Road Trip Aug 2019 - Canada

From Fairfax, VA we went north toward the Niagara Falls area - Williamsville NY - to be exact.

We stayed with long time friends Jon and Barbara.  It was great to spend the evening with them and to catch up.

They're retired also and have three daughters who are married with lots of grandkids.  They are involved in their church and quite active in their local pickleball scene.

Our visit was too short, but then again, it was great to spend a little time with them.  We left early the next morning and made our way across the QEW./Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.  We were prepared for a busy time but instead it was early and Civic Holiday Weekend in Canada and the traffic had not picked up yet.

Going through Toronto was not too bad and we continued north toward North Bay before taking the turn to Rutherglen and Talon Lake where our friends Jeff and Tiffany have a cabin.  We parked our truck near the campground office and called Jeff, who arrived a few minutes later in his pontoon boat.

Their cabin is only accessible by water and we loaded a few things on the boat and were off to the cabin!

 Its a great location among 4-5 other cabins and buildings owned by them, Tiffany's brother and Jeff and Cheryl who live a couple hours away in Canada.

It was fun just hanging out and talking, relaxing and enjoying a great couple of days.  Jeff and Tiffany have 4 kids, three of whom are still teenagers.  The youngest two girls were there with us along with there three kids, and we all had a nice time relaxing.

They played board games in the evening, or read or put together puzzles.

One night we had a campfire.  A couple of days they rode across the lake a ways and anchored the boat for some fishing and swimming.  They have a jet ski and the kids hopped on that pulling a raft.  It was great fun and against all odds I caught a couple of small mouth bass.

It was great fun and relaxing and a perfect few days.

Once again and all too quickly it was time to say goodbye and Jeff taxied us over early in the morning to our truck and returned to the cabin for a few more days.

It was early in the morning and the rains came as we drove into North Bay for some fuel and got some ice.  We traveled south and east in the direction of Detroit.  We were going to Petrolia, Ontario to see Meghan's parents Marg and Bill.

Jeff and Tiffany told us about Weber's Charbroiled hamburgers on Highway 11.  We drove right by it, so decided to stop for lunch.

By now the rain had mostly stopped and we got there before the crowds.  We were eating under an umbrella at a table while the folks were starting to line up.  The burgers were the best in Canada and a real treat.  Glad we stopped.

Next, we travelled on to the Sarnia/Petrolia area and a couple of days with Marg and Bill.  We had another fabulous time with them, having seen them in March when then were returned from their winters stay in and came to see us in Virginia.

Bill had a golf tournament on Friday so Marg, Pam and I hung out and went over to the waterfront near Sarnia to Skeeter Barlow's for dinner.  I tried pickerel and vegetables with a baked potato.  It was  fantastic.  Don't know that I've ever had that fish, but it was great.

Somehow I missed taking a picture of us so I snagged this off the restaurant web site.

Pam opted for pasta in a mushroom and shrimp sauce which was good also. Bill was still at his golf tournament later finding out that he had prime rib.

Saturday morning Bill and I played a round of golf at the local golf club in Petrolia. It was a great day for golf and we had some fun.  In between all the rest of the round, we each hit a couple of good shots.  We had dinner back at their place and then went to a local play.  It was great!

The comedy was "the New Canadian Curling Club".  It was entertaining and very well done.

 The local theater is the Victoria Playhouse Petrolia (VPP) and every summer they fill the seats with local theater goers who enjoy great music and acting.

The facility retains the old architecture of the early 20th century and has been completed renovated recently.  It was originally built in the 1889 in the midst of the region's oil boom.  It is a great facility and a perfect setting for the evening.

The next morning we left early, made a quick stop at Tim Horton's in town for coffee and some Tim Bits and made our way about 20 miles over to the Blue Water Bridge/border crossing back into the U.S.A.

Our week in Canada was filled with great memories of friends and all we hoped for this trip.  Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Snow Related Issues

First, I want to welcome our newest Followers!

Gregg

Angry Charlie

Libby

The Old Geezer

Jo Beth and Catherine

Thanks for joining the Roadrunner Chronicles!  (If they have a blog, I have linked it to their name.)

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Over the past week we have had really cold weather (last night it was down to 20 degrees) and some snow.  The cold weather affected our heater (among other things).  Our front a/c heater unit on top went out.  Heat pumps are not the way to go in cold weather.  So we are using a lot of propane for the heater and hot water.  

On Saturday we called around and decided that on Monday we were going to fill up with propane.  Uh--it was snowing pretty good on Monday.  We decided to pack up and go get the propane tank filled anyway.

This is one thing I have feared and avoided for 18 months:  Driving in the snow.  The whole idea freaks me out a bit.

We packed up and headed out.  It took us about 30 minutes to unhook everything and put everything away.

Yikes!
I found out the snow we were dealing with wasn't all that bad.  It was like driving in rain and I kept the speed down.  My issue isn't really the snow, it is my fear is ice of black ice.  The thought of skidding and sliding around in my one and only home does not appeal to me.

I think it is more about nerve...like learning to drive these big RVs for the first time.  The main thing about getting confidence is thinking about the right things.  ~ Like where I want to put the left wheel as I go down the road.  Or watching my mirrors and going slowly through tight places.  Not thinking about what could happen or oncoming traffic or who knows what else...

As I said, I took it fairly slow and we waited until about 1030 AM to get going, so it was warming up a bit.  It was probably about 35 or 36 degrees by that time.  (This is Virginia Beach?)

Since I called earlier, our guy was waiting for us and jumped right on it.  He made the hookup and filled us up in about 15 minutes.

Then it was back to the campground.  I wanted to avoid the noon time traffic and it worked out fine.

We got back to the campground, eased the Roadrunner back into our spot, hooked up the electrical and had lunch.

That was interesting!.... all these months and now we can say we have driven in snow.  Instead of dreading the thought, now I know we can do it if we have to.   (But I know this is not real snow, like what they are going through in Canada near Marg and Bill's, or in Buffalo, NY near Jon and Barb's.)    But that is fine with me -- I have no intention of ever needing to drive in the real snow, an inch or a light dusting is enough for me.

Later that day, we decided to see if we could do something about our a/c heat pump unit.  We found Meyer's RV Service which is a mobile service.  He came to our campsite yesterday.

 Tanner jumped on top of the Roadrunner and took the cover off our Coleman unit.  He found a burned up capacitor that needed replacing.  Aside from the 30 degree weather, it was a pretty easy job.

James asked about our Norcold refrigerator and we discovered we missed the recall on it in October.
He called the company, set us up and got registered, then replaced a component on the back side of the refrigerator.

They blew a fuse while working on it and after a couple of phone calls to Tiffin, we found out where it was located.  He replaced the automatic reset unit and we have that issue solved.  It took them about 2 1/2 hours to replace the capacitor in the heating unit, replace the recall item in the refrigerator (and fix the slow leak they found) and to replace the fuse.  James and his son Tanner at Meyer's Service do great work and charged me $183 which I thought was reasonable considering them came to me and it was hassle free.  I recommend them!

It has been an interesting time the last few days, but we have added to our RV full-time adventures with some cold weather experience.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  I hope you are warm were you are and enjoying the holiday season!

Golf, Bakery and More Golf

The last couple of days we have been watching or playing golf and spending time with the Bakers at their cottage.

On Thursday it was an early day since the British Open Golf Championship was on at 4:00 AM.  I got up at my usual 5:00 AM ish and was surprised as anyone to see John Daly at the top of the leaderboard.  By the end of the day it was great to see the record setting 63 by up and comer Rory McIlroy from Scotland.

We went out to the cottage in the late afternoon and stopped at a bakery along the way.

The local shop had some good looking cinnamon cookies and an apple pie we couldn't resist.  It was a rainy, drizzly day for the most part and we remembered Meghan on what would have been her 29th birthday...

Bill got back from Petrolia and we called another golf course for a tee time on Saturday morning.
Then, he was at the campground promptly at 7:00 AM and we drove to Wiarton Golf Course about 40 miles away.

It was a nice course and priced right.  We teed off without any trouble and made our way around the front nine in about 90 minutes.

Then we got caught in a backup at the turn for the second nine and is was slow going rest of the way.  But the scenery was nice, we hit a few good shots, had a couple birdies.  I was pleased with my 79 but have to temper that with the fact that it is a really short course.

The course is on the side of a mountain and the scenery up from the Georgian Bay was beautiful.

Meanwhile, Pam and Kelly went in to Tobermory, picked up some postcards and some bread and we all met back at the cottage for dinner.  Marg fixed a fantastic meal of fried bass the her brother Chuck had caught and we topped it off with Yellow Label tea and apple pie.

Then we play three games of Skit/Skat.  I was happy to take the first two and Marg took the last.  We don't play cards that much but always have fun when we do.  We usually have some good laughs and we had everyone around the table.

Then it was back to the campground where we found a lot of new neighbors.  The place really fills up during the weekends but all were very well mannered and no issues.  I love the 'no outside music' rule!  We have lots of tent campers here with only about 10 RVs.

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles today!  Hope you are having a great weekend.

Wednesday around the Campground and Cottage

I got up and checked my email at the one of the picnic tables near the Tobermory Village Campground office.  It turns out the wifi here is about the same as what we can catch in Tobermory at the library or one of the coffee shops.  It was a pretty slow day with not a whole lot going on.

Marg and Bill will be up here at their cottage through the weekend and we aren't due to leave until Monday.  Bill had a league golf match back at Petrolia but will return Thursday morning sometime.

After emails and posting my blog, I took some bottles and cans into town for recylcing, stopped by a bookstore and was back at the campground in time for Adam to drop by.  He was on his way out of town and headed toward Toronto for a few days.

Kelly and I went swimming in the campground pool and Pam joined us for a few minutes.

Over the back fence of the swimming pool is the stable where the owners have a Belgian horse, six goats, a rabbit and a kitten.  They also have a nice garden nearby.  I really like the way the owners have upgraded the whole camground.  Everything is in good repair and orderly.

Then we all went over to the cottage by Marg and Bill's.  While Pam did some laundry, I went for a long run and caught some sunshine.  It was another beautiful day.

Kelly and Marg went into town for some errands and a beer while Pam and I hung out at the cottage for a while.  I have a couple of books going and did some reading on:  The Bruce Beckons which is the history of the Bruce Peninsula (including Tobermory) and Lonesome Dove, a western novel.

Pam cooked a great dinner of meatloaf and baked potatoes.  When Marg and Kelly returned they brought the shortcake, whipped cream and blueberries for dessert.  Kelly went over to the other cottage with Ed after dinner and we stayed at Marg and Bill's cottage and talked for a couple of hours with Marg and her mother.  It was a nice evening.

We got back to the Roadrunner about 9:30 PM and that was it for us.  No major events, just a nice summer day on the Bruce Peninsula near Tobermory...

Hope your week is going well and thanks for viewing the Roadrunner Chronicles!

2 For 2

We felt like we have hit it twice in a row.  Yesterday we went to another great museum.

This one was in Oil Springs, Canada, right across the border.  Pam and I decided to take a different route over to the Petrolia area (which is near Oil Springs) and we took the little ferry across.

We took this route on our 220 mile day trip 

A,F:  Starting/Ending point - New Hudson, Michigan
B:  Border Crossing Ferry at Algonac, Michigan to Walpole Island, Ontario, Canada
C: Museum at Oil Springs, Canada
D: Petrolia, Canada
E: Border Crossing at Port Huron, Michigan

Just before we boarded the ferry at Algonac (B on map) we stopped at an empty restaurant with a little grass lawn on the shore of Lake St. Clair.  We had a picnic lunch and enjoyed the beautiful and cool day.

From there it was about a 15 minute drive to the Ferry at Algonac.  I asked the lady behind me for directions after we got off on Walpole Island.  She and Ron (the security guy and operator of the ferry) gave us some good instructions to Oil Springs.

Our drive to the museum (C on the map above) was uneventful and took us about 30 minutes from the ferry.  The Oil Springs Museum brings to life one unbelievable fact:

Oil in the North America was discovered first here, at this location in 1858.  

I was blown away by this.  Did you know it all started here?

The entrance to the grounds shows a number of outdoor displays and this first commercial oil well.  Owner James Miller Williams dug a hole 6 feet by 8 feet.  At 14 feet down, oil began seeping into the hole.  He put a pump over the hole and this 3 pole derrick to lift heavy tools and equipment.

Inside the museum, we listened to an informative video and then a short geological talk by one of the museum docents.

Inside, there are many displays on the ground floor.  It contains a wealth of petroleum industry artifacts, working exhibits, fascinating stories and a kerosene lamp which was an early by product of the oil.

In the latter part of the 19th century, Canada exported oil drilling expertise all over the world.  Canadians were drilling in Peru, Malaysia, Saudia Arabia and Europe and elsewhere.  Technology export and oil workers from Canada spanned the globe beginning in 1873.

The Oil Springs blacksmiths made all the tools and bits for drilling there.  They also made wheel rims for the wagons, barrels and shoes for the horses that hauled the oil to railheads in nearby London (Canada) and Sarnia.

One interesting invention during this era was jerker lines.  These wooden rods moved back and forth to relay power from the pump house.

We could have spent a long time there.  We didn't see all the outdoor displays and will have to go back another day.

From the museum, we went to Petrolia (D on map above), then to the bridge and Port Huron.  We stopped at the Vistor's Center for some information on the new HST tax in Canada.  The national tax goes up from 5% to 13% on July 1.  I don't know anyone who is very happy about that.  We will be paying that tax for our campsites in Canada in the next 5 weeks.

Then the worst part of the day.  The looong wait on the at the border getting backing into the USA.

It took us over an hour to go through the line.  But at least there were some good sights to see.  On the top is Port Huron Michigan.  The picture below is Sarnia, Canada.  The water in Lake Huron is about the bluest I have ever seen...

We arrived home in the early evening and had dinner along the way.  Atferwards, we spent some time with our friends Roger and Joyce.  They are leaving today for Hillman Michigan to see Howard and Linda and some other RV-Dreamers.

Many thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  And special thanks to our newest Followers:

Flo and Jerry

We appreciate it!

See you all next time and BE SAFE during the 4th of July Weekend!