Homeward Bound

Early on the 29th we said goodbye to our hosts in Gravenhurst and began the almost 2,000 miles back to Texas. We decided not to delay and sightsee as much as on the way to Ottawa and make it as quick as the old driver could take ... however.

As this was the last driving trip to Ontario we could see for the future we decided to end the Ontario piece by going along the road we had done many times in the last 50 years. As we got to Orillia we took a right and headed toward the Georgian Bay coast, through Stayner, Collingwood, and Meaford, snapping a quick pic of the Leeky Canoe in Meaford. We had eaten there many times over the years and it was always good for a great pub burger, chips and a beer.

We then continued along the coast for the balance of the 275 miles of two lane road on a very pretty, 70 degree day with little traffic. We hit the Blue Water Bridge and using the NEXUS cards were across into the US in less than a minute and into Port Huron.

There we opted for a generic Hampton Inn because the Doubletree hotel on the river was booked. Actually we did go over to the Doubletree just to see if they had a room and yes ... but it was $340 for the night. So we thought that the $175 at the Hampton was really OK.

On Monday we went out of Port Huron early and opted for the I-69 route to Indianapolis rather than go through Detroit. Good choice. The weather was really nice and the roads smooth with little traffic. We got onto I-70 out of Indianapolis and completed the record-breaking run of 450 miles to Terre Haute for the night.

In T.H we boarded at the Hilton Garden right in the center of the city. The hotel was just finishing up renovating the historic property and I think we were the first occupants of the new room layout and it was about $200 which was becoming average for an average room for this trip.

Several of the rooms were still without carpet and most of the room signs were on the floor, ready to be glued to the wall.

Terre Haute is a really nice city and they have brought new renovations and business to the city center, shared with Indiana State University. Lots of places to eat and shop a few steps from the hotel on Wabash Avenue.

Sharing the city center is also the county seat of Vigo County. The courthouse is a French Neo-Barogue style and a massive limestone structure finished in 1888. There are many monuments and plaques around the property commemorating local military and civic leaders ... beautiful!

Not Home Yet!!

Off on Tuesday for the next run of 420 miles to Forrest City Arkansas. We have stayed many times in Forrest City on I-40 over the last 50 years, going to and from many military bases in the southern US. There we again rested at a Hampton and it was older but very nice. Our room backed out onto a grassy and forested area and in the evening we saw a cople of deer foraging about 100 feet from the window ... neat.

Then the final lap to Flower Mound Texas and home. This was another race down I-40 to I-30 and into Dallas for about 435 miles of endless trucks going 85 miles an hour. Needless to say the pilot of our vehicle was ready to call it quits and not plan to get in the car for a few days ... whew! Like I said, we averaged about $200 a night for the 22 days. The XT5 averaged 21 MPG for almost 4800 miles at about $4.50 a gallon with the cartop carrier. The only big gas price was obviously in Canada where it was $6.60 a US gallon, taking into account the dollar difference. For a US dollar you could usually get $1.20 or so and it's been that way for a while.

Ready For The Next Adventure

 The House

Before we wrap up the Ontario trip I must add a special page just to talk about  a remarkable home. This is the house that our niece Danielle and her fiancée Tyler have just completed and moved into near the town of Gravenhurst Ontario. It is about an hour north of Barrie so we asked if we could spend the night in their new place on our way home.

This is a stunning new place in the woods with soaring ceilings and views out the back of the forest and animal life.

Upstairs are 3 bedrooms 2 baths and the mud room laundry and the garage. Down are the theater, craft room, wine cellar, dog room, dog wash, and much more.

The place is loaded with so many design innovations and tech items that are too many to mention individually. One really neat item was the pantry. You know how you hate to have all those small appliances cluttering up the main kitchen area? Well here is the brilliant solution.

This is about an 8 by 12 foot "pantry" concealed behind what looks like a normal kitchen cabinet. Inside are all the appliances that would normally clutter up the kitchen plus all of the normal food items found in a normal pantry. Oh and don't forget the top-loading microwave oven.

Examples of a few of the modernistic things include the electronic toilets with remotes throughout the house and also the convenient dog bowl in the mud room. There is also a dog wash station in the basement.

Theater anyone?

Anyhow we had a super time including getting to drive the awesome Tesla and really thank Tyler and Danielle for a super evening with perfect hosts and a tour of what the 21st century home should look like and the technology it should contain if you have unlimited ingenuity and design talent. Thanks guys!
 

 Barrie and Friday Harbour

After that long trip across Ontario on the 23rd we arrived at our next stopping point, Barrie, where Jo-Anne's dad had spent the last years of his life and we needed to wrap up all the loose ends there.

We had arranged for an Airbnb just to the southeast of Barrie on Lake Simcoe. This was the resort called Friday Harbour and we had rented a two-bed two-bath condo for the week to do our work here.

I'm using one of their publicity photos and the place was outstanding. They have a variety of homes for sale, condos for sale, and rentals like the one we got. Our condo was just off the screen to the right and yet a quick walk to the shops and restaurants on their "boardwalk" and the parking garage below.

I settled onto the perfectly outfitted balcony to get a few words down on the blog before the real work began.

And the first order of business was to deal with the storage area containing Dad's stuff and an electronic piano we were going to bring back to our daughter. No problem, eh ....

In many trips much of the stuff was donated to a thrift store, the wheelchair and walker donated to brother Rick's living place, some to the dumpster, and the piano and other things pared down to fit in our car for the trip home.

In addition to the storage area we had to settle and close out all Dad's accounts and safety deposit box and all our accounts there at the same bank. OBTW the safety deposit box had to be drilled open because we had no idea where the keys were.

It wasn't all work as we met with Jo's brother Rick a few times and went to our favorite fish and chips place called Dannys; and here is the person not-so-fond of fish putting down some of the best F&C we have tasted in all of our travels.

By Friday the 28th we had accomplished our mission without any more hitches and prepared for our trip back to Texas with one more stop in Ontario the next night. That cartop carrier was superb and held a whopping 18 cubic feet of stuff and absolutely watertight for the entire trip.

 Last of Ottawa and on the road to Barrie Ontario

Friday night the 20th we had an absolutely first-class Italian dinner at Mama Teresa Restaurante on Somerset Street in Ottawa. This was the kind of meal with many Italian servers hovering about you and the absolute perfection in serving and preparation for all of our different dishes. Here is the outside of the place as you walk up ...

Tyler and Dannielle left on Saturday and that is when we toured Parliament in the last blog. Saturday night we hit another pub-like place right next to the Lord Elgin Hotel called Browns Social House. Great selection of pub food, good service and music to please any generation.

Saturday night we had a bit of a thunderstorm but as the hotel is this massive granite mountain with foot thick walls we didn't think much of it.

Sunday morning our daughter was to fly out of Ottawa to Toronto and then on to Dallas. She got a call from the airline that the flight was cancelled and a later flight arranged. Not having looked at the news we took her over to the airport a bit after noon and wondered why the traffic delays going to the airport. Wow. 

This was the road to the airport. We soon realized that about ten hours earlier a massive windstorm had hit the area, killing nine and leaving a hundred thousand without power. The reason for Leigh's cancelled flight was obvious ... if it was on the ground when this hit, the planes wings were somewhere in the next province.

You can see that most of the metal light poles were just snapped off and the airport was running on emergency generators. Our daughter did get off late and then spent the night in Toronto without luggage, courtesy of Air Canada, but did get back to Dallas the next day ... luggage a week later.

After all that excitement, we headed over to Barrie ... about 300 miles of two lane, winding road. Then realized that I had left my camera in the Starbucks at the hotel ... rats! We called the Lord Elgin and they had retrieved the camera and would send it to our niece's house near Gravenhurst ... wonderful service!

The road trip from Ottawa to Barrie, while beautiful, was much longer and very tiring driving and almost eight hours later we arrive at our Airbnb in Barrie. We had intended to see if we could stop by our good friends in Bobcaygeon on the way but because of all the previous week's events we were just plain exhausted.

 Ottawa Wrap Up

On Saturday after the ceremony, we had a day to explore with Leigh and show her some of the Ottawa where we had met and socialized some 50 years ago. Jo-Anne worked for the government on a special project or commission in the building below.   She worked in the black and white office building on the right and then whisked me off to the hotel basement on the left for our first disco dance together in July of 1972.

Everything is so close here. The view above is one block from our hotel and two blocks from the Ottawa Parliament. We went over to the parliament buildings, but they were mostly closed due to it being Queen Victoria Day.

Parliament Hill is really a special place for the British influence in North America. Above is the center government building and the eternal flame honoring the founding of Canada in 1867.

Then we went over to the tulip presentation in the south part of Ottawa. There were millions of tulip blooms mostly the gift of the Netherlands. In WWII the Holland royalty moved to Ottawa for security and because of that hospitality they annually give and maintain these magnificent tulip gardens in Ottawa.

OK we are here for the beautiful display of tulips but as I am crouching in the ground for the best shot of flower petals I realize I am alone. Then turning around I realize what the real draw is here ... probably the best fudge we have eaten in years.

 Laid to Rest

On Friday the 20th we said our farewell to Jo-Anne's dad Major William George John Martin (Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, Retired)

The Ceremony was held at the Canadian Military Cemetery in Ottawa, their equivalent of our Arlington in Washington DC.

After we assembled, the military Padre said a few opening comments about our father and then Jo-Anne received the urn and proceeded to the gravesite.

Where she and I placed it alongside her mom, Helen.

Then the bugle played and the bagpipes sounded the farewell to a former dedicated, loyal, and honorable soldier.

After some final words from the Chaplain we then chatted a bit about the super life of our father (mine for the last almost 50 years), exchanging many memorable moments he and mom gave all of us. Then some final photos before we departed.

All in all a perfect day with the temp at about 80 an some nice clouds ... really special and beautiful ceremony to bring final closure after so long. 

 Ottawa

Our primary purpose of this journey was to bury Jo-Anne's father who had been cremated about 18 months ago but because of Covid it prevented us from coming to Ottawa. That ceremony was completed on the 20th and I'll get to that in another blog.

Coincidentally, it is also been 50,years since we met here in Ottawa, romanced, got married and had our first apartment here in 1972. Because of both of these occasions ou daughter Leighanne joined us here to see the places her parents have talked about for all of her life.

So for the 18th and the 19th we showed her most of our old haunts including our first apartment which was right on Elgin Street about 10 blocks from the Canadian Parliament.

From here Jo-Anne could walk to work. Alot of memories from that time as we tried to initially set up the place as newlyweds.