Our drive home in the mini-van was pretty awful due to the non-stop rain. Unfortunately the lovely scenery through the Appalachians was obscured in fog and rain. Thank goodness the van was nearly new and the tires were in good shape! Crossing the border was fun ...our conversation with the unseen Border Officer went something like this: "citizenship?" ... "Canadian" ... "why are you driving a vehicle with Maryland plates?" ... "It's a rental" ... "You know you're not supposed to drive a US rental in Canada ... I could charge you duty on it ... where and when are you returning it?" ... "Buffalo - tomorrow or the next day" ... "where are you coming from?" ... "Florida" ... "Why do you have so much stuff in the vehicle" ... "We sailed our boat from Georgian Bay to the Bahamas and back to Florida where it is stored for the summer" ... "Really!? That's awesome ... well make sure you bring the van back tomorrow and have a nice day" ... The story of the trip always wins them over!
Within a week of arriving home and settling in, it was like we had never left, and that the last 10 months had been a dream. Did we really travel that far on a boat?
So what have we done since we've been home?
- Taken a few trips into Toronto to see Karen's Mom and the rest of the family.
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| Karen, Trevor, Alyssa & Hugh |
- Registered for House Sitters Canada - our byline is "Boatless and Bored". We've had one inquiry but we're still seeking that perfect match!
- Went to see the Rocky Horror Show at the Stratford Festival with our friends Bruce and Laurie.
- We went to the Mennonite Quilt Auction.
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| Mennonite Quilts |
- Karen went to Collingwood for a weekend with her girlfriends Cindy, Laurie and Wendy, and her sister Janette.
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| Karen, Wendy, Janette, Laurie and Cindy |
- Alyssa, Trevor and I went to Canada's Wonderland and rode the mega coasters Behemoth and Leviathan. For those that have not been to Wonderland for a few years ... those coasters make the old ones look like kiddy rides ... thrilling!
- We joined Conestoga Sailing Club, where we used to sail our Albacore. Karen helped me take my Laser up there and helped set it up. We helped out at the club's open house taking a couple of folks for a sail and we believe encouraging them to take adult lessons. We also took a club Wayfarer dinghy out for Wednesday night racing and recorded a 4th, 2nd and 1st out of 5 Wayfarers. We were very pleased with it being our first race! The looks we got from the regular members were priceless ... who are these old folks??
- Karen went to Whitby for the weekend to visit with her friends Colleen and JoAnn.
- I sailed a club Wafarer in the Warm Water Regatta with a new sailor and had my first dip in Conestoga Lake ... it was a very gusty and shifty day!
- We bought an Audi S5 Sportback to replace my Subaru WRX.
- We had a retractable awning installed over our deck.
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| Our new awning! |
- We ordered new carpet for the basement.
- We're going to Midland where I'm going to sail in the 5.5 meter North American Regatta (think mini America's Cup 12 meter), and Karen is going to help on the race committee.
- We've got tickets for a couple more shows, include Come From Away.
- I've completed a couple of 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles and am working on the third ... it's addictive!
- We're trying to keep active, walking each day.
It's a bit depressing being home and not having a boat to sail on wonderful Georgian Bay. It's also interesting trying to slide back into life at home while all our friends and acquaintances have continued on with their lives while we were away, without us. They want to see us, and we are quite willing to tell everybody about our great trip, but we don't want to go on too long for fear we are boring them!! Its a strange dilemma.
Anyways, we are slowly learning to live as retired people on land, not on a boat. Its a totally different lifestyle.
Th...Th...That's all for now folks! We're counting down the days till we are back on Trekker ... one day at a time!
