Camping Carol
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2007
1
28
34
Trip End
Apr 28, 2009
Levis,
Quebec,
Canada
Sunday, July 20, 2008
The remainder of the trip across the southern States was less eventful than the blizzard in Texas. We covered virtually one state per day on our way eastbound. These included Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. As we reached South Carolina, we contacted Carie's cousin, Darren and his wife, Gina in Columbia. We intended a day or so visit with them but had such a good time, we left (3) days later. Their gorgeous kitty, Babette is the one in the pix. Columbia is a city reminiscent of Victoria. We liked it very much. After Columbia, we travelled the remainder of South Carolina, then North Carolina and Virginia stopping in Roanoke, then Carlisle PA and Preble NY (outside Syracuse). The night in Preble was probably the worst since we hit the road
"Spoon and Cherry" sculpture, Minneapolis
. The weather was nasty and because of the temperatures our battery in the trailer gave out and therefore the furnace ceased to function. Upon waking at 4:30 am we found the interior temperature to be 34 F and our water was frozen. We were in a State Welcome Centre with no RV services. Our best option was to jump in the truck and turn the heater on and move on. That day we arrived in Kemptville was a little more than a week after their last record-breaking snow dump. Carie's parents' yard maintenance man had cleared the driveway but it was only 10' wide with 5' banks on either side. Gary did an admirable job of parking the 5th wheel in such a limited space - with no driveway across the street to help. After parking we proceeded to shovel out space to accommodate the slides. (The 5th wheel is 8' wide when slides are in.)The next two months, almost to the day can only be described as horrendous. The weather was not co-operating. The water connection at M's & D's froze and we had a few electrical problems. Fortunately, Carie's uncle and cousins own a company that was able to service our needs. We spent every waking hour clearing out Carie's parents' house or visiting her parents in their new residence. We also organised two birthday parties for M & D in April. There are a couple of pictures of Carie's Dad's 85th and a picture of his receiving a very prestigious award - 55 year pin from the Royal Canadian Legion in which he was always active as president and in other capacities
Dad's "Stewart Tartan" cake
. The second picture of Dad's birthday party is of his cake - a local baker's version of Stewart tartan. There is also a nice picture of a Carie's parents on Mother's Day. One of Carie's very close aunties died suddenly from a heart attack just days after one of the parties. We both came down with a virus going around Kemptville, shortly after arriving. Carie's turned to bronchitis. Then Gary fell down the stairs and cracked a rib at the house. The next week, Carie fell down the same stairs and badly sprained an ankle. We managed to get the house prepared for listing. The plan had originally been to spend a week or two in Kemptville to accomplish the house preparation. We had even considered flying in and leaving the RV in the States. To say the least, we were exhausted when we left for Drew's & Courtney's in Saskatoon on May 15th.We took the northern route above Lake Superior and found it slow and windy. None of the campsites we encountered had full services much less Internet. The day after we left Kemptville, Carie's father was admitted to hospital once again - fortunately for only a few days. We spent a month with Drew and Courtney who, by the way, is our new daughter-in-law-in-training. They became engaged about July 5th. The wedding will be in Victoria in 2010 and probably somewhere July to September. We are thrilled!!
Dad's 55-year award Royal Canadian Legion
One of Carie's fellow choir members from St. Paul's in Sidney lives in Saskatoon in the summer months. We contacted Linda and Nick and spent some quality time with them. Drew and Courtney were working during our stay but we managed a tour of the University of Saskatchewan, where Courtney was working until the end of June and some of the other sites in Saskatoon. Some of the river pictures are from a boat ride on the South Saskatchewan River that runs through the city. Saskatoon is a very impressive place. There are lots of trees and parks in the city. The blue house pictured is Drew's and Courtney's. Gary bided his time partly by dressing up the gardens at their place. Quelle surprise!! Drew's 31st birthday was during our stay too.
On June 23rd we left for Ontario again, this time via the States. We travelled through North Dakota and Minnesota, stopping for a couple of days with yet another cousin of Carie's, Leslie in St. Paul. There is a picture of the two of them outside Leslie's and her partner's house. After that we travelled through Wisconsin and Michigan spending our first night back in Canada in London ON. June 30th, we arrived in Stouffville (outside Toronto) for a weeks' visit with Dawn and Daniel. We had a bit of a lark taking the rapid transit and then the subway down to the city. It was great to spend some time with our baby girl and her boyfriend
Entrance to Mississippi
. They showed us the sites in TO.Kemptville was next on the agenda to check up on Carie's parents. In the meantime, while we were in Saskatoon, their house had sold. This time around we opted for a campground a few miles outside of town. We renewed some of Carie's old acquaintances and a new one and we were wined and dined. We took M & D to a horse farm belonging to a cousin of Carie's. They breed Freesian horses = see pix.
We are now outside Quebec City having arrived in the area on the same day as Paul McCartney's free concert. Unfortunately, we were not organised in time to make it. We are both sick again!!! Carie's bronchitis has returned. She saw a doctor before leaving Kemptville and is on antibiotics and puffers. Gary has injured his elbow (don't ask how) and sustained a nasty haematoma of the bursa. The doctor in Toronto said to expect two months of recovery. He also has a virus again. We have been cooling our heels outside Quebec City for a couple of days now but hope to do some touring tomorrow depending on energy.
Our next destination is the Gaspe Peninsula and then the Maritimes to meet - you guessed it, more cousins!!!
Love to you all
G & C
