Home Sweet Home

July 24

As we were in Killarney, we realized that one of the trailer tires looked like an accident waiting to happen.  Turns out, all four of them needed replacing.  Thankfully we were still in town and not on the road somewhere.  God is good.

The miles go by so slowly when you're on the last leg of the journey.  The ambition to have picnics and find unique campgrounds is gone so it becomes fast food and Walmart camping.

After two months away from home it's good to be back.   It's good to go away and it's always good to come home.

We'll sit down --- until the next adventure calls.

Killarney

July 22

After the six-day odyssey across central Canada we finally arrived in Killarney, Manitoba to sit down for a few days.  This is the town I grew up in so it was like coming home.  Most of our time here was spent visiting with family:  my parents, aunt, brother and his family.

Killarney is a small prairie town located along the shores of Killarney Lake.  It’s a farm supply town and a bit of a tourist town as well with cottages and campgrounds all around the lake.  We were lucky to find a weekend camping spot on short notice.  There’s usually something going on each weekend in summer, like a country fair, beach fest, VW car show, or harness racing.  The best place for ice cream is at the Beach Hut.  We always make sure to enjoy a treat and a sunset walk along the beach.

Killarney takes its Irish name seriously with shamrocks as a theme name for some businesses such as the Shamrock Centre (the sports facility).  It also has green as a theme colour on the street signs and even a green fire truck.  When I lived here St. Patrick’s Day was a major event too.  It’s kinda quirky, but it will always be my hometown.

Mennonite Heritage Village

July 19

Sometimes when you travel you see something and say, “Next time we should check that out.”  So today as we were travelling from Kenora to Killarney, we saw the sign for the Mennonite Heritage Village and said, “Today’s the day.”  I’d been there once as a teenager, and Dave had never been there. 

The Mennonite Heritage Village is located on the edge of Steinbach and tells the story of Mennonite pioneers coming from Russia and settling in southern Manitoba in the late 1800s.  Dave and I are both of Mennonite heritage, but our families immigrated at a later time.  Dave's parents came in the 1920s with his dad's family beginning in Ontario and his mom's family in Saskatchewan.  My parents came after World War II landing in Manitoba - my dad's family in Killarney and my mom's family near Winnipeg.

At the museum, they had an example of their early homes which were sod huts (semlin) built into the ground before winter struck.  Once they had the lumber, they built houses with the barn attached.



They laid out the villages in the same way as in Russia, with the church being at the centre and heart of the community. 

The Mennonites also built windmills.  As their heritage goes back to the Netherlands, the windmill technology went with them from country to country.  Unlike the windmills in Holland, most of which were used to pump water, the windmill that was built in Steinbach was primarily used for milling grain and sawing logs.  The sails were wooden louvers and were able to turn in any direction to catch even the slightest winds.

We had an enjoyable afternoon of wandering around the various buildings and ,of course, enjoyed a traditional Mennonite meal of vereneki met schmauntfatt, woorscht and komst borscht.  (Cottage cheese 'perogies' with cream gravy, farmer sausage, and cabbage soup.)  Delicious!

Sioux Lookout - Here we Come

Adventures along the way to Sioux Lookout:

Day 1:

We have a thing about rain.  We arrived in New Brunswick in the rain and now we're leaving it behind in the rain.

It's an emotional time for Devon and Katherine as they are now leaving New Brunswick for new adventures in a new place.

A truck stop is the worst place for a rest stop for a baby.  Wait ---- there are rocks, sticks and flowers?  It's the best rest stop!

The chaos of five people, a dog and a cat living together in a 5th-wheel trailer.  Sometimes Devon and Katherine slept in a tent and sometimes the couch was pulled out and everyone slept in here.





Our first night's stay in Levis, Quebec.  A lovely spacious site.

Day 2:




Trucks and trailers don't go through drive-through so someone is sent on the coffee run while the rest wait in the parking lot.




Never try to convoy three vehicles together through Montreal, or, for that matter, Gatineau/Ottawa.  We lost each other at the first light and everyone was on their own.  Each of us found a different route through and we made it to our rendezvous spot unscathed but with some nerves frayed. I drove the 5th-wheel trailer through Montreal alone with classical music and a GPS to guide me.



Jack, the cat rode in the Butler and lived in his kennel.  In fact, even in the campground he'd go hide in the kennel rather than face the world.

We stayed outside of Cobden, Ontario in a grassy field camping site, able to have the vehicles parked right across from the trailer.

Day 3:



'Nough said.



Still smiling! 
We're on our way, up the Ottawa Valley and then over towards Sudbury and Sault St. Marie.



Now this is a better lunch stop.  Someone was sent on a McDonald's run, while the animals and Elliott had a good long stretch break.




There's always an extra adventure thrown in.  But God is good.  This could have happened at a truck stop, or along the side of the road somewhere, but it was in the campground at Serpent River. We discovered the situation in the evening, allowing time to make arrangements for repairs in the morning.  God is good.

Day 4:

Devon took the car in to Blind River and got a new starter installed and we were on our way by noon.





Garth lived in the back seat of the Duke.





We figured out a system of everyone travelling on their own and meeting up at the campground at the end of the day.  Turns out we all met up for lunch at the same place in Sault St. Mairie.



  

This boy was done.  We stopped for a run-around break at a trail head parking lot.  Sticks, flowers, stones, and no traffic.  That was the best stop.



The campground at Wawa had a pool!  We had enough time to relax a bit.



Ontario is beautiful with lots of lakes and trees.  But this time we're on a mission and aren't stopping enough to look around.  Maybe next time.

Day 5

Travelling as a large group with three vehicles takes longer even though we aren't stopping to sight-see.  As a result, Devon (and Jack the cat) decided to go on ahead (with the U-Haul) and get to Sioux Lookout in one day.  The rest of us would take a slower pace and take another night on the road.





Beautiful northern Ontario, following along the shores of Lake Superior.  It's a big lake and takes all day.  I wish we'd had time for some of the view points, but that would also disturb a sleeping boy so we continued on.



Gotta run!



We saved the best for last.  We stayed at the KOA outside of Thunder Bay.  It had a pool, a splash park, and we even had our dinner served pool side.  Resort camping for sure.  What a wonderful way to end our last camping night together.

Day 6:

One last day of convoying together.

Devon had arrived last night.  The people they will be staying with have been so generous to them already, allowing them to store their stuff from the U-Haul in their house, and getting a group of their friends to help unload it.  And, driving the U-Haul back to a depot an hour away.  This is such a blessing.






It's a Hildebrand tradition to eat at Subway at least once on a vacation/road trip.  Today was the day.  Making it a picnic was even better.



We did it!  We're in Sioux Lookout.

Devon, Katherine and Elliott (plus Jack and Garth) are beginning the first day of their next adventure in life.  We will help unload and then we continue on with our adventures, looking forward to a few days in Killarney.

The Governor, The Duke and The Butler

July 12

It’s been a crazy busy time getting Devon, Katherine and Elliott ready to move to Sioux Lookout. And now the journey has begun.

Campgrounds with good internet are hard to come by so I’ll post the details when I have a better connection.

We’ve named our vehicles:  the old Buick is the Governor. The Duke is the truck pulling the RV and the Butler is the truck pulling the U-HAUL.

We’re off on an adventure of driving across NB, Quebec and Ontario!

Miramichi

July 7

The Miramichi is an interesting part of New Brunswick that we had the pleasure of exploring today.   Miramichi city straddles the wide Miramichi River and you need to know what side you want to be on before you cross one of the two bridges.  We had a full circle driving tour just trying to find the tourist information booth.  

Eventually we found our way to a wharf area and after lunch, took a boat tour of the river.  It was a beautiful day to be out on the water listening to the guide tell interesting tales about the history of the Miramichi.  He pointed out various landmarks and had lots of stories to tell. One story was about the 1825 Miramichi Fire.  It destroyed 1/5 of New Brunswick forests and completely destroyed many of the communities along the Miramichi.  Many lives were lost.  He also told us about the various groups of immigrants that came to the area, the Scottish, Loyalist, and Irish.  Hence, the names of the towns that now are called Miramichi:  along the north shore is Newcastle, and Douglastown and the south shore is Chatham.  The history of these towns was largely based around the forest industry and shipbuilding. 

After an ice cream treat, (and that’s another story), we then spent some time at French Fort Cove Park.  It’s a beautiful nature park, around a cove in the river.  The Miramichi is a world-famous Atlantic salmon fishing river.  Although Dave didn’t have the license to go salmon fishing, he was determined to get his fishing line in the water to catch something else.  No luck.  The fish were just taunting him.  Meanwhile I enjoyed a hike around the cove.

We thought we might go out for a salmon dinner, but by the time our stomachs growled, the restaurants were closed and we ended up back home at our trailer, eating wieners and beans.

A bridge we found along the way.

Ritchie Wharf

French Fort Cove

Fredericton

July 4

I always love going to Fredericton.  It’s a beautiful drive along the Saint John River into the downtown, past so many grand old houses.  They would be so interesting to tour.  What stories those walls could tell.

  

The historic downtown is also very beautiful.  We’ve had a number of opportunities over the past few years to visit the various shops, as well as the art gallery, legislature building, and Christ Church cathedral.  I never get tired of this part of the city.

For most of this trip, our visits to Fredericton have been more practical in nature:  Home Depot, Costco, Sobeys, etc.   But today we were downtown to enjoy the night market at the Garrison District.  This is a historic district, a garrison for British soldiers in the 18 and 19 century.  Now it was a busy place with a large number of ethnic food vendors and street or two full of craft vendors.  We enjoyed sampling a variety of dishes such as shawarma, Caribbean samosas, pot stickers, and stroopwaffles. Fortunately, we found seats in the shade and could relax and enjoy the local music talent while eating and watching the people go by. What an enjoyable summer evening, despite the 30 + temperature!  I think it’s finally summer. 

Oromocto 2.0

July 3

God is good.  He has everything all planned out and we can look back and see how it all fits together even though we sometimes do get stressed and anxious along the way. I’ve titled this entry Oromocto 2.0 because coming back to Oromocto wasn’t in our original plan for this trip.  But God had a few surprises for us, and I’m expecting there will be a few more. 

The day we left home at the end of May, Devon went for a job interview.  The day we reached Montreal, Devon was offered a job in Ontario – someplace.  So, when we arrived in Oromocto at the beginning of June, we were entering a home that was frantically trying to prepare to move to… someplace.  Sitting around and visiting wasn’t happening.  Rather, we were thrown into all the work of getting a house ready to sell and packing it up to move.  Taking care of Elliott of course was a big part of that, done with pleasure! 

Helping sand and paint the cupboards

Sometimes Elliott came to hang out with us at the trailer. 

So now, at the beginning of July, we’ve returned to Oromocto after taking a couple of weeks to visit with our son Steve in Saint John (as originally planned).  Devon has been away on training for his new job (as a pilot with Ornge, a medical flying service for northern Ontario) and Katherine has been very busy with the final packing and selling the house. 

Sioux Lookout Ontario

The destination has been revealed:  Sioux Lookout, Ontario. “It’s not at the end of the world but if go around the corner, you can almost see it from there.” said Dave after we toured through there back in May.

Welcome to Sioux Lookout

God’s timing is the best and everything is coming together according to His plan.