Ottawa to come soon
We were back in Canada before we knew it—there was no lineup at the border and the Border Service Agent very polite and accommodating. He closely examined our pot of live culinary herbs which we carry on the dash. We had “declared” them when he had asked if we had any plants, Art saying as he handed the planter over “I guess we'll loose these, though they have survived 5 border crossings since we left home, but you're the first to mentioned plants—but we'd like to keep the planter”. After looking at each plant and its label carefully, asked if they were always kept inside, which they had been, to our pleasant surprise, he handed them back. They'll probably get turfed going back into the USA later in our trip.
Crossing the bridge over the Niagara we managed to snap a couple of pics, on showing part of the hydroelectric generation plant on, I think, the American side.
A few kilometres down the road we stopped at the info centre to phone Katie for directions to their home. Katie and the GPS agreed on the route turn by turn so, reassured, we set off again.
The Ontario roads were in pretty good shape and the drive through Toronto on the 401 was less intimidating than we thought it would be; in quite good condition, good signage, fairly straight forward and by keeping our eyes peeled and Gillian warning about upcoming turns from the GPS we found the house easily.
We parked on the street, exchanged hugs, assessed the driveway then unhooked the car and backed the rig in. A place with a large driveway was a “must have” when the were looking at houses here some 20 years ago. Fortunate for us!
Their cat Mac was not impressed by the arrival of two strange dogs! Tia more or less ignored him but Trekker of course had to bark and bounce and carry on. Their little dog Molly wasn't overly excited either but after a while they got on well enough. Not as well as the four humans did though.
We hadn't seen Roy and Katie for 20 years give or take when the kids were small and that was just a very short visit. Art had first met Roy when they stopped in at Ladysmith to say hello while on their honeymoon. Art and Katie had been part of a large group of friends in Kelowna in the late 60s. Katie was still in high school when they first met. We have all changed a lot over the intervening years yet we got on as if we had been close all this time instead of regular Christmas cards as the main interaction between us.
Katie was still working full time but we got some visiting in before she had to go back to work on Monday.
Sunday they took us for a drive/tour around Toronto then very shortly stopped for a Sunday Brunch Buffet at The Boiler House, a restaurant in the old distillery district. Here, as a surprise for Katie, (we had been tipped off by Roy) their kids Aaron and Skye and their partners met us. The coming weekend would be Katie's 60th when there was an official party planned, this was an “extra”. Also, since Skye was due to present Roy and Katie with their first grand-child in the next week or so. This would be in lieu of the party if Skye was otherwise occupied, come mom's birthday.
The food was excellent and there was a huge variety to choose from. After he had had another breakfast, Art went back for lunch! Gilllian didn't do too badly either!
When we couldn't manage any more and the "kids" had to leave for their respective homes we continued the tour, first walking around the distillery district then Chinatown.
On the way home we detoured through some of the older and upscale neighbourhoods.
Monday, tough day: work on blog, laundry, relax, visit. We found out at the last minute that Art's niece Eve-Lyn hadn't gone to Europe after all and she and husband Quinn were still in town. They were able to drop in for a short visit as Quinn was off to the USA for a few days.
More pics to come and a bit of editing.
Tuesday;
Awake at 8:00 this morning, in time to say good bye to Katie as she left for work. We have had a great few days together, Art and Katie getting to know each other as shall we say mature adults, having been good friends as teenagers and young adults. Meeting Roy again; the first time Art met him was when they were on their honeymoon, and the last time (the first for Gillian) sometime in the late 1980's when we met their two kids, Aaron and Skye when they had come to Victoria for a visit.
It was like we were old friends, which of course we were, but having seen so little of each other over the intervening years to still be so relaxed and comfortable. . . an enduring friendship. A very interesting phenomenon-- long time, long separated yet long enduring friendships. We encountered this previously with friends in England; Jan and Mike, and Joy and Andy, and here in Canada; Linda and Ken a few weeks ago in Edmonton and in a week or two we will be visiting Brendan and Sue in Ottawa and Fred and Jean in Nova Scotia. Fred, Katie and Art were part of the same group of young friends for a year or two in Kelowna in the late 60's and have maintained contact over the decades.
As is our routine, while Gillian took the dogs out for their morning stroll Art made a pot of tea for himself and coffee for Gillian. He sat down at the dinette to check last minute e-mails on the computer and somehow managed to tip the cup of scalding tea onto his lap. Fortunately due to the hot weather he was not wearing denim jeans, he had this morning pulled on a pair of shorts. Usually not so quick on his feet Art, leaped from the seat, tearing his shorts off as he dashed for the shower and the cold water treatment. He was in time to prevent any lasting damage; he was sore for an hour or two but able to drive without much discomfort and was fine by lunch time. We will have to see how the seat cushion fares--the cover was washed in the shower when Art was done and the foam as well, and left to dry. Nice hot day today so that will be easy.
We had our breakfast after begging some milk from Roy--ours had gone sour. Funny thing, Art prefers the 2% and Gillian skim; Roy had 1% for us so we were both reasonably happy. Feed the dogs, tidy up, clean up, hook up the car--it seemed to take forever. Roy moved his car off the driveway onto the lawn so we could exit the driveway safely and we said goodbye to Roy almost at the "Crack of Noon" (11:25.) and we were eastbound once more, this time to Ottawa. Once again to visit old friends, these we have seen very little of during the 27 years since they moved from Victoria.
In minutes we were on the 417 heading east, the traffic not too heavy but not a quiet relaxing drive. Sort of like the Pat Bay Highway at home when one of the BC Ferries has just unloaded. Past Oshawa we turned north onto the 115 which took us to a smaller east-west highway, the 7. The biggest city on this route is Peterborough, which we passed by, stopping later in the town of Havelock for a lunch break.
Here Art made a couple of sandwiches while Gillian walked across the highway to a grocery store and the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) returning with a few needed groceries--like milk-- and a bottle of whisky for Art. While waiting for Gillian to return Art and the dogs sat outside at a picnic table on the grassy median between the highway and the railway tracks where Art and the dogs were entertained by the approach of a freight train which slowed and parked along side. Tia ignored it, Trekker a little interested but not put off by the clanking, rattling, clunking and hiss of air brakes.
About an hour here, we arrived at the Ottawa Municipal Campground at 5:00 PM and checked in. While Gillian took the dogs out Art got on parked with the accompanying screech of the airbags dumping air, the slides out and water hose and electric cord connected.
Before leaving Toronto Art had been on the phone to Ottawa Freightliner to see about getting in to get the noisy air problem sorted our. Also, a new development, the "Check Engine" light had been flickering a bit once in while, and at times would come on for a minute or two. Everything seemed operating normally and all the gauges were in the normal range but it needed to be checked. Also the cruise control had been acting up once in a while, suddenly deciding to reset to a lower speed. Very disconcerting. Sailing along and suddenly the vehicle begins to slow. Often it was difficult to get it back working. All these needed to be looked at. They booked him in for 7:30 next morning!
Wednesday, September 1st
In speaking with the staff at the park entrance Gillian had been told that it was an hour's drive to Freightliner! Deciding that earlier was better we set our alarms (yes, two of them!) for 5:20 and 5:25 and at 5:50 Art started the rig. Poor neighbours! Slides in, jacks retracted, air brakes up--suspension began to fill--with the now usual squeal. 10 minutes of engine running, 7 of those accompanied by the noise of air bags filling. As soon as possible we pulled up the road, switched off and hooked up the car. By 6:10 we were leaving the park for Freightliner, arriving there 25 minutes later! They told us that if we had not left until 6:30 the trip would have taken an hour or more! 28 kilometers of freeway and maybe 4k of city roads.
From here we called Luxury RV, an RV Sales and Service shop about 25 kilometres west of the RV Park to see when we could get in. Surprisingly they booked an appointment 8:00 AM Thursday, the next day!
Work order done up, dogs walked and fed, we headed into town looking for our breakfast. Not knowing the city at all, we settled on a Tim Horton's and then made our way to find Chez Nolan. We had forgotten to bring their address! We knew the street (which was very short fortunately so we could get close) but not the number. Gillian made a guess which we entered into the GPS and set off. We called Sue on the phone and were there.
Sue met us at the door hugs again, we introduced the dogs and went inside. Sue's mother was visiting from England so we all had a bit of a visit until Sue had to leave for work. The dogs came in too, much to the disgust of Trini the cat who was relegated to downstairs for a while.
Weather was gorgeous so the dogs went out to the back garden where they quickly discovered the chipmunk that was so attracted to the bird feeder. The dogs and chipmunk entertained each other all day! Even when in the house the dogs kept close watch through the window. Tia also later decided to make herself at home in Trini the cat's bed!
After Brendan and Sue returned from work we all went out to a Chinese Buffet supper. That afternoon Freightliner had called to say the rig would not be ready tonight. We'd asked if we could sleep in it for the night and were told yes, they would park it outside the fenced area for us. We then called Luxury who said to call them when we were done at Freightliner. Realising that the rig would be hot with no air conditioning Brendan and Sue invited us to stay with for the night with them.
When we were finished supper Art and Brendan and the dogs drove out to pick up clothing, toothbrushes, dog food etc while the ladies returned home. At the rig the dogs were fed, an assortment of items – including the dogs breakfast – were selected and we returned to the house. After a relaxing after-dinner drink we were soon comfortably settled in their guest room, the dogs on the floor beside the bed.
Next morning after Sue went to work we drive into to the city for a bit of sightseeing and to find out if our small camera could be repaired. The word was “no”. There appears to be sand in the lens mechanism, not a warranty item, and the cost to repair would be prohibitive. Ah well. Sometimes it works but can't be depended on. This isn't our main camera but a smaller pocket sized one that has been very useful. Gillian walked a bit further into town to have a look see and take some pics while Art settled into a coffee shop with a newspaper.
Then Freightliner called – the rig was ready! Rush hour was fast approaching. We had supper with the family which we had been looking forward to all day; Sue had made a batch of sauce and Brendan had promised to make pasta. It was not until he began assembling the where-with-all that we realised he was if fact not just going to cook paste.
The result was as good as it looked and after a wonderful dinner we set off to fetch our home. We left the shop at 10:45 and arrived back at the RV Park at 11:20 (PM of course). The now much quieter air bags didn't disturb anyone's sleep as far as we know and we too were soon tucked in. Art had called Luxury who said to bring it in in the morning! Another early morning start!
We arrived at the shop just before 8:00 AM went over the problems with the service manager; heat pump, Battery tray jammed, check batteries, step cover, then asked for a recommendation for breakfast and drove around the corner to the Gourmet Restaurant.
Gillian had thought the place down the road looked nice but this was closer. And this one was a Gourmet Restaurant. the sign said so! Well they were right about the portions. Art enjoyed his breakfast, at least as much of it as he could, though Gillian's "Lightly" scrambled eggs were more like a well done omelette. She helped Art out though with half of one of his pancakes.
We also had a bit of work to do on the tow bar that is attached to the car. One of the sliding arms was locked in the extended position and wouldn't retract. This is opposite to the problem we had in Grand Marais in Manitoba at Paul and Linda's. Again a phone call to Roadmaster tech support. They concluded that it was likely full of dirt and just needed a cleaning. Art already knew how to take it apart but the tools were in the motorhome!Off to the nearby Canadian Tire shop to by a few tools and a bottle of Simple Green (specifically recommended by tech support by the way). In their parking lot Art disassembled one end and poured in the liquid and manipulated the release leaver and eventually things began to move. A lot of dirty brown muck flowed our before finally running clean. A few adjustments and we were good to go.
Set off back into Ottawa to look about a bit and we found a nice walking path along the Ottawa River where Gillian took the dogs for a walk while Art had a snooze on the grass under the trees beside the parking lot. We found it very quite, only a couple of boats on the river -- on a Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend! Then much refreshed—Trekker especially by his swim in the river, it was off to the grocery store to buy something for dinner—Gillian had volunteered to cook at the Nolans'.
3:00 PM, a phone call from Luxury RV; the rig is ready. Not wanting to drive through Ottawa three more times (out the the shop, back for supper and back to the park again) so we opted to pay by phone and pick it up later that night.
Soon the evening was over and we had to call it a night—we still had a long drive out to Carlton Place for the rig. Rain was pouring down, thought fortunately traffic was light so we made good time. We set off at about 9:30, left the RV Shop at 10:15 and arrived back in RV Park at 10:50. Happily though by this time the rain has stopped and it was much easier to see the road on the way back!
Our last day in Ottawa we occupied our morning with such things as getting things tidied up, walking the dogs. As arranged yesterday, Brendan, Sue and Joan arrive for visit—with coffee from Timmie's—that part had not been arranged but was very welcome.
After a visit and showing off the rig we all set off for a restaurant that Brendan and Sue had thought looked interesting and was on their list of places to try one day. Well it was nearby so today is the day.
The Cheshire Cat lived up to expectations and the company made everything even better. We had a great afternoon then when finally done, we made our goodbyes and went our separate ways. They headed home and we went shopping to pickup a few things needed our continuing journey.
Back at the rig, at about 8:00 PM we suddenly realised that we were getting cold. It was 68F in here! We switch on the recently repaired heat pump to warm things up.
4 minutes later the heat pump stopped working!!! ARGGGHHHHH!!!
The propane furnace was put into play and soon we were warm. Saturday night, tomorrow is Sunday, there is no way the RV Shop would be open so we decided that in the morning we would carry on to Kingston as planned and worry about the heat pump later.
Since we were both still working on our lunch, Gillian made a Greek Salad for supper and we made it a fairly early night.
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