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.