TJ holding Ubu, Chantel, Gerry & Sherri

The (welcoming committee) pets in our bed at Chantel & TJ's!

Lake Huron

Anne, Steve, Lee holding Kailee Ann, TJ, Mike Haselden

The cooks in the kitchen

Wed. April 11 - Up, juiced, fruit & cerealed and down the road with coffee to go by 9 or so. Very pretty drive alongside Lake Superior, nice beaches and tons of boats & cottages, this is hunting and fishing heaven.... It's outdoor enthusiast heaven too, outfitters, kayak tours, hiking trails, etc. Thru the Soo & back on the road we did on our way west in November. Alongside Lake Huron now, still lots of rocks and trees, but some awesome spots we must come back & explore later. We push on to North Bay once we hear the snow forecast for Thursday. We are tired by 7:30 & take the first hotel we come to on the highway, as we don't have a way to plug in and don't want to freeze. No campgrounds open, this is not a good time of the year to be RV'ing with snowstorms still pending. Order in pizza & relax with a bath, tv & the newspapers.

Thurs. April 12 - I sleep till 9:45, navigating is hard work!! Gerry, the driver is up by 8:30 & goes downstairs to get breakfast before it closes, how sweet! We relax for awhile in the room as there is alot of wet snow outside & it is still coming down. We leave for Ottawa just before noon & the road is very slushy & slow going thru the hills. We stop for a lunch break around 2 & find out that we are almost thru the hills, so push on & it does get much better. Arrive in Ottawa at Will & Donna's just before 5, perfect happy hour time & we are relieved to have arrived safely. Will has a beautiful dinner prepared, shrimp & salmon appy, with standing pork ribs, caesar & 3 bean salad & potatoes, outstanding!! Even our new motorhome knew the route directly to this gourmet B & B!! We've made it here 3 x in the last 12 mths!

Fri. the 13th - eek! - After breakfast we pack up and head out to the motor vehicle office to buy another trip permit, but Ont. will only sell one if you have bought the vehicle in the last 30 days. G researches Que & NB, so we can drive legally after Monday. It will have to be Edmundston where we can obtain a 24 hr permit, so that's our deadline!! Drop into IKEA & Linens & things, looking for items needed for the 2007 reno plans. We almost come out of IKEA with less than 10. spent, but some last minute purchases (hammock, mirror) renew our former spending habits at this store!! Then its off to Hudson, QC, a favorite little tourist town near Chantel & TJ's with some great shops. We get out for a walk in Hudson & look around, then off to Vaudreuil, arriving at C & TJ's just moments before they are home from work. So great to be here & see them & the 4 pets. Ubu has grown so much!! We visit & then bowl on the Nintendo WII (sp?), fun & lots of actual physical movements! Off to Kelseys for dinner to give everyone a break.

Sat. April 14 - lovely sleep in again, we are back in the east & getting back to our 9 - 10 hr/night habits!! Off to Home Depot to pick up supplies for the fix it projects lined up for G, what are Dad's for eh?? Then it's back to put the turkey in the oven for dinner - TJ's family and the new baby coming later. I make lasagna for the freezer & we get things ready for dinner, visit & relax for the afternoon. TJ's Mom, Dad, sister Lee & Steve & baby Kailee Ann arrive around 6. Dinner of turkey, stuffing, gravy, carrots, corn & bread is a delicious feast!! Great to see all this gang again, before TJ's Dad Mike heads back to China this week.

Sun. April 15 - after Chantel gives me photoshop tips & tricks 101, and a relaxing morning of breakfast, coffee, plans, etc., we head down the road around noon. There is a snowstorm forecast for Montreal, so we have to try to get ahead of it. Just raining so far, aiming for Edmundston tonight, where we need to pick up our next trip permit, that hopefully gets us to PEI on schedule Monday or Tuesday, depending on weather...