Back in the US!!

Well, coming back through customs was much easier this time!  "Nothing to Declare!!", makes life SO much easier!  Today we're in a little town called Mellen, Wisconsin, population 761, I'm curious to know who that 1 is....

Michael made up a batch of chocolate chip cookies, but it's been too hot to have the oven on!  This morning is a bit better, so he took them out of the fridge, and has put in the oven ala slice-n-bake!  They look yummy!

The campground is a bit small, but they do have a lake to swim in, and also boats/kayaks/canoes to rent, so we'll have to check that out a little later today.  Tomorrow we're going to move on to Minneapolis, in search of a bit more civilization.  We're also hoping to escape the mosquitos that are raging around here!  I think the kids are looking forward to cable  :-)

Tonight we drove around the little town of Renfrew. It's always interesting to go into the grocery store to see what kind of different things they have, especially in a new country. We found dragon fruit, which we brought home to try, and what the kids think is most unusual, bagged milk! Apparently these are meant to fill your milk pitcher. We bought a half gallon carton (the largest size they have), and are refilling it with the bagged milk. Mario has put some new photos on the website, so don't forget to take a look on the gallery page at www.gordonsgrandadventure.com. One more day here tomorrow, and then it's on to Chutes Provincial Park....more from there on Saturday.

Renfrew, ON

Okay, so we've moved on to our next location, Renfrew, Ontario.  We're now about an hour outside of Ottawa, at a campground that has MUCH better internet access!  It also has mini-golf, a lake, and a spray ground for the kids, which they are really grateful for because it seems that the weather is warming up again.  After a few wonderful days in the 70's, we are now into the low 80's, and looking at near 90 on Friday.

Mario went out today and visited a few hotels, in hopes of getting our name out and maybe getting a little business.  He did get some positive feedback from one general manager, so we can only cross our fingers that it pans out.  I think all he needs is one sale to really justify the whole trip from a business standpoint.

That's all for now, it's time for a little baseball with the kids (that's what this trip is REALLY about, isn't it!)

In Canada!

Well, after being delayed in customs for over an hour, the Canadian government saw fit to let us through!  Mario had thought to bring his shotgun with us for "protection purposes", but the mounties seemed to feel that there wasn't any real reason we would need such protection in Ottawa!  Go figure...I'm pretty sure that's what I told him before we left!

We did make it to the campground in time to go see the Parliament buildings, but not early enough to get one of the coveted tour passes.  Oh well, we still got to go to the top of Peace Tower (the big clock tower in the middle building).

I might not be able to post tomorrow, because the only place to get WiFi is sitting on the picnic table out in front of the campground office.  At least the weather here is so much better, 70 degrees, and low humidity. 

On our way!

Well, we're on our way. First stop is at a state park just north of Syracuse. I've got butterflies in my stomach at the thought of not being home for 10 months, but I know this will be a good adventure for all of us.

Two weeks to go!  I can't believe we're almost there.  I've found a few campsites that look really good, I just hope they live up to it!  In Calgary we're going to stay at Calaway Park, which is an Amusement Park with a campground.  They had a great package that included park passess with the RV site, so I think we'll all have a great time there!

Ryan and Michael leave tomorrow for a week at Boy Scout camp, and Genny too, for Girl Scout camp.  Jason starts Cub Scout camp on Monday, so it will be quiet in the house till Friday, when Genny and Jason come back.

Mario is going to Jamaica Thursday - Saturday for a demo with Sandals, I really hope it goes well.  Then next Sunday we're having out Adventure Kick Off party.  The week of July 4th will be all about doing laundry and packing all the things the kids took to camp.

It's starting to look like this is really going to happen!  :-)

Counting Down...

Well, we're under a month to go, and the packing has begun in earnest!  We've booked most of the places we're staying at for the month of July, as well as Hawaii October 24 - Nov 5, and a house near Big Bear Ski area in California for Chistmas week.  We'll be starting out in Ottawa, then moving on towards Minneapolis.

Now that school's out, I'm also finishing the enrollment process for the kids' cyber school.  They'll all be going to scout camp the last week of June, which should give us some quiet time to finish up the packing.  The RV is pretty much cleaned out, so we can better use the space, and we'll begin stuffing it again this weekend!