Day 28, Tuesday, July 25, 2007
Tonight we are camping on the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Chaleur Bay and the town is Caraquet, New Brunswick. I don’t know where to start. How about the beginning. We got up real early with the idea we would get a good start. Willa wanted to shower and vacuum the motorhome and because we had full services I decided to not only dump the holding tanks but to flush out the black water tank. I filled it twice with water then let it drain out. I had never done this before, all the time we have owned the motor home. So we didn’t get away until about 9:30. We stopped to get a couple of pictures of the entrance to the campsite then we are off. We get about 10 miles down the road and I check all my gages and my alternator is not working, only putting out about 12 volts. So we turn around and head back to Charlo. The GM dealer is too busy to help but they did make a couple of calls around and the muffler shop right next to where I am parked would have a look at it. So I walked back to the muffler shop and they were ready for us and we pulled the front end of the m/h right into the shop. After a little checking it was the alternator that had went and required replacing. A new one is ordered and within 2 1/2 hours we were on our way. Because it was their lunch time we bought a dozen donuts for their coffee in the afternoon. The bill was very reasonable and the fact they were able to help us right away was great. It,s tough, they have their appointments set up and along comes this stranger with the puppy dog eyes, wringing his hands and practically begging for help. It’s a real judgment call on their part. We have been so lucky with the help we have gotten on this trip with the problems we’ve had. People seem to bend over backwards to try to accommodate a stranger in need. I’ve kept the addresses of the people that have helped us and when we get back we will send them all a thankyou and a calendar at Christmas. From there we are on the road again and I am saying to Willa, I hope that is the end of the problems - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - then I look at the gages and the oil pressure gage is way over what it should be. I start to panic and remember that I have had this before and if I just leave it alone for a while and keep driving it has always come back down again and it did. So other than missing a turn and ending up 15 miles on the wrong road all went well. We are driving up the Acadian Peninsula and our first real taste of New Brunswick. The winters must be harsh and short because the further we went up the Peninsula the smaller and more wind swept the trees and brush. The area makes me think of pictures I have seen of Newfoundand, only with more trees. We are driving a little late to make up some miles; but also to get to Caraquet because there is suppose to be a great Sea Food Restaurant in this town and also a campsite on the water. We found the food to be good and we found the campsite. We had booked at the campsite before dinner. After dinner we stopped at the wharf to look at the fishing boats that are tied up. Some mighty big boats and some colourful smaller ones also. The wharf would be a good half mile in total, and the walk back. Saw some jelly fish doing there thing and a number of people fishing off the wharf. We are in awe of New Brunswick so far and we have only covered a 100 miles or so. Imagine what the next 200 miles will be like (you are going to have to imagine; we are going to see it for ourselves). Talk to you tomorrow.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Day 27, July 24, 2007
Day 27, Monday, July 24, 2007
We got a fairly good start today and traveled along the St. Lawrence River. What a beautiful drive. The St Lawrence starts off as fresh water than slowly blends until it is salt water at the Gulf. I am not sure how wide it is or how wide I expected but it is wide. On my GPS it varies from just under a mile to over 3 miles as you head to the mouth of the St. Lawrence. The tide was out on most of our drive and there was a lot of reedy land along the shore. In one place the shore was solid rock and all carved up by either the water action or glaciers, if and when they came through. We have kept to the shore road as much as we can, no point in being inland when it is the water that has all the views. Our elevation varied from 20 ft to about 700 feet on my GPS. The GPS sure has been handy for elevation and average moving times plus telling us where we are in relationship to where we should be. The highlight of the day was crossing the New Brunswick, not that we were happy to leave Quebec. We were amazed at the churches we could see driving up the St. Lawrence. Some of the time we were driving on a rise and to the south you could see for several miles, in a valley, and two very prominent items were the churches and the silos on the farms. Lots of farms and lots of skinny fields. They must have been in the family for generations. If you Google Earth, in this area you can see them fanning out from the River. All seemed to be very well kept up. The land seems to change as you come into the boundaries for the individual provinces as if the change in the land was one way of deciding where the boundary was going to be located. Coming into New Brunswick the land got hillier. We came through Dalhousie and found a nice campsite on the south side of town The Blue Herron Campsite. I was having a problem with the spark plug wire again and had bought a new one to replace the old one that got broken when they worked on the gasket for the exhaust manifold. Got that done and a little work in the diary and it was time for bed. Well not quite like that. We do most of our cooking outside, I have the portable BBQ and a propane campstove and a ten pound tank with an attachment that allows me to hook up 3 appliances. It takes me about 5 minutes to set up, and the same to take down. Saves heating the motor home up and its nice to be out sideafter spending all day traveling. Keeps some of the cooking smells outside as well. Willa and Tegan are travelling well but it is a lot of driving. Wish Celeste, our 15 year old granddaughter, had come for company for Tegan. But she felt it would be too much driving and she would have been right but they would have had more fun traveling together and could have done more things together. We even thought of flying her out but would be quite costly. After driving most of the day it is nice to just sit back and relax. Well another day to the journey and another 30 plus to look forward to.
We got a fairly good start today and traveled along the St. Lawrence River. What a beautiful drive. The St Lawrence starts off as fresh water than slowly blends until it is salt water at the Gulf. I am not sure how wide it is or how wide I expected but it is wide. On my GPS it varies from just under a mile to over 3 miles as you head to the mouth of the St. Lawrence. The tide was out on most of our drive and there was a lot of reedy land along the shore. In one place the shore was solid rock and all carved up by either the water action or glaciers, if and when they came through. We have kept to the shore road as much as we can, no point in being inland when it is the water that has all the views. Our elevation varied from 20 ft to about 700 feet on my GPS. The GPS sure has been handy for elevation and average moving times plus telling us where we are in relationship to where we should be. The highlight of the day was crossing the New Brunswick, not that we were happy to leave Quebec. We were amazed at the churches we could see driving up the St. Lawrence. Some of the time we were driving on a rise and to the south you could see for several miles, in a valley, and two very prominent items were the churches and the silos on the farms. Lots of farms and lots of skinny fields. They must have been in the family for generations. If you Google Earth, in this area you can see them fanning out from the River. All seemed to be very well kept up. The land seems to change as you come into the boundaries for the individual provinces as if the change in the land was one way of deciding where the boundary was going to be located. Coming into New Brunswick the land got hillier. We came through Dalhousie and found a nice campsite on the south side of town The Blue Herron Campsite. I was having a problem with the spark plug wire again and had bought a new one to replace the old one that got broken when they worked on the gasket for the exhaust manifold. Got that done and a little work in the diary and it was time for bed. Well not quite like that. We do most of our cooking outside, I have the portable BBQ and a propane campstove and a ten pound tank with an attachment that allows me to hook up 3 appliances. It takes me about 5 minutes to set up, and the same to take down. Saves heating the motor home up and its nice to be out sideafter spending all day traveling. Keeps some of the cooking smells outside as well. Willa and Tegan are travelling well but it is a lot of driving. Wish Celeste, our 15 year old granddaughter, had come for company for Tegan. But she felt it would be too much driving and she would have been right but they would have had more fun traveling together and could have done more things together. We even thought of flying her out but would be quite costly. After driving most of the day it is nice to just sit back and relax. Well another day to the journey and another 30 plus to look forward to.
Day 26, July 23, 2007
Day 26, Sunday July 23, 2007.
We got a good start this morning, we were on the road by about 7:30 am. Nice time of the morning to travel, traffic is less and cooler part of the day, everything seems to run quieter and better. We have decided to skip Quebec City on the way down and maybe catch it on the way back. We’ve had enough of museums, forts and old buildings and besides we are about 4 days behind. We don’t really have a schedule but the Atlantic Provinces are our priority and we are spending an extra day here and there and suddenly you aren’t sure if you won’t need another month. For the same reason we have also dropped off the Gaspe’ Peninsular. So now we have cleared Montreal, Quebec City and come down over the St. Lawrence River and are now heading up the south side of the St Lawrence and into the country where my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents originated from after they came from France in the 1600’s. Now we are looking into my family’s information and Willa is trying to fill in some of the gaps she is missing and confirming some of the information she already has. We were in Mont Carmel, Quebec where my Great Grandparents were born and married. In Kamouraska (which is a native name meaning “Bull Rushes by the Sea”) almost sounds Russian. One of my relatives was the first Dionne in the area. In one of the towns, Cap St Ignace, we tried to find the old church where my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents were married in but apparently the church was washed away by the St. Lawrence River and with it went the graveyard also. Willa is pretty sure that my relatives would have been buried there. Soooooooooooo! I guess you could say that I have ancestors scattered all along the St. Lawrence river (well down stream especially). On our drive I was watching for Pat Pelletier’s ancestor’s farm which is on the road we were traveling on. Pat is the Mortgage Broker at our office. I stopped, took some pictures and called Pat from the motorhome to tell him I was in front of his ancestor’s home. Couldn’t reach Pat so had him paged. Still having some problems with the motorhome but hope to resolve it today. They broke a spark plug wire installing the manifold gasket and I think it is breaking down when I stress the motor. So see if replacing it helps. Well we looked at some more graveyards, churches and towns that were, are inhabited by my ancestors. Hard to believe that they could have been walking these same roads and streets that we have been driving and walking down. From Cap St. Ignace, I called my mother, and sister to tell them where we were. Turns out my oldest sister Jerry and her husband Joe were at my Mother’s. Joe’s brother inlaw had passed away and they were down for the service. Well talk to you tomorrow and update you on our travels. Weather by the way has been real good, not too hot for traveling and not wet and rainy either.
We got a good start this morning, we were on the road by about 7:30 am. Nice time of the morning to travel, traffic is less and cooler part of the day, everything seems to run quieter and better. We have decided to skip Quebec City on the way down and maybe catch it on the way back. We’ve had enough of museums, forts and old buildings and besides we are about 4 days behind. We don’t really have a schedule but the Atlantic Provinces are our priority and we are spending an extra day here and there and suddenly you aren’t sure if you won’t need another month. For the same reason we have also dropped off the Gaspe’ Peninsular. So now we have cleared Montreal, Quebec City and come down over the St. Lawrence River and are now heading up the south side of the St Lawrence and into the country where my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents originated from after they came from France in the 1600’s. Now we are looking into my family’s information and Willa is trying to fill in some of the gaps she is missing and confirming some of the information she already has. We were in Mont Carmel, Quebec where my Great Grandparents were born and married. In Kamouraska (which is a native name meaning “Bull Rushes by the Sea”) almost sounds Russian. One of my relatives was the first Dionne in the area. In one of the towns, Cap St Ignace, we tried to find the old church where my Great, Great, Great, Great Grandparents were married in but apparently the church was washed away by the St. Lawrence River and with it went the graveyard also. Willa is pretty sure that my relatives would have been buried there. Soooooooooooo! I guess you could say that I have ancestors scattered all along the St. Lawrence river (well down stream especially). On our drive I was watching for Pat Pelletier’s ancestor’s farm which is on the road we were traveling on. Pat is the Mortgage Broker at our office. I stopped, took some pictures and called Pat from the motorhome to tell him I was in front of his ancestor’s home. Couldn’t reach Pat so had him paged. Still having some problems with the motorhome but hope to resolve it today. They broke a spark plug wire installing the manifold gasket and I think it is breaking down when I stress the motor. So see if replacing it helps. Well we looked at some more graveyards, churches and towns that were, are inhabited by my ancestors. Hard to believe that they could have been walking these same roads and streets that we have been driving and walking down. From Cap St. Ignace, I called my mother, and sister to tell them where we were. Turns out my oldest sister Jerry and her husband Joe were at my Mother’s. Joe’s brother inlaw had passed away and they were down for the service. Well talk to you tomorrow and update you on our travels. Weather by the way has been real good, not too hot for traveling and not wet and rainy either.
Day 25, July 22, 2007
Day 25, Saturday, July 22, 2007
Well I am writing this about 3 days behind. Had some troubles with the motorhome and had to do a little monkey wrenching in the evening, during the day and or in the morning. Nothing very serious, other than had to replace the exhaust manifold seal, helped make the motor a little quieter.
We got a late start this morning. Very tired after all the walking and being wet all day after the rain we were in. Then I went outside to start packing and ran into a couple of talkative neighbours. Not that it was them, as you know I like to talk also and we got visiting and before you know it half an hour or more has passed. One chap was working in Ottawa, must be a temporary job because he was staying in a motorhome. The other chap was from Alberta and traveling east also. We got on our way at about 10:30 am and headed for the nearest Tim Horton’s, which luckily was just up the road from the campsite. Not too bad a campsite and I had a chance to visit with the manager. Very nice man once you got to know him. The road was from very good to very bad and that seems to sum it up pretty much. You just think you finally got over the worst of it and you find out you have been fooled. We got some pretty good shakings on this trip and not just for a mile or so it could be 10-100 miles of rough road. We got our first or second feed of corn today. If it was the second feed it was real small cobs. Now that I think about it, it was our second feed and very disappointing. We headed out of Ottawa and finding our way out wasn’t too bad, we were on the outskirts of town. Now rolling down the road we have to go through Montreal. Now there is a set of roads. Luckily for us we had a main road we needed and were able to stay on it. Some of the time you would have overpasses, underpasses, sidepasses and on both sides and all of this happening at the same time. As I say we’ve had an easy route to follow but one wrong turn and I don’t know where you could end up and how you would ever find your way back again would be entertaining to say the least. Quebecer’s do drive a little different but all in all, all went well (I wonder if I could work another all in this sentence, I just did it). Had one driver and I am not sure if it was Quebec or Ontario and it was the only close call so far (knock wood) and SHE passes me then cuts right in front of me, missed my front end by about 4 feet, and we are traveling at about 90-100 k’s. Ran a little late today trying to make up time and had to take a site, it was an almost RV park. Old service station, older motel and a restaurant that didn’t seem too bad. But we were the only campers. I wanted to keep the drivers side to the sun, so we would have a shady spot to cook dinner and sit in the evening, so I asked the chap there if he minded if I pulled in sideways taking up 3-4 sites instead of one. Now this is late I don’t think they have many campers at the best of times and there are 20 sites altogether. Well he just didn’t know if other campers came in….. I finally said well how about I park across the sites and if another camper comes in I will move. I didn’t have to move. The place was kind of rundown. But could have had a lot of potential if it was run right. But it was quiet and level.
Well I am writing this about 3 days behind. Had some troubles with the motorhome and had to do a little monkey wrenching in the evening, during the day and or in the morning. Nothing very serious, other than had to replace the exhaust manifold seal, helped make the motor a little quieter.
We got a late start this morning. Very tired after all the walking and being wet all day after the rain we were in. Then I went outside to start packing and ran into a couple of talkative neighbours. Not that it was them, as you know I like to talk also and we got visiting and before you know it half an hour or more has passed. One chap was working in Ottawa, must be a temporary job because he was staying in a motorhome. The other chap was from Alberta and traveling east also. We got on our way at about 10:30 am and headed for the nearest Tim Horton’s, which luckily was just up the road from the campsite. Not too bad a campsite and I had a chance to visit with the manager. Very nice man once you got to know him. The road was from very good to very bad and that seems to sum it up pretty much. You just think you finally got over the worst of it and you find out you have been fooled. We got some pretty good shakings on this trip and not just for a mile or so it could be 10-100 miles of rough road. We got our first or second feed of corn today. If it was the second feed it was real small cobs. Now that I think about it, it was our second feed and very disappointing. We headed out of Ottawa and finding our way out wasn’t too bad, we were on the outskirts of town. Now rolling down the road we have to go through Montreal. Now there is a set of roads. Luckily for us we had a main road we needed and were able to stay on it. Some of the time you would have overpasses, underpasses, sidepasses and on both sides and all of this happening at the same time. As I say we’ve had an easy route to follow but one wrong turn and I don’t know where you could end up and how you would ever find your way back again would be entertaining to say the least. Quebecer’s do drive a little different but all in all, all went well (I wonder if I could work another all in this sentence, I just did it). Had one driver and I am not sure if it was Quebec or Ontario and it was the only close call so far (knock wood) and SHE passes me then cuts right in front of me, missed my front end by about 4 feet, and we are traveling at about 90-100 k’s. Ran a little late today trying to make up time and had to take a site, it was an almost RV park. Old service station, older motel and a restaurant that didn’t seem too bad. But we were the only campers. I wanted to keep the drivers side to the sun, so we would have a shady spot to cook dinner and sit in the evening, so I asked the chap there if he minded if I pulled in sideways taking up 3-4 sites instead of one. Now this is late I don’t think they have many campers at the best of times and there are 20 sites altogether. Well he just didn’t know if other campers came in….. I finally said well how about I park across the sites and if another camper comes in I will move. I didn’t have to move. The place was kind of rundown. But could have had a lot of potential if it was run right. But it was quiet and level.
Day 24, July 20, 2007
Day 24, Friday, July 20, 2007
We set the alarm for 6:00 am. Everyone wanted a shower before we left. We had to hurry because Mike the taxi driver was going to pick us up at 8:00 am. To set the pace for the rest of the story: it started to rain about 4:00 in the morning and it was still raining when the alarm went off and it was still raining at 8:00 when the taxi arrived. It just poured all day. Well we were committed to do Ottawa today so off we went. We had umbrellas and I had a raincoat. Tegan and Willa didn’t want to take theirs so off we went. Mike dropped us off in front of guess what - - -tic- - tic- -tic if you said Tim Horton’s you are absolutely wrong it was Starbucks. Up to this point all is well. Now we have to walk to the information center to find out about the tours of the Parliament buildings. Well it is about 3-4 block, it is just pouring out, there is a gusty wind and we are walking. I don’t know how many times my umbrella did an inversion. By the time we get to the information centre our feet are soaked clean through and we are wet up to our knees. By the way when it is heavy rain do not and I emphasize do not walk near the curb unless you are already soaked. The buses do not worry about the water in the curbs and may have a game to see who can throw it the farthest along the side walk, also how high up on the pedestrians. Well we decided after the first or second bus we were not going to play along and more, and we walked as close to the buildings as we could get. I think some of the drivers were actually disappointed we were away from the curb. We did the tour of the Parliament buildings and it is well worth seeing. The history and the construction is magnificent and the young gal that did the tour did a real nice job also. I think I was most impressed with the library which is the only remaining part left after the fire in 1916. The rest of the building was rebuilt after the fire and they used stone this time, less chance of it burning down again. The library is finished in pine and the craftsmanship that went into it is beautiful. From the Parliament buildings we walked three block to catch the #8 bus to Hull, as you guessed it in the pouring rain. We are on our way to see the Museum of Civilization, again a great experience. At the Museum we see the display by China of some old artifacts plus the Imax presentation of the1st Emperor of China and his story. You may remember reading about the find in China of a whole army made out of Terracotta, something in the number of about 7000 figures (I think) and all buried with the Emperor. What is interesting to note is that each had a different face and in the image of his soldiers. Now we are getting tired but be want to see the War Museum, which we were told was very good. We have tickets too for the bus but have no idea how to get to the War Museum. We saw the bus which was the # 8 back to Ottawa. We talked to the driver and we could use the tickets we have or buy new ones, but they don’t sell them. Anyway it was getting confusing. Suddenly the bus driver, just a young guy, said get on the bus so we piled on and he said here is a day pass and you won’t need your other tickets so off to the War Museum we did ride. Had a real nice visit with the driver as we were the only passengers. Later some other people came on and I had a nice visit with a lady who is moving to Vancouver Island when she retires in the next year. Now the War Museum. We arrived at about 5:30-6:00 pm. We are already tired, but this is unreal what they have done. They start you off in sections. The first section is Early wars that Canada was involved in, moving to another section the Second World War, and the next section the Second World War. In these areas they are describing what went on, how it started, why Canada was involved, etc. They would have the different guns used in each action, including tanks, artillery guns, jet airplanes, torpedoes and all kinds of other displays. Downstairs more army equipment is displayed, 6-7 tanks 30-40 different trucks, cars, etc. plus the black convertible that Hitler rode in. It is now close to 8:00 or 8:30 pm and we are all dogtired. Instead of catching a bus we decided to walk to the Parliament Buildings and catch a taxi from there back to the campsite which is precisely what we did. We arrived back at the campsite at about 9:30 pm, I think or there abouts. We were all into bed and made a decision to sleep in and not go to Quebec City. We have seen lots of history and we are running out of time to cover the eastern provinces. So first things first - -- - - - - - - - - Sleep and to dry my feet out. They have been soaking wet all day and I mean soaking.
We set the alarm for 6:00 am. Everyone wanted a shower before we left. We had to hurry because Mike the taxi driver was going to pick us up at 8:00 am. To set the pace for the rest of the story: it started to rain about 4:00 in the morning and it was still raining when the alarm went off and it was still raining at 8:00 when the taxi arrived. It just poured all day. Well we were committed to do Ottawa today so off we went. We had umbrellas and I had a raincoat. Tegan and Willa didn’t want to take theirs so off we went. Mike dropped us off in front of guess what - - -tic- - tic- -tic if you said Tim Horton’s you are absolutely wrong it was Starbucks. Up to this point all is well. Now we have to walk to the information center to find out about the tours of the Parliament buildings. Well it is about 3-4 block, it is just pouring out, there is a gusty wind and we are walking. I don’t know how many times my umbrella did an inversion. By the time we get to the information centre our feet are soaked clean through and we are wet up to our knees. By the way when it is heavy rain do not and I emphasize do not walk near the curb unless you are already soaked. The buses do not worry about the water in the curbs and may have a game to see who can throw it the farthest along the side walk, also how high up on the pedestrians. Well we decided after the first or second bus we were not going to play along and more, and we walked as close to the buildings as we could get. I think some of the drivers were actually disappointed we were away from the curb. We did the tour of the Parliament buildings and it is well worth seeing. The history and the construction is magnificent and the young gal that did the tour did a real nice job also. I think I was most impressed with the library which is the only remaining part left after the fire in 1916. The rest of the building was rebuilt after the fire and they used stone this time, less chance of it burning down again. The library is finished in pine and the craftsmanship that went into it is beautiful. From the Parliament buildings we walked three block to catch the #8 bus to Hull, as you guessed it in the pouring rain. We are on our way to see the Museum of Civilization, again a great experience. At the Museum we see the display by China of some old artifacts plus the Imax presentation of the1st Emperor of China and his story. You may remember reading about the find in China of a whole army made out of Terracotta, something in the number of about 7000 figures (I think) and all buried with the Emperor. What is interesting to note is that each had a different face and in the image of his soldiers. Now we are getting tired but be want to see the War Museum, which we were told was very good. We have tickets too for the bus but have no idea how to get to the War Museum. We saw the bus which was the # 8 back to Ottawa. We talked to the driver and we could use the tickets we have or buy new ones, but they don’t sell them. Anyway it was getting confusing. Suddenly the bus driver, just a young guy, said get on the bus so we piled on and he said here is a day pass and you won’t need your other tickets so off to the War Museum we did ride. Had a real nice visit with the driver as we were the only passengers. Later some other people came on and I had a nice visit with a lady who is moving to Vancouver Island when she retires in the next year. Now the War Museum. We arrived at about 5:30-6:00 pm. We are already tired, but this is unreal what they have done. They start you off in sections. The first section is Early wars that Canada was involved in, moving to another section the Second World War, and the next section the Second World War. In these areas they are describing what went on, how it started, why Canada was involved, etc. They would have the different guns used in each action, including tanks, artillery guns, jet airplanes, torpedoes and all kinds of other displays. Downstairs more army equipment is displayed, 6-7 tanks 30-40 different trucks, cars, etc. plus the black convertible that Hitler rode in. It is now close to 8:00 or 8:30 pm and we are all dogtired. Instead of catching a bus we decided to walk to the Parliament Buildings and catch a taxi from there back to the campsite which is precisely what we did. We arrived back at the campsite at about 9:30 pm, I think or there abouts. We were all into bed and made a decision to sleep in and not go to Quebec City. We have seen lots of history and we are running out of time to cover the eastern provinces. So first things first - -- - - - - - - - - Sleep and to dry my feet out. They have been soaking wet all day and I mean soaking.
Day 23, July 19, 2007
Day 23, Thursday, July 19, 2007
Yesterday we made an appointment for the motorhome with the friend of Sean Murphy, Glenn Carroll who’s shop is just outside of Ottawa. I also made reservations at Rideau Heights Campsite just south of Ottawa. So our day begins. We were on the road by about 7:15 am. I wanted an early start, not knowing how long it would take us to reach Glenn Carroll’s shop. We hit some construction on the way but only about 6 miles north of Smiths Falls and some real rough road after that for about 10 miles and I mean real rough. Still we made good time and ended up at Glenn Carroll’s shop about 9:30 am. They checked my timing and the exhaust manifold gasket was leaking on the passenger side of the engine and we were very lucky they took us right away. Mind you I had called the day before but they are still having to fit us in and it is a busy shop. Glenn operated right out of his home property and has a nicely set up shop. We met his wife, his two boys about 8-12 and his dad who stopped around later in the morning. I missed the name of the chap that worked on the motorhome but a very congenial chap. Visited with a couple of the customers and the morning passed fairly quickly. I had a chance to do some and had a little nap also. They sent the wrong bolts the first time and had to reorder them, other than that we would have been out of there by noon, as it turned out it was 2:30. Glen apologized but I said we weren’t complaining, we were just happy he was able to fit us in. He was very reasonable with the costs also, which was nice to have happen. We stopped in a shopping center outside of Ottawa and picked up a few groceries. Then traveled on to the campsite we had made reservations at last night. We pulled into the campsite about 5:30 pm which is a nice time to stop. Gives you time to eat and cleanup and it is still early in the evening. I had planned on staying at the Ottawa Municipal Campgrounds but this lady Willa had met said this was such a good campsite. I have to say it has only two well maybe three real drawbacks. One: the bathrooms aren’t very nice, Two: we are just east of the flight path for a major airport, Three: The Via Rail tracks are just behind the campsite (HERE COMES ONE NOW. CAN YOU READ THIS OVER THE NOISE?). The rail is not toO bad, they are going slow and you hardly hear them. We bought our first feed of corn for this year at a grocery store we stopped at earlier. Peaches and Cream I think. It was very good and only about $1.99 per dozen. Made for a nice supper. Tegan is just having a shower and then we will walk up to the main street to see about a bus to downtown Ottawa for tomorrow morning and around the campsite. This should be interesting. Want to take the address of the campsite with us tomorrow in case we get lost. Very tired tonight so I think I will be into bed early. Didn’t travel too far today, only about 70 miles. When we leave Ottawa we go to Quebec City and that is about 272 miles. We will be up early on that one because it will be heavy traffic. Try and be on the road by about 6:00 am. Willa and I went for a walk earlier in the evening and noticed a taxi parked at a house just up the street from the campsite. We had decided to take a cab into Ottawa because I wasn’t too sure about the buses. So we knocked on his door and made arrangements for him to pick us up at 8:00 am in the morning, His name was Mike, an older gentleman could have been 60 or 65, very nice man and very accommodating.
Yesterday we made an appointment for the motorhome with the friend of Sean Murphy, Glenn Carroll who’s shop is just outside of Ottawa. I also made reservations at Rideau Heights Campsite just south of Ottawa. So our day begins. We were on the road by about 7:15 am. I wanted an early start, not knowing how long it would take us to reach Glenn Carroll’s shop. We hit some construction on the way but only about 6 miles north of Smiths Falls and some real rough road after that for about 10 miles and I mean real rough. Still we made good time and ended up at Glenn Carroll’s shop about 9:30 am. They checked my timing and the exhaust manifold gasket was leaking on the passenger side of the engine and we were very lucky they took us right away. Mind you I had called the day before but they are still having to fit us in and it is a busy shop. Glenn operated right out of his home property and has a nicely set up shop. We met his wife, his two boys about 8-12 and his dad who stopped around later in the morning. I missed the name of the chap that worked on the motorhome but a very congenial chap. Visited with a couple of the customers and the morning passed fairly quickly. I had a chance to do some and had a little nap also. They sent the wrong bolts the first time and had to reorder them, other than that we would have been out of there by noon, as it turned out it was 2:30. Glen apologized but I said we weren’t complaining, we were just happy he was able to fit us in. He was very reasonable with the costs also, which was nice to have happen. We stopped in a shopping center outside of Ottawa and picked up a few groceries. Then traveled on to the campsite we had made reservations at last night. We pulled into the campsite about 5:30 pm which is a nice time to stop. Gives you time to eat and cleanup and it is still early in the evening. I had planned on staying at the Ottawa Municipal Campgrounds but this lady Willa had met said this was such a good campsite. I have to say it has only two well maybe three real drawbacks. One: the bathrooms aren’t very nice, Two: we are just east of the flight path for a major airport, Three: The Via Rail tracks are just behind the campsite (HERE COMES ONE NOW. CAN YOU READ THIS OVER THE NOISE?). The rail is not toO bad, they are going slow and you hardly hear them. We bought our first feed of corn for this year at a grocery store we stopped at earlier. Peaches and Cream I think. It was very good and only about $1.99 per dozen. Made for a nice supper. Tegan is just having a shower and then we will walk up to the main street to see about a bus to downtown Ottawa for tomorrow morning and around the campsite. This should be interesting. Want to take the address of the campsite with us tomorrow in case we get lost. Very tired tonight so I think I will be into bed early. Didn’t travel too far today, only about 70 miles. When we leave Ottawa we go to Quebec City and that is about 272 miles. We will be up early on that one because it will be heavy traffic. Try and be on the road by about 6:00 am. Willa and I went for a walk earlier in the evening and noticed a taxi parked at a house just up the street from the campsite. We had decided to take a cab into Ottawa because I wasn’t too sure about the buses. So we knocked on his door and made arrangements for him to pick us up at 8:00 am in the morning, His name was Mike, an older gentleman could have been 60 or 65, very nice man and very accommodating.
Day 22, July 18, 2007
Day 22, Wednesday, July 18, 2007
We have come to a major decision this morning, we are going to stay another day at Smiths Falls, Ontario. We want to give the motorhome a good cleaning and do some maintenance work on it. So at 8:00 in the morning there I am in my lawn chair with my cup of tea watching all the boats go by, cueing for the locks. This time I am organized, I have brought out a big heavy towel. Some of these boats are unbelievable. I want to watch them load up the locks so I rush up and you can sit right on the lock gates while they are filling with boats and water. Sorry, what did you say? You want to know what the towel was for? Drool, my good man drool, and it worked. So I was able to watch while they load the boats into the lock, then fill it and let them out on the higher level. They were all bigger boats so only 5 could fit in, and they were tight. Later Tegan and I went to the locks when they loaded a couple of real big boats and watched the process. You ask did I need a towel, well of course not, you just hang your jaw over the railing and it runs into the lock. Some of the owners of the boats I actually think enjoy watching you drool. From there I came back and made bacon and eggs and then started the clean up. Willa was doing laundry again but less this time and there may not be much time in the next few days in Ottawa then Quebec City. The fridge needed reorganizing and the freezer was frosting up a bit so that was on the to-do list. We had collected a lot of brochures and booklets about the different areas and sites to see and they were scattered around, so I pulled them together and put them in a drawer and only kept out the ones pertaining to this area. Very relaxing day and one that we needed. The next 3-4 days will be very hectic. Did some reading, and proof read my diary to get it ready for loading onto my blog if I can get my connection working. (This is Willa —– his proofreading did not work. Can’t imagine what it was like before he proofed it! It sure is good for a laugh though!!!) Once a week I down load all the pictures from my camera and get them organized so they are viewable. Not a big job but nice to have the time to go through them and organize them. We had supper about 6:00 pm and we could hear the thunder in the distance, then the lightning and then the rain and did we ever get a down pour. The water is just lying around in puddles, luckily our site is dry. Some of the boats parked for the night are not much bigger than our boat, I wander how they faied in the rain. Well not an exciting day but a very relaxing day. The sky looks quite dark so we may be in for a few more storms. It’s 8:45 pm. Been a good day for all of us and a good restful day also. Want to be off tomorrow early. First thing is the mechanic that Sean Murphy had recommended, then to the campsite and then we start the tour of Ottawa, Hull and whatever else we can pack into tomorrow and the next day. And in the morning we pull a Willie Nelson - - - - - - - - - - - - “ON THE ROAD AGAIN
We have come to a major decision this morning, we are going to stay another day at Smiths Falls, Ontario. We want to give the motorhome a good cleaning and do some maintenance work on it. So at 8:00 in the morning there I am in my lawn chair with my cup of tea watching all the boats go by, cueing for the locks. This time I am organized, I have brought out a big heavy towel. Some of these boats are unbelievable. I want to watch them load up the locks so I rush up and you can sit right on the lock gates while they are filling with boats and water. Sorry, what did you say? You want to know what the towel was for? Drool, my good man drool, and it worked. So I was able to watch while they load the boats into the lock, then fill it and let them out on the higher level. They were all bigger boats so only 5 could fit in, and they were tight. Later Tegan and I went to the locks when they loaded a couple of real big boats and watched the process. You ask did I need a towel, well of course not, you just hang your jaw over the railing and it runs into the lock. Some of the owners of the boats I actually think enjoy watching you drool. From there I came back and made bacon and eggs and then started the clean up. Willa was doing laundry again but less this time and there may not be much time in the next few days in Ottawa then Quebec City. The fridge needed reorganizing and the freezer was frosting up a bit so that was on the to-do list. We had collected a lot of brochures and booklets about the different areas and sites to see and they were scattered around, so I pulled them together and put them in a drawer and only kept out the ones pertaining to this area. Very relaxing day and one that we needed. The next 3-4 days will be very hectic. Did some reading, and proof read my diary to get it ready for loading onto my blog if I can get my connection working. (This is Willa —– his proofreading did not work. Can’t imagine what it was like before he proofed it! It sure is good for a laugh though!!!) Once a week I down load all the pictures from my camera and get them organized so they are viewable. Not a big job but nice to have the time to go through them and organize them. We had supper about 6:00 pm and we could hear the thunder in the distance, then the lightning and then the rain and did we ever get a down pour. The water is just lying around in puddles, luckily our site is dry. Some of the boats parked for the night are not much bigger than our boat, I wander how they faied in the rain. Well not an exciting day but a very relaxing day. The sky looks quite dark so we may be in for a few more storms. It’s 8:45 pm. Been a good day for all of us and a good restful day also. Want to be off tomorrow early. First thing is the mechanic that Sean Murphy had recommended, then to the campsite and then we start the tour of Ottawa, Hull and whatever else we can pack into tomorrow and the next day. And in the morning we pull a Willie Nelson - - - - - - - - - - - - “ON THE ROAD AGAIN
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