Some Old Family Photos

I should have done this years ago. If our house caught fire what would I try and save? My family and my photos. It took all of 1/2hr to scan these priceless memories.
Mum and Dad's wedding

 Nan

 Mum and Terry

 Mum

 Terry and Maureen

 Terry

Our Best Ofs - Water

Best Beach

Dad        Black Brook, Ingonish. The sandy bottomed fresh water stream and the ocean waves were a perfect  combination.

Mom Same as Dad

Jem         Pancake Bay, ON. The waves were so much fan and digging in the sand with Ryan.

Ryan Cheticamp, Cape Bretton. The waves were fun. Plus finding and burying all those jelly fish. 

Black Brook (river), Ingonish, Cape Breton, NS

Black Brook (Atlantic), Ingonish, Cape Breton, NS

Best Lake

Dad         Brà D’or inland sea at Baddeck. The sea was half salt half fresh. We swam and we swam and we swam!

Mom Grand Lake, New Brunswick. After a quite stressful day this place was a slice of paradise.

Jem         Lake Ontario. Playing in the waves and exploring the beach with my new friend, Jennifer.

Lake Ontario, Wellington, ON

Bra D'or, Baddeck, Cape Breton, NS

Best River

Dad         Mauricie/ St Laurent at Isle de Saint Quentin, Trois Rivieres. A great beach and swimming experience.

Mom Ottawa River, ON. It was so hot and the river was so refreshing.

The Ottawa River, Ottawa, ON

The Mauricie and St Laurence Rivers, Trois Rivieres, QB

Best overall swimming experience

Dad and Mom Baddeck, Cape Bretton. Ryan swam all the way out to the dock and we all jumped and dove in to the water all day.
Jem        Skinny dipping in the river at Ingonish. No photos available.

Pancake Bay, ON

Cheticamp, Cape Breton, NS

Cheticamp, Cape Breton, NS

Our Best Ofs - Food

Food First - Of Course! (Who do you think got up at 7:00am to do this?)

Best Breakfast

Dad         Truckers, Swift Current, AB. Sitting with all the other truckers!

Mom Crêpe Breton Pancakes, Québec City. The atmosphere and the best crepes ever.

Jem         Same as Mom

Ryan Chocolate Cherios every morning. Yum!

Best Lunch

Dad        The 2lb lobster I ate by myself at the falls in Cape Bretton. No butter, no fixins!

Mom Mussels in our trailer, Cavendish, PEI. The home made broth was so yummy!

Jemma and Ryan The home made pizza at Trois Rivieres during kids club

Best Dinner

Dad         The Burrowing Owl, Oliver, BC. A great meal with great company. The last meal of our trip.

Mom The lobster supper, Baddeck, Cape Breton. The endless mussels and atomsphere.

Jem         Black Angus, Spokane. A prime rib dinner with all the fixins.

Ryan The Cabana Sucre. The food was Ok. Dancing with Diddy!

Day 74 Oliver, BC - Home!

It is 11:30am and I have just finished updating the blog.  The kids are watching Happy Feet and I have just seen the sign for Maple Ridge, Exit 92.  Wow!  We have breakfasted at Subway, done our “Best of” list of the best things of our trip and picked up some tomatoes for Nanny.  We also picked up 20 lbs of peaches in Keremeos but then left them at the store.  I guess I won’t be canning peaches after all!  So I guess this is it.  We have cloudy skies and 19 degrees.  And all our friends and family waiting for us at home.  We have had an amazing, fabulous trip and it has been so awesome sharing it with you!  Thank you for all your comments, prayers and staying with us!  We are so grateful for you all and feel so totally richly blessed to have had the chance to spend time with with you this summer!  God Bless!   

Nova Scotia to Home, 6,904 km, in two weeks!
Total 15,905km in 74 days!

Seventy four days on the road. We are all in one piece, our marriage is good (no great) shape and we had an adventure that we will remember for a long time.

Stay tuned for our best ofs.

Day 73 Lakeside Resort, Oliver, BC

Our last day of our trip.  What did we do?  Oh yeah, nothing.  Beach, fresh fruit margaritas, corner store.  Oh wait, It is our anniversary today!  18 blissful years.  Hmm?  Who is writing the blog?  That is the question.  You will have to decide for yourself.  So, I made breakfast for my loving spouse, ham, eggs, toast and 2 cups of tea.  We have 1 teabag left.  Can you believe it?  Whoever packed for this trip did a wonderful job of making sure we had just the right amount of everything.  There is even 1 Q-Tip left for tonight’s big night out!  So, the day was spent sleeping, swimming, fishing and playing Bocci!.  Natalie phoned and we arranged to meet her and Trevor at Burrowing Owl Winery/Restaurant for dinner at 6pm.  At 5:30pm, I corralled Ryan and got him showered (cold water, grrrrr) and got myself all dolled up.  

The Burrowing Owl, Oliver, BC

Natalie looks way to comfortable for someone who swam 3.8km, biked 180km
and ran a marathon (40km) just yesterday!

We had a lovely dinner (VERY FANCY) at Burrowing Owl while the kids were left at the campsite with 2 cans of ravioli, a bun, a jug of club soda and lime and some cut up veggies.  Aren’t I a good mother?  Oh shoot I gave it away who was writing.  So we had a gourmet meal of duck and veal and when we returned the kids were all snuggled up in our trailer and it turns out that Karen took pity on them and feed them dinner.  So, our first and last dinner(s) was with friends  Isn’t that perfect? The kids could not wait to get to bed, they were begging for it.  I guess that’s what happens when left to fend for yourself, you eventually crave someone to take care of you.  Jemma said it felt like Christmas Eve, they can’t wait to go home!

Day 72 Lakeside Resort, Oliver, BC

Oh my goodness!  The Ironman!  Natalie -remember her from Drumheller? - see Side Story if you missed it.  Well, Natalie is doing her 3rd Ironman and we were determined to see her and cheer her on.  We jumped on our bikes and attempted to find number 2593. 

We watched for her for an hour and then gave up (it was hot and really tiring holding up the iphone, plus my bum was sore from sitting on a rock). Later, she told us that she saw us right when we got there and called out to us but we didn’t hear.  She did great!  We headed back to Lakeside via the corner store (slurpies, candy, really whatever the kids wanted!). We gave them 10 bucks each when we arrived and said, “Here you go, this is your money for Lakeside, do whatever you want, just don’t bug us!”  So, that is just what they did.  

I was basically comatose on the beach all day and I guess Barry just hung out too.  I didn’t even muster the strength to go in the water.  We had a campfire and eventually found the kids and stuffed them into their sleeping bags.  We really have dropped the ball at this point when it comes to hygiene.  I honestly can’t think of when Ryan has showered since Louisbourg.  Did he shower in Louisbourg?  I have no idea.  So basically Ryan is eating giant straws of some blue powder for breakfast, slurpies for lunch, falling off fridges at night (apparently) and really just fending for himself.  It is time to go home!

Day 71 Grand Forks to Oliver BC 145km

We are almost there!  But before we head to Lakeside we have a garage sale to man!  Larry and Sharon had a few bits and bobs to clean out and sell and we happened to be there to help.  It was great, a beautiful day and people coming and going with the help of Ryan directing traffic in and out (for 2 hours!) and Jemma selling.

Barry and Rich snuck in 9 holes in at the Par 3 while we were busy buying and selling!  Just when I had given up getting a replacement bike, Sharon pulled out two vintage bikes from the shed.  I am not joking when I say that these bikes are a dream come true.  Vintage, speedometer and odometer (someone has already put on 980 miles on that ol bike!) and a basket!!!!!!  And there were two of them!!!!!  After convincing Barry that we could find somewhere to put them, he relented and fixed them on up for me (an early anniversary present)!  Jemma and I LOVE our bikes!!!!  And then to top it off, there in front of me was Maggie’s old set of camping Weeble Wobbles!  Can you believe it?  

So around 1pm we headed out, saying our goodbyes to the whole fam, sham, damily.  Dani came up with Lany and Sam so we got to see them too!  The kids slept the whole way to Osoyoos and they awoke to one of the best views of our trip, dropping down into Osoyoos with the lake going as far as the eye can see!  It only took a couple of hours to make our way along Highway 3 to Osoyoos and then up to Oliver. 

This is our last stop before heading home next week. We have camped here in Lakeside Resort the same week for the past 11 years so we didn’t want to miss meeting up with our friends and taking a holiday from our holiday.  We met back up with Karen and Kenny (first stop in Kamloops) and their kids, Candace and James, Doreen and Heinz and the rest of the regulars. We set up our camp for the last time and Barry relaxed while I had a shower, caught up on emails and hit the sack exhausted!  

We made it!

Day 70 Spokane, WA to Grand Forks, BC 220km

Yesterday was a long day. I still feel a bit foggy as if I had too much Red Bull. I never touch the stuff! It’s probably an adrenalin hangover. We are within spitting distance of BC. We had a lazy morning and set off at 11:00am for the Canadian Border. “How Long have you been away, sir?” “FOREVER!” is my reply. The border at Christina Lake is tiny. There are three cars ahead of us, a single lane and we are across in less than 5mins. Did I mention that I love Canada! Chances are that the Canadian security Forces have been following our every move for the past 15,000km but since we didn’t purchase any ‘road kill sausage’ (it was for sale at the Mt Rushmore KOA) they let us through.

We found Donna, Rich, Larry and Sharon on the Par 3, nine hole golf course just 3 minutes after the border. We watched them finish their game and headed back to the ranch. By the way, if you want a 10 acre, horse boarder’s dream of a property, for less than $500K let me know because Larry and Sharon want to downsize.

We had a relaxing burger dinner and chatted around the campfire till bedtime. The temperature dropped to a frigid 5C over night. Yikes. We are back in BC!

Day 69 Billings, Montana to Spokane, Washington 846km

4:45am and I am up preparing the vehicle for departure. Remove the rear stabilizing jacks, unhook the water and electric, chuck the kids in the van and we are off. This way we get 200km under our belt before the kids even stir.

The ABS light has gone out and remains out so far this morning. Today is our final ‘push’ day. We want to get to an outlet mall to buy back to school kids clothes. It looks like Spokane has what we want. Also, Spokane is just a hop, skip and jump from Grand Forks home of our dear friends Dani, Doug and Larry and Sharon with Donna (Donut) and Rich coming over to stay for the weekend.

We arrived safe and sound at the Spokane KOA at about 3:00pm (includes a 1hr time change for Washington).

We went out for dinner, did some ‘back to school’ shopping and were actually not feeling too bad. We are almost home!

Day 68 Mt Rushmore, SD to Billings, Montana 576km

We had to stay for the pancake breakfast so we had a later than usual start. These guys have pancakes down to a science. A vat of batter that can travel over the hot plate. Press a lever and batter flows out of four holes to make pancakes. Roll the vat along and four more pancakes get started. It looks like the cook could get at least 48 pancakes on the go at once. Can you guess who’s writing this? One of us writes continually about food and the other writes about the health of Ryan. Speaking of Ryan’s health, he fell backwards off of one of the inflatable slides yesterday and gibbled his left arm. I’m sure it’s just a sprain. Poor little guy. He’s been a real trooper. 

After breakfast we drove the few kilometers out to Mt Rushmore. As one of the wonders of the modern world we gave it a ten second stop at a traffic light to take a few photos, say ‘Wow’ about 6 times and then drive on back up to the I90. 

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln

Just to add to our late start, there was an accident just ahead of us that stopped traffic completely. A state trooper directed traffic onto the other side of the road after about 30mins wait and we drove around. There were tons of emergency vehicles including a helicopter.

The stress level went back up to max when we had another engine light come on. This time it was the ABS light. You gotta be kiddin’ me! The good news is that we pulled off to gas up and across the street was a car and truck service centre. The very kind and generous mechanic hooked up his little computer and told us that we had a failed wheel sensor that would affect our anti-lock brakes. Nothing too serious unless we need our anti-lock brakes. He reset the alarm and we drove off. 10 minutes later the light came back on. We will get it fixed in BC.

It seemed like a very long drive day and the kids were getting a bit restless when we pulled in to the KOA at Billings, Montana at about 6:30pm (the first ever KOA). No, we do not work for KOA.

Winding our way through South Dakota

Day 67 Sioux Falls, South Dakota - Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota 600km

Early morning, leaving the campground at 7am.  First stop:  Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD (http://www.cornpalace.org/Information/corn-palace-history.php).  Umm, what can I say?  A Hindu looking building with a huge mural on the walls made out of 13 different coloured corn cobs, husks and stalks.  

Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD

Second stop:  Wall Drug, Wall, SD.  This one was pretty cool if I do say so myself.  The story is really cool and by coincidence, the book that Jemma and I bought before our trip, Moon over Manifest, used the story of Wall Drug as inspiration for a part in her story.  http://www.walldrug.com/t-history.aspx

Go to the link to read the whole story.  So we stopped in for 5 cent coffee and free ice water and ended up buying souvenir pennies, a beach towel, and a bag full of rocks.  We had lunch there, swung by the shooting gallery and then left forgetting to get the fresh homemade cake donuts and to gas up!  Luckily , there was a gas station (I mean a gas station up the road in the middle of the badlands.  Yippee!  We had got a car battery near the Corn Palace and some fuses for the trailer so all systems were go.  Booked ourselves into a very fancy KOA near Mt Rushmore.

This was no ordinary KOA. Voted the best in Nth America more than once. It was more like a 5 star resort. The check-in desks were similar to those at the Fairmont. 600 sites, golf cart rentals, two pools, inflated slides everywhere, a bouncy pillow, a chuckwagon dinner and pancake breakfast. We didn’t even leave the KOA to see Mt Rushmore, it was that good!