Food and Family!

June 6 – We were close to the designated time to be at Pete and Jane’s this morning, 10 o’clock!  It didn’t take long to pile into their car and head out for Parks Blueberries out in Bothwell. We had a wrong turn or 2 and a detour, but we finally made it.  It’s a nice drive through some small towns, lots of farm land, a deer and wild turkeys here and there.  They have a really nice (and expensive) shop with nice kitchen items and lots of beautiful home décor items.  However, the real draw is the yummy baked goods they make there and the nice and delicious food they prepare for breakfast and lunches.  Pete wasn’t feeling well so he didn’t eat but Bill and I each had one the daily specials of a ham and cheese on ciabatta bread with a side salad.  There were blueberries with the salad.  They a raspberry pepper jelly on the sandwich and it was super tasty.  Jane had an egg salad wrap with a salad and no one left a crumb!  Then it was time to pick out what pastries were leaving with us!  We got a box that held 6 items and Bill chose a raspberry/Chocolate scone, a raspberry scone and a raspberry turnover.  I went with a lemon/cranberry scone, a chocolate croissant, and a giant cheese tea biscuit.  Yum!  We also bought 4 butter tarts to share with Pete and Jane after dinner.

Keeping the babies warm

We headed home and the guys took the car to the

Feeding the babies

mechanic to check on a warning light that came on earlier and “waited” at the local bar!  Jane and I took off for Dollar Tree as I wanted to see if it was the same as ours.  It is except the cards are $1 but everything else is $1.25.  Jane and I both picked up a few things.  After more visiting, Pete lit the grill and he and Bill grilled everyone’s meat of choice.  Everyone pigged out with the grilling, chips, salad and of course, the Butter Tarts.  They were REALLY good and gooey!

Dad doing his part!

After more visiting and watching everyone starting to dose off, it was time to get home as Molly would be having a fit of hunger by then  (Yes, she was!)

The robin nesting her babies behind us on the ladder of the RV, are so fun to watch.  I've gotten several photos of the process.

We were both kinda tired so I didn’t even write my journal!

Bill with cousin Sharon

June 10 -  Our last day in Canada didn’t get off to a very good start.  The rain started very early morning and it was impossible to sleep with the noise pinging on the roof.  Once we finally got up and ate we got ready to head to Bill’s cousin Sharon’s house.  They had a really good visit and it was a pleasure to meet her.  She caught Bill up on her family and her home renovations too.  I think they could have visited much longer but we had to move on.

 

We drove over to cousin Roger’s house next and hoped to catch him home since he didn’t answer the phone last night.  There was no answer and no light on.  Too bad, Bill was hoping to at least have a short visit with him too.

 

I wanted to check out the Remark Fresh Market for a couple of things and it is just about like our Whole Foods at home.  Since it was about lunch time we each got a bowl of their fresh made chili, a good lunch on a rainy day.  I also picked up a small Morrocan Quinoa Salad and Bill got a regular salad but we ended up saving them for dinner since the chili was very filling.

 

Pete and Jane were waiting for us when we arrived at their house.  Pete took Bill to the cemetery to visit and pay his respects to his aunt and uncle and his grandparents.  Then they went to Pete’s neighborhood bar for a while.  Jane and I headed out to Target for a few things.  It’s a pretty new store and she’d only been there once.  Unlike our stores it’s 2 levels and not nearly as large a grocery section.  We were looking for Green Pans but this store didn’t carry them.  We checked some clothes and I did buy a lightweight navy cardigan sweater.  I forgot to bring my black one.  I’ve seriously needed it since we left home.  I’m still wearing flannel pajamas!

 

When we got home we put the bike rack and bikes on the truck in the drizzle.  Bill took down my cactus and our little solar lights.  We had a little dinner and I baked a loaf of bread for the next few days breakfast and lunches.  Bill did up the dishes and time for some TV.

June 9 – Had to be up at 7 today to be ready when Pete and Jane arrived.  I did manage to make our special Sunday breakfast but instead of regular bacon we had peameal.  I’m going to get spoiled on that and then can’t get it at home.

 

Needle from our seats

Mr Happy at the game

Pete drove us all to Oakville, Ontario, Canada to catch the commuter train into Toronto.  The traffic is a mess and parking is expensive and hard to find so this way we ended at Union Station and walked to the stadium via the Skywalk.  We could see the Needle from the train and from the Skywalk and even better from our seats at Roger Center.  We didn’t know we would get figurines of Jose Reyes for being early birds.  Bill was impressed.  The Blue Jays got beat by the Rangers 6 -4 but we really didn’t care who won.  It had been probably 20 years since we came to a game there and got to see George Brett hit for the cycle.    Last time we were at the VERY top but today we had seats just 15 rows up on the 3^rd base side.  Sweet!  The weather was great but as all stadiums go, the food was pricy and not much in the way of healthy.  I did manage to find a chicken Caesar salad, so at least I got green.

 

The train was much fuller on the way home as we took a pretty early train in but left with a lot of the crowd.  Seems like we got home much faster.  After dropping us off, Pete and Jean headed home and I made dinner.  Good thing I still had 2 Italian chicken sausages in the fridge.  Whipped up some slaw and a kind of insalada caprese and we were set.  Before Bill did his dishes we took a bike ride through the park.  There are 2 new 5^th wheels and of course we have to compare.

 

Bill called his other cousins and got hold of Sharon and we’re going to her house in the morning.  Roger didn’t answer so we will either stop by or Bill will call again in the morning.  We’re going over to Pete and Jane’s after lunch.  I printed a bunch of postcards so we’ll need to get stamps and mail once we get back to the states.  It’s much nicer this evening but later on might need the heat AGAIN. 

June 8 – This morning we went to the Trails End Farmers Market not far from our KOA.  We bought some local grown produce and some Austrian Pumpkin oil and I found an attachment for my dremel to drill circles.  Now when we get home I can put holes in our chair tables and put cup holders in.  We got more cheese curds and peameal too.  It was pretty crowded and people were coming and going.  There were lots of produce vendors and the prices were good on most items.

 

We had lunch at home as Pete and Jane were not coming to pick us up until 3.  I printed some postcards and Bill emptied our tanks.  Pete and Jane were on time and she brought us a box of books.  I’ve only finished 2 since we left home so only had those to trade.  I’ll be in books the rest of the summer.

 

To find out what I am go
to the photo album link

On the drive to Port Stanley, Canada we stopped at a Cheese Shop/Taxidermy.  It was a rather unusual shop.  One side really was a cheese shop and the other was the husband’s taxidermy shop.  He had some interesting mounted animals and birds.  Pete and Jane like the cheese there and we did get some aged cheddar and dill havarti that is excellent.

 

Jane and Bill

Bill used to go to Port Stanley with his family as a boy and he wanted to look around but it’s changed a lot in 60 years!  Imagine that.  The view of Lake Erie from the hill where his aunts and uncles had cabins was beautiful but all of the small cabins are gone and now there are big houses.  Everything changes.  We walked around the little town and checked out some of the dinner menus.  We made a reservation at Me & Suzie’s.  We all had the Cheddar and Ale soup to start and it was excellent.  I think we could have made a meal on that with bread and been happy.  I had a beet salad and 2 pieces of Lake Erie Perch.  It was very good.  Bill had a perch dinner and he enjoyed it too.  Pete and Jane brought us home and are coming back at 8:30 AM to pick us up for the Blue Jays game tomorrow.

June 7 – No rush today as our first “appointment” was for 12:45 to meet Bill’s cousin Laurene and husband Pete for lunch.  When we arrived we were quite amazed that the parking lot of the plaza was just about full.  The restaurant, Mandarin, was quite the draw.   It's in London, Ontario, Canada.  The lobby was packed and if people didn’t have a reservation they were pretty much being turned away.  I guess Laurene knew to make us a reservation.  It’s a HUGE buffet with more food than I could have imagined.  There was a mix of Asian foods and non-Asian food.  There was a salad bar with fresh fruits, salad ingredients, shrimp, mussels, cuddle fish salads, seaweed salad to name a few.  The dessert bar was 8-10 kinds of ice cream with the toppings, cookies, brownies, pastries, cheesecake and so much more.  Then the main meal stuff included pizza and plain old veggies and mashed potatoes but there was a sushi bar and a hot bar with every kind of Asian noodle dish I’ve ever seen and all kinds of meat selections and vegetables.  They give you a hot washcloth before and after the meal to wash your hands.  Very impressive.  Needless to say we were all stuffed.  We had a really nice visit and caught up on the family.  Hopefully we can get together when they winter in Florida.  We need to arrange a camping trip to Panama City to visit them.

 

After saying our good byes Bill and I went into downtown London to the movie theatre.  We had a little trouble finding it and then finding parking but we made it in time for the matinee of The Internship.  It was a good funny movie with some heartfelt moments.  We both like Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.  They make a good comedy team.

 

We got back to the RV at 6 and neither of us was the least bit hungry.  Bill did some computer stuff and I read and later we had some cheese curds and carrots and a piece of ganache I made this morning.  I had a bunch of photos I posted on the blog link that I needed to label so I got those caught up and am going to post this blog and be totally caught up before tomorrow’s adventure begins.

June 6 – Our first real day in Canada Pete and Jane were to pick us up at 8:30 but they were a bit early and had to wait for us to finish breakfast and getting ready.  The plan was to be in St Jacobs by 10 and after some directional corrections we made it pretty much on time.  We did try to find a “town” called Punkey Doodle’s Corner.  We stopped to ask a lady where it was and she told us 6 miles up the road but we never saw a sign or village or anything.  So for the time being we gave up that mission.

 

The area of St Jacobs has a large Amish and Mennonite population and every Thursday there is a big Farmer’s Market.  Some is inside and some is outside.  The Amish park their buggies in the parking lot and put their horses in a corral as they set up their sales stalls.  There was an abundance of maple syrup and other maple products as well as cheeses, meats, hand crafts, rhubarb, and all kinds of prepared foods.  I had my first taste of peameal.  It’s cured pork loin that has a think coating of cornmeal and then you slice it like Canadian bacon and quick fry for breakfast bacon.  Yummy!  We got some for breakfast one morning and some really squeaky cheese curds and a 2 pound log of summer sausage.  Bill got some syrup and a couple of maple sugar candies.  There were lots of food samples but not much in local fresh veggies and fruit since it’s a little early in the season.  I didn’t try much but Bill enjoyed his samples along the way.  Jane had an early snack of poutine which is French fries with brown gravy over it and melting cheese.  It is a fat wad waiting to happen.  Bill and I had it when we’d been in Canada before.  The guys took the purchases to the car while Jane and I checked out the upstairs of the main building which was crafts and home décor type stuff.  She got an adorable fur headband and I found a short chili pepper table runner for my kitchen table.

 

We all checked out the other large building and Bill got some maple butter.  I’m not much of a maple person.  Then we headed over to the outlet mall across the street and did some browsing there.  Jane and Pete bought some dishes so all was not lost.  Even though everyone had eaten some snacks and samples we were all pretty hungry by then so we went into town to Stone Crock for lunch.  There was a 15 minute wait even at 2:00 but the food was excellent.  Bill had a peameal, cheese and apple sandwich with sides and I had the soup and salad bar.  The veggie soup had too much cabbage for my taste and I’m not a big curry fan, but the turkey and rice cream curry soup was excellent and I had 2 bowls.  We stopped in a couple of shops on the way back to the car and one was a kitchen shop.  They had the neatest silicone lids that look like a flower and you put them on a dish to cover it and it seals so tight you can pick up the dish with the seal.  I got one that looks like a sunflower.  Jane got one too.  It they weren’t so expensive we would both have gotten more.

 

The mission for the ride home was once again to find the evasive Punkey Doodle’s Corner.  We met a guy at the market who told us exactly where it was and that it isn’t more than 3 houses but that there is definitely a sign there.  It started raining about as soon as we got in the car but that wasn’t as bad as we got lost more than once trying to get on a road that cut over to the road to get to PDC.  After many twists and turns we FINALLY found Punkey Doodle’s Corner, and it was 3 houses and on the tree in the yard of one house was the sign.  Mission Accomplished!

 

Pete and Jane dropped us off at the RV close to 6 and I had no idea it was that late.  It was getting pretty cold out and just about as cold inside the RV.  We got the heat going and warming it up and around 7:30 we had a small snack type dinner due to the late large lunch.  There was a bit of rain later as we watched TV.

June 5 – What should have been a short travel day didn’t exactly go according to plan, but then what does?  Kam had send Bill’s rain jacket by Priority Mail on Friday and we expected it yesterday but it didn’t come.  I called the post office and she said to call this morning after 8:30 and she’d let me know if it came.  Well, it didn’t so she said she’d forward it to C & O when it came.

 

Next, Bill expressed his concern about the tires.  They are closer together on one side than the other, which happened before and we had to have new axles put in.  So while we were at the dump station he called the axle place in Orlando and talked to the guy there who said it may or may not be OK and that we should have it checked.  So I called Flying J and Travel A which had truck stops right where we get on the interstate today and the Travel A had a service area so we got on the list there.  She said it would be about an hour.  We finished up with draining the tanks and went up there and pulled in with all the other trucks waiting for service.  We knew we wouldn’t take long and that they could only let us know if a spring or hanger was broken.  They charge a minimum ½ hour service fee but they didn’t find anything wrong and just advised us to keep an eye on it.

 

So that set us back about 2 hours today as we had planned to leave the park by 9 and get to Canada by 2.  We drove thru south Buffalo and crossed into Canada on the Peace Bridge.  We stopped at the Duty Free store and got the requested liquor.  They said we could legally only take a bottle each in and I wanted a bottle of Baileys but had to pass since  I already had liquor in the RV that I brought, plus wine and some Shandys, so wasn’t sure how customs would go.  It was a breeze.  We were asked for our licenses and passports, where we were going, why we were going and how long we were staying.  Then he asked if we were carrying a gun and we told him “no”.  I explained that we tried to find out if Canada or the US would hold the weapon for us and would not so we didn’t bring it.  He never mentioned Molly who was sitting right on the console so I asked if he wanted to see her papers and he only asked if she was vaccinated and I said she was and he sent us on our way.  Never asked a thing about the liquor!

 

We stopped for lunch at a shopping center at Subway as we didn’t think we’d be able to open the slides there.  Then it was straight on to KOA campground in London, Ontario.  We arrive right at 4:00 and were to be at Bill’s cousin Pete’s house at 6 for dinner.  We were put in a back in space right across from the office.  We were both pleased that we got right in the space.  It’s a pretty level spot and there are some nice shade trees too.  Bill did his outside thing and I did the inside so Molly could come in and then I set up the satellite dish.  I had gotten some coordinates online that I thought were the satellite we should be using.  I wasn’t getting a signal and then we moved it over some to clear the trees better and BING, we were at 95% signal strength.  Now we only have a problem if an RV gets parked there and we have to move it.

 

We had no problem getting to Pete and Jane’s with our Google directions.  They had a really nice supper for us.  It was delicious and Jane even made his Aunt’s recipe of Butter Tarts, so he was tickled that she did.  We had a nice chat during dinner and afterwards Jane took me to the bulk food store while the guys watched baseball on TV.  I spent a lot but got at lot of the flours and grains that I will use this summer.  I was surprised at all the things they had that I normally have to go to a health food store for.

 

We only stayed a short while when we got back as it was 9:00 and we didn’t want to drive back in the dark since we don’t really know our way around.  They’re picking us up at 8:30 tomorrow for a day at St. Jacobs.