As I said, I did not want to leave the campground on Saturday; I just wanted to hunker down, re-group, and chill. But I did have one task I wanted to complete (I guess it falls in the ‘re-group’ category): I wanted to re-organise cupboards, shelves, and storage compartments. Everything had been loaded in higgledy-piggeldy when Barb & I took off last Saturday morning, and we’ve been scrambling to find things all week.

So we started the morning with a bang: I tore apart the pantry, the closet, and the bathroom cabinet, and BN dusted, swept, and scrubbed the floors. All that and a load of laundry, and two hours later we were done for the day. Barb explored the campground; I explored a book of crossword puzzles. We watched the new arrivals try to fit their 42′ rigs into 45′ lots, and then we made dinner. This was my first picnic table dinner since buying the RV.

A day of doing nothing was exactly what I needed. Tomorrow: Lake Nipissing and Hwy 11 southbound.

I cannot return to the IDA drugstore in Gore Bay.  At least not after last week’s visit(s).  We went in to buy hair colour for me – I know, quelle surprise, this brunette ain’t natural – and a greeting card, while Barb looked for a decent quality sunscreen.  I paid for my two items, assuring the clerk I didn’t need a bag.  While waiting for BN, I saw some peanuts and decided to get them too.  Back to the counter, added to the pile in my hands.  But that’s okay, people forget things.  We step out of the store, then BN mentions some puzzle books that she thought might be fun, so we headed back in to the display at the back, with my juggling my items in my hands all the while.  We debated which level of the word games and math games to pick, and after much deliberation, went for level B for the words, and level C for the math.  You know these kinds of puzzles: Bob lives in the blue house; Omar does not live next door to the woman with the cat; Maria does not like birds.    Back up to the cashier we went, with me starting to feel pretty stupid.

About 20 minutes later, BN looks at the back of the book only to see the following: Level A – grades 1 & 2, Level B – grades 3 & 4, Level C – grades 5 & 6; Level D – grades 7 & 8, and Expert – grade 9 and up.  Yes, we had bought games that would test the intellect of 7 to 11 year olds.  Well, these books weren’t cheap, and we don’t know any 7 – 11 year olds to give them to.  So, we picked the books up, crossed the street back into the IDA, all the while hoping ‘my’ cashier was away on lunch.  No luck – she greeted us with a, “You’re back! I saw you coming!”  We explained our dilemma, and she let us upgrade to high school for the word puzzles, and grades 7 & 8 for the Math. 

I’m sure she thought we probably would have been better sticking with our original purchases, as clearly we did not know what we were doing.

Thank heavens I won’t be back there for a very long time.  Sheesh.

We are finding the internet service (or lack thereof) so frustrating.  BN has a lot going on at home this week, and the inability to connect with family is making her crazy.  It also has me agitated, as this is my future for the next few months.  I DO NOT like being out of contact and from a safety perspective, this is not good.

Last month I spent hours researching the best alternatives for internet and boosters, and based on a lot of different input, I ended up spending a chunk o’ change on a We Boost receiver/booster.  I had imagined it would be a fairly complex setup so hadn’t really moved ahead with it.  Yesterday we had found a perfect parking spot in front of the PC Independent Grocer in Gore Bay, and had reached our breaking point vis a vis our tech-blackout, so we spent an hour fiddling with the various components and eventually we had a pile of spaghetti wires strung about the cab of truck. (Did you know truck manufacturers still install a cigarette lighter (well, the 12V plug at least) but they hide them at the back of the glove compartment? BN was inspired to look there after 20 minutes of our combined grizzling and grumbling – thank heavens for inspiration.)  But in the end we think our reception is better, although it could just be our imagination (or a pocket of decent cell coverage as we pass through country roads).

Years ago, I was in Sudbury for 3 days of hosting workshops for the bank.  The days were long, so it was pretty much hotel-to-bank branch-to-hotel each day. Except the last day – we finished early and I had purposely booked a later flight, because the one thing I knew I wanted to see (I’d already seen the Big Nickel) was Science North (sister to the Ontario Science Centre – don’t start me on Mr Ford’s decision).  But it was not meant to be – it seems that in the early 2000s, Science North closed at 3pm on weekdays.  Well dammit.

So this time ‘round, I had planned for this.  We’d leave Little Current on Manitoulin midday, stop at Science North, then head on to Sturgeon Falls and the campground.  Weeeeelll . . . as per usual, my plans and my execution are not always in sync.  No time to stop in Sudbury.  But that was okay, we said as we continued along the Trans Can, we will camp for the night, pack up in the morning (as one does when one is in a motorhome instead of a trailer), make the one-hour trip back to Sudbury, hit Science North and then my friend’s niece’s vintage shop, then drive back to the campground.  Easy – after all, I’d booked us for two nights in Sturgeon Falls.  Except . . .

Except for the smell (we now officially enter TMI territory – feel free to skip ahead).  It is not ideal to empty the grey & black tanks too frequently – you need the whoosh of an almost full tank to thoroughly ‘rinse out’ each tank.  We thought we had at least two more days before we needed to empty the tanks.

We were wrong.

We came back from lunch in Little Current (I repeat – the pizzas and salads at Dockside are excellent), opened the door to the RV, and thought, “Oh-oh.”  It was time to act.  You know – the nose knows.  This was not a real problem; nothing was getting to danger or flood levels, but we knew our first act upon arriving at the campground was a full drain of the tanks.

So after a somewhat anxiety-fraught drive (construction, traffic jams, narrowed lanes, and a dafty MTO cop standing in the middle of the campground’s driveway chatting up the camp owner and blocking our progress), I had to do a full campsite set-up and hook-up to empty both tanks.  Nothing difficult, it just meant that by 5pm on a warm day, not only was I completely knackered, but I was in no mood to un-hitch everything 16 hours later, drive back and forth to Sudbury, and return & re-setup. 

But what about Science North?  Well, I’ve decided Science North is a pipe dream.  ‘Twas not meant to be.  Much like the Tate Modern in London (my friends know what I mean).

We agreed over a glass of wine – tomorrow would be a day of rest.  And I slept so well that night because of it.

My cousins and I checked out Manitoulin Island a couple of years ago – it was nice, but I didn’t really know it, so I found it, well, fine.  Just fine.  (Granted, we were in small towns in Northern Ontario on a Sunday/Monday with many a closed shop, so I may not have given it a fair chance.)

Well this time, we inadvertently headed in a different direction after getting off the ferry, and my oh my, what a beautiful island!  The shale & sand beaches at Providence Bay are stunning, and the town of Gore Bay is an absolute delight.  The highlights?  Mutchmor Art Centre in Providence Bay and Purvis Fish & Chips in Gore Bay.  Oh, and the white-tailed deer wandering the streets of the town.

We were staying at a lovely Harvest Host farm (Farmer Ted’s) and ended up buying several of his photographic greeting cards and some jams & jellies.

Bridal Veil Falls was closed due to high waters (bummer), but the views along the east coast of the island were spectacular.  An absolutely delish pear pizza and pear salad lunch at The Dockside more than made up for the fact that the one restaurant I had been anticipating (North 46) only serves its Indigenous menu in the evenings.

I feel I may have unintentionally shortchanged my cousins.  Oh dear.

A great sail on the glass-bottomed boat out over the sunken ships and past Flower Pot Island.  I remember Flower Pot from my childhood, and my sisters and I would swear the island was absolutely littered in sea stacks (flower pots), but it turns out there are only two.  But those two are truly magnificent, as is the shoreline around them.  As I said, a great sail – a lovely afternoon.

The next morning we were to get on the Chi Cheemaun Ferry.  We arrived early, chatted up the ferry staff and headed to the main check-in booth.  Everything was fine: we were in good time, the propane tank was regulation and turned off, and the head count was correct.  Just one tiny hitch: I had booked the ferry for the following day.  Oh dear.  How unlike me (shut up).

But I’m telling you – it pays to be friendly to staff, receptionists, clerks, attendants, crew, etc…  Our new buddy Steve did some clicking on his computer and – voilà – we have a spot on the next boat.  Yay!!!

I was a little tense about driving on and driving off the boat, but it truly was straightforward – no problems at all. 

Lovely sail across to Manitoulin – the Chi Cheemaun is a very nice ferry.

Heading up the Bruce Peninsula.  In the 70s my family camped near beautiful Lion’s Head.  When my sister heard I would be heading that way she suggested I visit her friend, a painter who has her own gallery in Lion’s Head.  Okay, sounds good; I like galleries.

Sibling #2 may have mentioned the gallery more than once, so it really seemed like a good idea.  We plugged the address into Google and off we went.   BN did not want me to turn down the narrow lane towards the gallery, but I blithely assured her we would be fine – my sister would never send me anywhere inaccessible.  Yeah, right.

The lane was getting narrower and narrower, with the shrubs and tree branches scraping more and more.  We started watching for a driveway to turn around in, but they were all short, narrow, and at a <90° angle. Then an oncoming car – crap.  The driver was very understanding as she squeaked by, with me mouthing, “I’m so sorry!” through the windshield.  We passed Laura’s friend’s gallery with no discernible driveway (stupid gallery), and continued on.  Finally we reached the end where, thank heavens, there was a wider gravelly area.  BN hopped out and directed me in a 17-point turn, and then climbed backed in and we headed back the way we came, praying there would be no oncoming cars.  She actually said, as we re-passed the gallery, “Did you still want to stop and go in?”  I just gave her a look, and we carried on.

I will get even with my sister.  Someday.

This morning was an early start – on Saturday my friend BN, who is joining me for the first two weeks of the trip, brought over a bunch of her gear, and some food.  Dear God, the food!  My fridge and freezer are each jam-packed, and there’s at least 3 grocery bags of dry goods on the dining room table.  Okay, that’s great – it’s good to be well prepared.  But then yesterday she texted me to ask if I liked sauerkraut.  Yes, as a matter of fact I do, but that’s not the point.  My question is – where on earth are we going to put it?  Sauerkraut? We already have more chicken, salmon, rice, and celery than you can shake a stick at. Seriously, this woman could train survivalists on how to stock their bunkers.

But back to our get-away this morning – we aimed for a 9am departure and we did it.  That was due to the fact that both of us were up before 5am – we were exhausted before we even started.

Beautiful day, beautiful drive.  Port Elgin was cute but as it was a Monday – pretty much everything was closed.  On to Southampton – great lunch at Minh’s Vietnamese, then some shopping.

Red Bay Campground – the host was probably the chattiest campground staffer we’d ever met – lovely lady, but after 20 minutes of idle chatter, we both wanted to get to the bathroom.

BN spent three years in an RV across North America, but she seems to have forgotten how to get into an over-cab bed (‘nuff said on that subject – thank goodness there were no photos!).

I leave tomorrow, coming back at Thanksgiving.  Did a run-through of the house with my nephews, explaining the quirks of the house (don’t over-crank the casement windows, be gentle with the re-cycling bins under the sink, remember to empty the clippings-catcher in the lawn mower).

I’ve stored away most of my clothes and toiletries and told them they can eat and drink anything they want (except my wine!).

Finished the ironing, and watered my planters at 11pm. 

Tomorrow is an early start. Oh boy.

This is not quite as dramatic a move as the relocation to Orkney was, but I am still moving out of this house, and I have tenants moving in.

Later this week I leave for a three-month tour of eastern Canada, getting home at Thanksgiving.  Rather than leave the house empty, two of my nephews are moving in.  So as well as booking all my stays in 5 different provinces for the next 13 weeks, I am packing enough clothing and gear to get me through a hot Ontario summer and a cool Maritime fall, AND getting the house ready for the boys.  Never a dull moment.

(This all would probably have easier had I not spent last night sitting drinking wine with the neighbours until the wee hours of the morning.)