June 29, 2012 ... Dodge 44,120 miles, 80° at 6 AM ... Fritz just stopped by, he's off to Patoka Indiana to see Deb ... we are all hung over from tequila shots last night!!! LOL
After a year and a half of Mark working in Oklahoma City, we have decided to take the long way home as a retirement kickoff vacation.
Our Oklahoma friend, Tim Deffner, is from Blackwell. This part of Oklahoma is flat with black soil ... unlike Oklahoma City with its red dirt spreading as far as the Texas border.
At 8:10 AM we have crossed into Kansas. The tequila hangover persists. LOL. these Kansas roads are very smooth. We passed Eldorado Lake, obviously man-made as large dead trees are standing in it. In the Flint Hills area you can see for 25 or 30 miles, and cattle are everywhere. We noticed a sign for national prairie grass preserve. The scenery is pretty, it's going to be a very hot day as it is 90° at 10 AM.
Missouri at 12:20 PM. Neat rusty metal silhouettes of Buffalo, horses and Indians and covered wagons are along the N435 freeway. Kansas City is one huge city!!! At 12:45, we are finally back on I 35 north.
At 1:10 PM we had a rest area lunch stop. The dogs did their business and we ate. Missouri is kind of a no-frills area. The roads are good, and we're heading for "Terrible's" in Des Moines Iowa for overnight. We drove over 500 miles today, with hangovers!
At 3:45 PM we were parked at Lakeside Casino, 777 Casino Dr. in Osceola Iowa. We had a great sleep, and picked up breakfast at the Subway next-door.
Saturday, June 30, 2012 we are headed from Osceola Iowa to prior Lake Minnesota, 275 miles. It is 4:15 AM when we left with a bit of rain and lightning. The roads are a bit rough. We passed over the pretty Raccoon River, while listening to the Bob and Tom radio show. By 5:30 AM sunup, we are in the rolling hills. Around here you see very neat and tidy farms. It makes us want to have one! Yeah, chickens and horses and dogs!!!
We stopped around the Minnesota border for coffee and to take a picture of Mark, Robbie and Maggie in front of the rig. It's sunny and 77° at 8 AM ... It's going to be a scorcher today!
We read on Facebook that Pam and Bill Moulton welcomed Andrew, 7 lbs. 7 oz. yesterday!!! A new family member.
At 9:30 AM, we arrived at Fish Lake Camp, a lousy mosquito infested campground, cash only ... a mom and Pop operation at $68 a night. Oh well, we will stay two nights. We are excited to see Pam, it's been 2 1/2 years.
We had a fantastic visit with Pam. She came over Saturday morning before work and we arranged for her to stay over ($5) on our sofa bed as the gate closes at 10 PM!!! Sunday, Pam had the day off so we spent the day with her at the townhouse in Apple Valley. Robbie was completely awful ... he pooped four times and paid three times at Pam's !!! OMG
Monday, July 2, 2012 at 6:10 AM we left prior Lake for Grand Forks, North Dakota. The highway west of the Twin Cities was so rough that we had to run in the left lane. We got cut off and given the bird by our 1st Road Rager of this trip. We passed a lot of huge horrid looking turkey barns. It's already 83°, and forecast to be 98°. Hey, we just saw buffalo.
At 10:45 AM we were in Fargo and by 11:10 AM we were on I 29 N. strange sight was a snowmobile on a trailer. Ha ha, we haven't seen that for years!!!
We had a relaxing night, and talked to Rod and Shay and then to bed by 10 o'clock.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012 at 6:50 AM we check the tires and fueled up and were on I 29 by 7:16 AM. The roads were decent, but not much to see ... crops and mile-long trains. We were looking forward to shopping at the duty-free before crossing into Canada. But it's closed!!! Mark bought a crown royal and five cigars and Sitco. Odd but at the border there were four vehicles I'm ahead of us from Oklahoma!!! Our papers were in order and through we went! Hooray.
In Winnipeg, on Pembina Highway, a good Samaritan adopted us and guided us through the city to our destination. Mark was flabbergasted. It is known as friendly Manitoba.
We were able to get three nights for $110 at Northgate. I swear Sue and Wayne's old Schultz is still here. Tonight we are invited for 4 PM cocktails and dinner at the Stevenson's.
Les and Lynne's house looks great. We met Ken and Dale, friends from the lake who frequently stay at their house. We enjoyed drinks, dinner and then sat on the deck until 10 PM with the 'thermacel' on. We slept great at the RV and got up to a rainy morning.
July 4, 2012 we're going to see Greg and Darlene today. We were shocked to see Greg so bloated and ill. Darlene was off work too with a trigger thumb. We brought a bottle of wine, and met Selena the rat and Foxy the pom-chi. We had lots of laughs and a good visit.
Dinner was homemade pizza with Les and Lynne. We playedp Mexican dominoes until 10, then home to the RV for bed.
Thursday, July 5, 2012 ... we hope to see Crystal today, and then we are going to Gimli with Les and Lynne and then to the Yacht Club for dinner. A busy day!
It was nice to see Crystal's new home in West Kildonan. It's in nice condition in a good neighborhood. We had a great visit and heard a different side of Gregg's condition. He may be smoking and drinking and is very depressed, but who wouldn't be?
Les drove us to Gimli, where we walked the pier, shopped at Turlgelson's old shop, and then had pickerel and fries for lunch. We cruised around Winnipeg Beach and then home. We are meeting at 6 PM at the Yacht Club for a Ukrainian dinner and drinks. Mark treated, then Les and Lynne took us for a boat ride to the redwood bridge. They have a spare boat, a 22 foot. At the dock, we saw Glenn Wright ... he had just come in from Gimli, and had his brother Brad with him. I hadn't seen them in 30 years, and it turned into quite a few laughs.
Friday, July 6, 2012 ... happy 55th birthday Mark! And happy official retirement. We went to Cabelas this morning to pick up boat seats for Wayne.
At 1:52 PM, we are leaving Northgate in Winnipeg for Flom's in Lake of the Woods, Ontario. Mileage on the Dodge is 45,583. We have a full tank of water and we're ready to dry camp for a week. It's a decent road with the gravel shoulder.
We talked to Fritz who is going to Oklahoma City tomorrow. We hope he and Tim work well together.
At 4:50 PM, we turned onto Kenrica Road and waited for Sue and Wayne to guide us to Flom's. Wayne insisted on going with Mark in the truck, so I got into Sue's car. I was glad I did as it was "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride". There was 5 miles of hilly, twisting gravel roads. Horrible!!!
Monty and Mary Beth made us welcome. That night, dinner was at Kurian's and we met Larry and Maggie Flett, married 27 years. We had plans to see them in Corpus Christi that didn't pan out. We sat on the dock with Larry's daughter Anna and had some wine.
Saturday, July 7, we had dinner at Kurian's with chicken on the barbecue. Larry and Maggie joined in.
Sunday, July 8 we had a pontoon boat ride with Monty and Mary. And then steak barbecue at Sue and Wayne's.
Monday, July 9 is our last camping night here. We are going to the guest cottage tomorrow. We had a boat ride with Monty and Mary plus Jim and Joyce Gauthier. After the ride, we played Mexican dominoes till 11:45. Fun night.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012, we moved from the RV into Kurian's guest cottage. Sue helped to sort things out as Wayne was in
Thunder Bay. His sister Bev had just passed away.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012 we had chicken and potatoes on the dock. Mark trimmed trees and we made plans to move the rig behind Wayne's.
Thursday, July 12, 2012 was a very exciting day!!! Mark and I arrived at Flom's about 10:30 AM to haul our rig to Kurian's. We passed signs "TRUCKS" and noticed new granite gravel in some areas,
We hooked up, and cold out of Flom's driveway. I was very concerned about the steep hill directly ahead of us, and the new loose gravel. I said, "Let's back up to get a running start!!!". But oh no!!! Mark stepped on the gas instead, "Let's just see how we do.". We almost made it up the hill before we spun out on the loose gravel and slid backwards 250 feet to stop with our rig off the road in the ditch.
Fortunately, there was no one behind us. I called Wayne to ask about a tow truck, but he arrived with his Cadillac Escalade 4 Wheel Dr. and a long Anchor-line! Mark dugout the loose gravel around the truck tires, and Wayne hooked up the line from his Cadillac to our Dodge. A few minutes later, Wayne had us out of the ditch and up the hill ... unbelievably!!! Wow.
We drove to Anicinabe to dump the black water tank, and then parked the rig in Wayne's spare driveway until August 6, when we go to camp at Anicinabe for a week. That evening, we had shish kebabs on the grill in the screened patio. It was hot and muggy and about 9:30 a very wild thunderstorm started.
Friday, July 13, 2012 ... Robbie was $325 at the vet yesterday. The poor guy isn't feeling well. We had no idea what was wrong, until he peed blood just as we went into the vet's office. We will have to wait for culture results, but in the meantime he is on antibiotics and anti-spasmodic medication. Poor little Scottie.
We are tidying up the guest cottage, and then going to McDermott lumber for some shelving. Mark is going to add a shelf above each of the hanging cabinets. Tonight we are going to go to Ristorante Italiano for dinner. The food was great, I had chicken Parmesan, and Mark had chicken marsala. From the restaurant, Mark saw a small Lhasa apso dog run across the crosswalk and sit on the doorstep with a drunk Indian for a moment before taking off down the side street. Wayne took a piece of his chicken, and left to see if he could coax the dog over, but no luck. After dinner, we cruised around town and based on my psychic abilities, found the dog ... now on a red leash with an Indian couple. Mark called out "did you just find that dog?". Their response was "My dog.". After that adventure, we went back to the cottage and played Mexican dominoes till 10.
Saturday, July 14, 2012, his Bev's funeral. We are dog sitting, so I did laundry at the big cottage. . We plan to cook porkchops tonight for all. On a happy note, Linda and Randy will arrive on Monday from Florida. Robbie seems to be feeling a little better.
Mark did the cooking, and I did salad and the dishes, we ate on the dock with Sue and Wayne and then played dominoes till 10.
Sunday, July 15, 2012 I cooked a delicious pancake breakfast. After, we went to McDermott lumber where I bought a few 3M hooks, a barbecue brush, and some finishing nails. It's now raining very lightly and is 75°.
Monday, July 16, 2012 we had a first text of the day from our friend Tim in Oklahoma City. We enjoyed breakfast at a restaurant called yesterday's with Kurian's. Mark and Wayne did some wiring for boat lanterns on the dock. The small guest cottage has now been named "Chippey's Hollow" ... And I am painting a tree slab sign for the doorway. Tonight, Wayne cooked salmon, chicken, sweet potatoes and garlic bread on the barbecue. We were home early to brush the dogs, Robbie is still not well.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012, Mark is helping Wayne wire for new AC in the main cottage. While I was vacuuming at chippies, the vacuum fell on the glass table and broke. Oops!
We met Linda and Randy, Bob and Jill at Boston pizza for pasta night. This is the first time to see Linda and Randy since Christmas of 2010. Fun.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012, Mark and I went to the farmers market for fresh items to make our Texas caviar for the dock party on Friday. As I later found out, the cilantro I bought was actually dill. Hmmm
There's still no word from the vet on Robbie's culture test. We started him on cranberry juice in his water, and Sue is now phoning too.
We had dinner and watched football at Heather and Bruce's place with Sue and Wayne, and Jim and Joyce. We watched the skinny CFL blue bombers. They certainly look smaller than the USA football players!!!
Thursday, July 19, 2012 we took Robbie to the vet at 7:30 AM, he couldn't inflate his bladder as it was too inflamed, so exploratory surgery was done to remove a stone. The poor little guy is in recovery but doing well. The vet called at 1:30 PM with information on a special diet, and to ask permission to send the stone for analysis. Robbie has to stay in overnight due to the large abdominal surgery.
We had a dinner of chicken and pineapple on the dock and sat on the glider till 9 PM
Friday, July 20, 2012, Maggie jumped into bed with Mark after I got up to paint my nails, she's missing Robbie!!! Tonight is Sue and Wayne's big dock party, and we are making Texas caviar.
We picked Robbie up at the vet, the poor guy has a huge incision, stitches and a hood on for 10 days. He is quite mad! And tried to attack Maggie when we arrived home. He is refusing water, so ice cubes and a dropper will have to suffice.
The dock party was fun, and we met lots of neighbors and one old friend from Angus McKay elementary school, Dawn Fraser, aka lotto lady. Dawn recalled being with Linda Malmgren at the Yacht Club in Winnipeg when dad's boat exploded. That was 1966!
Saturday, July 21, 2012, Linda and Randy came over for dinner, and we had hors d'oeuvres on the dock, followed by dinner on the screened porch at the main car. Linda had a terrible cold, so we kept out distance, but it was great to see them.
Robbie is doing well, but is still refusing water and now refusing ice. Mark is making the slurry of stink food and water.
Sunday, July 22, 2012, we had a lovely dinner at Charlie and Rose Dowling's gorgeous home. The bear carving collection is quite amazing. We met Rose's brother from Edmonton, Art.
Charlie sister, Melody and her husband Brian were also there. Earlier, Wayne took us on the Windsorcraft for a cruise down Clearwater Bay.
Monday, July 23, 2012, the Stevenson's will be dropping in this morning en route to Winnipeg. We were surprised to learn they have put their boat up for sale,
This evening, we are going on the Tahoe for a sunset cruise with Sue and Wayne. We putted along the Kendall Inlet area and enjoyed the ride.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012, the electric will be off from 930 to 130, so we are going to Falcon Lake for lunch and a trash run. We saw Marlene, Wayne's sister, and Cheryl, his niece, with Emma and Cory. We had a picnic lunch, with all five dogs and eight people. It was a nice day!
Tonight we went for Chinese food at hHo Ho's. It was okay, but not great. Everything cost extra. But we got a free beer and wine!! Ha.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012, Mark made baked ziti and we ate on the glider with Sue and Wayne. We tried heating garlic bread on the barbecue, but we couldn't get it hot enough. It read 180°, but was Celsius. Oops. Wayne crank the barbecue on high, but forgot about the bread until he saw smoke!! No bread tonight.
The rain began in earnest and cooled things off, and rained all through the night.
Thursday, July 26, 2012 was a lazy, rainy day. I finished painting the sign for chippies hollow and Mark sanded the antique coffee table. I'm going to paint a small tree on it. Tonight, Sue and Wayne are coming for a baked ziti repeat. We played dominoes till 10.
Friday, July 27, 2012 was a lazy morning. We took Robbie to the Kanora vet to get his stitches out. Later Mark went fishing with Wayne well I got organized for a job party at Gauthier's.
Gauthier's Dock party was very hot, with almost no shade. Their boathouse is amazing, with four boats and a complete kitchen.
Saturday, July 28, 2012, Mark and Wayne went fishing off zigzag island and came home with Pickerel for supper. Sue cooked macaroni and cheese with peas and we ate on the glider, dockside. Baby chipmunk was running around our feet. My day was laundry at Keewatin Place. :-(
Sue came with me, and we went to Taylor Made where I bought a chipmunk Lake toy for Maggie. After dinner, Maggie went for a boat ride with Wayne and Mark to dump fish guts. She loved it !!! She sat at the bow and we could see her ears perked up.
Sunday, July 29, 2012, Wayne cooked eggs and French toast this morning. This evening, we are going to Ash Rapids by boat for dinner. It was a wonderful boat ride, about 45 minutes. There was no air conditioning at the restaurant, but dinner was excellent. We just got home in the boat in the nick of time as a huge thunderstorm came through, and the electric went out till 930 the next morning. It was a hot sleepless night.
Monday, July 30, 2012 we went to Home Hardware with Wayne and Mark for supplies, then Walmart, then walked Shorty and Julius in town. Tonight, Mark and I cooked pizza and we ate in Kurian's screened porch.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012, Sue and I went to town and shopped at McTaggart's, the bargain bin, and Safeway.
In the evening, we relaxed on the dock with drinks and then had dinner of salad, baked ziti and rolls and more wine at Chippey's Hollow. Mark and Wayne installed shade cloth on all the windows.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012, is a no wine day, according to Sue!!! Apparently, we were overserved last night and I was the one pouring. My bad. Tonight we are having chicken on the screened porch, and tomorrow Wayne's sisters, Terry and Marlene are coming for lunch.
Thursday, August 2, 2012, Wayne popped in, his sisters had canceled, so we will go to Kenora by boat for lunch. Alright! It's 75° and partly cloudy, just perfect.
We had a great ride! We enjoyed lunch at Kenora's Lakeside Inn, good food but lousy service. We saw lots of new cottages, but many memories of boating here in the 1970s.
We had a fancy dinner tonight, which was intended to be lunch for Wayne's sisters, but someone had to eat it .. tenderloin tips, cucumber salad and raspberry pie.
Friday, August 3, 2012, Mark and I opened a bank account in Kenora at the credit union. We had chips at Ye Olde Chip truck, did a trash run, got propane, and went home to cook spaghetti and meatballs at Chippey's. It was a fun night!
Saturday, August 4, 2012, we went to Shopper's Drug Mart ... spent $75 but had two $10 off cards. Ok.
Tony and Aurela Lentz are visiting in their motorhome. We had dinner on the front porch of the main cottage, and a bonfire later. It was a sleepless night for me, with indigestion!!! It might have been the Pinot Grigio wine, or maybe that delicious peach pie that Tony baked. Hmmm
Sunday, August 5, 2012, we are packing up for Kenora. Sue and Wayne have rented Chippey's Hollow for a week, so we are moving to Anicinabe RV Park for a week. Sue and Wayne have gone into town for an antique car show, but tonight we are getting together for pork butt roast.
Monday, August 6, 2012, we finished packing, did laundry and cleaned and then joined Sue and Wayne for concrete wild rice pancakes. Ha ha. Wayne apparently bought the wrong kind of mixed. We said our goodbyes and headed to the RV park. I managed to step in dog poop while guiding Mark into the RV site. Yucky. We got set up, showered and then we're off to the Stevenson's in Northern Harbor for dinner of chicken Parmesan. Maggie and Robbie came along, and were very good.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, we had breakfast at Tim Hortons after a good nights sleep. We had to sleep opposite on the bed as we are not level and all my dinner was coming up. Mark wasn't happy! We wandered around Canadian tire and bought a trash/recycle can for Chippey's and Mark bought fishing gear.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, was Sioux Narrows day.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012, we spent around the RV site and Sue and Wayne came over for 4 o'clock cocktails.
Thursday, August 9, 2012 we went to Log Cabin lodge on Rabbit Lake for dinner. With Sue and Wayne.
Friday, August 10, 2012 we went to Hap's on the waterfront for lunch. We met up with Heather and Bruce, Rose and Charlie, Brian, Jack and Sue (surprise). Hot dogs on the grill for dinner tonight.
My old friend, Rick Moir, came to visit and to meet Mark!!! We had a spaghetti and Italian sausage dinner with Chianti and a lot of laughs. It was a great night. When you are great friends, it doesn't matter how much time has lapsed ... we just picked up where we had left off. Nice.
Sunday, August 12, 2012, we went to Yesterday's for breakfast with Sue and Wayne, Rick and, Bruce. Rick asked Mark to take a picture of us, us old friends. He's off fishing to Malakay.
Monday, August 13, 2012, we are washing towels and bedding In the RV them going back to Chippey's Hollow for two more weeks before we head to Asheville North Carolina to visit family.
We got moved in, and had meatloaf with Sue and Wayne for dinner.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012, we had a terrific cruise in the Windsorcraft to wWylie's Point ... except, we never found
It. LOL. We forgot the chart. We saw Crow Rock, looking pretty nice! We came home for Smokies on the dock. Gauthier's came over for a visit, then out to dinner to Italiano Ristorante, our treat.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012 we stocked up on supplies today. Robbie is on Paramount 95% chicken and turkey wet food plus Purina One chicken and rice dry , plus cranberries, and cranberry pill portion squeezed onto his food with a sprinkle of calcium citrate.
We went to town today to buy a Canadian cell phone so that we can qualify for free satellite TV. Tonight, we are cooking pizzas.
Thursday, August 16, 2012, we got loaded on wine and had great laughs last night. Sue and Wayne were entertaining us, by imitating each other. Funny.
It was a cool windy day, and Mark was trimming dead branches and I painting the fish on a piece of slate rock. Sue and Wayne had a dinner party at the Dowling's, and we ate beef tenderloin tips and beans and watched the Dexter series. It was a great evening.
Friday, August 17, 2012, we arrived at 9:30 AM at Stevenson's boat, Seabreeze II, in Northern Harbour for a four hour ride, putting along back to Kendall inlet. It was a gorgeous breezy day, and we arrived at 2 PM .. Sue and the dogs were on the dock.
At 5:30 PM, we were at Joanne Dunston's for a dock party. The President's Choice chicken balls were hit with a side of sweet-and-sour sauce for the dock party We were home at nine for drinks on Stevenson's boat.
Saturday, August 18, 2012, we saw our first bear here!!! I spotted him walking down the road, and onto our driveway, past the gator and our truck. I got a picture of him before he walked up the steps to Sue and Wayne's cottage, and climbed onto their deck !! iPhone Sue right away, and she came out and blasted her bear horn and he ran off.
We went to town for laundry and a booze run and a few things at Keewatin Place. We had chicken on the barbecue tonight.
Sunday, August 19, 2012, last night we played very "noisy" Mexican dominoes with Sue and Wayne!!! When was the scorekeeper, and made an adding mistake, very rare for him , and Sue accused him of cheating. Of course this was after an awful lot of wine. LOL. so, the Kurian house rules are now no adding of scores in Mexican dominoes.
This morning, Mark and Wayne took hazardous stuff to the dump on amnesty day and then, hours later, home for my blueberry pancakes and Lynne's specialt bacon. Weekly breakfast on the dock at 11:30, and set out and enjoy a sunny but cooler day. Lynne had a special barbecue propane tank that she wanted painted with something decorative, as it's the first thing you see when you board their boat. I painted a Blue heron on it, and she was delighted. I also repainted the Indian head by the front door.
We had steaks on the barbecue, and a rather mellow night after drinking Les' special bottle of rum.
Monday, August 20, 2012, the Stevenson's left at 9 AM for their dock in Northern Harbor. I paid bills, Mark raked leaves and it was a gorgeous 18°C and sunny. In the evening, we finished leftovers and sat out till late.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012, was sidewalk and path repair day. A tedious and fussy job. Sue was not impressed with my technique, so I was relieved of my plastic knife and grout.
In the evening, we went to Pasta Tuesday at Boston Pizza then sat dockside till 9 PM. We are watching the Dexter series, a great TV series.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012, WE PAID OFF THE RV LOAN !!! Yay, debt-free !!!
It was a shopping day at Shopper's Drug Mart, $.51 Kleenex and lots of bargains! We had to go to Walmart for Paramount 95% chicken and turkey for Robbie, then Canadian Tire for two batteries for the RV, and then Tim Horton's for lunch. Today, we picked up Wayne's parcel from Shaw, which will give free local channels on TV. Next stop was Keewatin Place for laundry, then McDermott lumber for Wayne's mortar and then finally home to walk the dogs. Ribeyes on the barbecue tonight, Wayne is going to Winnipeg tomorrow with Macy.
Thursday, August 23, 2012 ... hmmm, we missed logging in an obviously lazy day.
Friday, August 24, 2012 was the final dock party of the season at Dowling's on their deck. It was a hot evening, but our Swedish meatballs and sauce for a big hit.
Saturday, August 25, 2012, Mark trimmed and raked the Grove, then we went into town on a trash run. Dinner tonight was chicken on Wayne's barbecue with fresh corn.
Sunday, August 26, 2012, we mapped our route and plan to leave Wednesday morning for Asheville, North Carolina. This afternoon is a Shriners picnic in Keewatin - a charity event. Tomorrow we shall pack up and load the RV.
Tuesday night, is a dinner party at Kurian's, so this log is closed until Wednesday morning travel.
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