The Rest Of April

Did I mention that Kim wasn't feeling well when she was visiting and that the girls had the sniffles.  When they left, our colds were already starting.  Sandy's was nasty and mine was worse with a full blown lung infection. We both had regular doctor's appointments and he prescribed DM cough medicine for Sandy.  For me, with coughing fits that wouldn't let me catch my breath and reduced blood oxygen levels, he prescribed some heavy antibiotics.  The effects still lasted another couple of weeks.

The Mighty Stonewall made a stop in Sudbury in his new capacity and tour coach driver.  He was bringing potential French post-secondary students from Toronto to explore College Boreal and Laurentian University.  He couldn't leave the bus so we so we picked up some coffees at Tim's and went over to see him at Boreal.

The Mighty Stonewall and his mighty coach

My original plan had been to leave town in the latter part of April and head for the Carolina's coast before heading on to Maggie Valley for the SEVROC gathering in mid-May.  We have never explored the Outer Banks before.  Unfortunately, being sick slowed me down and working as Director of the Freedom Rally and Treasurer of the Ontario Provincial Police Veterans Association AGM used up most of the little motivation I could muster.  We didn't get the motorhome from Rob's until Wednesday the 25th.  It was pretty filthy with black streaks but we took it straight to Don's RV to be de-winterized.  Wendy said it would be done by Monday.

Friday, I delivered the OPPVA AGM program masters to Ron to be sent to the OPP print shop.  Saturday, we played a fundraising Bingo for the AGM at Boardwalk Gaming.  I spent $30 for two tickets (giving us $60 worth of cards) and spent $8.20 on lunch.  I won $38.00 by splitting one regular Bingo and Sandy won a Cuisinart toaster in a draw so we came out ahead.  And we had just been looking at toasters last week so it was timely.  To top it off, the OPPVA made over $1,000 which made the Treasurer happy:-)

Sunday, we delivered the Lees-ure Lite motorcycle camper trailer to Rob and Chantal.  They stayed in it at the Freedom Rally last year and liked it enough to buy it.  We also picked up our enclosed motorcycle trailer.  Rob fixed a bad ground wire to get the lights working.

We  went out fairly early and stopped at the new Service Ontario office in Garson so Sandy could renew her Driver's Licence and Health Card.  Then we stopped by the CAA office and renewed our out of Canada health insurance.  This covers us for any medical expenses while out of Ontario that exceed our government rates.  that is pretty much everything in the USA so this coverage is essential.  As a diabetic with a heart condition, my premium was double what it cost Sandy.  Yikes.

The motorhome was ready this morning so we picked it up on the way home.  Everything was good to go and they had repaired a small leak in the propane system.  I arranged to take it to Cambrian Ford the next morning to have the wheel nuts torqued since we had the tires rotated about 600 miles ago.  Then I got an inspection mirror at Princess Auto to check the manufacture dates on the RV tires.  Old tires are a menace.  Luckily, these all showed they were made in 2010 so I am good to go.  Next, I washed the black streaks off the motorhome using a cleaner I picked up at the Toronto RV show while Sandy started restocking it.

So that was it for April.  Before we leave, I still need to fix the roof and grease the wheel bearings on the trailer.  The bike has been started but hasn't gone anywhere.  And I have a large list of other things to get done.  With any luck, we will be rolling by next Monday.

Easter Visit

I see that I haven't posted anything since getting back from Bristol on March 19th. Then again, nothing much has happened. March ended after being the warmest on record and, true to form, April decided to make up for it.

 Kim and Mike had decided to bring the girls up for the Easter weekend and stay a few extra days since they both had the following week off. Jolene remembered visiting Science North last year and meeting the Easter Bunny. Now she is convinced that the EB lives in Sudbury. I was disappointed to see nothing advertised for any special Easter activities at Science North this year and I sent them an Email telling them so. I got a reply saying they were celebrating the same as last time but that it hadn't been put on the website. Or advertised anywhere else. This seems to be a strange marketing strategy. I hope they aren't expecting a large turnout.

The family was supposed to drive up on Good Friday but Mike's grandfather passed away the night before so Sandy and I drove to Cambridge on Friday and picked up the girls. It was a tight fit in the Caravan with the clothes, equipment, two kids' car seats and three adults, but we made it work. I was pleasantly surprised at how well behaved the girls were for the 300 mile drive home.

Jolene set to travel

Robyn buckled in

Lunch at the Parry Sound Mickey D's

Saturday morning, we went grocery shopping at Costco. This isn't a place Sandy and I frequent but Kim has her card and they had some interesting stuff. Then we covered a few other places getting the necessities for Kim's menus. Mike arrived in the afternoon but would be going back on Monday for the funeral. The girls, so well behaved in the van, are human dynamos in the house. Jolene is everywhere and Robyn does a pretty good job of keeping up. Never a dull moment.

Easter Sunday morning dawned and there were gift baskets to be explored.

Up too early?

Lots of things to check out

I haven't seen rabbit ears in a long time

And then there were more

After breakfast, we all loaded up and headed for the secret Science North celebration. They had rabbits and chicks to pet as well as the usual kids play spaces. The Easter Bunny did put in an appearance and Mike and Jolene got to play with a very wet sandbox.

Jolene and the guard turtle at Science North

Here's that famous Sudbury native

Robyn kept her distance

Firefighting diorama in front of The Cavern

High tech percussion instruments

Tree house

Jolene trying on the antlers

A little more moose sized

Making dams and channels

Reflections

Daddy's girls 

 It was a fun day. Mike headed back down to Cambridge for his grandfather's funeral. Highway 69 was closed at Pointe Au Baril so he had to double back to Highway 522 and cross over to Highway 11. This long reroute just shows once again the impact of a closed highway in the north, an all too common occurrence. He made it back up the next day.

Jolene got stickers for Easter

The gang left for home on Thursday. It was fun having them but Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sandy don't have the energy to keep up with the little ones for an extended period of time. Kim pointed out that the Terrible Twos have nothing on the Trying Threes.  We agree.