.

This morning we started our day at Olympia RV in Flamborough, Ontario. After breakfast we packed everything up, pulled in the slides, put away the power cord had everything ready to travel. We locked the door, leaving the Igloo behind as we headed off to pick up daughter Courtney at the Go Station. The three of us enjoyed lunch near by while catching up. It was a quick visit but we all had fun. We dropped her back at the Go Station just before 1 pm, headed back to the park, hooked up and let the wheels roll. We made the decision to cross into the US instead of our original plan to stay at the onRoute in Tilbury.

The wait at the border was about 20 minutes, a few questions, a quick peek and we were off. The rough roads were not fun but we didn’t have any workers present and folks were flying, we rolled along about 65mph and around 8 pm we pulled into this lot. Thumbs up to stay the night from the Customer Service lady, I called Dad and Sister before having something to eat. 

Tomorrow we will do some shopping before we head out. We are hoping to cross into Central Time and spend the night at a great rest area we visited last spring on the way home. However that’s for tomorrow’s blog. 

Thanks for stopping by, until next time……

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

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

Slight delay…..

 

Our Location:

Summer spot near South Baymouth, Ontario

It’s been very frosty the last couple of mornings but no white stuff falling from the sky, thank you very much! The next number of days will be much warmer than the last few. We like that.

Very frosty…

A very pretty sky on my way home.

Today was to be “wheels up” but instead we have changed that to Saturday morning. Our plan to take the ferry didn’t work out either so back to the original plan, just a few days later. The new date has us slipping across the border sometime Tuesday if all goes well. Friday will be our ‘finish’ day, those last few things that will take an hour or two. We all know that something distracts us and that 10 minute job becomes 40 minutes without any trouble. So I added second hour just to be sure!

Somehow I have never noticed those two trees before.

I just like this photo.

We are up in those trees. The leaves are hanging on.

Some colour out there but not much yet.

It is a very nice view, just not the view from our windows.

My next post will probably be from the road, so until then…

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

The summer spot will soon be empty….

 

Our Location:

Summer Spot near South Baymouth, Ontario, Canada

It is hard to believe that our time left here is in the single digits now. The weather has been fabulous this fall but alas the cooler air is rushing in as the fall winds start blowing. We can hear them overhead in the branches and the leaves shaking on the trees. We are well protected here from most direct winds but at some point they will shift and we will be feeling them.

The new house, the fog, and the view.

Mornings are heavy with dew, sometimes enough to drip.

Life is ending for much of the vegetation now.

I have been slowly taking down and putting away the things that get scattered around for the summer. The area around the cabin is collecting the “stuff” that requires inside storage for the winter and since we are still using the cabin, it will all be stored on our last full day here which we think will be Tuesday.We shall see how things go. The plan is feet up, wheels rolling Wednesday morning, however the best laid plans…..

A walk around the farm on a dewy morning.

The woodpeckers keep attacking the Sugar Shack.
Brother Rick’s house on the left, Dad’s on the right.

Our plan is simple and flexible, we hope to reach Valens Conservation Area on Thursday, do some errands and meet up with daughter/sister Courtney for dinner on Friday. Saturday we plan on visiting with daughter/sister Bradey, hubby David and the boys for a few hours and then pulling out Sunday and hopefully getting south of the border before noon. Loose plans, we shall see how things go. I will keep you informed.

Some are holding on in protected places but are slowly fading.

Pitch on the tree, colour and winter wood.

He was in no way afraid of me. 

I will leave you with some photos, I hope you enjoy them.

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb

Almost settled in……

 

Our Location:

Summer Spot, Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Canada

It’s been a few weeks since my last post and I thought I should drop a quick note to keep all informed. Life is settling back down to our regular summer routines with just a few more little chores to get us completely settled. The clothes lines still need to be put up, The Cabin needs a final tidy and sweep, the gardens need some attention and I have just two more chores to complete before I consider us all ready for the summer. I’m much slower this year and I believe it has a lot to do with the dampness and the colder than normal temps. 

Growth on a tree

My sister’s flowering cactus

We are back to our little summer spot jobs now, and enjoying them a great deal. It certainly makes our time more structured and we like that. If we could just get some nicer weather we would be all set.

Jim, you will like these. Some old equipment on the farm.

Work is continuing on the preparation for Jason and Leah’s new house. Jason is working hard getting the site ready but a few breakdowns and the amount of rain are putting things a bit behind his schedule. Life is never easy, is it?

Squishy green moss.

Moss is everywhere.

Our good friend Anita is here at their cottage and we managed to have a quick visit with her, although we didn’t see her hubby Mike. They are doing well, and we hope to see her a few times over the summer. 

This tree in various stages of leafing out.

Birthday wishes to Grandson Lincoln, who turns 2 today. He is a happy little guy, and is excited about the ‘secret’ big brother Auston won’t share about Linc’s birthday surprise. 

Lake Huron is still very cold.

Happy Mothers Day to all of the beautiful mothers out there. I hope you have a fantastic day. My day was brightened considerably when both of my other daughters called me to give their best wishes today. Thanks Ladies, the calls were very much appreciated.

It looks as if this will be an official residence soon.

The pics are just things I captured while out and about. I am going to tour a bit of the Island at some point with my sister and I will find some interesting views for you to see. However, today is NOT that day!

Until next time…..

Take care, stay safe,

Deb