Best Western Renfrew Inn

So, it's the last night for packing - what you see on the bed is only one part of one of at least four rooms. I'm guessing it's going to be a long night.

Here's s summary of our itinerary for those of you who want it.

Itinerary September 15, 2009

9:30 AM - 10:30 Murray's Taxi - shuttle to airport -- (613) 622-0677

12:10 AM ...

A mere 400 or so miles later I pass into very familiar territory, the Ottawa Valley. Rolling farm fields, barn smells and small towns after you bypass Ottawa (which has a charming hostel - the old Ottawa Jail right in the downtown).
There's a fiddle festival going on over the Labor Day weekend. It's become a phenom now after several years. The riverside park fills with rvs and bodies. Nice location.

... then man suddenly lowered the camera. "I feel as if I know you from somewhere", he said. I looked and recognized him as one of the men who work at Red Pine Camp taking care of the grounds and facilities there. We had a chuckle about that, they took some photos, and soon enough Shawn and I were on the road again, for the last kilometer or our shared riding. It really was a little sad to part ways. We sat astride our idling bikes at a remote intersection. I shook his hand and thanked ...

... the river. After the Rupert trip, we travelled for another 12 hours south again to the Gatineau River, where we stayed at the Bonnet Rouge campsite. This was a beautiful site by the awesome Gatineau River. The Bonnet Rouge is the smallest rapid on the river, but the waves are still much bigger than I have ever paddled before in a kayak. The first day we arrived, fresh off the bus, to a gorgeous sunny day. We unpacked, set up and played some silly games (human ...

... and took turns to guide one rapid each. The first day I guided The Normans and today I guided Coliseum, both of which went reasonably well and everyone stayed in the raft. We had some fun at Butcher's Knife, when the person guiding took the wrong angle into the Chopping Block wave and the raft high sided and dumped everyone. Not a flip though, so we ...

... to stabilise the stick whilst we moved her out of the river and onto an insulating mat. We wrapped her in blankets while we stopped the bleeding and stabilised the stick with bandages. We managed to cut off her wet clothes and dress her in our spare dry clothing. Karine and Karine assessed the patient whilst I tried to radio for help and sent Scott and Trish back for a basket stretcher to carry her out. The evacuation was long and ...

The morning started to plan, with our friends Gayle and Naveen taking us to pick up the RV. Well we arrived at the rental office at 12.00, in good time, only to find an irate customer in the middle of a huge argument with the assistant. Chaos ensued and the police were called - needless to say our departure started to slip. The assistant had to go home, due to stress, and we waited ...

Aw - the wonders of how good it feels to sleep in your own bed! Trying to get back to living in "this time zone" - although it may take a few days! Wow - this heat - so unusual for so early but just as well we are expecting some storms to cool things off as we've discovered the air-conditioning (that we strted up a few weeks ago and seemed ok) isn't working. Course the pool was left with the winter ...

Every year I have a birthday party with my awesome friend whose birthday is a day before mine. Her hometown is Renfrew and we went there for this certain occasion one year. It's a great play to roadtrip to, not too far from home but a sweet little quiet town with a bridge and a landmark hill in Cotyville (sp?). Word of warning, in all the times I"ve been there, I arrive in record time but it takes two or even three times that to find my way home on the little back roads!!

... build-up of debris within the eyes. The procedure tomorrow is called a "vitrectomy", and is being carried out on the left eye by one of the top eye surgeons in Ottawa on an out-patient basis. We have been very fortunate to be able to get the problem attended to at such short notice, and are assured that it is now a relatively routine procedure with low risk (rated at one half of one percent). With a few days rest it should ...