We made it!

Despite the fact that we haven't lived here for six years and we'll probably never live here again, we still consider Ottawa our hometown. So arriving back here for the first time in almost a year is pretty exciting for us and we've been looking forward to seeing the family and friends that we have in the area.

We left here October 22nd of last year.

And we drove the little blue car all the way down to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala! Then all the way to the middle of Saskatchewan, Canada, and back to Ottawa.

16,250 kms (10,000 miles)!

The little blue car (a 2006 Pontiac Wave) now has 190,000 kms (118,000 miles) on it. And what a great little car it has been. We bought four new tires on the way south, and spent $80 on an exhaust repair on the way north. It still has the original brakes and clutch! And even with this many miles on it, I would not hesitate to drive it all the way to Guatemala again.

Got to get it cleaned up a bit today though. It sure does need a vacuum and a bath!

So, what do we have planned over the next two weeks?

Well, visiting family and friends are top of the agenda. So many people we want to see, and it starts today because we've been invited to dinner with one of my long time best friends. Picking up our son Alex on the way there, and we haven't seen him since last year so we're looking forward to that!

Tomorrow, Ruth's dad returns from a month long visit to England. We arrived at his house knowing that he wasn't here yet. That's okay, we can get the place looking "lived in" again before he arrives.

Next weekend, I'm getting together with eight guys who I have known since we were all 16 years old. We've rented a huge "cottage" about an hour from here with an indoor swimming pool and all the toys. Really looking forward to a weekend with the boys. We see each other regularly, but we have not been together as a group in over 30 years!

And, Ottawa Tourism and the Ottawa Marriott Hotel are going to sponsor a two night stay in downtown Ottawa so that Ruth and I can play tourist in our own hometown. Excited to be able to tell you all about Canada's capital city and everything there is to see and do in the dowtown core.

October 14th is Canadian Thanksgiving and hopefully all of our family in the area will be able to attend. Because on the 15th, we fly to Halifax, Nova Scotia!

Our son Alex had already bought his ticket to come to Nova Scotia with us, but unfortunately his plans have changed. But for good reason...he has been looking for a job as an actuary, and has now been hired by one of the leading companies in the world for this type of work. So proud of him, and he is proof that hard work and perseverance pays off.

So, lots going on over the next little while!