Woodstock Ontario - Fiona's Birthday Party

The alarm went off at 7:00 AM. We had the hotel breakfast (I had sausage patties and eggs) about 7:40. It was quiet until 8:00, when a whole raft of people poured off the elevator. I guess that was the magic time to meet and eat.

We got to Heather's just after 8:00 AM. By 9:45, we were ready to get moving. Sandy and I went with Heather and Jasper while Tom took Fiona. Our list took us to Dollarama, the florist and north to the home of the cake baker. As usual, the cake looked spectacular. Then we went to the hall.

Pioneer Rooms is a Norwich Township community facility that included an old church. It sits right next to a fire station and has several halls and a kitchen.

Next door to Pioneer Rooms

Pioneer Rooms

Pessimists with no experience

An empty hall

After a little set up work

The cake looked amazing

The party started at 2:00 PM. Bee's were the theme. There were crafts and games for the kids. Food consisted of sandwich, cheese and fruit trays. The cake icing was an very sweet and superb butter cream (I cheated and had a bit). Then Fiona opened her gifts, assisted (whether she wanted the help or not) by her brother Jasper and pretty much everyone else.

There was a nice outdoors area behind the hall

The Birthday Girl

Other grandma Zofia

Robyn likes looking after her cousin

Jasper getting right into the game

C.J.'s crafts table making crowns

Everyone looks involved

Kim and Sandy

Grandson Jasper's bee crown

Tom's mother Zofia and brother Wojtek

You're all looking at me

Rose to the challenge

And enjoying the spoils

The gift table had grown

Someone was upset that the gifts weren't for them

The adults watched the whole show

Once the gifts were opened, the guests started to wander away. As they went, we stacked chairs and folded tables until there was just us and the hall was the way we had found it.

Old safe photo for Sherm

Back home, Sandy and I took our car and went to Canadian Tire because she had forgotten our bedbug spray and RV toilet paper for the portable in the trailer. We have only ever encountered the dreaded bedbugs once in our travels, but she likes to be prepared just in case. I was ragging on her for forgetting things until she suddenly realized that I had forgotten the folding chairs. One more thing for our US Walmart shopping list, and it knocked me down a notch.

We fueled at a Petro Can using a gift card I have been carrying around. Then we got supper for the family at Subway. Back to basics with a chopped salad for me. And Heather. And Tom. Sandy had a sandwich, as did the kids.

We came back to the hotel after we ate. The first order of business was to hook up the trailer. We have 600 miles to go tomorrow and I want to be ready for and early departure. Then we went to the room where Sandy went to bed while I sorted photos, reviewed notes and wrote two days worth of blog posts. Then I posted my receipts for the day. By 11:00 PM, I was ready for bed, too.

Sudbury Ontario to Woodstock Ontario

We loaded the suitcases into the Equinox, hooked up the trailer and loaded the GoldWing into it yesterday afternoon in a light drizzle. It was time to shake off the winter doldrums and get out on the road again. Today we headed to Woodstock so we can attend granddaughter Fiona's 3rd birthday party tomorrow. Then it would be on to SEVROC in Maggie Valley, NC. Sandy's ex sister-in-law Diane will be staying in the house while we are gone.

Look out world, here we come

By 8:35, all our overnight gear was loaded into the back seat and we were on our way. It was 44 F under grey skies but not raining. Yet. We got breakfast at Tim Horton's, where Sandy tried their special breakfast sandwich. Bacon, egg and cheese on French toast. She said it was good. I had a bacon/sausage wrap.

It rained lightly on us from time to time. I stopped at the French River Trading Post to check the tie-downs, which had loosened off a tad. Big cranes have been moved into place to construct the new French River bridge, necessary for the next stage of the four-laning that was supposed to be finished in 2017.

South of Parry Sound, we started getting some unpredictable gusts as the west winds picked up. It was still 46 F when we stopped for fuel at Derek Roberts Esso at the Highway 400/12 interchange. At Barrie, the 400/11 interchange was STILL under construction. I have no  idea how many years this has been going on. We took our usual Highway 9/Airport Road/Highway 24 route to avoid Toronto Friday traffic. Low gas price of the trip was $1.209 at the Esso in Alton.

Seen on Highway 24

We got lunch to go at McDonald's in Guelph. No fries because of my Keto (sort of) diet, but I did have a bun with my burger. Approaching Kitchener, I tried something different and took Kossuth Road to Fountain Street. I liked this route. Little traffic and no traffic lights, only roundabouts.

We left Sudbury listening to an Ann Rule true crime audiobook I had borrowed from the library. Sandy loves Rule's recounting of actual crimes. Dead By Sunset kept us entertained for most of the day. When it ended, I dialed up my selection. Jeff Shaara's A Blaze Of Glory is the first book in a trilogy about the US Civil War west of the Appalachians. This volume deals with the Battle of Shiloh. Many will remember Shaara and his father for Killer Angels (Gettysburg), its prequel Gods & Generals and the final chapter in that trilogy, The Last Full Measure. He produces well researched and accurate historical fiction. Thanks to Zeke for putting us on to the concept of audiobooks.

It had not gotten any better than 47 F by 3:20 PM, when we arrived at the Best Western Plus in Woodstock.

Note to Cranky - the new clippers work well

I texted Heather and she said everyone would be home about 5:00 PM. I looked after some chores and then we headed over after unhooking the trailer. She made supper and I got to try my first keto bagel. I have slowly been working my blood sugar back to a reasonable range, but it would not take much of an excursion to elevate it again. Keto is good.

After Fiona went to bed, we got to work on preparations for the party tomorrow. My task was to replace the labels on 24 water bottles with new birthday oriented ones. Heather had a lot of special prints, labels and banner parts she had ordered. Jasper helped.

It was about 10:00 PM when we returned to the hotel and went straight to bed.

Today's Route (312 Equinox/trailer miles):

Interactive map

2019 Travel Plans - A New Season Begins

It seems like last winter went on forever. Maybe it did. Sudbury experienced over thirteen feet of fallen snow, a record, coupled with old time low temperatures and virtually no thaws. Snow came early and left late, and spring has not been that friendly so far, either.

Our summer travels usually coincide with Vulcan Riders and Owners Club (VROC) rallies around the continent. There used to be many, now there are fewer. Time flies, people get older, priorities change.

We will be leaving May 10th for the 20th Annual South East VROC Rally (SEVROC) in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. The first VROC rally we attended was SEVROC in the fall off 1999 at Two Wheels Only Motorcycle Resort in Suches, Georgia. We had such a good time, despite the cold nighttime temperatures in the tent and life threatening chili that earned Hot Sauce his nickname, that this one coming up will be our 129th VROC gathering since then.

On the way, we will spend Saturday the 11th in Woodstock, where there will be a party celebrating granddaughter Fiona's 3rd birthday.

Fiona

We'll leave Sunday morning for Maggie Valley, probably stopping overnight in Beckley, West (By God) Virginia. I need to be sure the motel has HBO because the fifth episode of the six installment final season of Game Of Thrones will be playing. Emilia Clarke (Dany) said to watch this one on the biggest TV you can find.

Leaving for home on the following Sunday, there is a road I want to check off my bucket list. We have been passing the start of US 421 The Snake for years on the back way from Abingdon, Virginia to Johnson City, Tennessee (also the preferred way to Bristol Motor Speedway), but have never ridden it. Then Gilles, a Freedom Rider, told me about US 58, the Jeb Stuart Highway, which runs sort of parallel to The Snake. We can spend a couple of nights in Abingdon, Virginia and ride this loop if the weather allows.

The Snake/Stuart Loop

In mid-June, Sandy's sister-in-law Jan will be coming to Sudbury. We will have a lunch for family and friends and then will proceed to a spot on the West Arm where a portion of Malcolm's ashes will be spread. This was the same spot, near Sucker Creek landing where Jan and Harry used to berth their houseboat and his ashes were spread in 2014. Afterwards, we plan to take a road trip in the Equinox and drive Jan back to her house in Saskatchewan.

Wolfman's Wandering Rally XIII is being hosted by Southern Draw and Southern Charm the first week of August at Fontana Village, which will take us back to the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. This will not be a bad thing. The Village is the closest place to Deal's Gap next to the actual motel at the Crossroads Of Time.

The Freedom Riders will be organizing the 25th Annual Freedom Rally August 9th through 12th after a one year hiatus. This will be a week later than the Civic Holiday long weekend it was traditionally held on. Unfortunately, we will be out of town at WWR XIII.

The last week of August, Sandy and I will be sharing a vacation place on the shores of Lake Erie with Heather, Tom, Jasper and Fiona.

In September, we will be making our annual trek to Eureka Springs, Arkansas for the
20th Annual VROC Reunion. This has been our wind-up event for years. This year, though, U-Turn will be resurrecting the New England VROC Maine Ride at the Sudbury Inn in Bethel, Maine. The New England crew faded out a few years ago and then Ol' Phart Joe, the ringleader and spark plug of the group, passed away. I hope some of the old, familiar faces show up.

I also want to do at least one Muskoka week during June or July. This will involve staying in Bracebridge, Ontario from Monday through Thursday nights and riding the local roads Tuesday through Thursday. This area is known as Cottage Country and is overrun by refugees from Toronto on weekends. It also has some of the best riding roads in Ontario. During the week, crowds should be less and prices should be lower.

Leo and I have golf memberships at Cedar Green Golf Club and plan to play a lot of mornings when I am home. I don't play well but I enjoy the game anyway and it gets me out of the house with no incremental costs.

And then it will be time to swap the motorcycle for the snow blower in the driveway for another winter. Maybe we can go south for a week or two here and there this winter. We can't seriously snowbird as long as Sandy's mother Jan, who is 91 and suffers from dementia, still resides at the nursing home here in Sudbury. She still knows who we are and appreciates the regular visits.

People often ask if we ride all the places we go. Not any more but, up until 2010, we did. Then, after putting 260,000 kms on two wheels over seven summers, we decided the long haul riding wasn't as much fun as it used to be. So now we are WHORE's. We Haul Our Rides Everywhere. With no apologies.

So it looks like a fun season. Be safe and, hopefully, we may meet a bunch of you out there.

Woodstock Ontario to Sudbury Ontario

We were up at 7:00 AM. Good thing we had our boots with us, because a look out the window showed white stuff all over the ground. It was -12 C here but -24 C (10 below F) back home in Sudbury. Oh well, the early spring weather here was nice while it lasted.

The Best Western had a hot breakfast the included eggs, sausages and potatoes along with the usual continental fare so we ate in the lobby before leaving.

Snow is back in Woodstock

We were on the road by 8:10, opting for Highway 24/Highway 9 to Highway 400 North. This bypassed Monday morning crazy times rush hour heading around Toronto. Roads were good and traffic was OK. After stops in Erin to use the bathroom and refill the coffee cup, and at Roberts in Waubaushene for a Subway ham and Swiss to split for lunch, we rolled into Sudbury about 2:00 PM. It was up to 10 F under partly cloudy skies and there was a large amount of salt on the roads.

Snow Near Sudbury 

After a stop at Extendicare York to see Sandy's mother Jan and pick up her watch to get the band fixed, a stop at the watch repair kiosk in the New Sudbury Centre and another at the Real Canadian Superstore to get some groceries, we pulled into our driveway non the worse for wear.

Today's Route (315 Equinox miles):

Interactive map