Thanksgiving Monday

While most of you were having a normal Monday, up here in Canada we were having Thanksgiving Monday! Yes, it was a holiday here in the great white north... and time to get together for a feast with the family.

Originally, we were just going to have our son and his girlfriend stop by for hamburgers. Then, Ruth spotted a turkey on sale for 95 cents a pound or so. And the next thing you know, we were pulling out all the stops for a big meal!

What's up for the next six months...?

Sherman the motorhome is waiting for us in British Columbia. We arrive back there on October 17th.

From there, we have about five and a half weeks to get from the Vancouver area to Mission, Texas. We could take a direct route that would be about 4,000 kms (2,500 miles), but there are some things we want to see in Washington state and Oregon, and northern California.

TransferWise

Everybody knows PayPal because it's been around for a long time now, and it's really convenient for sending or receiving money just about anywhere in the world.

But PayPal is ridiculously expensive to use. So when something is ridiculously expensive, it tends to bring out competitors.

So a few months ago, somebody told me about TransferWise.

"You're not going to die or anything, are you?"

Took a break from the blog yesterday. We're always really busy whenever we come back to Ottawa for a visit. There is always something on the go, and when there's not, we want to spend time with the grandkids. They grow up so fast!

And on Thursday evening I went out and played some pool and had a few beers with an old friend of mine. And didn't get to bed until after 1:30am! Yikes. Good thing I don't do that very often!

Out for a walk on the tracks

So we're visiting with our daughter and her family the other day, and grandson Cameron (age 7) has been taught by his dad how to play chess.  He wants to play against me. Now, I remember how to play chess, but it's probably been 40 years since I've played!

But how tough can it be...? He's 7 years old!

Back in Ottawa

Despite the fact that Saskatchewan is now officially home, we still feel like we're coming back home when we arrive in Ottawa. We lived most of our lives in Ottawa, and brought up our kids here, and still have lots of family here... so we enjoy coming back for a visit to see all of our family and friends once or twice a year.

On Monday, we drove from Toronto up to Ottawa, with a detour to Sandbanks Provincial Park. Unfortunately we did not visit the park itself!

September Expenses

Well, here's our September expense report. Grand total for the month was $2,735 CAD ($2,150 USD). Not bad, especially when you consider that we spent yet another $1,000 on motorhome repairs.

But on a year to date basis for the first nine months, we're way higher than normal because of the now $8,200 CAD ($6,500 USD) that we have spent on repairs and maintenance this year.

Into the big city of Toronto

We had a late breakfast with Ruth's family in Guelph yesterday morning. Didn't get any photos. Just a greasy spoon breakfast, but we left with our stomachs full and we didn't need any lunch.

From Guelph, we headed into downtown Toronto.

Busy couple of days!

Well, a little catching up to do today as we missed doing a blog post yesterday. That hasn't happened for a long time!

When the alarm went off yesterday morning at 6:30am, we proceeded to fall right back to sleep because the AirBnb where we are staying has a third occupant in the room beside us who was not very quiet!

Always love to get a great deal!

Went out for a 9 km (5.6 mile) walk yesterday before lunch. Took us an hour and a half, so we had a pretty decent pace going.

Not that scenic though... just went through a few neighborhoods here in Hamilton, Ontario, and then up on the escarpment that gave us some views, although the views weren't that spectacular!

Younger next year

Well, we got caught up on our sleep, and really didn't do much of anything else yesterday. I had already got my exercise for the day when I walked from the airport to the car rental place. I did exactly 4 kms (2.5 miles) in 36 minutes so I was moving at a pretty fast pace!

When we were visiting my uncle in Prince George last month, he gave me a book to read. He's 73 years old, and in pretty good shape. They do lots of hiking, biking, and kayaking.

Made it to Ontario

Another nice day yesterday in Crescent Beach, British Columbia.

Just hung around and chatted for the morning, and Ruth did a bunch of laundry and got the fridge cleaned and made some enchiladas for lunch for the four of us.

While she was doing all of that, I was cleaning Sherman's awning.

Beautiful day in Crescent Beach

Gorgeous fall day yesterday. High of about 18C (65F) and beautiful sunshine.

Went for a walk before lunch yesterday just to explore the area. Crescent Beach used to be an area where Vancouverites would have summer cottages, but as the greater city expanded, it is now full of expensive homes itself as many of the cottage properties have been removed and big pricey homes have been put in.

Fun times at the big RV Show

We said goodbye to longtime friends Cory and Elaine. We've known them 11 years and yet we've only spent time together twice! But getting together is almost like we do so on a much more regular basis. Lots of laughs, and I'm sure we'll be seeing them again sooner than 11 years from now!

We hit the road, heading towards Vancouver, and the big Abbotsford RV show.

Future travel plans

Yesterday was the first time in a long time that we did not take any photos! That's because it poured with rain pretty much the whole day. Once in the afternoon it stopped for a few minutes, and Ruth and I decided to go for a walk and get some exercise. We went into the motorhome to get our jackets on, and it started spitting again. We thought we would wait it out a few minutes, but it just got heavier, and heavier.

I went to have a nap instead!