August 11--HOME!

Hi everyone
This has been quite the week since I last posted. As I mentioned, we went into Toronto for the day, which was lots of fun. The CN Tower is a great experience, and we arrived early in the morning before it got too crowded. The bonus was that the weather was fabulous and we got a great view over Lake Ontario, and over the city, which looked miniature from our vantage point. There is a section of glass floor in the tower, so you can actually stand looking down to the ground...it takes a certain trust to step on a glass floor from that height, and I could actually feel my legs wobbling as I stepped on!
We walked by Rogers Place, the stadium where the Toronto Blue Jays play baseball. They were playing that night, against Oakland, and there were tickets left, so we decided to go. None of us are huge ball fans (sorry, Duncan), but it was a great experience to sit in the stadium with so many people who loved the game. We were all greatly entertained by a guy behind us who heckled the opposition outfield (shouting "Watch out!!" when two of them went to catch a fly). There was also a player on Oakland who had previously played for Toronto, who wasn't much liked, so he got huge rounds of "BOOOs" when he batted, and our friend behind us shouted "Nobody loves you Frank! I talked to your mother and even SHE doesn't love you!" When Toronto was in the outfield, he tried to get the left fielder to turn and wave, and tried to get the pitchers in the bull pen to throw him a ball...it was good fun.
The rest of the day we spent exploring the city, and using the $9 all day family metro pass. Since it was a civic holiday, things were quite quiet. In the afternoon, we went to Kensington Market, which was supposed to be full of stall selling food etc., but was really disappointing and quite tacky, until we found Wanda's Pie in the Sky, and had a fabulous veggie pizza and a lemon meringue pie that was the best I have ever had!
We talked a fair bit about heading home. We were all feeling quite overwhelmed by the journey and all we had seen, and I think psychologically, now that August had arrived, as though it was time to start the homeward journey.
The last thing we wanted to do was to go back to Buffalo to finish back-to-school shopping, a promise we had made the kids early on, as they tried to decide where and what to spend their money on...so BACK over the border we went on Tuesday, leaving about noon. We also had to take our trailer in for service and new tires (!!) so we dropped it off for the day and headed out. The kids enjoyed trying on runners, shoes, clothes, etc., and got some nice things, much cheaper, and in most cases, unavailable in Canada. Dennis was the big winner though, heading back to Eddie Bauer, and getting (I am not exaggerating) a year's wardrobe for about one quarter the price.
While he was waiting for us to finish, he struck up a conversation with a US Army vet who was lamenting the mess in Iraq. Dennis asked him if he thought Obama would win, but the guy said "Oh, I am voting for McCain. I'm a racist." Dennis said, "Well, Obama is half white" to which the guy replied "Maybe in your world he is"!
Headed home, paid duty, and got to work packing up the trailer...we left really early on Weds morning to try to avoid the rush hour into Toronto and made great time, driving to Sault Ste Marie and staying in the same campsite we had the way over. The next day, Thursday, we got to Thunder Bay. We actually found northern Ontario quite beautiful, although it does seem endless at points. By this time we were picking up steam and got to Winnipeg, where we got the oil changed in the car, and visited the Royal Canadian Mint. Then back in the car, and off to Brandon for the night.
Then we had to decide...meander or head home. The vote was Head HOME!! So, Brandon to Calgary on Saturday and Calgary home on Sunday, making the 9 pm ferry! The comment of the day came from Ceilidh, who, when we woke her up at 7:15 to get going, said "Thanks for letting me sleep in!" The DVD players proved invaluable, and we became adept at the 10 minute pit stop for fuel and bathroom breaks. Amazingly, there was not ONE word of complaint for the kids; after 7 weeks, they were ready for home!
The Prairies were beautiful, although not as completely flat as we had imagined. The sky is huge, and seems like a huge dome covering us until it joins the horizon. In fact, the TransCanada at that point was not what we had imagined either. I had images of it going through every small Prairie town, but for the most part, it is a divided highway that skirts most centres. I think this had something to do with us being ready to head home...
We arrived after 11 pm, and only unloaded the essentials, including the coffee machine in preparation for the morning java. After 7 weeks and 16,000 km of travel, my latte mug, which I had used each day, slid off the machine and crashed to its death right in front of our house!
Thanks, everyone, for reading, and all the comments...it is too early to sift through all we have done and try to come up with highlights. But this is for sure: we live in an amazing and diverse country. Still haven't totally up the gas bill yet...

Ontario!

Hi all:


It has been a long time since our last post, so I will try to update you and also include some photos. Boring things to do in Montreal:



1. Drive to the Honda dealer to try to get the right key so the lugnuts can be taken off the car for service.

2. Go to another Honda dealer where they have the master set to remove the locking lugnuts and replace them with ordinary ones.

3. Go back to the original Honda dealer to get the service done.

4. Along with the service, book a time to get the car cleaned out, which was really exciting to the anal-retentive part of me, only to find the guy had gone home sick. We have dirt from North Dakota to PEI in there!

5. Do laundry and clean the camper.



On Tuesday we went into Montreal to explore the old town, while Ceilidh hung out with her teacher, Jenne Martin. We explore Atwater Market (YUMMY!!) and took the metro back to old town. I had a quick look round Notre Dame, and then we met up with Ceilidh, went down to the waterfront and rented a quadricycle, which was a hoot! Montreal is a fabulous city, for sure.


On Wednesday we left Montreal for the 1.5 hour drive to Lac St Francois and the town of St Anicet, where my sister-in-law Maryse's family has a cabin. As we were driving past the Honda dealer, the transmission light came on, which is never a good sign. We took it in, but there was nothing they could find wrong with it. The mechanic said to Dennis "Maybe you panicked!" Anyway, off we went, and there has been nothing wrong. Lac St Francois is actually part of the St Lawrence, so in the distance you can see freighters steaming through. The water is really warm, and Jean and Dick (Maryse's parents) have been coming up for years and years. It is a lovely, relaxing spot, where families have been coming for generations. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, and the kids were in heaven. There were other kids and there was water! Cousin Yves took us for a ride on a Seadoo (yes, even me!) and we went on their fancy new boat too. It was wonderful seeing Duncan and Maryse, enjoying great food, friendly people and a fabulous location. One funny thing: we were introduced to so many new people since much of Maryse's extended family have cabins on the lake, including one cousin called Jean-Louise. I think Ceilidh must have misheard, because she kept referring to her as "Jeez Louise"!



On Friday morning, we headed out towards our home exchange in Grimsby Ontario, a town of 24,000 about an hour from Toronto at the "gateway" to the Niagara peninsula. Driving in to TO was quite the experience, especially on the Friday of a long weekend. The cities seem to blend together one after another, and we certainly got the feeling that this is the most heavily populated area of Canada. The drive to Grimsby was not all that attractive, but the town itself is lovely and Chris and Laurie's home is a "mansion" (the girls' words). They have their own bedrooms, and so do we!!! In fact, you could put two of our trailers into their bedroom! It has been great to relax in a house, and the neighbours have been so friendly and helpful too. The homes here are largely made of brick, and



On Saturday, we drove to Niagara Falls (about 40 minutes away) and had a good look at the Falls. We went on the "Maid of the Mist" (highly recommended) which takes you to the base of the falls, and is very dramatic. We got to wear highly fashionable blue plastic ponchos.



After that, we drove to Niagara Falls NY (our 5th trip across the border!) and went to some outlet stores, where, believe it or not, Dennis bought more than I did. I bought one tshirt. He bought 15. I should say, though, that there was an Eddie Bauer store where he got tshirts for $7.50 that cost $24.50 in Canada! After that, we continued 20 minutes to Buffalo, where Ceilidh was thrilled to find Hollister, Aeropostale, Abercrombie and Fitch, etc. We didn't have too long there, so we are going back on Tuesday.



Today, we had an at home day, and Dennis went off to do some wine tasting, which he really enjoyed. He said he learned a lot, got to sample some wines and cheeses, and really enjoyed his adult day. I got into the car to get groceries afterwards, and the radio was blasting a 70s station, so it seemed as though he had a good time.



Tomorrow we are going up the CN Tower, and exploring TO. We are not sure how long we will spend here; there is SO much to see and do, but we are also feeling the pull of home.