April showers bring Mayflowers - hopefully

Last Sunday we got to celebrate our youngest grandchild’s First Holy Communion. Hans, dressed up smartly in a suit with tie looked all grown up with his 7 years and we were very proud of him. All family members gathered at our son and daughter-in-law’s house for a party after church.

 

The following photos were all taken with phones and I hope Blogger won’t reduce the pixels too much.

 

Other than the highlight of seeing family last Sunday, there hasn’t been much going on around our part of Ontario. It is one of those years that our spring weather had been cool and wet so that when we did get a break in the weather, we tried to make the most of it.  I mowed the lawn once more last Thursday when the grass was semi dried from all the rain. Benno had rolled all grassy areas a couple of days prior with a borrowed from John and Anna, our Mennonite neighbor’s lawn roller, hooked up to our John Deere tractor when the ground was still soggy and it helped a bit to even out the bumps.

 

While the rain poured outside I started painting another garden art inside onto a leftover cutoff post. Benno helps me with drilling the holes for the supportive rod and topper. It is now finished but needs several protective coats of Acrylic Coating that I spray on outside (when it’s not raining!)

 

The tulips are finally all starting to bloom while the daffodils suffer from all that rain. I think I mentioned in prior years that every time our Azaleas are finally in bloom in my flowerbeds they get rained on. Well, here we go again, so I took a photo yesterday after the rain stopped for a few hours.

 

Well, what else did we do? Benno made an oil change on the truck gave it a good wash and then took it to a Mennonite automotive shop to have new front shocks installed. I have to say it makes the ride a lot smoother. As you noticed we have many Mennonites here in our area and it is a pleasure to deal with them. They are very reliable and honest in our opinion!

As to other activities, my washing machine was working through more RV bedding, towels and blankets that kept me busy for a few days. Also, I labored through the annual income tax returns and got frustrated with the changes that the online tax services made to their software. Oh, and of course I cooked a lot of comfort foods while we dropped to freezing temps overnight. Lets hope the month of May will be good!

 

Thanks for dropping in again.

 

What a great gift this nice weather has been

Ever since we arrived back home we hit the ground running. With so much stored up energy over the winter in Florida, we jumped right into chores in and around the house. At the same time the garden is exploding with flowers starting to bloom and buds on trees and shrubs. Today we made a trip to the local leaf and yard depot to drop off three huge bags full of what I accumulated in my clean up efforts in the garden.

 

2 Kayaks out in the marshes, around the corner from us

Daffodils in my flowerbed 

And the Grape Hyacinth that keeps multiplying

Benno had reinstalled the battery in my John Deere lawnmower and moved the snow blower back into its resting place and brought out the garden furniture as well. We already made good use of them sitting out on the deck enjoying the weather. Today I even cut the grass in the backyard, as did all of our neighbors in their yards. 

 

Lots of Robins on our lawn are picking to find earthworms, but then I noticed this Northern Flicker being rather persistent at pecking in the grass, aerating it as he went. How cute.

 

I took these photos through our bedroom window
I guess he saw me?

While my hubby washed the travel trailer from top to bottom to make it sparkle again, I looked after the laundry. My washer/dryer are doing a much better job than the machines I used in Florida. All in all, we have been busy, but loving being back home.

 

On a trip we took in the country we commented how nice that red truck looked at a front yard and I quickly snapped a photo with my phone.

 

As we drove past it, we said wow, how unique. Here is a true 1st Class expert at work and there are not many of them on our planet!

 

Recently the Caldwell First Nation, who own property here in Leamington, built a gas station with variety store and their grand opening, was today. Their gas prices are 10 cents under most gas stations every day but today the prices dropped even more. Gasoline was $1.299/liter (US $3.63/gal) versus $1.549 everywhere else, a saving of 25 cents per liter. You can imagine the lineup at the pumps and there were 13 bays. On my first look I compared the situation like it used to be at the Canadian/American border crossing. For the natives the savings are even greater than that and they have a separate pump to fill up. Luckily this gas station is very close to where we live.

 

Looking back at all the cars wanting gas and lining up on the road trying to get in

The next couple of weeks the weather forecasters predict more seasonal temperatures and a cold spell, so we will be spending a bit more time indoors.

And last but not least the tough Periwinkle
that even blooms in the snow

Thanks for dropping in again.

  

Yay we are home!

The weekend of April 1/2 turned out as popular travel days for the snowbirds and vacationers heading north on I-75 in Florida. To put it in perspective we entered the Interstate at Bushnell, FL and it took us 2 long hours to even make it to Ocala, Fl., which would be a 45 minutes drive under normal conditions. Yes, the highway was packed with RVs and cars that had piles of suitcases and bags strapped onto their roofs. Lots of sunburned kids were returning from their March break, so the drive continued to be at a slow and sometimes crawling pace all weekend long!

 

The weather was good except for a heavy downpour in Georgia that lasted about 15 minutes until the sun was out again. 

 

Around lunchtime on Saturday Benno had a craving for McD’s chicken nuggets and our coffees needed a refill. I found the nearest McD outlet coming up at I-75 on Exit 39, 110 W Fourth Street, in Adel, Georgia. There was no other McD coming up for several miles so we turned off the Interstate to get lunch. While Benno turned the truck and travel trailer around I went in to get our order. The place was packed with customers all of them waiting for their order and no one behind the counter as one is supposed to now use the self-order kiosks. I ordered, paid with credit card, got my receipt and waited, and waited, and waited. In the meantime more people piled in with orders already displayed on their phones. The service was so slow it was a disaster! There were some orders coming out but no one claimed them as the people had already left in frustration. When I finally returned to the truck with our food and drinks Benno said I was gone for an hour. BTW on top of the receipt it was printed: “Now hiring all positions”

 

We spent the night at the parking lot of Camping World in Byron, Georgia. It is located off I-75 Exit 149. We got there just before closing time at 6 p.m. Most Camping World’s permit overnight parking and some times even offer an electric cord.

 

Sunday’s drive was not much better than the day before. For a while we were crawling along at 15 mph for about two hours only to find out that there was an accident on the southbound lanes involving several fire and ambulance trucks but everyone on the northbound lanes wanted to have a look and slowed down causing the delay!!

 

If you happen to need a rest area in Kentucky, please take note of the Traveler's Center or Kentucky Artisan Center of Berea. It is located 1 minute off I-75, Exit 77 and about 30 miles before Lexington, Kentucky. It is stated that it has the cleanest rest rooms of all of the I-75 and I believe it is true. The parking lot is huge in a park like setting and inside the building you find upscale art, souvenirs and handmade items made locally. Well worth a visit!

This quilt had heaps of tiny uneven pieces sewn on the horse

On Sunday evening we pulled onto the parking lot for our overnight stay at another Camping World. This one was in Georgetown, Kentucky off I-75, Exit 125. 

 

Surprisingly all day Monday the traffic was good. We expected rush hour delays but there were none. We took lots of breaks for the dogs and a quick stop at Cincinnati, Ohio’s IKEA that is right next to the I-75 Exit 19, that netted me a few nice items. We pulled into our driveway about 6 p.m. and were happy to be home!

 

Throughout the trip from Florida to home we found the best fuel prices were in Georgia and it paid out to check ahead of time the GasBuddy app as there were savings of 10 cents/gal between stations. Of course it also helps if you have some kind of discount/membership card.

 

Spring has sprung here in southern Ontario. Daffodils and Tulips are up but not yet blooming and there are lots of Robins picking on our lawn. 

 

Thanks for dropping in, more in a few days.

 

Heading Home

Well, the last four months have flown by rather quickly and sadly our stay here in Florida is coming to an end. I guess when you are sad to leave a place it means you had a good stay, right? We sure were enjoying the nice weather that central Florida provided although the recent weeks have been a bit too warm in the afternoons for our liking, but absolutely great for the folks sun tanning on the beaches. There will be some goodbyes to the great community we got to know and apparently within the next couple of weeks many more RVers will be heading home. Last Saturday there was a party at the community hall for the departing snowbirds. Papa Johns Pizzeria made 30 large pizzas for this park and a huge rectangular cake with beverages topped this feast off. Those pizzas were delicious and we all got to choose two large slices (some took more J) from the different toppings that were provided. A “Thank You” to the staff of the Snowbird South RV Park.

 

For one last peek at the wildlife here on and around the pond I took some photos of the five newly hatched Moorhen chicks that where following their mom and dad begging to be fed. They were so cute to watch. A week later I took a few more photos just to be sure there were still five fledglings in the family and none had gone missing.

 

I find looking into the pond quite interesting with all its inhabitant creatures and I will miss that. The gator seems content lazing around on different areas but most of the turtles were skittish and would jump off their perches as soon as I would make my appearance so I had to kind of sneak up to them. As to the dark grey snake on the old wooden platform I didn’t want to come too close as it was slithering towards me.

 

So, as we’ve done in previous departures, again the truck and the travel trailer got tire pressure and wheel nuts checked, then washed to look presentable although that might not last until they are on our driveway back home. The truck got filled up with gasoline, but the prices have gone up 10 cents from last week. The outdoor mats were washed and packed up and our hydro bill for last month got paid. We are semi hooked up but there are still a few more chores left for tomorrow morning before we are rolling out of here.

 

Just in case you hadn’t guessed it from my last post, another birthday for me was celebrated with a few creations from the pastry chef of the Yalaha Bakery. What a treat that was!

 

You might not hear from me until we get home in a few days and hopefully the weather will be good for traveling up the I-75 interstate to Detroit, otherwise we will wait it out somewhere parked. So I thank everyone for dropping in again until next time.

 

Upper-class Motor Carriages fit for the Florida weather

In less than a couple of weeks it will be already April and our time in Florida will come to an end. Mind you the temperatures here are quite warm now if not saying it is hot, because it is relative to what you are accustomed to. Well, I like it as long as the air-conditioner in our travel trailer is working and the same goes for the truck. 

 

Temperatures are Celsius to the left and Fahrenheit to the right

Reggie and Elsa got a shower today to help rinse off the dust and to make them more comfortable on their walks around the park when their fur is more fluffy in this heat.

 

Elsa was enjoying the rinse

Reggie is not so keen to have showers

All cleaned up and dried enjoying the sunshine

Yes, we are checking and making sure the little gator is still in the pond as well as all the other creatures we encountered on our strolls. We will miss those walks but I am sure back home there will be other photo opportunities for us.

 

Speaking of photo ops, here in this RV Park there are several high-class motorcycle owners and those bikes are all very neat to look at and they are well kept. As a matter of fact, the tricycles have their own utility trailers used for their garages and the snowbirds hook those up when they head home at the end of the season. 

 

Sandy & Sonny backing out

Here are some photos I took of the gang as they headed out in a little convoy. I am sure they had people turn their heads as they drove by and not because of noise, as they are very quiet.

 

The red one is Gayle & George’s Honda Goldwing Trike Motorcycle, 1883 cc, 6 cylinder, 97.9 hp engine and the rig weights a nice 382kg/883lb

 

The middle one is Bonny & Bill’s Harley-Davidson Trike, 1886 cc and not a thunder machine, very quiet.

 

The yellow one belongs to Pam & Randy and theirs is a BRP (Bombardier Recreational Product) Can-AM Spyder RT like the ones below.

 

And then our other neighbors from across our travel trailer are Sandy & Sonny’s Bombardier BRP Can-Am Spyder RT Roadster with a Rotax 1330 cc, 3 cylinder, and 115 hp engine.

I caught them with my camera in the morning as they were heading out on their 41^stwedding anniversary.

 

And last but not least, our neighbors one rig over are Karen & Larry’s super nice Bombardier BRP can-am Spyder Roadster 3-wheel touring motorcycle, 1330 cc.

 

Let me tell you all of these folks have big smiles on their faces when they return from their outings on these fun bikes!

 

As well we do have several extreme proud owners and well-cared Harley-Davidson Motorcycles with thunder mufflers here that are showroom quality. 

Tomorrow will be a special day, but I won't say what it is. So until next time...

Thanks for dropping in again.