LOUISVILLE KENTUCKY TO BAYFIELD ONTARIO….’YAAAAAAY’ WE’RE HOME:)))))))))

WITH NO GPS WE ARE HEADING IN TO DO BATTLE WITH CINCINNATI OHIO:((
This is Sunday’s post with a bit of Monday morning thrown in.
Reason for no blog post Sunday night is due to the fact our cable company did not have our internet hooked up in Bayfield when we arrived home and we never had any internet until today.  Couldn’t use our laptops with our American Verizon card either.  Even if our internet had been hooked up I was waaaaay too tired to do a post anyway.  UPDATE:: Monday morning it was determined by Eastlink our internet cable company that our problem was somewhere outside so they sent a service truck and sure enough they found the problem and it was with the cable coming into the house in the driveway. 

AFTER CHECKING THE INSIDE CABLE CONNECTIONS THE CABLE GUY NEXT CHECKS THE OUTSIDE BOX AND DETERMINES OUR PROBLEM IS ABOUT 25 FEET EAST OF HIS LOCATION.

HE DIGS A SHALLOW HOLE, LOCATES THE CABLE , CUTS IT AND DETERMINES CABLE IS GOOD FROM THE ROADSIDE BOX TO THE CUT POINT

HE SPLICES IN A NEW 25 FOOT OF CABLE AND EVERYTHING IS ALL A-OKAY AGAIN AND WE WERE FINALLY ON THE INTERNET AGAIN

We left the Louiseville Cracker Barrel Sunday morning and we didn’t get off on the right foot.  Our GPS (Garmin Gertie) system was not finding the way ahead for us and we immediately missed a turn off I-65 north in the dark and became lost.  Had to stop at a gas bar for directions to find the way back to the 265 by-pass around Louisville.  Not a good way to start the day but thankfully it was a Sunday morning and traffic was light.  Had it been a week-day we would probably still be there going around and round in circles mumbling incoherently.

QUIET SUNDAY MORNING ROADS

AND BY GOLLY ANOTHER DISTANT ROADSIDE BARN QUILT

SO NICE TO SEE UN-CONGESTED ROADS AND CLEAR SKIES
Carefully straining to read road signs we finally made ourselves around the city and found I-71 and found it a nice scenic drive to Cincinnati. 

Along 71 Kelly finally realized we had not loaded the Kentucky and Ohio maps into Garmin and that’s why Garmin Gertie couldn’t find anything.  Kelly set to work downloading the maps but it wasn’t in time before having to do Cincinnati by following signs.  No easy task after becoming accustomed to a GPS leading the way.  Again, thank heavens it was a Sunday morning.  We had joined I-75 south of Cincinnati at Walton.

COMING DOWN A GRADE AND ROUNDING A CURVE WE SPOTTED CINNCINNATI STRAIGHT AHEAD

MAKING OUR WAY THROUGH CINCINNATI WITH NO GPS

It was somewhere north of Cincinnati when the maps finally completed their download and what a relief it was to my shattered nerves to once again have our fearless mechanical Garmin Gerti voice leading the way telling us what lanes to be in, where and when.  That is a huge thing when driving a long a 37 foot Motorhome towing a vehicle.

Luckily we also had a great weather day going for us with cloudy skies giving way to partially clearing skies in the afternoon.  We made our way around Toledo Ohio just fine and with the Sunday factor going for us we made the decision to go right through Detroit on 75 then transition onto I-94 to head straight up to Port Huron and the border.

TOLEDO OHIO SKYLINE

I-75 into and around downtown Detroit went fine despite the many narrow lane construction sites which are always white knuckle nail biters.   We were doing fine until we had to do all the lane changing twists and turns through several other roads to get on 94.  We made it Okay but it was certainly a test for our already taxed nerves.  Even Sunday didn’t save I-94 from being a manic high speed nightmare and we both said we would never ever do this particular route again.  I just couldn’t believe the ultimately stupid erratic drivers and it wasn’t until we were well clear of the northern Detroit suburbs that we could take a breather.  We were both feeling soooooo totally wrecked!!

DETROIT SKYLINE STRAIGHT AHEAD

SURE WAS A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION SITES BETWEEN AND THROUGH DETROIT ON I-75….SO THANKFUL IT WAS NOT A WEEK DAY GOING THROUGH ALL THIS MESS

FIRST GLIMPSE OF SNOW NORTH OF DETROIT MICHIGAN ON I-94

STOPPED TO GIVE MY NERVES A BREAK IN A REST AREA HALF WAY BETWEEN DETROIT AND PORT HURON….NOTICE THE CLEARNING SKIES

We finally reached the border at 3:35 and crossed over the Blue Water Bridge onto the Canadian side but it was 4:20 before we got through customs.  It was the longest traffic line up we have ever had.  The young customs guy in the booth was surly, rude, and obviously had a bad day going for himself for whatever reason.  It was 4:25 as we pulled away from the booth officially now on our home turf and oh what a huge relief it was to be once again back in good old Canada.  Each year after our travels I appreciate our home country more and more.

FIRST BOOTH ON THE AMERICAN SIDE IS THE TOLL BOOTH FOR THE BLUE WATER BRIDGE

THIS BRIDGE SPANS THE ST CLAIR RIVER WITH CANADA ON THE EAST SIDE AND AMERICA ON THE WEST SIDE

THIS SIGN SAYS IT ALL FOR US

LONGEST LINES TO THE CUSTOMS BOOTH WE’VE EVER HAD BUT THEN AGAIN WE GENERALLY HOME ABOUT 9 A.M. ON A WEEK DAY

LOOKING SOUTH I THINK THOSE OIL REFINERIES MIGHT BE ON THE CANADIAN SIDE OF THE RIVER

INCHING CLOSER

HAD I KNOWN THE GUY IN THE BOOTH WAS GOING TO BE MISERABLE I MIGHT HAVE ROARED RIGHT THROUGH AND WISHED HIM A MERRY CHRISTMAS ON THE WAY BY:))

SOON AS WE CROSSED THE BORDER INTO CANADA WE NOTICED MORE SNOW ON THE GROUND

A RELAXING PEACEFUL DRIVE FOR THE REST OF THE WAY HOME

OH HOW I LOVE TO SEE THIS TURN OFF EVERY YEAR
After another long hard driving day how nice it was to be rolling along on our final homeward stretch under sunny late afternoon skies.  Our usual stop in Forrest Ontario for a Tim Hortons coffee and apple fritter donut for me and a bowl of soup for Kelly. 

COULD I GET A GALLON OF COFFEE FOR MY FRAZZLED HUSBAND AND BOWL OF SOUP FOR MY SLIGHTLY FRAZZLED SELF PLEASE

‘HURRY- HURRY’ THERE’S A LITTLE DOGGY WAITING

SHARING SOME SOUP AND CRACKERS

ROLLING THROUGH THE RURAL FARM LANDS OF SOUTH WESTERN ONTARIO CANADA
Relaxing drive from Forest to Bayfield where we pulled into the south side of Clan Gregor Square and un-hooked the Jeep.  Kelly and Pheebs led the way home in the Jeep and it was exactly on the stroke of 6 p.m that I pulled the Motorhome into it’s parking place at our house.

AHHHHH YES HOW SWEET IT IS:))

JEEP IS UNHOOKED IN BAYFIELD AND WE HEAD THE SHORT DISTANCE HOME IN A FEW SPLASHES OF SUNSHINE

I’LL TURN RIGHT JUST A FEW HUNDRED YARDS UP THERE ON THE RIGHT INTO OUR PINE FORESTED PARK
Can’t even begin to explain the sense of relief it always is to arrive safely home after a long road trip and months away.  We are sooooo fortunate to have a home to come home to after months in the Motorhome.  There’s all our neat-o stuff right where we left it.  I am so glad we made the decision to keep our house back in 2008 and not go full time.  There’s nothing like having a warm spacious comfy cozy home to come home to:))

CAN’T EVEN BEGIN TO TELL YOU WHAT A BIG HUGE RELIEF IT IS TO PULL INTO OUR RV PARKING SPOT AT HOME EVERY YEAR

KELLY SAID PHEEBS WAS ABSOLUTELY GOING BONKERS AL THE WAY HOME BECAUSE SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHERE SHE WAS…..RACING AROUND IN CIRCLES WHEN SHE GOT OUT OF THE JEEP AT HOME
Needless to say we were both waaaaaay to tired to begin unloading the rig so just brought in the essentials leaving the rest for Monday.  There’s no hurry now, the pressure’s off to beat any bad weather and my scrambled nerves are slowly becoming unscrambled as the traveling road dust quickly begins to settle.  I do plan to do a Monday night post…………

GROANER’S CORNER:((
A cop pulls over a car full of nuns. The cop says, “Sister, the speed limit on this highway is 55 mph. Why are you going so slow?”  Sister replies, “I saw a lot of signs that said 41, not 55.”  The copy says, “Sister, that’s the name of the highway, not the speed limit.”  “Silly me,” the embarrassed nun says. “Thanks for letting me know. I’ll be more careful.”  But then the copy glances in the back seat where the other nuns are quaking with fear. He asks, “Excuse me, Sister, what’s wrong with your friends?”
Sister says, “Oh, we just got off Highway 101.”
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One morning the phone rang at 3:00 a.m. in Jeff's house. He picked up the phone and a woman asked, "Is this 555-1111?"  "No, this is 555-1112." Jeff replied.  "Oh, I'm so sorry for disturbing you." The woman said.  "That's alright," Jeff said. "I had to get up to answer the phone anyway."
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