On our way back

Hi everyone

Yes, we are on our way back to Ontario and with that the first part of our trip is coming to an end. But that doesn't mean that we're done criss-crossing Canadian and US roads. It simply means that we will see our friends in Northern Ontario and take care of a few things before heading out again.

Traveling the way we did the last few months has been a learning experience. Not only with regards to history and geography but also as a new way of living. When we first moved to Canada we made a major change to our lifestyle and we just did that again. Not that we are sorry we did it. No way! We love it. But living in a fifth wheel full time, learning the ins and outs of camping (I guess we can't really claim to be roughing it), planing routes and other things can be challenging. One might think we now have all the time in the world which is true in a way. But we have come to understand that there is no such thing as too much time. There hardly is enough. We packed the most possible in every day until we reached an information overload a while back. So we had to cut back a little on what we wanted to do and see. Enthusiasm is great but we came to realize, that one has to take one's time, too or risk not seeing the forest for all the trees anymore. Good thing we have the opportunity to simply take it a bit slower as we don't really have any time restrictions. We are temporarily retired so to speak. Which brings me to another (kind of funny) realization: we are now the ones, one has to make an appointment with to meet. I used to joke about that after my dad retired and all of a sudden it wasn't so easy anymore to just meet with him for a beer. Oh no! If I wanted to do that, I better called ahead to make sure I would catch him. This seems to be a phenomena with retired people and now with us, too.

Anyhow, we did change our route and that took care of the "problem". Now we will spend a few days in our old stumping grounds and are really looking forward to seeing our friends. We will also have to take care of a few things and plan the next part of our trip before heading out again. This time the planing has another focus. We are more concerned with weather and temperatures as winter is just around the corner than with sightseeing destinations. Of course we want to spend the winter months in a nice location or nice locations. However, considerations for the climate will outweigh those for area attractions. There might not be many snow birds amongst you, our readers, who know what goes into the planning of the first winter on the road. But try to put yourselves in our shoes. How does one choose a campground or resort for a whole season? There are so many that comparing them seems impossible. Are we looking in the right places, on the right web sites? How do we narrow it down? What do we really have to have and what would be nice to have? What are we willing to "sacrifice" for a better price or what are our priorities anyway?

We've been looking at some web sites and to tell the truth, I was a bit overwhelmed with all the possibilities. Good thing that André keeps calm in such situations. I am so glad for that and confident, that we will pick a place we will be happy at. The decision has to be made shortly though as we don't have any idea or experience on how soon campgrounds in the south book up for the winter months. At the moment Florida looks very tempting. We will let you know in due time.

André and Sue

Somewhere on the road in Canada

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