Another great day exploring, and another perfect overnight spot.

We slept great at our overnight spot at Tennecape Wharf. And no, we didn't float away at high tide!

I did get up to go to the bathroom at about 3:00am, an hour after high tide, and I looked out the window to see the water about 8 meters (30') away, so no problem!

But by the time we got up, it was back to low tide again, so we left Igor there and went for a morning walk along the shoreline.

Fantastic overnight spot for our first night back on the road!

We had originally tried to leave Lindsey's before lunch, but then she had to go out in the morning and wouldn't be back until 11:30am, so we hung around. And then when she did get back, we decided we might as well have lunch, and then go. 

And then, we decided I needed a haircut, so Ruth got that done as well using some of Lindsey's equipment.

We think we're ready to go!

It's been a fun and productive month here at our daughter's place in Nova Scotia. We spent a lot of time with the family, and got a lot done to Igor!

And we were sure lucky with the weather. Very little rain, and temperatures between 20C to 28C (68F to 82F). Couldn't have asked for much better.

Finished Igor's bed, and took Sadie out for some birthday treats!

There was some rain in the forecast so I didn't get the fourth and final window done in Igor the motorhome. Instead, it was time to complete the upper bed!

First, I had to install the mattress underlay which prevents condensation and potential mold growth under the mattress by providing air flow.

August Expenses

We were a little over budget for August, but only because the budget wasn't accurate to begin with. I had forgotten to include anticipated expenses to celebrate our grandchildren's birthdays. We normally aren't able to do that when the actual event occurs, so we do it at the next available time. Which was in August!

Anyhow, not a bad month, considering we're in a very expensive country.

How much did it cost to restore our Airstream B-190 motorhome? The final tally...

When we bought this motorhome at the end of June, we knew it needed some work. But, due to that fact, we got it for what we thought was a good price at the time. Given what I know now (hindsight is always 20/20!) I think we may have actually overpaid by a little bit. 

Still, I think you'll see by the end of this exercise that we actually did okay!

Heading out on Tuesday!

I spent the day on Wednesday putting the window I had removed back together. All four of Igor's RV windows needed to be refurbished. The channels and tracks were all full of 31 years worth of gunk and had never been maintained. This causes the drain outlets to become blocked, and the windows start to leak.

It doesn't appear that they have ever leaked from the actual seal around the frames themselves. 

The parts have arrived!

The last major project on Igor is the RV windows. 

When we bought him, the exterior hadn't been washed in probably two years or more, and the windows were the same. The rubber seals had shrunk over time, and the drain channels were all gunked up and there was green stuff growing in them! 

Searching for fossils and another motorhome renovation complete!

All work and no play is no good, so we decided to take Cameron and his friend Chandler to Blue Beach for some fossil hunting. 

Blue Beach is a rocky shale beach where there have been numerous fossil finds in the rock. There is even a fossil museum at the location.

Always fun to get together with fellow travelers!

At some point in time, someone had installed a cyclone rotating sewer vent on Igor's roof. And these products actually work very well. But this one was in sad condition, and the installation hadn't been done very well in the first place.

Also, since we now have a diverter toilet and no black holding tank, we didn't have the need for a fancy vent cap. 

The rest of our time here in Canada

We are going to be in Canada until November 1st. A total of four months, which is the longest we have been here since the summer of 2018 when we drove up to the Arctic Ocean. 

So, what do we have planned for the balance of our time here?

Still waiting for a couple of things

When we had Bundy and Joyce, our RV in Australia, one of the things that was a problem was the lack of air space between the mattress and the bed frame. And because we were there in cooler weather, that caused a problem with condensation caused by our body heat when sleeping.

And our first motorhome Sherman did not have any kind of spacer either.

The biggest catch of the day!

We were on the road at 6:30am yesterday morning, headed for the popular coastal tourist town of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia where we had an 8:00am reservation to go deep sea fishing with Lunenburg Ocean Adventures.

Arrived at 7:30am to find it spitting with rain. And in the process of making sure grandson Cameron had everything he needed, Ruth realized that she had forgotten her own raincoat!

A frustrating problem solved...

Normally I do blog posts first thing in the morning. But on Wednesday the 21st we will be on the road very early, heading for the coastal town of Lunenburg where we are getting on a boat and going deep sea fishing for four hours or so.

This will be grandson Cameron's belated 13th birthday present from us.

Building the upper bed assembly

Our son in law Justin is a woodworker and construction guy, so he has all the necessary skills and tools to do this job. It's actually not a difficult job, and I could have done the whole thing myself. But what would take me a few hours, would probably take him thirty minutes!

And, most of his tools are in his van or at his current jobsite. So we managed to corner him on a Sunday to get this done!

Very pleased with the end result!

Back on Igor's roof yesterday! First part of the day was cleaning all the glue and residue from where the air conditioner had been installed. Then finished switching the air conditioner wiring over from 120 volt to 12 volt so that I could use the same wiring for the Maxxair fan.

Once again, more complicated than expected

Yesterday morning I got into taking off the roof air conditioning unit with the intention of replacing it with a Maxxair powered vent. 

The first problem is actually separating the unit from the roof itself. The air conditioning unit itself is fairly heavy... it probably weighs about a hundred pounds. So the second problem is actually getting it off the roof!

Another RV renovation update

I completed the solar installation, and moved on to the DC-DC charger. This is a piece of electronic equipment that enables the lithium batteries to be charged at a high rate of current while the vehicle is being driven. 

But to handle that high current, and the distance between the engine battery and the house batteries, I had to use fairly heavy 6 gauge cable. And run it the distance between the two.

Igor's new electrical system is almost finished!

Because we like being self sufficient, solar electricity is a "must have" for us when it comes to RV'ing. And we've done it for so long now that we're aware of our electrical needs.

I had bought a 200 watt RV solar kit that includes two 100 watt solar panels, all the wiring, mounting brackets, and charge controller. It was on sale at the time.

More motorhome renovation fun!

This part was actually not all that fun! 

On Friday, our new kitchen faucet showed up. We were very limited as to which faucet we could buy because of the angle of the body of the van where the kitchen sink is located. So when it showed up, the first thing I did was set it into place. Fortunately, it fit... with a half an inch to spare!

Passport photo denied!

Bit of a rain day yesterday. It spit on and off for the morning, then it really came down for three hours or so in the afternoon.

So, not a lot accomplished on Igor, although I did get the remote keyless entry system properly wired up and working, so that was good.

Everything I try to tackle on Igor becomes more complicated than it should be!

Had a nice day with the family again yesterday. Weather was perfect. Beautiful and sunny with a high around 24C (75F). 

Started off with a drive up to Scots Bay at low tide to do some beachcombing. Along the way is the Blomidon Lookoff with a view of the tidal basin and Annapolis Valley.

We're all a bit sore today, but it was worth it!

Canada's Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. And the volume of water rushing in and out of the bay causes waves that somebody decided would be fun to take people rafting on.

We've known about this adventure for a long time, but had never done it. So with all the family together, and the grandkids now at the right age, we decided to take everybody out for a day of water and mud!

Four projects on the go

I've got four major things to complete on Igor during our time here in Nova Scotia. Rebuild the upper bed frame, install the solar panels, install the DC to DC charger, and repair the water leak under the kitchen sink.

At least the temperature here is much more conducive to working. The forecast highs of 23C to 26C (73F to 79F) are far better than the heat and humidity we had in Ottawa during July.

Fun to be back with the family!

We said goodbye and thanks to Judi and Ian and hit the road again at 9:00am, planning to arrive at our daughters place around lunchtime.

We drove straight through, and pulled into the driveway at 12:10pm.

Almost at the Nova Scotia border!

We don't think we had ever been into the city of Fredericton, New Brunswick (pop 58,000) so we decided to find a spot close enough to the center and go for a walk around before hitting the highway.

We set off at 7:00am from a totally peaceful night at the quarry, and ended up in a city park parking lot where a lot of people were walking dogs and getting their morning exercise.

We are going to be a day later than planned...

Not because of any problems... we just remembered that we don't enjoy doing too many miles in a day!

We had originally thought we would end up at our daughter's place in Greenwich, Nova Scotia this Sunday afternoon. And we could have, but it's still 500 kms (300 miles) away. That's just too many miles in a day for us.

Enjoyed being able to practice our Spanish again!

Woke up Friday morning after a very quiet night in the municipal parking at the village of Fortierville, Quebec. 

Igor's left rear tire has had a slow leak. I've been topping it up every three days or so. Not enough to worry about, but it was getting worse. The rear tires normally take 80 psi, and when I checked it yesterday morning, it was visibly low, and at 35 psi. Time to do something about it!

July Expenses... not bad, for our first full month back in Canada

We're going to be spending (pun intended!) four full months back in Canada, so we're prepared for the living expenses that go along with that. Having said that, July was about what we expected.

We had a budget of $2,700 CAD ($1,980 USD) for the month of July, and we ended up a few hundred dollars over that, but mostly because of renewing our passports, which is something I forgot to include in the original July budget.

Ingleside, Ontario to Fortierville, Quebec

We set off from Bob and Denise's place in Ingleside on Thursday at about 11:30am. Headed east towards Quebec City, although by that point, we weren't sure if we would make it that far, and it really didn't matter either way. 

Our only deadline is that Igor has an appointment with a garage in Nova Scotia on Tuesday morning to do the provincial safety inspection there. Yes, he already has one from Ontario, but the provinces don't talk to each other in that regard. Oh well... this way he will be twice as safe!

Ottawa to Ingleside... day 1

Went over and said goodbye to my mother on Wednesday morning. We'll be back again in mid September, so won't be gone long this time around. 

Then it was back to finish packing up Igor, but we were almost done anyhow. It never did rain like they were forecasting, so that was good.

The day has arrived!

Hard to believe we've been a full month in Ottawa. It was a really busy month for us, so time passed quickly.

We have almost everything moved into Igor. We purposely did as much as possible yesterday, because it was supposed to be raining this morning. But so far it's holding off. 

Igor is legal for the road!

Monday morning, we were out the door at 8:30am headed for the "Service Ontario" location nearest us. This is where the provincial government does any business related to vehicle and driver licenses, among other things. It opens at 9:00am.

I had tried to get an appointment online, but the next available one was the second week of August. 

Moving day, and getting ready to head out!

Friday was moving day at my mom's apartment. She was only moving from the 5th floor down to the 2nd floor, and from a one bedroom apartment to a bed/sitting room apartment without a kitchen, because all her meals will be done for her.

And that meant that a lot of stuff won't fit!

It's pretty standard that when you're dealing with the government, nothing is going to happen efficiently.

My mother has been in this seniors building for about 11 years now, in her own one bedroom apartment. And she is staying in the same building, but moving down to the floor where she no longer has to do any housekeeping or cooking. Everything is done for her.

But, her room is much smaller... more like a standard hotel room, with just a main living area, and a bathroom.

I've decided I'm not playing their stupid game

I bought us some more flight tickets the other day. Not the ones to Calgary that I already told you about... this time I bought flight tickets to Mexico!

Yes, we are flying to Cancun on November 1st. 

"But what about Igor?", you ask.

Another project complete... and two more started!

The paint was dry on the fridge vent that I was replacing, so I was able to finish that job yesterday morning. Actually, not totally finished, because I need two strips of foam that glue to the side brackets that tighten the door up so that it doesn't flap around. The only thing that holds it in place is the little twist knob at the bottom, so the foam gives it some structure at the sides when it's closed.

So I drilled out the rivets and installed the new one. Pretty happy with the result!

We ordered a compost toilet for Igor

After a lot of research, we decided that Igor should have a compost toilet.

Let me tell you a little about what I learned regarding compost toilets for RV's...

Time is passing quickly

Here we are, three weeks into the month. 

We're making good progress on getting Igor ready to go by July 31, but with only ten days left we're going to have to continue working hard. Especially with my mother moving next weekend. Fortunately, she's staying in the same building, just moving apartments... and she doesn't have very much "stuff".

Booked some more flight tickets!

I love booking flight tickets. Even when they're on a substandard airline like Air Canada (Motto: We're not happy until you're not happy!).

So I got a flight deal notification from a site that I subscribe to. Ottawa to Calgary direct, for only $188 CAD ($136 USD) return, tax included. It's about a four hour flight, so that's a great deal at $94 CAD ($68 USD) per person each way, taxes included!

In for a penny, in for a pound!

An old British phrase that has evolved to express someone's intention to complete a project once it has been undertaken, no matter how much time, effort, or money this entails.

And so it seems to be with our new house battery system for Igor. Once I decided to go with lithium batteries, I knew it was going to add up.

Just like Christmas!

We spent a bunch of money over the last two days. We need a lot of things to outfit Igor the way we want to, and we saved our purchases for Amazon Prime Day, hoping that a lot of the stuff we want would come on sale.

And sure enough, it did.

An interesting story...

We've been over at my mother's place pretty much every day. It sure is a pain and very time consuming doing this address change stuff, but we're making progress and can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

She's been going through her filing cabinet, and came across this interesting story...

One of the problems with an older RV...

At 31 years old, Igor can almost be considered a "vintage" motorhome. I guess that's why the Airstream B190 has a bit of a cult following. It was only made between 1988 to 1999... an 11 year period. 

The Ford E350 van chassis and much of the body was produced for a much longer period, and mechanical parts are readily available and inexpensive. But much of what is related to the "RV" portion of the vehicle has now become obsolete. 

You have to celebrate the tiny wins!

So we're out doing some grocery shopping last Thursday, and I happened to see the deodorant that I like, and it was on sale. Regular price $4.29, on sale for $2.99. Not bad. Anyhow, I picked one up.

I'd say 80% of the time, we check the prices on the bill as we walk out of the grocery store.  The other 20% of the time, we simply forget. But we're normally pretty good at checking.

Our Amazon delivery guy has been busy!

I think he's been at our doorstep every day this week! 

There's a lot of stuff you have to buy when you're outfitting an RV from scratch... as well as the stuff we are buying to get Igor fixed up the way we want.

The one thing we miss about Canada...

There isn't much that we miss from Canada when we're off traveling the world... but one thing we definitely miss is pure Canadian maple syrup! 

And the cheapest place to buy it is still Walmart, where they sell a 1 liter jug of the dark amber stuff, (which is our favorite) for $15.97 CAD ($11.71 USD).

Motorhome for sale... in Alaska!

Our friends Glen and Steve are the British couple who got us into this whole motorhoming thing back in 2007 when they stayed with us and explained how they travel and explore inexpensively by motorhome.

They have since bought and sold many times, similar to the way we are doing now. They buy in a different country, then sell when they are ready to move on. 

Getting Igor ready to go

Good thing I got the vent replaced which fixed that major water leak coming from Igor's roof. The remnants of hurricane Beryl are coming through southern Ontario today, and they are calling for heavy rain for about 4 hours starting around 10:00am.

There are still some very minor leaks coming from the windows on the side of the muffin top (that's what Airstream B-160 enthusiasts call the fiberglass roof) but I don't have a ladder. That can wait until we are at Lindsey's next month. 

Not sure why we get so ripped off here in Canada...

Spent a couple of hours yesterday with my mom going over some financial things and figuring out her change of address stuff. Of course the post office will do an address redirect for you, but it's not cheap... so the most logical thing to do is proactively change all of the addresses yourself, which of course you would have to do anyhow. But man, it sure is time consuming!

Then back to the house to finish my project.