We are off

We are definitely on our way. We've had a blur of house renos and clean up for 3 weeks after our last post and finally left PG Aug 26/06. In the end we renovated the kitchen and laundry room, and painted numerous bits and pieces including the entry and hallway, the bathroom ceiling, the basement floor, the stairway down to the basement, the front and back doors and garage door, and of course, the kitchen and laundry room. After packing away personal things that would be in JS's way, we packed our bags, did a final cleanup. We took one last trip out to the lake to build 2 fences to discourage intruders and had a few last visits, then suddenly, we were gone.

First leg of the trip: PG to Sheridan Lake Aug 26/06
- length of stay at lake: 20 hours
- activities: swim, RELAX AT LAST ie. sit and enjoy the veiw, read, BBQ dinner, sleep in, pancake breakfast, swim and boys try out bellyboat.

Second leg of trip: Sheridan Lake to Kelowna
- length of stay in Kelowna: 3 days
The whole Clan except for 2 brothers-in-law were together in Kelowna. Lots of visiting and running around after 4 toddlers. The teenagers went golfing and H and K went to see a draftsman for info re. drawing up some plans. Had a visit with the Yeomans, and a birthday cake for all those who weren't together for recent and upcoming BDs. We swam and ate and enjoyed the company and, all to soon, it was time to pack up again and start the next leg of our trip.

Third leg of trip: Kelowna to Uxbridge, ON
- length of stay in Uxbridge: 14 hours
Flew to Toronto from Kelowna uneventfully. Left our dog and truck with Nana and Grampa. Grandma and Grandad, trailer in tow, picked us and our mounds of luggage up at the airport. We were treated to a show of how bad the traffic in TO can be as we crawled along the 401 for miles when a truck stalled in one of the lanes. Had a late dinner at Lick's in Ajax and then on to Uxbridge and sleep.

Fourth leg of trip: Uxbridge to Balsam Lake and back
- Length of stay at the lake: 4 days
We did a little of everything at the cottage: when the sun was out we swam and water-skied; when it was windy, we windsurfed. Then it got cooler and cloudy, but that didn't stop us. We still went to Coby for the obligatory icecream cone and library visit. Later, with the sauna fired up, we did more windsurfing, tried some snorkelling, paddled around the island on the windsurfing boards minus sails, and tried some wakeboarding.
KJ and WJ and baby SJ joined us and GMa&GDad for part of the time. KJ treated us to Ontario syle smores, and WJ whipped up some fabulous duck appetizers and deep fried wild turkey ( the one that was almost a prize winner). We of course, had to have a couple of feeds of Ontario's fabulous corn We played a board game and saw our first baby snapping turtle. The men helped prepare the duck blind in the marsh for this year's hunting season. Then the long weekend was over and it was time for GMa and GDad to return to their busy volunteer schedules and for us to head on the next little leg of our journey.

Fifth leg of trip: Uxbridge to Ottawa and back
- Length of saty in Ottawa: 2.5 days
Here we are in Ottawa. It was a 4 hour drive from Uxbridge. We sampled wild blueberries and muffins from a road side stand (very expensive but tasty) and stopped for a picnic lunch at a town park on Sharbot Lake. The fact that we are on a journey finally sank in as everyone else was heading back to school. Once in Ottawa, we checked in to our hotel (Les Suites - we highly recommend it for its proximity to the sights and its ammenities) and headed out on foot to tour the parliament buildings, the locks and the area around them. Today (yes, I've FINALLY made it to today) we went to the War Museum. We thought we would go through 2 museums today, but it was not to be. We spent the day at the War Museum with a break in the middle to go the Bytown Market for an ethnically diverse lunch and a trip into a fabulous cheese shop. We wanted the boys to see the WW I and WW II parts of the exhibit, as we hope to go down through western Europe later on in our travels. The boys were fascinated and would not be pulled away until we had seen the whole thing. Now back in the hotel, the boys have gone to the pool, sauna, weight room with their dad, and here I am...finally done for the day!

Goodnight.