August 15 - Sunday - Day 17

It is a quiet lazy day. Tom cleaned up some of our yard in camp and found a huge pile of change. Every couple of minutes he would find more, a couple coins here and there. Finders keepers! I wanted to relax and I had saved a few recycles of cardboard and paper bags to start to construct some new junk journals. I cut up the cardboard and made signature pages from magazines and music book pages. I dug into one of my craft container and got all the stuff to get started. There are 3 books. The 2 small are from the poop bags we use for both the dogs and the cats and the large was an icecream box. The small books will have a total of 80 sides and the large will be 160 sides when done. Today was just to construct the initial books. Not sure when I will start to work on the pages but hopefully soon. Throughout the day we met a few more neighbours, Denise and John, Fabian (Paytons father), our immediate neighbours Jim and Heather and a few others, ohh my gosh I hope there isnt a name test. Most were aware of Highway but didnt seem to mind except if they were going by with their own dogs, then it became a bit of a commotion, we are trying to work this out. Jim gave us a connector thing for our waste (the poop). Now we dont have to empty every couple of days. We are directly hooked up and can poop without a care! Not that I myself ever had a concern LOL, but it sure made Tom happy! Thanks Jim! Ohh and to my gal pals out there I should mention, Jim has a Doppelgänger yes, "Sam Elliot" looks just like Jim, yep and even sounds like him too. Im thinkin I need to get a picture of him to send to y'all. LOL Today I am grateful for time off and poop connector thingys

August 14 - Saturday - Day 16

Today 1st thing in the morning we went to Sussex and explored the town, found the laundry mat, bought some lawn ornaments and lanterns for our campsite, some plastic wine glasses and a rake to clean up the rocks and pinecones. This town has a lot to offer, so when I say they have a walmart, then you can gage the size from there. Sorry I didnt take pictures, I will get better at this. Then we went to another little town called Alma very near the Hopewell rocks. Bought lobster meat half pound cleaned and cooked. Very economical to get the most for your money. At 27.50 for a half pound, it is like 4 tails instead of 2 for 26.00. A very touristy trap with restaurants and shops one after another. Would love to explore more another time. We had been there 10+ yrs ago but I dont remember it. We circled around and ended up in a town called Albert (Riverview county I think) There we had lunch outside at The Red Top Restaurant. Deep fried clams and battered fish. It is just awesome goodness. Surprisingly I am not gaining any weight from all of this. Sadly the more we tour, the more we realize that it is hard to find public access to the ocean. One more stop at Moncton to complete the circle to pick up a few more groceries before heading back to camp. Back at camp we have connected with a new realtor. We have been playing telephone and txt tag with the last one and now it is time to move on. Can't wait to get seriously started with house hunting. One last thing before a super fabulous supper, I went on line to the facebook group and invited our camp neighbours to join us for a meet the newbies party on Friday night. I'm nervous and excited. Today I am thankful for the freedom to explore and $store lanterns! A few pictures of the campsite and my new lanterns. Hmmm i think we need more lanterns.

August13 - Friday - Day 15

Today we moved the camper to our new spot. We have the very front spot on the highway which of course is perfect for Highway. All of the immediate campers around us are facing the other way. That acts a little bit like a buffer and we are able to park the truck facing out so that if he barks no one will hear him. Wewill test it out tonight. We met Pam and Lisa, Moe (Maureen) and her husband Al. Lisa is married to John (Al's son) and Pam just got married last week to her hubby Greg in camp. Tom met Greg and John during our set up. They had to move another camper over to fit us into our new spot. All of these seasonal sites have amazing decks and campers. I was invited to Moe's camper, OMG it is like a castle compared to us. I think we will have to kick it up a notch if we hang out with these people. Our little camper is barely the size of a tin can. Then we were invited to a pool party this evening. The owner of the camp has a motel and restaurant next door and the campers are allowed to use the pool facilities. I dont have a bathing suit and anything shorts like is all buried in the back of the cargo trailer. I didnt think I would need them and expected the weather to cool down soon. Tom doesnt own swim attire either. But we went to the party and had fun just meeting some of them again. Everyone brings stuff to the parties like food or snacks. There is a Facebook Group and we both joined to keep up with the latest thing going on. The general rule is if there are lights on and noise just follow and join the party. We have met so many I cant even remember everyones names., I can see instantly that we have finally found our people. We had tied Highway and Jack to the fence of the pool and within 30 seconds Highway had found a way to get under the fence. Everyone said just bring them in and tie them up inside next to us. I was a little worried that Highway would jump in the pool but he didnt. That would have been interesting..... And for the record, he has several more new Aunties.....such a smoothie, luvs the girls! After a couple of drinks we went back to our camp for supper. it was too hot to stay outside. Chicken thighs, macaroni and pasta salad and early to bed. Lots to explore over the next few days. Today I am grateful for our new campsite and for air conditioning in the tin can. Here is a picture of our smug mutt Highway.

August 12 - Thursday - Day 14

Today we left St. Martin Campsite and headed to a large town called Sussex. Last night we asked the owner of our campsite in St martins about seasonal spots. We were told point blank that we would be hard pressed to find a seasonal spot for the remainder of this year and that there was absolutely nothing available through their site. (yeah hope that doesnt come back and bite you some day) Luckily another camper overheard the conversation and told Tom to try a place called Animal Land outside of Sussex. He said the site was all seasonals but that the owner often accomodated people that just need a few days whenever he has a spot available. He also keeps it open for the seasonals to invite friends for a weekend or a short stay. Tom contacted the owner of Animal Land and told him our situation and the first thing he said was "Come on Down! and we will figure this out for you". As soon as we got to Animal Land he (Ulie is his name) was there to greet us. He came up and even said hello and welcome to me in my vehicle. Then he took Tom to see where he was putting us temporarily for the night and we were in! Tomorrow we will have a long term spot while we house hunt. No more moving around, and a much better price by the month. The first person we met after Ulie was our camp neighbour Dawn and her bunnies, the cutest. She has 3 but one has escaped and shows up all over camp. Kind of the wandering bunny. Dawn is a wealth of valuable information. Within no time at all we met her parents that also have a camper on site and her brother and his wife in the camper beside us and the sweetest girl Payton (sp?). Dawn told us that all the seasonals(long term campers)are dog cat pet friendly and not concerned about barking, yeah but they havent met Highway yet..... Dawn met Highway and loved him to pieces! Highway is already calling her Aunty Dawn. We got set up and had supper and sat outside. We met another camper named Tom, a fellow from Germany that is a long haul truck driver and pretty much stays in the camper all year round with his dog. He said it was very cold this past winter. It scares me to think that could be us this winter? While we were all chatting, Ulie (The owner of the site) stops by to make sure we were all right and that the dogs were settled in. Really? Owner people do that? That is refreshing! Thanks Ulie for making us feel so welcome. The mosquitos got bad after dark so we headed in and watched the news on line for the 1st time since we left. Seems we are not missing anything. yes, Highway barked for most of the night and was sent to the truck to muffle the sound.No one could love dogs that much to put up with him, even we don't. Please let it be a good spot away from everyone else. We will move tomorrow morning. Today I am grateful for good hosts and good neighbours!

August 11 Wednesday Day 13

St Martins campground day 3

Definitely not my favorite spot.

Our dog Highway barks non stop. We have built barricades to stop him from seeing other dogs but it continues. We go walking with the dogs along the beach every evening after supper. So beautiful and so sad that you must pay to see the beach.

It is another foggy morning, I thought this must be the norm, but someone told us that it isnt. Woke up to the sound of fog horns blowing in the distance every few minutes. It is soothing but I found myself waiting for the next one so it was a very early start to my day.

We went to the Sentier Fundy part of the trail. It is in St Martin and does connect to the full trail but it is free. 

We had lunch at a world famous restaurant. Famous for its clam chowder. We shared 1 lobster roll and 2 cups of chowder. That was plenty of food. Thank goodness we didnt order 2 rolls.

Came with onion rings and tea biscuits. We were full after that.

Lunch was 50.00. Yeah, after the lobster tails at such a great price the night before, not running out for soup and a sandwich anytime soon, but the experience was worth it, and the view was amazing.

After lunch we hit a garage sale, score! $12.00 and great stuff. A lobster platter, blue plate, enamel cups.

Then later we went to Octopus Icecream for a great treat, lovely ladies working there!

My favorite stop of the day was Lori Gayles shop. I bought a seahorse soap in a shell. Plan to go back there for other items once we have a house. Some fabulous antiques and gifty household decor.

Today I am grateful to be a tourist and of course garage sales.

August 10 Tuesday Day 12

In case you were wondering, I've given up posting and keeping track of receipts. Only because sometimes we don't get receipts and we are trying to remember and I am posting after the fact and that means going back to the pile to find stuff. But if there is anything interesting, I will let you know the price, and once we are settled in a house I will give you a tally for our gas and campsite expenses while we waited to get a house.

So we are now on day 2 of our St Martin campsite.

Today we went on the Fundy trail it was 20.00 for the 2 of us. The drive was fun but a little scarey. The whole thing was a big fog.

From the trail we went to a town called Sussex, nice town has everything. Then drove to Moncton and back to Shediac to pick up Lobster tails for supper.

$26.00 for 2, ohhh yummy!

We drove back to St Martins on another road. Deadly drive for 30 minutes. Not sure anymore that I want to live in St Martins, both roads into town are crazy driving for 30 minutes.

We booked another night here to relax. So far all the pets are in check.

Today I am grateful for fishermen and lobster.

August 9th Monday Day 11

We are in St Martins. This is where the house I really wanted is. But it was sold before we could get here. I still like the house and the location of the house, but there isnt easy access to the ocean, even though you can see the ocean. The campground beside that house, owns the beach front and doesnt allow public access. So very sad, that business overrides the beauty of the beach. I think the business should at least allow basic access. 

We are staying at this campground, but I sure wouldnt rush to stay here again. Spaces are not as tight as some places, but there really isnt any privacy, no trees and long narrow spaces. I don't take pictures of the campsites due to privacy.

Camp dude was rude! Super rude! He mowed the grass for 2 hours all around us circling to cut every single blade of grass. The whole time wearing noise blocking headphones and carrying a coffee cup. Seriously? 

I wanted to ask him if we should lift the camper up so he could mow underneath it. Tongue in cheek of course.

There are so many rules at this campground it is insane. We may get kicked out for dog barking, apparently they have the right to evict you for that.

We are booked for 2 days, but we may only last a day.

Not sure if we are cut out for this RV lifestyle.

I did 2 loads of laundry (should have taken a picture of the laundry rules) You are required to stay the entire time your laundry is washing and drying. They  have chairs and a bookshelf and games while you are sitting there. That is not gonna happen! So I put the timer on the phone and pretended I didnt see the rules. Im sure it was barely a few minutes after my laundry stopped, and I got there and someone had taken my laundry out of the washers and laid on top of the dryers.  Another eye roll moment, but I stuck all into the dryer and went back to the camper. Nope not gonna sit there. You want to fold my undies, go ahead Lol

The best part of the day was lunch at Uncle Mayn's in St George. The fish and chips was delicious! We shared a platter, good thing cuz
there was a lot of food.

Today I am grateful for ocean views and fresh fish!

August 8th Sunday Day 10

While this day actually started at 330 in the  morning, you can see that part of the day on my last post. If you didnt read my last post then stop now and go back to my blog home page and scroll to where you left off. Otherwise this day doesn't make full sense.

We left Edmunston a date later than planned, but happy to be on our way. Today's destination was Shediac NB on the ocean, finally!

Along the way we stopped to pee in the camper, went to a veggie market and put the groceries in the camper and picked up lunch and ate in the camper. All the while being especially careful after losing Baby.

We got to our campsite in Shediac, and Baby was gone. Omgosh, how could we lose him again? We were so careful. He always hides til we are settled and we assumed that was what he did, but we nearly tore the camper apart looking for him.

Tom took the car and went to our last stop where we had lunch (in Shediac) and I sat on the bed and cried again. Where would he be and how could we ever find him?

Then I got a little angry (and so was Tom as he was driving to look for him) if he really was unhappy about being in the camper then I  can help if he bolts for the door, and gets out. We had tried to kennel him but he was like a caged bobcat and we were more concerned that he would do more damage both mentally and physically to homself in the kennel.

But this was the proverbial last straw. If he was gone then so be it. We could only hope he lives a happy life or that someone contacts us via his tattoo and/or chip.

While Tom was gone, I heard a noise and I saw the curtain move in the window. But there is nothing in the window. A few seconds later the curtain moved again and I noticed Highway outside had cocked his head as if he heard the noise too. It sounded like it was under the camper? Tom pulled up and hadnt found any trace of Baby. So when I told him about the noise, we just looked at each other and started searching. From the outside Tom looked in all the crevasses and nothing, but then we looked under the sink pump in the cupboard. The door to the sink was open briefly in the morning when I handed Tom a garbage bag and Baby slipped in there. He rode in there all day long! He was very thirsty and hungry when he got out. The sad part is, it was such a tight spot,  he would have had no where to go. 

He is now grounded every night in a kennel outside and locked in the dog pen. Then he comes in in the evening after we are settled for a couple hours and back in the pen. I dont care if he loses his mind, we are tired of losing ours.

Our camp was South Cove in Shediac and this was an extremely tight camp, the worst yet and 64.40 for the night.

We scrounged what food was ready to eat, neither one of us was hungry.

Today I am grateful for wine, lots of it....and good hearing.

Tomorrow is another day!

Here is a picture of where Baby was for the whole day behind the soap bottle. It was so tight, Tom had to lift and pull drag him out.

August 7th, Saturday Day 9

We are still in Edmunston.

We woke up around 6am Tom went to get the dogs for a walk.

Our cat Baby, was gone! 

Some how he escaped out of a very small space in the pen.

We both walked around the campground calling him and shaking the temptations bag, and no sign of him.

We didnt know when he went missing in the night or if something spooked him. It could have been kids with flashlights playing in the campsite and there was even fireworks. People were up and about til late in the evening. I knew that during the day he would be too skittish to come back on his own because it was a very busy place. We were again sick to our stomachs, thinking how could this happen again to us, 1st Lulu and now Baby. 

Tom went and paid for another night stay just incase we didnt find him. 

Because we didnt have much for groceries, Tom went to get a few things and pick up lunch. Hiway was again in the time out spot because of his barking, and I put Ringo with him hoping it would keep him quiet while Tom was gone.  The whole time I  would walk up and down the edge of the bushes looking for Baby and nothing. We were surrounded by a major highway and lots of bushy area.

Highway of course kept barking and Ringo laid his paw on the truck horn. Beep, beep, beep!! If the other campers hadnt noticed us before, they sure knew we were there now. 

Again I knew there was no way that Baby was going to voluntarily come back on his own.

Tom came back with groceries and we had supper. I told him about Ringo honking the horn and we had a good laugh. We made shrimp (babys favorite treat). I didnt feel much like eatting. We waited til dark and Tom went with the flashlight and looked to see if we could see eyes shining back at him but nothing. By this time we had several more campers in our area and the noise level went up. We went to bed early and I thought I would get up with Tom and look in the morning. We were prepared to stay at this camp longer if we had to. 

Before going to bed, I left food in a dish with 2 pieces of shrimp outside on the table, hoping he would smell them and come for the food. I woke up every hour and looked at the dish and it was still there. Yes I cried many times but was still hopeful.

I woke up again at 330 am and decided to get dressed and go looking, I  couldnt sleep anyway. When I got outside the food in the dish was gone but the treat bag was still on the table. There were little muddy footprints all over the table. Now was this baby? Or some other critter? The treat bag sitting untouched was a clue that it should be baby because any other critter would have tried to at least take the bag right?

I thought I heard something...so I took the flashlight and went back and forth looking for him. Then there was a pair of eyes staring at me.  Now I didnt have my glasses, for all I knew, I was coaxing a raccoon to come to me. But it was baby and he jumped in my arms and we went back to the camper. I woke Tom, we both cuddled him. We were so happy and we were so tired we both fell into a deep sleep.....

So lets recap:

 We had us and the 3 cats in the camper. 1 deaf dog outside, and one very loud dog in the truck with our 4th cat Ringo with him.

6:30am

3 cats in camper are restless, Jack outside quiet...Highway starts to bark like a crazed dog, Tom jumps up and goes out in his underwear to calm Highway, Tom startles Jack who starts to bark and Ringo honks the truck horn non stop!

I cant make this crap up lol

Tom asked me to hold the dogs cuz he really had to pee, totally unaware that Ringo was honking the truck horn. I lost it, and told Tom he would have to wait until I stopped peeing. Yep I peed my pants laughing so hard.

I still have to be careful just thinking about this episode.

Since we were awake, we decided to pack up and leave before we were evicted.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this day

Today I am thankful for shrimp and good hearing.

Here are a couple of pictures of the escapee.

August 6th, Friday Day 8

I hope we havent bored you with my posts so far. Trust me there is no end to adventure and trials as we get closer to our destination. I honestly cant make this stuff up. I cant believe it myself.

The drive to Edmunston was intense and OSF moments all the way. We only made 2 gas stops and ate sandwiches and Tim Hortons as we drove.

It was uneventful other than the highways being so crazy up and down and some construction. When we got into NB I was expecting that we had to report in due to restrictions. We had registered on line the week before and had full size certificates that we printed to show our registration. I guess some time along the way things had changed. I will frame them for the memories all the same.

Camp site was very nice, not crowded and we had nice neighbors  Sue and Dale.

Supper was crab pieces and garlic toast. We were tired and not really hungry.

Because of the night before disturbance, we put Highway in the truck. Our cat Ringo slept in the front with him. Baby and Little tree slept in the back of the truck where the dogs normally travel during the day in the pen.

Lulu was the only cat in the camper for the night. Jack was outside and happy.

We didnt get gas receipts so cant give you a gas total for today. Ive decided to stop posting receipts until we get our statements and then I can update. But I will post anything that we buy that is more unusual.

Today I am grateful for Tim food and Sunflower seeds for driving.

All was good, we planned to get up in the morning and head off to Moncton.

Or so we thought....

August 5th, Thursday Day 7

A great breakfast of bacon and eggs and coffee that will grow hair on your chest. Ok coffer recipe needs a little tweeking, but should be good for driving.

What should have been approx 2 hours -ish ended up being more than double that due to driving around Ottawa plus we lost an hour some where with time change. Then on top of that missed a turn off to our site.

Stayed at Evergreen Camping Resort, Alfred ON just NE of Plantaganet ON. Omgosh, can we get any closer to our neighbors? They were very aware of our dog Highway. 

During the evening Highway seemed to be getting it and was a little quieter. So we decided to leave him outside. It was cooler and we had such a long ride that he too needed a break.

About 3am our cat Baby (Ratatouille) seemed agitated. He was growling and running across the bed from one window to the other. Then Lulu started growling too...

All of a sudden Highway went totally berserk outside with screech barking and Tom flew up out of bed to go outside, by then our deaf dog Jack was also barking. We for sure woke up the whole campsite including our neighbors who I should mention had all of their windows open on our side.

Tom quickly put both the dogs in the truck.

Then...we met Pepe...yep Pepe la peew! A skunk had come into our campsite startled the dogs and cats and sprayed our camper.

It stunk to high heaven.

If our neighbors wondered at all what was going on, they didnt wonder for long. The windows were quickly closed.

Since I was pretty much awake and it stunk so bad I got up at 430 and cleaned up the camper and got ready to move. We were making a huge drive from our location to try and get to Edmunston Nb by the end of the day. We had already booked the campsite so it was going to be a very long day. 

Gas 37.00, 98.79

Ate sandwiches for lunch

And odds and ends from the fridge.

Today I struggled to be gratefull but I would say that we still had strength to laugh and that no one would ever believe this story. I still wonder what our neighbors thought? Lol

August 4th Wednesday Day 6

We stayed put in Riverside park Pembroke Ont.

I had planned to update my blog but was just tired.

Had a shower, did a load of laundry and vegged out.

Tom went shopping today and came back with a small garbage can and a shiney new camp coffee pot. We were forwarned by Lorie and Barry (thx!) That we should have a camp coffee pot in case we dont have power. Yep 52.99 for this beauty. I know we have a battered and beaten one in our camping gear but that is in the moving container. We will see how it works.

Todays supper was easy leftover chicken and potatoes. 

Ready to get on the road again tomorrow.

Campsite 38.42

Gas 0.00

Groceries 37.31

And of course the coffee pot 52.99

Today I am grateful for rest and leftovers.

August 3rd Tuesday Day 5

I think I have come to realize that I might need gravol to drive this trip. The constant ups and downs have left me feeling nauseous everyday. It is different when you are a passenger and can close your eyes for a few minutes. Omgosh can't do that when you are the driver.

We stopped at NorthBay $store and I picked up a cutting board, stick on hooks, and mosquito coils. Yeah, anyone that tells you mosquitos are only bad in Manitoba is outright lying, they are bad everywhere.

We bought lunch stuff from sobeyes and salad for supper.  Tom found a roadside veggie stand and picked up fresh corn and new potatoes. 

We are staying at Riverside Park in Pembroke. A very open space campsite. It took some time to actually find the camp in the middle of town.

Opened camper and the whole place smelled like soya sauce. Yep, it was stored in the microwave for safe keeping  but I guess we hit another bump. It dripped down the microwave, along the fridge to the floor.  Another drip went the whole length of counter and down the side of cupboards. What a stinky brown mess.

Cleaned up and stuck on new hooks everywhere to help declutter the excess kitchen stuff like pot holders, cutting board, strainer, keys, and Tom's many hats. (Why do guys need multiple baseball caps?)

I am done again with driving and trailer messes.

Supper: chicken thighs in the cast pan, potatoes and corn. Awesome supper!

Gas today was another expensive day because of the distance we travelled
$52.04, 32.10, 152.15.

Camp at Riverside 38.42

Roadside veggies 12.00

Today I am grateful for corn on the cob.

August 2nd Monday Day 4

We are off to Elliot Lake/Spragge!

We stopped in Sault Ste Marie for lunch at McDonald's Thx Vlad and Claudette for the gift card!

Stopped at Walmart bought a variety of things including laundry pods, a towel hook, a cast frying pan, food, and water.

We were booked at Serpent River Camp in Spragge, another open style campground,  but very friendly and helpful. As we were driving into our site, Tom drove over a huge hidden speedbump in the gravel, and unhutched the trailer. It dragged 10 feet into the gravel and made a huge gouge in the road and caused some hook issues. 

Within seconds we met Brian and Liz. They are seasonals at the camp. Brian helped Tom hook up the trailer again and get everything back on track, and Liz came with a rake to fix up the gravel. She said we weren't the 1st nor would we be the last to go over that speed bump and unhitch.

Camp supper was delicious using our cast pan on the propane stove for steak and shrimp supper. Even with the cost of this pan  it is cheaper than going out for this kind of supper.

Highway again barked his way into his time out space in the truck for the night. He is so annoying.

Gas today was crazy 134.41, 41.10, 66.93. Lots of distance and pulling 2 trailers it adds up.

Our campsite was 50.00

And items and groceries at Walmart 129.55.

Today I am grateful for our new friends Brian and Liz, a lovely couple.  And I am grateful for cast frying pans.

August 1st Sunday Day 3

 Left Nipagon early morning and met up with construction right away. There were huge huge bumps in the highway and we had to keep slowing down to go over them. It lasted for about a half hour and then the roads were much better but the start of serious OSF. In case you have forgotten what the means,  O S Face occures under extreme fear. 

The driving was very intense, and in some places I wasnt sure I would make it up the hill only to finally reach the top to go down again with a hairpin turn in the mix.  Very exhausting. Our cat Little tree pooped on his blanket in his cage. It was horrible.

For lunch, we ate egg salad sandwichs that we made in the camper before we left. 

Finally got to Wawa in one piece and nearly dark  but when we opened the camper, we had quite the surprise....

Remember those bumps? We should have stopped right away to check the camper. The jolts opened the fridge door, which surprises me as I struggle to open the door myself.

Food all over the floor had rolled under things and spilled. It was extremely warm in the camper and with the food being out all day, we had to throw lots of stuff out. We had 2 pkgs of hamburger that became dog food and 3 pks that I had put in the freezer and luckily were still ok.

We made up camp, And Tom went to find take out for supper while I cleaned up.

He came back with snacks and water. All the restaurants were closed, except for 1 that  was charging outrages prices.  So...hamburgers it was! No eggs cuz we had eaten those for lunch. But with onions and spices they were delicious. We made rice to go with it and voila!

The camp was very crowded and loud. No privacy, you were right next to each other. Did I mention we got the last spot? Starting to wonder about that phrase....

This was where our dog Highway learned to bark. He barked and barked and barked. Every dog that went by, every child, every bicycle, Highway barked. I am sure there is a poster with all of our faces on it for future to not let us in. It was embarrassing  and we could hear comments from other campers.

I was done, and hadnt showered since the start of our trip. Tom had tried to use the shower in the camper, but the curtain is so flimsy and we were not leveled and water was everywhere. So he tried the public shower on day 2 and said they were really nice. Yeah, that is not my thing. Anyone that knows me, knows that is not my thing. I dont even like using the bathroom at my friends house, never mind in a public place. But I really was done, and so I filled up a plastic tub with clean clothes, shampoo and soap and headed to the showers.

The showers were on the end of camp and we were on the opposite end. I had to walk past all of the campsites carrying my tote to go shower. When I got there, a girl came out from the building wearing a towel on her head. That was when I realized I didnt bring towels. Now I had to go back and fetch my towels and do that same walk back to the showers. 

Ok finally in the shower, I decided I wouldn't wash my hair, but the water was perfect, and the pressure was wonderful and after this very exhausting and stressful day, I just stuck my head in and enjoyed 15 minutes of not a care in the world.

So with my turban head, I strutted through the camp back to our site. It was like I was on parade, but I didnt care. 

Tom had supper ready, we ate, Highway barked....Highway barked...all nite long.  We put him in the truck for the night but still listened to muffled barking.

In the morning I had to do some laundry before we left. The poopy blanket, and a bag of clothes and towels. Tom went to the office and bought 5 detergent pods at 1.00 each. It cost us 4.00 to wash 2 loads and 2.50 to dry everything.

Gas for the day 129.65 in Nipagon and 35.99 Terrace Bay.

Water and snacks 14.03

Campsite 50.00

Today I am grateful for public showers and laundry facilities. And hamburgers 

July 31st Saturday - Day 2

Woke up in the morning next door to Lorie and Barry, it was a comforting sound  to hear their voices. But it was to be short lived. The plan was to follow us to the Atikocan turn off where they would go on to visit family and camp, then slowly make their way home. I was very sad they couldnt continue on with us.  This picture, taken by Lorie is our truck with camper and in front the car with cargo trailer, just as they turned off to go their way. Can't wait til we get to see you both again in NB. By then we will be seasoned campers. THX again Lorie and Barry!

We headed up to Nipigon Ont to our next campsite. 

Lunch was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because Tom hadn't eaten all day the day before so wanted to make sure he was good for the day. We had almonds, a few prunes and some chocolate. All stuff from home.

Our plan was to pick up some groceries when we stopped, but when we got to town the grocery store was closed. We didnt realized the time change in Ontario so we had lost an hour.

Not to worry, there was a Chinese restaurant in town and we eagerly ordered take out.

After the 2nd day of escapee cats in the vehicle, we came up with the idea to let Lulu, Little Tree and Ratatouille ride in the camper. Lulu and Ratatouille did it this 2nd day and now we were adding Little Tree the 3rd cat to the camper and Ringo would continue to ride with Tom. This would allow us to load my vehicle with all the extra stuff from the camper to free up more space. So as soon as we were set up in camp we started rearranging things. 

Big mistake...we were in and out back and forth with arms full of stuff. We were just going to feed the pets and Lulu was missing. 

Omgosh I thought I would die from my broken heart. We searched all over. She is such a tiny cat. We searched up and down for her.Omgosh she was gone, and we frantically searched for her and had half the trailer park looking for her. But she was no where to be found. I was devastated and we both thought she was gone for good. This park is surrounded by forest and all thick fern brush. There was a siting of her far from our spot. We called her and nothing. I was sick to my stomach. But Tom went with a flashlight after dark and he found her. She had found her way back home. She is a very smart cat.

By the time we ate, the Chinese food was so gross nothing even tasted good. But it was such a relief to find Lulu that nothing else mattered. We will count our blessings and figure out the next level of security for the pets.

Costs for the day:

Gas Ignace Ont :$45.00

Gas Uppsala Ont :$83.87

Chinese food: 62.15

Things I am grateful for:

My Lulu came back.

Ohhh and prunes.... :)

July 30th Friday - Day 1

It was now 12:30 in the afternoon, and our plan was to stop at our neighbors Vern and Gerdie for 1 last hug goodbye before we leave. Unfortunately they couldnt wait for us. Catch you two another time!

The biggest fun surprise that we found out a couple days earlier (I was saving this part) was that Lorie and Barry were joining us on our 1st day of this voyage.

They recently bought a camper that sits on their truck and wanted to test it out for upcoming trips to do any tweeking. At least that is what they told us Lol and I think they felt sorry for us.

We are so green when it comes to camping in a camper. We had only slept in it twice, the 2 nights before we left. And we hadn't driven anywhere in it.

Our plan was to stay in Walmart parking lots along the way, but we decided to have a destination for the first night and booked a campground just east of Dryden called Wabagoon Camp and RV.

When booking we were told that we had 1 of 2 of the last spots. When I found out that Lorie and Barry were joining us, I quickly booked them in.

At 1230 in front of Gerdie and Verns place, we met up and started our journey.

We were almost to Steinbach when I felt 2 paws on the top of my head, then 2 back paws were on my shoulders. I had a cat that escaped. Driving on the highway with one hand on the steering wheel and 1 holding the cat, I made it to steinbach. Tom rescued Ratatouille from me and it took some scratching and bleeding for Tom to get him back in the back pen. For the rest of the day he stayed quiet. Another cat Little tree also escaped and ended up trapped in the backseat floor. I left him there until we stopped. More scratches and bleeding for Tom to get the cat out from under the seat.

It was my first time pulling the cargo trailer fully loaded and for the most part the ride was ok until we were past Kenora and started getting into the hills. A few ups, downs and sharp turns  while wearing what I call my OS Face. (Translate how you wish) ;)

Little did I know that I was being groomed for what was to come in the next few days.

In Ontario,we have learned to read the road signs and take the information seriously.  For example when a sign says do you have a half tank of fuel? That means get gas now. No really, instantly fill up your tank. We didnt take that sign seriously and Tom was getting low on gas and the warning sign for gas came on in his truck. We managed to get gas while he still had fumes in the vehicle. 

Lesson learned? Hmmm....

Camp Wabagoon was a very nice place. Each campsite was very private with foliage and trees. It was right on the highway so it was noisy, more than what we are used to for sure. Forgot to mention there were trains all night too.

Lorie made us all supper, while I tried to figure out how to set up the camper inside so we could move and find our bed. As I mentioned in another post at the end we just filled up everything and knew we would have to dig ourselves out along the way.

Tom and Barry went over different things about the camper from water, poop and pumps. That was when we really wanted them to come all the way with us, maybe it might have happened if we had given them more notice? Lol 

We spent some time together for the evening, enjoyed a fabulous supper, and then Tom and I hit the pillow. I never heard a thing all night. Slept solid.

The cost for camp was 45.00

Vermillion Bay Gas  120.00

Total expenditures 165.00

My plan is to keep you posted on what the costs are for the trip.

One final thing to add is what I am grateful for:

Today I am grateful for friends

Thank you Lorie and Barry for all your help. The fabulous supper Lorie and to both of you for your help inside and outside the camper. We might have made it to our 1st location but we would never have known half the stuff we knew after our 1st day.

Would also like to squeeze in Thank-you to our friends Val and Don for the fabulous home cooked meal earlier in the week. (Food has been low in rank these past couple of weeks)

Some pictures to share:

Cats with claws

Campsite fun

July 30th we are almost out of here.

Today we got up at 6 am to finish cleaning the house and packing up. While some areas were cleaned, we really ran out of time and just did the wipe over on somethings. I would have liked to have done more but we had to be done by 12 noon.

There was still the cat quarters to work out and the dog pen for traveling. By 12 we were numb and rounding up the cats in the breezeway to get them in the vehicle. Our 2 vehicles loaded, the last thing I  did at 12 was take down the shower curtain and we vacuumed the last of what we could to be out of there. Then 2 vehicles pulling two large cargo containers were pulling into our yard. The people were here and it was now their home, not ours. They had to wait until we got all of the cats into the car before they could start to unload. Tom and I were so tired but I was still doing okay, until I saw their 2 little boys get out of the truck. Then I lost it, and then I realized we were officially homeless and embarking on our new journey.  

A few pictures for this round.

My front passenger seat. I am full to the max. Treats from Claudette and Vlad, my blue truck from my gal pals Val, Thelma, and Barb, a lovely journal and goodies from Marie, a whole tub of Sari fabric from Thelma, music cds, a  600 grm bag of sunflower seeds. My laptop, and a purse not shown.

3 cats are traveling with me in the back pen.

Tom gets 1 cat Ringo riding shotgun in a small cage (no  picture) and 2 dogs in their pen.

More pictures will follow in the next few posts.