Oct 22, 2012 - Homeward Bound

Monday October 22 We left our hotel around 10:00 and walked over to St Pancras International railway station for breakfast. We ate a really good breakfast while watching the world go by. We then walked to the adjoining King's Cross (Underground) Station, where we took the underground to Heathrow Airport (Piccadilly Line). It was a very inexpensive ticket, just over £5 each, but the trip takes a good 45 minutes to an hour to get to Heathrow. We had lots of time, and arrived shortly after 12:00. We checked in our bags and walked around the...

Oct 7, 2012 - Back in Canada for now

Spent a week visiting Donna's mom after a drive through Ontario from Sault Saint Marie, and I got together with a friend from my youth to catch up on almost 40 years. Krista and Matt came up by train for Thanksgiving dinner and are going back with us.

Sep 10, 2012 - Here we go -- AC888 Ottawa to London Heathrow

Monday September 10, 2012 Wendy and Scruffy drove us to the airport around 9:00 p.m. While Ottawa is supposed to be an international airport, it comes up a little short in the evening! Most of the stores were closed and even the Relay store that claimed it was open to 11:00 p.m. on the store sign, closed its doors at 10:00 p.m. We had seen the sign earlier and went for a coffee first, thinking we would grab a magazine or two later only to be disappointed by a closed sign. And we could find nothing to eat (other than a Tim Horton’s donut)....

Aug 19, 2012 - Good to be HOME

We got home Friday Aug 18. The last two days were the best and worst in all our 34 days of camping. The best campground was in Munnising, Michigan. We were on the shores of Lake Superior with beachfront sights, full hookups with 30 Amps, excellent Wi-Fi and only paid $25. The next night at North Bay, Ontario the campsite was So uneven that it was impossible to level the trailer, there was only 15 amp service, no Wi-Fi, and they charged us $38.50, the most expensive fee we paid during the whole trip. We only stayed because I had to empty the...

Aug 15, 2012 - Ottawa, Ontario

We spent three nights in Ottawa. It wasn't long enough. We browsed the wonderful farmers market and surrounding shops, sampling the merchants' wares. Of course we never forgot our four-legged buddy who is touring with us and we always allowed her to make new friends in the park. Our last night we invited boaters Rusty & Betty with puppy "Gigi" to have cocktails with us on our deck. They live in Naples and are doing this leg of the trip in reverse... going in the opposite direction. The dogs romped while we swapped tales and advice. Rusty...

Aug 14, 2012 - Day 30 - Ottawa, Ontario

We camped at Camp Hither Hills south of Ottawa. Today we drove into Ottawa to see what we could. We drove around Parliament Hill for a while checking out the buildings and sites but could not find a place to park so went over to Byward Market. We enjoyed a fish and chips lunch and a stroll through the shopping areas. A lot of variety available for eating and shopping. We were not impressed with the first impressions of Ottawa.

Aug 14, 2012 - Ottawa

On August 7 we arrived in Ottawa, Canada’s capitol city. Our primary purpose was to meet my cousin Jane Robin, Kim’s sister. Ottawa was not included in our original plan since Jane was to join us in Newfoundland. Instead, Toronto was to be our final stop in Canada. However, we had to alter our schedule due to my eye situation thus missing Jane’s time in St. Johns. Fortunately, she and Kim were flying back to Ottawa on August 8 so we scheduled Ottawa after Montreal, eliminating Toronto except for a small twist that I’ll explain later. As it...

Aug 14, 2012 - Into Canada

Day Two, Tuesday, August 14, 2012, Into Canada Munising, MI to Sudbury, ON; 320 miles. Easiest entry into Canada in recent experience. Denied having firearms and were waived on. Not ever a request for the dog’s papers. This after care to not violate customs, including giving away potatoes in fellow camper in Munising. Lunch the best scenic meal to date at Bruce Mines city park on the North Channel of Lake Huron.

Aug 13, 2012 - Day 29 - Niagara Falls to Ottawa

We drove through Toronto Metro area after morning rush and along St Lawrence River on the 401 highway and got to south of Ottawa at suppertime. A long drive (about six hours) but Garry survived. We had our first fire of the trip and roasted smokies for camping supper. Sandra booked their flights home from Montreal for Thursday. Cards and TV to relax before bed.

Aug 10, 2012 - Ottawa - rest day

Day Fifty One – rest day-Aug 10 Ottawa My rest day started last evening. I went to a pub with a friend who I have known for over fifty years. Wow! Where did the time go? Gilbert and I go way way back to grade one in a small school in a small town in Alberta. You can take the boys out of a small town but you never ever lose them. Anyways, these days Gilbert is living in Ottawa. As I happened to be passing through Ottawa a small get together was appropriate. We went to a pub and had some grub and a couple of beer and then we headed off to our...

Aug 9, 2012 - Ottawa

Day Fifty – Aug 9 Ottawa 162k Yesterday the heat did me in on a century ride. Today the temperature was cooler. I was stronger. By the end of the ride I had enough k to qualify for a century ride. There was lots of rain today. There was a bit of wind which goes away when the rain comes down. It’s nice to not have them both at the same time. It was cloudy when I left camp. A rumour in camp had it that there might be a millimeter of rain later in the day. The millimeters started within an hour and wouldn’t let up till I got to Ottawa. I left...

Jul 30, 2012 - Ottawa

Notre route se poursuit vers Ottawa en passant le long de la rivière Outaouais ce qui nous donne droit à quelques beaux points de vue. Arrivés à Ottawa relativement tôt, on en profite pour rouler sur une des nombreuses pistes cyclables de la région. Cette région est une de nos favorites et est très bien équipée pour le vélo. C'est donc plaisant de pouvoir rouler sans se soucier de la présence des autos. On remonte la rivière sur une bonne distance. On fait un arrêt à une exposition de sculptures en équilibre faites en roches provenant de la...