May 1, 2006

May 1, 2006

Kingston to Ottawa, Ontario

YEAR 2 DAY 318

 

Today was sunny and warm.

This morning we prepared for departure and left Rideau Acres about 10:00 A.M.. We drove to Van & Truck World to have them do whatever was necessary to get the trailer brake controller working properly. They bungled around for about an hour and a half, unable to diagnose the problem. Joanne reminded me of last night's conversation, and prompted me to tell them we wanted a refund, and we were leaving. The owner and I got testy with each other, and as we were arguing, the manager came over to tell us that they had discovered the problem. A blown fuse ! A BLOWN FUSE ? ! ? Shouldn't they have been able to discover that within the first 5 minutes ? < sigh > Perhaps I should have discovered that myself, but ... the truck is so new to me that I don't even know how to operate the radio yet, let alone find the fuse panel and blown fuses.

We drove over to Cataraqui Mall. I went to the library across the street, while Joanne went inside the mall to buy some cosmetics at Shoppers Drug Mart. I got online using the library's Wi-Fi, sent and retrieved e-mail, updated my blog, retrieved bank statements, and updated investment data. By the time I walked back to the trailer in the mall parking lot across the street, Joanne had lunch ready. After lunch, I drove around an empty area of the mall parking lot, adjusting the trailer brake controller settings. When I finally had them adjusted well, we headed out of Kingston.

East on Hwy. 401 to Hwy. 416, north on Hwy. 416 to Manotick, then east on Hwy. 8 to Hwy. 31 / Bank Street. A mile north on Bank Street into Ottawa, and we were at Camp Hither Hills. We registered, got set up in our site, and unhitched Lanoire from Harvey. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I felt relaxed for the first time in about a month. We survived Dee-Dee. We have the new truck. We're in Ottawa in time for our medical appointments. Everything's going to be okay. In 10 days we're heading for Newfoundland ! Yippee !

We took Bo for an obedience training session. He did well, so we decided to allow him off leash for awhile in this nearly empty campground. He disappeared into the bushes, and after about 10 seconds I called him. He came out of the bushes ... soaking wet, from the middle of his body forward. Like he tripped and fell face first into a creek. I looked beyond the bushes. Yup ... a creek ! Guess he fell in ! Way to go, Bo !

I phoned our friend Erbon. He confirmed that our expected mail had arrived. I drove Joanne to a grocery store, then went to pick up the mail at the Dickinson's. I chatted with Erbon and Lorraine for a few minutes, then returned to the grocery store to join Joanne. We finished the grocery shopping, then filled up with diesel on our way back to Camp Hither Hills. The first diesel fill for Lanoire. My, what a thirsty truck !

I barbecued "Danno mushroom cheese burgers" while Joanne prepared a fresh Greek salad. The Loeb we shopped at today had fresh baking and nice vegetables. I sat outside in a lawn chair while I barbecued, enjoying the warm evening, feeling relaxed and content ... finally. After supper we watched a bit of TV, and I worked on today's accounting and journal entry.

DSK