Dundas, Ontario

A bit of a late start yesterday as we left Galetta heading for Dundas, Ontario. We were with Ruth's sister Lesley, and her son Marshal, with their dog Tia. So the car was full, and so was the trunk! We didn't get going until around 11:00am, and it's at least a six hour drive.

What do we pack for a 3 to 4 month trip?

Some of you will be horrified to learn that we sometimes wear the same item of clothing two days in a row! But sorry, that's how we travel light. Even though we're only bringing a small backpack each, we're bringing along enough clothing that we'll be comfortable, and if we need something else, we'll buy it along the way.

The Olympics

Virtually every time we tell someone that we are going to England, the very first question is "Oh, you're going to the Olympics"? Actually, no, we have no intention of going to the Olympics. In fact, if I lived in London I would make sure I was away for the Olympics!

The last few days

With all the "excitement" of this Australia contest, we've been neglecting telling you about what we've been up to the last few days. Here's the rundown...

An interesting finish to the contest...

Or is it finished? The rules say that the entry with the most votes at 5:00pm PST (8:00pm EST) moves on to the finals and has a one in nine chance of winning the $12,000 prize to Australia. However, when that time went by, the voting continued...and strangely, you can still vote this morning.

One last time...

A special request to vote if you haven't already today. Turns out the voting ends at 5:00pm Pacific time which is 8:00pm Eastern. As of right now, there is only 107 votes separating my cousin who is in top spot in her category, from second place who has been slowly gaining all day.

Please take 5 seconds and click the green "Vote" button...

http://aussieexperiences.com/contest/entry/kangaroo-island-brenda-read/

And then I won't bug you again, until it's time to tell you if we won! Should know for sure by June 13.

Check out our cool new luggage!

Or are they backpacks? Well, they are both luggage and backpacks, but I think we'll call them backpacks. Anyhow, our new backpacks from Heys International showed up yesterday, just in time for our trip to England.

Giving back to the system

Yesterday I took a drive into Ottawa to run some errands, but also to go for lunch with an old friend and then to meet a new friend!

$5 return flight to England

I sign up for various travel newsletters, and yesterday I received one from a company that regularly has some pretty good deals. The one that stood out of course was the one that said you could get a return flight from Toronto to Birmingham, England for $5. But that sounds too good to be true, no??

A fun free thing to do on the weekend

Yesterday, we went for an 8 km (5 mile) roundtrip walk over to a remote control airplane flying park. The Arnprior Remote Control Club does their stuff there every weekend. What a fun way to spend a couple of hours!

Two places we would love to visit.

The other day I came across a photo of a little island, and I published it on our facebook page. It's one of those places that as soon as you see the photo, your first reaction is "wow"! I can see us making it there some day.

The second place is also a "wow", but unfortunately we will never make it there!

Moving day

Not for us. But our son found himself a bachelor pad. After years of roommates and sharing, he's finally out on his own.

May expenses

Not a bad month, considering we had some "capital expenditures"! We spent a total of $1,653.50 in May, and that includes our flight expenses of getting from Mexico to Canada. Also includes five days in Chicago. Also includes a new camera. Hmmm, that's actually pretty good!

Adventure Cycle Experience

Back at the end of January 2009 we were camped out in Chiapas, Mexico at a neat little spot called Agua Azul. As we were getting set up, a couple of Canadian cyclists arrived. These young guys were riding their bicycles all the way from Edmonton, Alberta to Buenos Aries, Argentina!

The Diefenbunker

"People do not want to believe there is going to be atomic bombing of Canada. The thought disturbs our equanimity. We like to look at the situation as though we were protected and insulated by many thousands of miles of sea and a northern ice cap. It's going to take an educational campaign to make people realize the danger in which we find ourselves." - Canada's Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, May 25, 1957, House of Commons.