Nice visit with our family. And Larry the spider!

We had a mostly rain day yesterday until mid afternoon when the clouds started to break up a bit. And we had visitors coming over... our daughter Lindsey and her family, and our son Alex and his girlfriend CJ. We haven't seen Alex and CJ since last fall, so we were looking forward to getting caught up with them.

But, CJ's parents are in a high risk group and so we did our best to maintain distancing measures. We had been planning on spending most of the visit out on the back deck, but because of the rain, we set up plan B.

We love our Tilley hats!

Tilley makes good quality stuff. Of course the company is most famous for their popular hats, but they also have a line of clothing that is both durable and practical.

We both have Tilley hats, backed by their famous lifetime guarantee. We got them at the same time in 2013, but they were slightly different models. Mine was made out of nylon and polyester, while Ruth's was made out of organic cotton.

Our choices for Worldwide Medical Insurance

We plan to be away from Canada for at least two years. Part of the plan includes eventually applying for German resident permits, which state that you have to have your own private medical insurance. But even if we obtain German resident permits, we would want to be doing quite a lot of travel outside of Germany as well.

So we have been shopping for worldwide medical insurance that would include coverage for when we return to Canada for family visits.

We think it is safe to fly

We took a rare blogging day off yesterday! The morning just seemed to disappear, and I simply never got to it.

But, we are back on schedule today.

I was asked the other day if we thought it was safe to fly. Of course, if we are to be in Europe next month to look at and buy a motorhome, we have to somehow get there right? And the only way to get there from Canada is by airplane.

Yesterday, we went to see a numismatist

"A numismatist?" you say. "What is that? Some kind of doctor?"

Nope. A numismatist is an expert who deals in coins and banknotes.

I mentioned the other day that we had found a box of old coins in the basement. I did some research and found out that Alliance Coin and Banknote in the nearby town of Almonte is the best place to go in the area to get an appraisal. So I made an appointment and we went for a drive over there yesterday morning.

Here's the spec sheet for the motorhome we're looking at

There is a big RV show going on right now in Dusseldorf, Germany and of course all of the European manufacturers are there, although in a reduced capacity to deal with Covid distancing restrictions.

And the RV dealer that I am currently speaking with has some of their people at the show checking out the new models. One of which is the 2021 Adria Matrix Access 520 ST that we are interested in.

Another nice European motorhome

I've been in contact with an RV dealer in Germany that was recommended to us. This is one of the largest dealerships in Europe, and the guy says they are extremely busy. I told him what we were looking for... a 2017 or 2018 model with under 40,000 kms (24,000 miles) as well as our list of specifics... he said that it was highly unlikely that we would find exactly what we were looking for in a used model.

However, he has a new 2021 that is already on pre-order with an expected December - January delivery.

Bike ride to the pretty little village of Pakenham

It's been a little windy this past week and so we haven't been out on the bikes. But yesterday, the wind had calmed down a bit and so we got out early on the bikes for a ride down to the village of Pakenham.

We had to bike on the highway for about half the trip, but on the second half we got onto a rail trail. Not that scenic, and pretty much flat. But we knew that in advance, and it was the destination that makes it worth it.

Well, we knew this time would come

When we are out traveling, we are typically good for maximum one month in the same spot. And that's if we really like the spot! It's usually time to move on after two weeks.

So we had a good idea that staying here in Galetta for over two and a half months was going to be too long, but we didn't know exactly when the feeling would hit.

Back to where it all began

We were back in Ottawa again yesterday, first for a morning visit with my mom and older sister. After that, we were supposed to meet up with a guy to sell a little 12V Bosch drill that we used to travel with in the motorhome. But stupid me, we got half way to Ottawa when I realized that I hadn't put it in the car! Dummy. I hate when I do things like that.

So I managed to contact the guy and we are dropping it off on Saturday since we have to go back into Ottawa again anyhow to renew the little red car rental contract after the first month.

Feel like we didn't get much done yesterday

It was supposed to rain on and off, but it never did until we got a thunderstorm around 4:30pm. Actually, I did manage to get outside for an hour and a half and I put back together what I could of the old wood splitter. It's pretty much good to go now, at least the mechanical part of it.

I bought a used battery for it for $50, and tinkered with things enough that you turn the key and it fires right up, whether the engine is hot or cold. Not bad, considering it sat for close to ten years.

Bought some more flight tickets...

We already have tickets to fly from Ottawa to London, England (Gatwick) on October 12th, less than six weeks from now. The original booking called for us to fly Ottawa to Halifax, Nova Scotia, then connect to London.

I received notice last week that they changed the routing so that we now fly Ottawa to Toronto, then connect to London. And I'm not surprised. There probably wasn't enough demand for the flight from Halifax to London.

September is the best month to be in Canada.

Or perhaps more accurately, it's the best month to be in the Ottawa area.

I joke (sort of) that Ottawa really only has one good month of the year, and that is September. After all, we have a brutal winter that lasts from November through March. Both October and April can be iffy though, and I would certainly not count on getting any half decent weather in either of those months. Out of the twelve months of the year, those seven can be scratched.

August Expenses

Well, here we are at the end of August. Not a bad month from an expenses perspective, although if we are spending this kind of money we should be seeing more than we are. We gotta get back on the road!

We spent a total of $1,433 CAD ($1,100 USD)... only $6 less than we spent last month. But we sure saw a lot more last month than we did in August.

Chester the Rottweiler

Friday morning, our daughter Lindsey dropped of their dog Chester, the 135 lb Rottweiler for a weekend visit with Grandma and Grandpa while the family went canoe camping.

Chester is almost 4 years old, but he's still just a big puppy. And he loves me, and won't leave me alone!

What's the point of holding onto something if you never realize the appreciated value?

Going through the basement here, I came across an old cigar box full of old coins. I almost wish I hadn't though because it only means more work. At some point someone will have to go through them and see what is worth money, and what isn't.

Obviously the silver coins are worth their value in silver. But the other ones, even though they are old, are not worth much more than face value.

Interesting things that we find

So I'm going through some more stuff in the basement, and there's a bin with a bunch of old clothes in it. Looked like some of it belonged to Ruth's mother at some point. And there's an old purse. So of course before you send the stuff off to the op shop, you check the pockets and the purse to make sure that nobody inadvertently left a wad of hundred dollar bills in there.

And of course there was no money. But there was something interesting!

We'd rather be out hiking or exploring

Well, we're still puttering away at the work around the house. Ruth is probably 3/4 done the gardening... she only has one bad section left to do.

I started cleaning the exterior siding on the house. The beige colored vinyl siding is turning green. It probably hasn't been cleaned in over 15 years. I started with the worst part first... the hardest to get to area at the top of the back of the house.

Our preference is to die while still in good condition!

I hesitated to write this article because I don't want to come across as preaching. After all, we are far from perfect. But, I had an email from someone yesterday who said that this blog had motivated them to exercise more... and that's a good thing!

It's pretty common knowledge that exercise is good for you. And yet statistics say that most parts of the world don't treat exercise as the medical wonder drug that it is.

Are we rich? No, but perhaps we are wealthy...

Of course it's easy to think that the two words are interchangeable. The dictionary definitions are certainly similar... essentially both words mean "the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions."

But I read about a new book coming out next month called "The Psychology of Money" where the author makes a definite distinction between the two. I've only read previews of the book of course, but it seems that one can be rich... without being wealthy. And the other way around.

Four weeks

Hard to believe we've been back here in the Ottawa area for four weeks already. Two of those weeks we were under house arrest, and even then they went by fast enough, but the last two weeks went by much faster!

And we feel like we've got a lot accomplished already, but when we look around there is still sooo much to do. And we're only here for another 7 weeks. Not rushing things by any means, but it will be October before we know it!

Before and after

Ruth's mother was an avid gardener. In fact, when she looked after the property years ago, it was suitable for Better Homes and Gardens magazine. And in fact, she won local awards for her garden.

 I don't have many electronic photos of what it used to look like, but I can give you an idea...

Busy day, with Black Forest cupcakes!

Busy day yesterday as we once again headed into the city. It was our daughter Lindsey's 34th birthday and we were headed in to visit with my mother. My sisters were going to be there too, so it only made sense for us all to visit at the same time.

Lindsey brought Cameron and Sadie with her. The kids hadn't seen their great-grandmother since Christmas!

We are shopping for a European motorhome to use in Europe

Our original plan was to be traveling Europe in a European motorhome by next April/May time frame. However, we plan on being in Germany by the end of October... at least temporarily. This will be a kind of a scouting trip, however we may end up buying and traveling then and there... or we may end up buying and storing something for a few months, or we may end up ordering something brand new, for use the following spring!

I never ever thought I would consider buying a new motorhome. In North America, I just don't see it as a good value proposition. There are a ton of much cheaper used options available, and new ones lose 20% as soon as you drive them off the lot. Of course not everything has to be a financial decision... if you have lots of cash, then it may not matter to you.

Lots of fun with the grandkids, but it's good to get back to our own schedule too

Once again, Ruth took the grandkids over across the road to the river yesterday morning to look for critters. They sure do love doing that!

Then we had an early lunch and hopped in the little red car to take them back home. It was great fun for 2 days, but it's also nice to be able to give them back to their parents!

If they're going to hang around with us...

They had better like to be outdoors and do some hiking! Day two with grandkids Cameron and Sadie and what a busy day we had! Poking around looking for snakes and other critters, then hiking and more critters, then some time at the beach!

By 8:30am, they were ready to go across the road to look for more bugs and things. I was still doing some computer work, so Ruth took them over there.

More time with the grandkids

We went for a bike ride fairly early yesterday morning. They were calling for some showers, so we figured we had better get out while the getting was good. Plus, our son-in-law Justin was dropping of grandkids Cameron and Sadie after lunch for a two night stay with Grandma and Grandpa!

There are lots of back roads that we can ride on in this area... mostly gravel country roads, although some of them are paved.

Where do we keep our "stuff"?

Comedian George Carlin once did a funny piece about where you keep your "stuff", and how owning a house is really only because you need a place to keep all of your stuff. In fact, I'll look it up for you.

Here it is...

George Carlin - stuff

When we sold our house in 2007, we no longer had a place to keep our stuff. Of course we sold most of it, but there were a few things we wanted to keep. So for a few years, we had some of our stuff stored in the basement of my sister's house.

Goodbye Sherman... it was a great run!

Yesterday, we drove an hour and a half away to drop off Sherman to his new owners. The drive was fine, and he didn't let us down on his very last day with us. Rather than being sad, all I could think about while driving was "please don't break down now, buddy!"

And we are not sad. The time had come, and we knew it. But, we sure do have lots of memories... and photos! In fact, if I go into our photos file and search for "Sherman", 1,400 photos are displayed. Sherman has to be the most photographed motorhome on the internet!

We are off to deliver Sherman

We are heading across the border this morning to deliver Sherman in the province of Quebec. Sherman will have to learn how to speak French, because he's about to become a Quebec resident. I hope he does alright with the road signs... they are all in French as well.

Yesterday we sorted through what is going with Sherman and what is staying. Of course we now have all of our "stuff" to get rid of. It almost feels like when we sold the house back in 2007.

Turtles on top of turtles!

Ruth's brother Colin is a retired machinist, but he enjoys his new work life as a part time (closer to full time at this time of year!) bicycle repair technician. Ruth had asked him if he would take a look at our bikes and do some adjustments, and sure enough he took them away last week.

He brought them back on Monday... and wow! They looked like they were brand new! Being a machinist in his past life, he's pretty good with attention to detail. So with everything now operating within their designed specifications, the bikes are a pleasure to ride. They were even before this, but now they are like new!

Good news and sad news

Which do you want first? The good news, or the sad news?

Well, it doesn't matter... because they are both the same thing.

Sherman is sold!

Fun visit with our daughter and grandkids!

Yesterday, we were looking forward to seeing our daughter and grandkids... and the visit did not disappoint!

We haven't seen them since the beginning of last November. Grandkids sure do grow a lot in nine months!

Into the city again, and an update on Sherman

We were in the little red car at 9:45am yesterday and headed back into the city of Ottawa to visit with my mother and sisters.

I had mentioned yesterday that there was a problem with the left rear tire and that I had topped up the air pressure on Saturday night, and when I check it on Sunday morning it was still perfect.

So we got on the highway, and headed out. About 20 minutes into the 40 minute drive, another "low tire pressure" warning came on!

Into the big city of Ottawa to pick up the little red car!

Our car rental was booked for pickup at 12 noon yesterday, but the rental location was on the other side of the city so it was a 50 minute drive to get there from Ruth's dad's house. Ruth's nephew lives next door, and he drove us into the city using his car.

Of course there are lots of other car rentals closer, but they were also quite a bit more expensive. And when you're renting by the month and you're not getting a fantastic deal to begin with, it made sense to go with the cheapest one despite the bit of an extra drive to get there.

We're free!

Yes, our 14 day quarantine is over! We've been stuck on Ruth's father's property since we arrived here, but now we are free as a bird! Well, as free as anybody else around here, anyhow.

And what is the first thing we did with our freedom? We went for our 5 km (3 mile) power walk at 6:30 am this morning. And it felt GREAT!

Our most memorable hiking experiences Part 3

I didn't set out to have this become a 3 part series! But once I got into it, I realized just how many fantastic hikes we have done. So this is the last of it. Then on Saturday, we can get back to some normal posting because... we will be free!

In February of 2016 we were just outside of Guanajuato, Mexico waiting for the Mexico RV caravan to show up. The day before they did, we went for a hike in the hills opposite the RV park.

Our most memorable hiking experiences Part 2

When Ruth went over yesterday's blog post, she reminded me that I forgot one important hike! And I'm not surprised... there were really too many good ones to remember them all. But this one really should not have been forgotten!

In July of 2011, we hiked up Mount Washington. This is the highest point in North America east of the Rocky Mountains.

Our most memorable hiking experiences Part 1

Our regular readers know that we love to go hiking. After all, hiking is great exercise, you see things that you would not otherwise see, and it's normally free!

We haven't always been as avid about hiking as we are now, but even when we had young children we took them on some good hikes. In fact our first really big day hike was when our son had just turned 6 and our daughter was almost 8.

Factors to Consider When Choosing Your ISP

Choosing your Internet service provider (ISP) is one of the most important decisions you can make when you want top-quality service. In most cases, people settle on an ISP without understanding whether or not it has the coverage for their area. In the event you enroll in a plan from a provider who does not have the proper coverage in your location, you are bound to regret your decision.

Nomad Internet partners with the four major carriers to cover widespread areas when delivering rural Internet. To ensure that you enroll in the correct plan, here are the key factors to consider when choosing your ISP.

Quarantine day 10

Nice day yesterday as the sun came out to dry things off, and the temperature was a comfortable 24C (75F).

I did some more weed pulling and then tackled a more enjoyable job.

This house used to be entirely heated by wood. There was a wood furnace in the basement, a fireplace in the living room, and a wood cookstove in the kitchen. Ruth's father had a 90 acre wood lot where he would cut all his firewood for the winter and bring it back to the house.

Just rambling...

When you live and travel in a motorhome for extended periods of time, you get conditioned to doing things a certain way. And especially when you are boondockers and you have to conserve your resources for days at a time.

The three main limiting factors when we are traveling in a motorhome are water, electricity, and holding tank capacity. So when we get back to a "normal" place to live, we find ourselves still trying to limit these things. Which is of course a good thing anyhow, but it sure makes you think about how much is wasted by people living in houses.