Sudbury Ontario to Woodstock Ontario

Yesterday, I gave the Wing its pre-storage oil change. I was joined for this season end ritual by Leo, who had never changed the oil himself in his new (to him) GoldWing. Leo's bike was a little harder to do because the wires from his low mounted driving lights interfered with the removal and re-installation of the oil filter, but we got the job done.

Today, we were off to the south again to help Mike and Kim move to their new house. Mike would be getting the 16' Penske rental truck about 1:00 PM and planned to move the contents of his 10x10 storage unit this afternoon. Moving the from the old house was scheduled for tomorrow when Tom, Mike's friend Jay, his brother and brother-in-law would be available to do the heavy lifting. To get there in time today, we were on the road by 7:10 AM.

There was a thick coating of frost on everything as we set out in the dark.  The traffic was light as we followed Highway 69 south at my new leisurely pace.

Sunrise on a northern highway

Heavy frost and gnarly trees

The trip was uneventful. Because it was early in the day, I opted to take the big road through Toronto but skipped the 407 ETR toll road in favour of the 401. As we passed Canada's Wonderland, we could see a crane hoisting sections of yet one more roller coaster into place. This one looks like it will have an extreme drop. We haven't been to Wonderland in years but I'd love to go back if I could find someone who liked thrill rides to go with me.

New roller coaster (green) at Canada's Wonderland

The exit from 400 to 401 west was still under heavy construction. The sign says it will be done by fall of 2013 which seems like an awfully long time, but it has been a major traffic pinch point for years and needs to be improved.

We arrived in Cambridge at just after 1:00. A quick fuel stop showed the benefit of slower driving was still there with mileage improving again to 26.9 MP(US)G. We got to the house and Sandy stayed with Kim and the girls while I drove Mike over to get the rental truck. Then we headed for the storage facility on Franklin Blvd.

I have seen many storage facilities but never one like this. The entire place was indoors with an internal loading bay and external loading docks. Mike had forgotten the key for his unit so one of the employees got bolt cutters. The cutters were old and didn't do a really good job. The new cutters were out on the company truck. After a lot of gnawing and twisting at the lock with the cutters, the final break was achieved with pliers. A 10x10 locker can hold a lot of stuff. Some of the boxes were packed by my daughter who packed by volume rather than weight. No skin off her nose because she didn't have to lift the large box full to the top with books.....

Rental truck ready to load at storage facility

A nice sized little truck waiting to be loaded

Mike is still smiling

Indoor storage and hand trucks for loading - a soft touch

When we had finished loading the truck, and the contents just fit, we drove over to the new house and Mike and I unloaded the contents into the garage. We tried to move as many things to the appropriate rooms but lack of labeling limited our effectiveness.

The new house - who would believe five levels?

Unloading into the new garage

When the truck was empty, we left it there and went back to the old house to rejoin Kim, Sandy and the grandkids. We stayed for a while before heading on to Tom and Heather's in Woodstock for a good night's rest before the big move tomorrow.

Jolene looks ready for winter

Today's Route (322 van miles):


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