On Wednesday, we went and picked up Ruth's father at "the villa" and took him for a drive. We stopped at Tom Horton's because he loves their coffee. If he had his way, we would have stopped at Dairy Queen too, because "ice cream is good for you" he says. But, we'll save that for another day.
Yesterday, we drove down to Ottawa to go see my mother for lunch. Hard to believe that her and Ruth's dad are almost exactly the same age. She's doing fine though.
On the way back, Ruth and I stopped at a trail near Wesley Clover Park in the west end of Ottawa.
Our little black rental car.
Not a bad little car. All the toys, including the computer screen that links to your cell phone. Very cool. You can just ask it anything. This voice recognition stuff has come a long way.
And it gets great fuel mileage, which is exactly what we wanted because we tend to drive a lot of miles whenever we come back to Ottawa. So far, the computer system says we are getting an average of 5.7 liters per 100 kms. That's the equivalent of 41 mpg, so we're happy with that!
A walk in the forest.
Didn't see another person on the trail.
We did 4.4 kms (2.7 miles) in 45 minutes. Not bad. We're making a concerted effort to do a fast paced 5 km (3 mile) walk every day.
And speaking of putting on some walking miles, my Merrell hiking boots are wearing out. Ruth's are as well.
I looked back to see when we bought them. I bought mine in November 2017, so it's been almost two years. The pair before lasted a year and a half. Ruth bought hers in April 2018, but they actually started to fall apart sooner than mine.
We keep saying that we're going to try a different brand, but we always come back to Merrells because they are comfortable right off the bat. We've owned probably five pairs of Merrell hiking boots, and we put lots of miles on them. We think they used to last longer than they do now, but perhaps it's just because we use them a lot more now than the earlier pairs.
And, we usually manage to get them on sale for around $130 CAD ($100 USD), so I guess if we get a year and a half out of them it's not that bad.
Either way, we have to do some shopping over the next couple of weeks and get some new ones before our Ecuador trip.
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Sure is tough watching parents age...
ReplyDeleteI had Merrell boots that fell apart, as well. Then I started buying Keen boots. In my opinion, they are much better. They are expensive, but feet are worth it!
It is very hard to watch but it is all part of life.
DeleteI have tried on Keen hiking boots/shoes before but Kevin hasn't yet. My only issue with them were that they didn't feel as comfortable and it felt like I would have to work them in where as the Merrells fit like a glove as soon as either of us put them on, there was never any "working them in". We are going to go and try on a few pairs of Keens again though and see what we think.
Spark is very popular here in Mexico. Keep walking!
ReplyDeleteWe had not noticed that last year when we were in Mexico but I bet we will this year. It is a cute little car and great on gas but we would never buy one ourselves, Kevin doesn't find it the most comfortable fit for him in the driver's seat.
DeleteNo worries there, it will be a very long time before we ever stop walking!
Hi,along time follower.The Chouters in Spain/ Ireland are extremely pleased with their Oboz waterproof footwear.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your travels & appreciate your take on travels/ life😎
Thank you very much for the suggestion, we have not heard of that brand before but will look them up and see what they look like, the price and the reviews.
DeleteWe are glad that you enjoy our blog and thank you for taking the time to comment. :-)
Shoes are truly an individual choice. If your feet are used to a certain feel and comfort level with a particular brand, it’s difficult to make another choice. No harm in trying other brands though. You might be surprised.
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely right, every shoe fits people differently so what is great for one person isn't necessarily comfortable for the next person. We are however going to go out and try on some different good quality hiking shoes/boots to see if we can find another brand that fits us well and will be durable for our kind of hiking and use. :-)
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