Theres no place like home!

Well, we are finally in our new house and loving it!!! It has been a crazy adventure from day one.

After being in our new house a little over one week, we now have almost finished unpacking, setting up the decorating touches and are almost ready for Christmas.

It has been a crazy but I think we are starting to finally unwind just before the kids all come home for Christmas.

So exciting....got to get the new photos uploaded.

Simcoe, Ontario

Well, another Charlotte story to tell.

Sunday morning Brian and I packed up. My son told us about a fantastic place in Grand Haven to have breakfast, Morning Star Cafe.  So we piled into our individual cars and met at the cafe for breakfast. It was outstanding!!! Then we headed on our way from there. .

We drove to Detroit, Michigan to the airport so we could get familiar with it for when we pick up Haylie, Sean and Chloe flying in from Kansas on Christmas eve morning. We found the airport without any trouble but when we tried to find the bridge or the tunnel to cross over to Windsor, Ontario, we missed them completely. We followed our GPS and it tried to take us back to the Port Huron/Sarnia crossing, which was way out of our way. We lost an hour just getting back on track and finally crossing over to Windsor.

We were heading to Rob & Michelle's house in Brantford for the night but when we hit London, Ontario we called them and cancelled our plans. We drove right into a horrible blizzard with white out conditions and traffic was crawling on the 401 heading East. We could see there were at least 10 cars in the ditch and guard rail plus a semi jack-knifed and there were tons of emergency vehicles on the other side of the highway. They were diverting westward traffic off the 401 to the 402. We finally got off the 401 near Ingersoll, driving to Tillsonburg and took the #3 to Simcoe. It was really scary driving in this awful stuff. London hasn't seen this kind of storm for 30 years the news said shutting down schools and roads with 4 - 5 feet of snow blown in from Lake Huron.

We found a really cheap motel room with a kitchenette just west of Simcoe called "Fairview Motel". They have weekly rates so we booked the room for four nights and are staying here since Monday till Friday morning. I'm looking for a job but this is a difficult time of year to get work.

Brian got hired by Canadian Tire basically before we moved, they just wanted to see him for a face to face interview but with his background they snatched him up and made a place for him. We arranged our cell phones to be changed to local numbers; we're arranging house insurance and have a meeting with the lawyers on Thursday; I found a hair salon today and finally caved -- wiped out the gray roots and got it cut and styled -- I feel like a million bucks right now.....it was just the pep in my step that I needed.

The weather has me a little worried though -- the snow just won't stop coming down. Everyone here is shocked and caught off guard. They haven't seen this much snow in years. Anyone who has ever heard my 'whenever I move' story in the past, may be thinking, 'oh yeah, Char did it again!'.....just when we move here they get a freak snow storm. LOL

A few more days and we'll be in our house. Worrying a bit about how this weather is going to affect delivery of our furniture but all I can do is pray and trust the Lord to handle this. Hoping we get everything taken care of that needs to be done. So excited. The next time you hear from me, we will be IN our new house and hopefully I'll have a job.

Grand Haven, Michigan

So we are in Grand Haven, Michigan and Sage is sitting on my lap while we look at pictures on my laptop. Snuggling with Sage, watching Toy Story together, hiding in a blanket tent, eating fruit loops, read "Curious George", wearing his Spiderman costume we bought him.

Today Grandpa and Sage built a snow-woman. The final touches were a little unusual -- a coconut bra and a grass skirt. We later decided it would be great to put both arms going the same direction like "she" was doing the hula. So funny!

We've been here since Thursday afternoon and will be leaving on Sunday heading to Ontario.

Davenport, Iowa and Genosea, Illinois

We spent the day driving across the state of Iowa. Now staying in Geneseo,Illinois, just outside Davenport, Iowa. A much better day for driving today and the scenery was better too -- at least Iowa has something to look at. We are only 5 hours from Grand Haven, Michigan and should be there tomorrow afternoon. Can't wait to see our grandbabies.

North Souix City, South Dakota

Drove across the cold, windy state of South Dakota. Staying tonight at the Comfort Inn. We have almost re-charged our physical batteries even though driving 6 hours a day seems like it too much, its kind of a nice change. I just can't believe how friggin' cold and windy it is here in South Dakota. I've got wind burns on my face but after meeting a homeless woman tonight, I am counting my blessings!!! This woman and her family are staying at the motel because a tornado destroyed their house this year. They were living in their motor home until winter arrived, now they're living in the motel until their house is rebuilt. She said it took this long to finally get the insurance to settle up and the house is just getting started to be rebuilt so they have another 6 months living in the motel.

I think we need to all look around us and thank God for what we have. No matter what we have to complain about, there is always someone next to us that has it worse off. I'm so thankful for everything we have.

Rapid City, South Dakota

Arrived in Rapid City for an early check in. We are still catching up on rest. With the weather issues we decided to call it an early day. Staying at the AmericInn, which we do not recommend. We went to dinner at Arnold's Classic Diner. Then went to the movies to see the new Harry Potter movie. The snow stopped but the wind is horrible here.

New Chapter - Moving Forward

After two of the most stressful and physically taxing days that I can ever remember, we are finally on our way to our new life in Ontario. We left Larry & Grace’s place (The Pioneer Bed & Breakfast – Irricana, Alberta) at 7:00 a.m., stopped for a coffee at Tim Horton’s as we left Calgary.

Saturday evening we arrived at Billings, Montana around 6:00 p.m. and checked into the Dude Rancher Lodge. We know it will be several days to get over the exhaustion and stress but we are starting to relax. We asked the front desk for a recommendation for dinner, which we were thrilled that we took her advice. The Montana Brewing Company is a truly unique place to dine. This brewpub is known for an incredible home-style menu and a full bar featuring special microbrews. We now also recommend it if you ever visit Billings, Montana.

We woke up on Sunday morning to heavy snow coming down. After a nice breakfast, we filled up with gas we started out for Rapid City, South Dakota. Unfortunately the weather worsened as continued, pressing through carefully. We made it over the pass from Billings, Montana on I-90 but we only got as far as Sheridan, Wyoming due to the blizzard. We are stuck here for the night at the Quality Inn, which turned out to be just fine with us -- nice hotel. Our room has a lazy boy recliner, which gave us a much needed feeling of home. If you are ever in Sheridan, Wyoming, eat at Los Agaves restaurant -- truly authentic Mexican food -- I was completely satisfied.

Monday, Nov 29th, we are planning to head to Rapid City, South Dakota because of the weather that is as far as we can probably go until the storm passes through this area.

Home Inspection

Rained all day! That, however, was a good thing because today was the day the home inspector looked over the house we want to buy. Our Realtor, Lisa Vandenbussche, picked us up at the campsite and took us to the new house to meet with the inspector and the other Realtor. I took a lot of photos while Brian stayed right close to the home inspector, who is very anal about the details. He really takes his time and I can tell you that Mike Holmes would be proud and give a thumbs up to this guy I’m sure.

It felt good to be back in the house again. I was so comfortable in this house. I felt like I could have just stayed right there and call it home. I like the way the owners had decorated it too. There isn’t much I would change at all but with the photos I’ve taken I shouldn’t have any problem figuring out what I’m going to do. Just hope everything goes okay and we can get it sooner than later.

This evening, is our last night camping in the motorhome.

Long Point Provincial Park

We left Brian's mother's house this afternoon. It was very sad, she walked us outside and hugged us both and said, ‘I haven’t felt this bad since Susan went off to college’. We hugged her again and reminded her that once we get moved we would be coming up to visit her every month and she should work on her monthly ‘to do’ list for Brian. I felt bad having to say goodbye and leave her all alone. She had travel plans coming up in a day or two so she had something to look forward to with her bridge group. I still can’t believe Isobel is 83 years old.

We arrived at Long Point Provincial Park and it was raining for the last hour of the drive. It was dark by the time we got here so we can't even see where we are until tomorrow morning when we get up. It is not something I recommend when setting up camp!!!! Thankfully we found a few "pull-through" sites because there is no way I was going to direct Brian in backing up this motorhome in the dark AND in the rain to boot. As it was I had to get out of the motorhome, and with my little flashlight act like an air traffic controller, to direct him through the site till we could get it parked. I basically walked ahead of him in the rain as he followed me driving the motorhome like a lost puppy!!! Men!!! Just get out and check out the sites with a flashlight because I want to 'get er done' and obviously it can't be done from the road when you can't see 2 feet in front of you!!! It was funny but a bit frustrating.

Tomorrow our Realtor will pick us up at Long Point and drive us to the new house where we are meeting the home inspector. I'm anxious to see it again and hopefully take a few of my own photos of the inside of the house.

Interestingly I met a man at the campground tonight who just happens to live just down the road from where we'll be living if we get the house.

Visiting Brian's Mother - Part 3

Sunday morning we went to church with Isobel. We were not expected to see Brian's uncle and aunt but it was really a nice treat. After church we all went to lunch together at Kelsey's Restaurant.

Before we went home, Brian suggested that we take a "Sunday drive" to see the countryside. The leaves were turning and quite beautiful. Of course there were moments when we stopped for a couple of photo shoots.

Can you believe she is 83?

When we came home, Mom wanted me to help her plant her tulip and daffodil bulbs in the garden that Brian had cleaned out. Teddi enjoyed the backyard with me. It was a gorgeous sunny afternoon and felt good to be outside.

Isobel asked if we liked Pizza for dinner. She said it would take 50 - 60 minutes. We asked, 'what kind of pizza is it that takes almost an hour...are you sure you read that correctly'? She came back and said, 'Yes, it says 50 - 60 minutes.' Later when dinner was ready, his mother said, 'oh, it wasn't pizza, it was lasagna'. We had a good laugh about that.

We are packing up a few things because we are planning to leave tomorrow and drive to Long Point to camp for a couple of nights. We have a home inspection for our new house coming up soon.

Visiting Brian's Family

Brian and I went to the Casino Rama to celebrate his birthday. We didn't win anything but at least we kept playing a few slots for a couple of hours. That was fun. Then we went to dinner and played a couple of more slots and got home late last night.

Today Brian and I borrowed mom's car to drive to Barrie for breakfast with his sister. We ate at Cora's Restaurant Breakfast & Lunch, which we loved the food and experience but we had never heard of this place before. Ironically we looked online and discovered there is at least one in Calgary.

After breakfast, it was a trip to Costco to look for Miche covers but they didn't have anymore. After shopping we followed Susan to the Springwater Provincial Park, which is a year-round, day use, recreation class park located just outside the City of Barrie.

Susan planned this outing because her son, Ryan, was home from college and would be meeting us there along with her daughter, Shannon and husband, Murray. This was a great idea to take photos of all of us. Susan, like me, is into pictures and she is much better at scrapbooking than I am. Springwater park has trails and the Native Animal Display Trail houses live bears, wolves, owls and swans in the wildlife display areas. We enjoyed spending a couple of hours together as a family.

Visiting Brian's Mother - Part 2

Brian and I took Mom for dinner at Eastside Marios to meet up with his sister and our neice.  We were celebrating both Shannon and Brian's birthdays.

Me and my lovely neice, Shannon

Brian and his mom

We found out they accepted our offer on the new house pending a couple of conditions. We will be leave Mom's place and head to Long Point. We should be able to take a second look at the new house. After the inspection this will be our last opportunity to change our mind basically or confirm 100% that we want to be there.

On Brian's birthday, I made breakfast for everyone. Then his mom decided today was the day for him to do all these things on her "to do" list! She had him vacuum, repair a curtain rod and hang curtains, dig up part of her overgrown garden. I joined in and cleaned the kitchen for her trying to wash away all the grease build up, trying to reduce the clutter and asked where things should go. I did push to get the compost put away instead of leaving it on the counter in a foil pan where there were at least 50 fruit flies buzzing. After it got dumped, Mom kept the nasty pan and put it back on the counter unwashed. Of course the fruit flies stayed to wait for their next meal. Brian drove her to the bank and around town to run errands. She took us out for lunch.  Mom might be on paid medication but that doesn't seem to slow her down.   She just continues to putter around even though we are here to help her.  We've quit trying to get her to relax. His mother is the queen of recycling -- I should try to have something made up for her one day that actually says that. One of her friends was picking her up to go play Bridge so we had the evening to ourselves.

Visiting Brian's Mother - Part 1

Arrived at my mother-in-law's house and parked in the driveway. Letting the dog out in the backyard, we were immediately sent out to run errands because Mom had fallen recently so she doesn't get around very well and is on pain medication.  We took her car to do her errands for her while she stayed home.  After dinner, we tried to get her to rest while I cleaned up but she has a special method of loading her dishwasher and wouldn't rest until she did it herself. We stayed up and showed her pictures of the rental property we renovated in Calgary and then pictures of our upgraded home in Chestermere. When we went to bed Brian and I both had to laugh that in less than 2 hours his mother had already irritated us both.  

We brought our coffeepot into the house because his mother only uses a one-cup coffee pot. We had it set up to just turn on the button. The next morning when I came inside and started to get a cup of coffee she said, 'Oh, I don't want that much coffee'. I smiled to myself and said, "This cup is for me. You can help yourself with as much or as little as you like." Brian was still asleep in the motorhome. Mom said to me, 'Don't you think you should shower first before Brian wakes up and wants to take a shower?' My answer was a simple, 'nope' because I try to keep my answers short as possible with her. I sat down at the kitchen table and began working on my laptop, still smiling to myself because I refused to be offended this time because I know she doesn't mean anything by it.

Well, here's the deal. You just don't tell his mom anything. She will not leave it alone. We have some major decisions to make today and we made the mistake of telling his mother and she pestered Brian all morning until she left the house to go play Bridge.  At one time in my marriage that would have surprised me, after all we just got here yesterday and haven't seen her for two years. However, I'm not surprised anymore because his mother never passes up the weekly Bridge game unless she is sick or traveling -- but then when she travels its usually with her Bridge group. She really is amazing for her age and I admire that she is so active.

So what was she riding his butt about you are probably wondering. Well, Brian really thought we would be living here by now so he chose not to renew his drivers license before we left Calgary. Unfortunately, the license expires this coming Friday, Oct 1st (his birthday). So after that he won't have a valid license. We were trying to decide if he could get an Ontario license and list his mother's address as home, OR should he fly back and take care of it then fly back here because we wanted to stay just a little longer (Brian's birthday and thanksgiving is coming. We decided to extend our stay a few extra days and I will have to drive.

This afternoon, while his mom was playing Bridge, we went shopping for a few more groceries for her. When his mother came home she tried to 'direct' Brian on the dinner meal he was creating. I was in the living room writing this blog. I heard the two of them arguing over the expiration date of things in the refrigerator. Suddenly, I got the feeling I was on the tv show "Hoarders"!!!! Brian said, "Ma, when was the last time you cleaned out your fridge because this stuff expired two years ago...like March 2008?" She said, "Well, I've wiped it down a bit on the shelves." Brian came over to me and whispered, "I think we are going to have to go through that fridge because there is a lot of crap in there that is really old." I just smiled and nodded thinking, 'Yeah, you get right on that, she's your mother and I'm not touching getting into that one with her. She wouldn't even let me load the dishwasher last night without trying to take over so I just rinsed and stacked the dishes for her.

Visiting the Deighton's

Arrived at Sue and Tom's house in Ballantrae on Saturday afternoon. Sue and Tom,their children, McKenna and Eli, are our friends we met at Triple Diamond Campground. They were our campsite neighbors on Spruce Drive and the the folks that Brian built the deck for.

They have a couple of gentle cats and one furry friend named Riley, a puppy who is a Bernese Mountain Dog. I have never seen a dog like Riley. She lays on her back and spreads her arms like she is flying. We took a chance and put Teddi outside in the backyard with Riley. They were fine together -- no fighting (that's a first for Teddi) but Teddi was not interested in this young pup. Instead she just wanted to sit at the patio door and watch the cats inside.

Tom is a fantastic cook. We ate the most amazing and delicious ribs ever!!! He made these ribs on the smoker that would put Tony Roma's to shame. Then we learned to play Euchre (an Ontario card game) that Brian has been trying to teach me for years. Now that we are all together again and in Ontario, we thought we should at least try to learn it. Then we played our campground favorite "Dice".

We had a few more awesome meals and watched a couple of movies while we were there together. Monday morning rolled around pretty fast and soon it was time for the kids to go to school and Tom had to go to work. Sue is studying for her realtor's license so we had to get a move on.  We hate to say goodbye but at least we know we are coming back again when we actually get to move here.

Bought a house in Ontario

Decided to stayover at Turkey Point for an additional day. We've been traveling so much that we haven't stayed more than one night at any campground so we thought it would be nice to just relax a bit and stay another night. Also that would give us a chance to see our good friends from Brantford again. Rob and Michelle said they would drive out to Turkey Point and camp with us for the night.

The biggest news!!! We took a drive today with a realtor in the Simcoe area. She showed us 5 houses in the Norfolk county. 

Guess what -- we found one that we really liked and put an offer on it.  It is out in the country only a few minutes from Lake Erie.

It is outside of Port Rowan, Ontario near Long Point Provincial Park and about 20 minutes from Turkey Point. This house has everything we wanted except a swimming pool. It met 9 out of 10 things on our Top 10 list of things we are looking for.

OUR TOP 10 PRIORITY LIST

1. AREA: SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO
30- 40 MIN TO MAJOR CENTRE

2. BUDGET $200,00 TO $250,000
WILL CONSIDER FIX-ER-UPPER IF THE PRICE IS RIGHT

3. CENTRAL AIR CONDITIONING

4. PRIVACY & QUIET

5. LARGE YARD WITH LOTS OF SHADE TREES (LANDSCAPING)
LOOKING FOR ACREAGE 1 TO 3 ACRES or EDGE OF QUIET SMALL TOWN

6. WORKSHOP or ROOM TO BUILD ONE

7. FIREPLACE

8. BUNGALOW WITH OPEN FLOOR PLAN

9. 2 - 3 BEDROOMS

10. SWIMMING POOL OR NEAR A BEACH

Turkey Point Campground

We camped last night again at Lakewood Christian Campground outside of Sarnia. Headed out today driving along Lake Huron, exploring little towns along the way. We actually arranged to meet with a realtor to look at a house but she forgot and we surprised the owner, who nicely took us around to show us his house. This, ironically, was the second time that we looked at a house showed by the home-owner and that person was a man showing the house unexpectedly without his wife's knowledge -- apologizing for how messy it was. Kind of funny.

Anyway, along the way, we stopped in London and bought our first Ipod. Wow!
We drove on to Turkey Point Provincial Park for the night.

Leaving Michigan

This was hard leaving the grandsons and my family but I know that we will see them again in a few months after we finally move to Ontario.   Some of the highlights of our visit with the kids:

1. Grandpa and Sage playing at the school ground

2. Grandma and Sage playing in the backyard

3. Kissing and holding new baby Christian

4. Coley and mom late night chat and dueling computers

5. Shopping at Target

6. Fawn and Char shopping at Wal-mart

7. Char getting her glasses caught in her hair and needed store assistance

8. Coley & Brian golfing

9. Coley's salsa and fajitas

10. Coley getting his new truck

11. Mornings with Sage

12. Walking to the Beach - asking jogger for prayer.

Let me explain #12 (Walking to the Beach - asking jogger for prayer) because it is a good story. As I was walking Teddi heading to the beach, I was praying about our house selling. Then as a woman was jogging toward me, I was inpressed to ask her something. I yelled over to her as she neared me, "Excuse me, would you happen to be a Christian?" She answered, "Yes, I am." She stopped as she reached me. I asked, "Would you mind praying for me?". She crossed the road and I explained that I am a little anxious about our house selling back in Calgary, explaining that I live in Canada. She nodded and said lets pray right now. She prayed for peace for me and my family about this house selling and then prayed for God's perfect timing and following his plan and so forth. I agreed with her in prayer. Then she said, "I believe strongly in the scripture 'you have not because you ask not' so I appreciate that God must have wanted you to ask me for prayer." Then we said our goodbyes and as I walked on to the beach ahead, I thought to myself, "Thank you God that you put this into my heart and I heard you. I'm so glad I obeyed you and acted on that impulse to ask that woman for prayer. I leave this in your hands." When I got to the beach, I stood there looking out and took in the beauty and majestic size of Lake Michigan. The beach, the waves, the wind blowing moist air upon my face, the cool waves washing over my feet as I stood on the sinking sand. I thought of the scripture that talks about not building your house on sinking sand but on the rock. I looked at the wet beach and could almost see the footprints in my mind from the footprints poem. I truly felt His peace and the letting go of the worry. I know it will be a continued release, just as the waves continually wash in, I will probably have to continually let go of this worry and continually bring this concern before the Lord. I know one thing -- it truly is in his hands.    "...the times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you". (Mary Stevenson's poem 'Footprints in the Sand')

Traveling Nomadics

Enjoying the nomadic life right now.
Feeling a bit like a gypsy.
Wishing we never had to go home.
Feeling the adventure and freedom.
Is this how it feels to be a "beach bum" without a beach?

Really like not having to go to work and not having a schedule.
We stay up late if we want and sleep in till we're ready to get up.
While we are visiting other people, we stay in one spot.
While we're traveling, we move camp every day.

Sometimes it reminds me of the pioneer days.
Traveling in a covered wagon (motorhome)scouting the areas.

Grand Haven, Michigan

We arrived in Grand Haven, Michigan and plan to leave in about four days to head back to Ontario. My son took a couple of days off work. We bought Sage a Spiderman costume because he is so infatuated with Spiderman. We also got him a Buzz Lightyear costume. We've pretty much just hung around the house with the kids. My son bought a used truck in great condition. He and Brian went over to the guys house to get it. That will give the kids two vehicles instead of just one.

We watched a movie together one night and have been just playing with the grandkids and talking. On Sunday, Coley took us to Target so we could go shopping.  Fawn stayed home with the baby. Today, Fawn and I went out to Wal-mart and then came home while the guys went shopping for running shoes and golf shoes. They are going golfing in the morning. We are planning to take the grandkids and all go to the pumpkin patch tomorrow afternoon. Its been so much fun just playing with Sage and holding the baby. They are so cute. We've been staying in our motorhome parked in the driveway. Its so nice to have the extra room and privacy when we want it.

Every day with the grandkids is a new adventure. Sage is almost four.  He is still adjusting to sharing attention with his new baby brother. The baby is sleeping more and more and growing so quickly even since we've been here. Its just so great to be with them. I'm not looking forward to saying goodbye on Wednesday but the good news is that we won't have to wait so long to see them the next time. Hopefully we'll be moved to Ontario shortly.

Sarnia

SARNIA HEADLINES: Drive-thru bandits take Tim Horton’s till.

Two customers at a Tim Horton’s drive-thru near Sarnia, Ont., took more from the pickup window than they were supposed to. Police said two men pulled up to the Bright's Grove coffee shop window around 4:40 a.m. Tuesday. They said one man then crawled through the drive-thru window. A second man held his feet so he wouldn't fall into the restaurant. Police said the first man then used a knife to cut the cables on the back of the cash register and pulled it back into the car before the vehicle pulled away from the drive-thru.

We are now in Sarnia but it IT WASN'T US!!! HONEST! We drove around the area and went to a house on Lakeshore Road, which was listed for sale. We noticed an "open house" sign just down the road so we pulled up to that house and realized we would be 2 days early as it was advertised for Sunday. Just about the time we were walking back to our motorhome, the owner drove up and got out of his car. He came over to meet us and started chatting -- a very friendly guy named Phil. Come to find out he use to live in Calgary but also use to live in Sarnia and moved back here a few years ago. He was very familiar with all the South-western part of Ontario. He told us about Sarnia from a more positive perspective. Then he offered to show us around his house. He was moving to Vancouver now because of his job. Anyway, it was funny, how it all worked out. He took us around this beautiful house and we were very impressed but knew it was way out of our league and we were right, it was way beyond our budget.

Phil was very helpful and very trusting to show two complete strangers inside his house, especially after the Tim Horton's robbery a few days ago. LOL Phil told us how to get to the nearby Centennial Park that has public beach access to Lake Huron. (Everyone we meet says they would never swim in Lake Erie because it is so dirty but that Lake Huron is great!) We told Phil that we were planning to stay at the Lakewood Christian Campground on the edge of town. He confirmed that it was a good place to stay so we drove outside of town to view an acreage for sale then we headed over to the campground.

As soon as we arrived we notice how clean and organized it was for a set up of 300 seasonal campers plus a lot more for overnighters. We set up for the evening and then rode our bikes around with Teddi running along beside us AND trying to chase squirrels! Teddi is about 70 years old in dog years so by the time she got home and ate her dinner, the poor girl just dropped onto her bed by the campfire and didn't move until we went in for the night. She loved every minute of it.

Well that’s it for the evening. Tomorrow it is suppose to rain all day and we are pulling out. We’re going back to Michigan tomorrow to see the kids for another four days.

Chatham and Mitchell's Bay

We looked over the area of Chatham today and made contact with a realtor we had spoken with in June. I suggested we meet for lunch at Tim Hortons because I really needed a “double-double”. This is when I learned something today about Ontario. The Tim Horton's chains across Ontario do not accept payment by debit or Visa, they only accept payment by Cash, Mastercard or by pre-paid Tim's card. It was a good thing I had cash on me. The manager explained to us that all Tim's, across Ontario, are just now getting debit machines in. I told her, "You've got to be kidding me. We've had them in Calgary forever." She said they were behind Calgary when it comes to getting things into getting these things. We were not happy and I said to Brian, "Well, maybe we should reconsider moving to Ontario and specifically Chatham if Tim Horton's is not up to date with the times! Maybe I should write a letter". The manager said, "Oh you don't need to do that, we're definitely will be getting the debit system anytime now, it just hasn't happened yet."

We sat down to eat when the realtor, a local resident, arrived as planned. I told him about the debit and Visa thing just as the manager came over and handed me a complimentary $25.00 Tim's card hoping this would get us off to the right start. Obviously I thanked her and was more impressed by the way she handled the situation. Of course, I felt like crap about it, but hey, it got me set up with free coffee and donuts for awhile, didn't it? Later when I read up on the situation I found a blog about it written by Steve Thoms commenting on how Ontario’s backwards ways. Neither Brian nor I ever heard anything about this but it seems there are a lot of places in Ontario that don’t take debit or credit cards. This really surprises me.

As we drove across Southwestern Ontario we noticed a lot of trucks carrying tomatoes. Leamington is known as the “Tomato Capital” of Canada -- they even have a Tomato Festival every year. The tomato is the largest vegetable crop grown in area. They also grow corn and we noticed lots of fields across Southwest Ontario growing tobacco. The moderate climate and soil are perfect for growing tobacco even though the government is trying to control it and offered farmers $300M to quit growing tobacco.

We drove as far as Mitchell's Bay today where we camped for the night. Mitchell's Bay is a community of about 350 year round residents located on the east shore of beautiful Lake St. Clair. Their website says they are well-known throughout the entire Midwest for great fishing, boating and camping and has some of the best smallmouth Bass and Pickerel fishing to be found anywhere in North America! I guess people come from as far away as Great Britain, and many travel from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Texas to enjoy the world class fishing!

It must be true, because we met a guy from Ohio, named John, who pulled his fishing boat to Mitchell’s Bay. He didn’t have a camper and just slept in the back up his pickup. John said he takes off several weeks at a time to just get away and fish. He was a heck of a nice guy. He and Brian chatted for quite some time and then Brian asked him over to our motorhome for a beer or two. We had an interesting evening chatting with him for a long time. Brian kind of needed the socialization with someone other than me. We had some issues with the campsites around us -- set up strangely for non-seasonal campsites with the electrical plugs 75 feet from the water taps. We got out and started setting up camp in the pouring rain when we discovered we needed to add on the extra water hose extension just to get it to stretch far enough to reach the tap. Even then it STILL didn't reach. Another camper offered to loan us her extra hose when we found our electrical plug in wouldn't reach anyway so we had to unhook and move the motorhome off the gravel parking sideways on the grass just to get it to reach. When Brian went to the office to pay, he told them about it and how difficult that was. An older gentleman there said, "well, you know this place was built back in the 70's". Brian said, "and this is now 2010 so don't you think you should upgrade the accommodations?" The owner was real nice and drove over to the site so Brian could point it out to him. We were stunned that nobody ever complained about the stupidity of this before. It all worked out but we sure thought that was the strangest set up we ever saw.

Wheatley

Woke up and got a slow start traveling today. So enjoyed just relaxing. Brian and I have decided Fall is a great month for camping because everyone has gone back to school and summer is basically over so no crowds. The leaves are going to be turning soon, you can feel it coming. Nature is getting ready. The squirrels are busy gathering acorns and everything looks like it is winding down.

We drove through Simcoe, Delhi, Tillsonburg, Aylmer, St. Thomas, Blenheim and Wheatley before settling down for the night. We've discussed it and think that Tillsonburg is really nice but we're still checking the areas we feel we want to live in.

We found the Lakeside Village Motel and Campground just outside of Wheatley. The campground is right on the bluffs overlooking Lake Erie. We pretty much had the campground all to ourselves as the seasonal campers are gone right now...maybe they'll be out on the weekend but for now it is very quiet except for the heavy winds. The multiple wind turbines around the countryside between Blenheim and Wheatley suggest it might be too windy for us to live here. Tonight we got a little taste of it as our motorhome swayed us to sleep.

Tomorrow we are heading down to see Leamington and then back up to Chatham-Kent.

Rondeau Provincial Park

Arrived at Rondeau Provincial Park near Blenheim, Ontario. Was having a very emotional day as we left Brantford this morning. It all became very overwhelming for me as we found ourselves traveling the back roads looking for houses. It felt as though we were lost but we weren't. I had a panic attack and broke down. It just closed in on me and hit me hard. We decided to go back to our original plan, calm down and drive along Lake Erie and check out the little towns we could be living in to see if can get a better sense for the area. The stress was really getting to me of all this waiting while we move forward....in other words traveling by blind faith but tonight, well tonight God gave me the most beautiful signs that He is with us and that we are on the right path.

Our campsite has electricity but other than that it isn't much of a park....or so I thought. I remember the poster about nature trails and what this park has to offer. It mentioned the Monarch Butterfly migration. I didn't think much about it but just as it was getting dusk, we looked and suddenly notice 100's literally 100's of Monarch Butterflys roosting in the trees for the evening. We were able to get some pictures. I turned to Brian and said, this is a sign from God -- butterflys are symboling of transformation, change and new beginnings. Think about it. How many butterflys did we see all along this trip? 1. Mackinac Island Butterfly Conservatory, 2. walking Sage back from the playground we saw about 10 Monarch butterflys, 3. must have been 100 Monarchs roosting in the trees this evening.

It had been a rough day for us...stressing out while trying to get off the backroads and stop trying to find houses to look at; I had a panic attack and started crying. Then tonight, it all changed. It was like God was showing me that we were like the migrating butterflys -- we're on the right path.

Then we walked Teddi through the quiet campground over to the most beautiful setting for a sunset -- on the lake. I couldn't risk going back to the camper to get my camera so we were forced to sit down and remember it. It was the most peaceful moment in my life!!!! It was magical and time-stopping beautiful. I felt the best peace ever in my life. I knew what God was doing -- I turned to Brian and said 'God wants us to know His perfect peace and that we should be at peace about all this...He's got us on the right path and its all going to be ok.'

Finally we had to finish the walk with Teddi but I asked Brian to give me a minute. Then I prayed and thanked God for everything.

Sept 15th -- the next morning. I got up early and started walking toward the sounds of ocean waves against the shore. I followed the sound across the backside of the campground till I found a footpath to the beach. There it was...Lake Erie! The beach was desserted and quiet. The houses along the shore must be leasing the government land but all was quiet. I listened to the waves rolling in and took a couple of pictures, then headed back to campsite.



We found a dragonfly inside the camper this morning. When Brian walked to Lake Erie, he came back and told me he was swarmed by about 50 black flies and began to tell me the annoyance of black flies...something I am not familiar with. I only thought I would have to worry about millions of mosquitos in Ontario but the black flies sound horrible. There are a lot of bugs here!

Visiting the Boyle's

Left Grand Haven, Michigan - Arrived Brantford, Ontario

Staying with Rob & Michelle & Tori and parked in the driveway at their house. Enjoyed swimming in their pool and relaxing in the hot tub. Brian and Rob caught up on old times and drank a lot of beer!!!

They took us to Brantwood Farms where Brian and I went crazy over the fresh picked produce. We picked fresh apples from their orchard. Took home a lot of fruits and veggies -- including the best corn we've ever had.  Then we went out to a beautiful place on the edge of town for a short hike. I don't know what it was called but it was gorgeous, tough for someone like me who is really out of shape. We walked across a bridge and what a view of the Grand River.

Visiting The Grandchildren

Arrived at Coley & Fawn's house in Grand Haven, Michigan. Spent time with the grandsons, Sage & Christian. Christian is only 2 months old and hasn't quite got the hang of sleeping in his crib at night. Coley and Fawn take turns staying up with him holding him. Sage is full of energy and makes me laugh. He is definately "Grandpa's boy" so I'm hoping Christian will be "Grandma's boy". We need one each ya know!

Mackinac Island

Traveled by ferry to Mackinac Island in Michigan. It is a very interesting place that we both recommend highly! Check out the website www.mackinacisland.org. There are only three ways to get around on the island: by foot, by bicycle or by carriage. No motor vehicles are allowed on the island except for the emergency vehilces that you never see, unless their is an emergency. There are over 600 horses on Mackinac Island. Saddle horses for trail riding, public or private carriage tours and you can even drive your own buggies to tour the historic Mackinac Island State Park. We took a 2 hour carriage tour taking lots of photos until my battery ran down. We plan to go back and actually stay all night on the island the next time on a future trip.

For those of you who saw the time-travel romance movie "Somewhere in Time" with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, you'll love the island where they filmed at the Grand Hotel.

We headed to Grand Haven, Michigan to see the kids that afternoon. We have had a great time playing with Sage and holding the baby. Enjoyed our short time but we'll be coming back after we explore around southwestern Ontario looking at houses next week.

Time to go...got to hug my grandbabies!!!