Lost in the White North

OK, so it's been a while........... Did you think I got lost in a snowbank? Just busy and without daily internet it makes keeping in touch a little more challenging, so here goes ................................
It has been great to see family and friends once again.We are presently up in Peterborough, staying at Marvin & Annie's place (Thanks for your kindness) and trying to get everything in place so we can start building this summer. Tomorrow we will meet our builder in Bancroft and go over our contract. We are excited! He does great work and we can't wait to get started.
A few pictures from the past week will help explain what has been happening in our lives.
Heading north on highway 28 we were happy to be back "home" even if home is a little cold and white this time of year.

First stop was "Goddard's Flipping Burgers" for a quick lunch and a chance to say hi to Nadia & Mike. Great place to eat if you are in Bancroft. Check it out.

 See all the blue-purple stuff between the studs? That's insulation and it makes any space toasty warm with just the smallest of energy use. We will spray the outside of the walls and above the ceiling with this stuff. It's like a warm winter blanket when the snow is falling outside.

 This is tubing for radiant in-floor heating. We will have close to 2,000 feet of this buried in our slab to keep our feet warm on those cold winter mornings as we crawl out of bed. Can't wait to be living in Bancroft.

 Mary adjusts her snowshoes so we can "walk" our property.

 Everything looks good!

 The beaver creek is still flowing; hope the beavers are happy, warm and well fed.

 Saturday we visited the Kawartha X-Country ski club. If you live near Bancroft and love to ski check it out.

 Sean teaches the "jackrabbits" every Saturday. I was impressed with the talent of these young skiers.

Time to leave you. I'll try and post again in a few days.

Back in Canada

We arrived safely from Phoenix Thursday afternoon about 4:30. Sherri picked us up at the airport and by 5:30 we were settled in at The Radisson Hotel. Once refreshed we went over to Sherri & Rob's for supper.
View from our hotel window. Looks a little chilly out there.

 Bundled up and heading out for breakfast.

 Breakfast with our girls. Sherri looked after us and made sure we got there safely. Leanne was back to her energetic self. We plan to be back in Toronto in February and spend more time together.

 We are missing Arizona already

 Advertisements like that make me feel even colder; ............... no wonder people get away when they can. I'm already thinking about the warm desert air and I've only been here a few hours.

 Crossing the Credit River on the "Go" train. Don met us in Oakville, had lunch with Meaghan, then off to Carlislie, with Don and Carol.

Vendors

We are sitting in the airport in Charlotte on our way home to Toronto, so thought I would up-date our blog.

Like I said before, it's all here at Quartzsite:
Mike carefully maneuvers his "Airstream" motor home past our trailer and around Marvin's. Sometimes it's like threading a needle to get parked in your preferred camp spot. Mike did it, no problem.

 Home sweet home here in the desert. Do we really have to go back to Canada just yet?

 Vendors, they have it all and then some. Looking for a hide or skull? No shortage here.

 Mary checks out a cow hide.

 Remember these, no not the dolls, the desks? If you went to school in the 50's you probably sat in one, just like these. Remember the ink wells?

 Every dusty lane way has at least one food vendor maybe two or three. You won't go hungry in America.

 How much would you offer for this 1925 Ford truck? .....You can have it for $7,700 or dicker on the price.

 Happy Hour. Nice to get together and hear what everyone is doing and what we should see in the area.

 Time for supper, the sun is sinking and I'm ready to eat.

Later today ............ the "white stuff" ......................... BURR!!!!!!!!!!!

Quartzsite, Arizona

What is it about Quartzsite that attracts so many winter campers? (Weather, Cheap Camping, the Shows, ATV riding, etc. etc. etc.) Right now there are over 2,000 vendors here all trying to sell stuff to the RVers out in the desert. The BIG TENT is up and the "shows" start this weekend. Every day new rigs arrive by the thousands. Some areas in the desert are quite crowded as friends and owners of particular brands try to group together.
Monday, Marvin, Annie, Mary and I took a hike up into the hills behind us. By the time we were finished those hills felt like mountains.

Annie stayed at the bottom to look after Tobey and Niki while we climbed to explore an abandoned mine.

 I believe this was the crusher for all the rock dug out of the mine. We didn't find any gold lying around.

 Looking across the valley, our trailer is out there somewhere......

 Mary suggested we climb the next hill which was even higher.  This is starting to feel like a mountain now....

 If you click on this picture to enlarge it you will see thousands of white dots.......... those are campers.....

 The BIG TENT, has just been erected and the shows start Friday.

 Can you believe all the campers? Every state even Alaska is here; lots of Canadians too ............

 OK, time to get off this mountain, see you later ............................

No post tomorrow as we will be flying back to Toronto. I'll post again on Saturday. (P.S. Please excuse the "blue tinge" I didn't reset my camera and I didn't realize my mistake until I was back down, and I wasn't about to climb back up to redo the pictures.)

One more cruise report

As promised our final cruise report. If you haven't guessed by now, we loved our cruise and think it is one of the best ways and best values for travelling. You are pampered from the time you step on board. Your safety and comfort are both a top priority with the crew and who can complain about being pampered 24 hours a day. Take a cruise and let me know what you think.
Now for a few final shots...........
Would you like to relax around this pool? It was a great spot to enjoy our lunch and watch the kids enjoy the water. (That's kids of all ages)

 Did I tell you how good the food was? Unlimited variety, quantity, and quality. No wonder my clothes shrank................. (You didn't think I would put on weight did you?)

 OK, after such delicious food, it was time to walk the deck.

Here we are in Cabo San Lucas with our cruise ship behind us. We had the beach to ourselves.

 Marilyn and Al joined us for a little shop and shore exploration.

 Now there's a lucky fisherman. It almost looks like he wants to kiss it, he is so happy.

 Unfortunately we did have to get back and head for home. Maybe next year we can do this again?

Tomorrow............. back in Quartzsite.

Mexican Cruise

Although it's great to be back in Quartzsite among friends we both look back at the wonderful cruise we enjoyed last week. I'm sure you would like to see a few more pictures and if you are ever thinking of taking a cruise yourself I don't think you will be disappointed with "Holland America" cruise line.
Entering Porta Vallarta.

 The photographer did his best to sell you pictures.

 Time to get off the Oosterdam and go for a walk.

 We watched the crew go through their lifeboat drill. Fortunately we didn't have to participate.

 Another cruise ship leaves the harbour ahead of us.

 Next morning we sailed into Mazatlan harbour.

 Guess who got here first? We seemed to play tag with this ship all week.

Tomorrow, our last cruise report; but I thought I would leave you with this shot taken outside our trailer in Quartzsite yesterday. What a wonderful way to finish off a perfect day. See you tomorrow...........