Sunday, September 22, 2019 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

I've seen fields before but never plains.  

There were grains of many varieties; oats, barley, wheat...

We arrived in Saskatoon and had 30 minutes or so.  The train station is not in the downtown but I took off for a walk from the train station with Dave and Sue.  The weather for our train ride has been brilliant and I just had to get out in it. 

Not sure, nobody to ask!

Very interesting, we kept our eyes open...

A town with Allan's name and spelled the same way.

We saw many, many grain/train silo's.  Looks like quite the operation.

Some cattle but much more grain than animals.

These look like regular hay bails but they were actually giant hay bails.

And now for some wine tasting with our favorite hostess.

Another day on the train concludes.

Monday, September 23, 2019 - Winnipeg, Manitoba

Our crew was looking forward to arriving in Winnipeg.  This city is home to many of the 33 staff aboard our train and the end of the line for them.  Other crew members switch here and catch the train bound for Vancouver to head back to their home.  Usually it arrives in the night and the staff switch is made.  When we went to breakfast and saw the same staff we knew we were running late.  As it turns out we were 9 hours late.  The up side for us was that we got to see a tiny bit of Winnipeg in the brief time that we were at the station.  Once again I checked for internet in the station.  I was hopeful since it was such a large city station but no luck yet again.



East of Winnipeg the land transitioned into rocks, trees and lakes.  

Skies remained sunny and we made a quick refueling stop in Sioux Lookout, Ontario.

Feeding the engines equals a 20 minute stretch break for passengers.

Tuesday, September 24-25, 2019 - Toronto, Ontario and Maine

We went to bed knowing that we were still running way behind.  We were told that there is extra time padded into the schedule especially in Ontario.  

Another quick fuel stop.

Allan and his buddies enjoying a moment in the sun.

We've really enjoyed the journey across Canada on the "Canadian" but we've been gone for a really long time and are beginning to think we might want to sleep again in our own bed.

  Another look at Ontario.

 

Sure have enjoyed spending so much time traveling with these two during 2019.  Very nice of them to let us tag along.

Today is their 14th wedding anniversary.  Congrats!

Today is my 68th birthday and all I really know at this point is that I spent it in Ontario.  So please don't ask for a more specific location.  Ah, the joys of train travel.

We really enjoyed the staff and fellow travelers.  Most of the travelers were from Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, United States and a few from Canada.  The train had about 260 passengers.

The biggest challenge was walking between cars while the train was moving.

I would highly recommend this trip but since I love the mountains the best, I would recommend that you travel east to west and save the best for last.

The one thing that could have been better was if our toilet had not had late night flushing issues...  Our porter reminded us that the car was built in 1952 and needs frequent attention to all moving parts.

We are running 5 hours late getting into Toronto and we are anxious to make our next connection with a rental car.  We have had to amend our reservations to a car at the airport which it turns out is 30 minutes from the train station...  The plan is to drive to Maine tonight.  Well, we know we will arrive tomorrow on the 25th.

It just occurred to me that I didn't show pictures of our cabin so here you go.

The white shelf flips down and there is the sink.

This little fan made sleeping much better than if we didn't have it.

A view with the beds set up.  Yes, I was the top bunker.  There was a great deal of train movement at times but I slept great.

Dave and Sue are also ready to depart.  As it turned out it took us two hours to get our luggage and get to the airport.  We left Toronto at 10 pm.  Dave made a hasty exit from the city since he confused the miles per hour and kilometer per hour dials on the dash.  And did we dash.  I'm here to tell you that there is a significant difference between 100 mph and 100 kph...  All's well that gets you through customs yet again and on to Portland.  We picked up the truck and returned the car to the airport.  Hit the road again and made it home here in the mid afternoon.  

I slept on and off in the car.  Allan and Dave swapped driving about every two hours and they did not sleep at all.  That was quite a finish and it required lots of laundry loads and lots of extra sleep.

We would do it again in a heartbeat but would need financial backing...

Venice to Richmond Hill, GA - May 11-13, 2018

We have said our good-byes to our family and friends in Venice.  We'll see them again in October.



Here's Allan with his student, Oksana, and her daughter, Amelia.  They are from Ukraine.  He is tutoring Oksana in English.



This is my new student, Joliette.  She is from Haiti.  In addition to working with her I have continued to work with Yaroslava my student from Ukraine that I started with in March of 2017.  

All three of our students are dedicated to learning to read, write and speak English.  In addition to working 1 on 1 with us weekly for 1 1/2 - 2 hours they participate in additional group lessons.  It is a joy to work with these ladies.

We had a great "winter" (7 months) in Venice.  We had 14 different overnight visitors for a total of 38 nights and we entertained at least 30 for a meal or two.  We do manage to keep busy.  Then there's the beach and Allan's sister Terry's heated pool and the great weather for birding and walking...
Retirement is being good to us.

First stop Georgia.

We are camping again this year and fitting in some interesting stops along the way.  Our first stop is at Fort McAllister State Park in Richmond Hill, GA.  



This is the view as you enter the park.  We are staying two nights.  The night we arrived we were joined for dinner by Allan's sister Elvira and Sal.  It is always nice to check in with them and catch up.

Today we spent the day in Savannah.  We rode the hop on hop off tour trolly and went for a ride on a riverboat.

Here are some pictures from the trolly tour of the historic district.



They are pretty fond of statues of old fellas.

There is a bounty of beautifully restored homes and churches.

I neglected to get a picture of our trolly but did get a shot of these horses giving someone else a different tour.

We learned a lot of facts and trivia from our tour guide.  It seems that the Savannah College of Art and Design has worked diligently to restore many buildings that had been abandoned.

Maybe the next time I take a tour I will take notes.  Let's just say another statue of a Savannah guy.

There are a large number of squares in the Historic District and they are filled with trees, shrubs, benches, statues and or a fountain.  It all seems quite lovely.  The streets are narrow and it is a mystery to me where the residents park their cars.

This house is on the riverfront.  It is very old and was made from bricks and ballast stones.  The stones arrived aboard the old sailing vessels from England back in the day.  The ships arrived with these stones to provide stability.  Once in port the stones were off loaded then products and goods were loaded up to take back to England.

Great mounds of these stones accumulated so they decided to not only use them in the construction of buildings but also used them along with cobblestones to pave roads along the riverfront.

Wet Williamsburg - May 12, 2017

We woke to a damp cool day.  It was easy to agree that this probably wasn't the day to walk around Colonial Williamsburg.  This recreated historic town is 1/2 mile wide and 1 mile long.  We concluded that with any luck at all we would have ample opportunity in the future to visit here again.

Before lunch we decided to go find our friendly local Walmart.  Allan wanted a washer for the water hose and some cup hooks to put up by the door to hang his keys on for easy access.

As you can see in the picture it was a dreary day.

We went to Walmart and noticed that Lowe's was next door.  We ended up walking over there to find the items he was looking for.  I walked up and down the aisles to get in a little walking since we would soon be returning to the camper for the day.

We strolled through the bathroom aisles and saw just the rig we could use to replace our bathtub in Maine and turn it into a shower.  Nothing like a project or two for our summer in Maine.

Before returning to the campground we drove to the Visitor's Center at Historic Williamsburg.  We picked up a few brochures and are eager to return in the future. Jamestown and Yorktown also look like interesting places to visit.

Shortly after our return to the campground we heard a train whistle.  I got my phone and went outside and took this short video.  Allan estimates that we are 20 yards from the track.

Soon after we got back to the campground the rain started and it is raining steadily.  

We have had multiple requests to bring sunshine and dry weather to Maine with us when we arrive.  Hang in there folks, we are due on Tuesday and I'm still hoping to fulfill your requests. 

Richmond Hill, GA to Williamsburg, VA - May 11, 2017

Yesterday we traveled 403 miles in 8 hours.

We had a quiet night in the campground.  It was hot and we had the air conditioner on and slept great. However, for no apparent reason we woke at 5:30 am. We enjoyed the fact that there was no line and no waiting at the showers.  We were on the road by 7:30.  

The rest stops in North Carolina were very nicely landscaped.  I just had to take this picture of the Magnolia blossom.  When we get much further north we won't see any more of them.  I don't think I've ever seen a Magnolia in Maine.

These roses in full bloom were at the same rest stop.  I don't imagine the roses in Maine are quite in bloom yet.

I've never been a fan of billboards.  I think that it is really nice that we don't have them in Maine.  When we are traveling on these interstates we see them frequently.  I got this picture while we were still in North Carolina.  I guess Virginians think they have better peanuts than others.

Soon after crossing the boarder into Virginia I noticed that the temperature had dropped from a mid day high of 87 to 58 under a heavy sky.  I looked pretty silly in my shorts and flip flops!

I got this shot as we crossed over a Virginia bridge.  No drought here.  This river is full to overflowing.

We arrived here in Williamsburg, VA at 5:30 pm.  We were on the road for 10 hours and Allan drove 536 miles.  We are staying for two nights at the Anvil Campground.

This is in a rural location but the campground is very snug.  You can almost reach out and touch your neighbors.  And the same is true of the nearby Amtrak train tracks.  A million car freight train is going by just now. "Trailers for sale or rent, rooms to let for 50 cents, third boxcar midnight train, destination Bangor, Maine..."

The weather here is dreary with showers.  It could be rainy tomorrow, a day we plan to spend in Historic Williamsburg.  We will review that plan tomorrow.

I'm loving trailer camping so far.  Let's just say I'm happy that I am not traveling on a motorcycle and not sleeping in a tent!  Hot temperatures, cold temperatures, and rain, I've been there and done that.

Venice, FL to Richmond Hill, GA - May 10, 2017

Yesterday I took my final, for now, early morning walk along the Intracoastal Waterway Park.  It was another beautiful morning with lots of sunshine and temps in the high 60's when I started out at about 7:15 and mid 70's by the time I got home.  We've been walking 3+ miles most mornings and it takes us over an hour.

You will notice that my FL pictures all show bright sunshine.  That's what we've had for the past 7 months. It only rained briefly a few times.  It is very, very dry.

This past winter there was a lot of red tide and we didn't go to the beach much.  This spring it has been quite windy and rough.  The beach is delightful and the water temp. is hovering in the high 70's.

Last night we enjoyed our "last night supper" at the Crow's Nest.  It was a magnificent sunset.

We dined with Allan's sister, Terry, and her good guy, Ernie.  It has been great fun to have them in Venice all winter.  We look forward to many more.

We go through quite a process to ready our house for summer.  It takes about 2 full days of cleaning and closing inside and out.

This morning we were up at 6:00 and on the road before 8:00.  We stopped for a quick breakfast at the Wee Blew Inn and headed north on the highway.  Below is a picture of us at our first rest stop.  All is going well with the truck and trailer.

Shortly after crossing over into Georgia we saw a plume of smoke ahead.  When we got close we were astounded by the sight of this tractor trailer with the cab burning.  Lucky for us it was on the south bound side of I 95.

It was very hot today while we were driving.  At one point the thermometer in our truck registered 97 degrees!

We are spending the night in Richmond Hill, GA in Fort McAllister State Park.  We arrived at about 4:30 and got set up.  Then we contacted Allan's sister, Elvira, and she and Sal met us for dinner.  It is always nice to squeeze in a short visit with family.

We will be off again in the morning, headed to Williamsburg, VA.