Home sweet home

Friday, August 31, 2007

OTTAWA, ONT. — My last blog is being prepared as I sit in my own easy chair at home. Our journey is over! And what an adventure it has been. When we got back to the house, we wandered through rooms we haven’t seen for three months, marveled at the box full of mail, the overgrown shrubs in the yard and the fact that our little car is still intact in the garage.
The day began as so many have over the last three months, with a chill in the air, and our normal routine, except it was different because it was our last day. Once we were all set to roll out of the park, we navigated the narrow roads and overhanging trees and were soon headed east and south toward Ottawa. It began to rain a bit and it was quite overcast, but before long the clouds cleared and the sun came out.
So many parts of this route along Highway 17 are familiar to us, having traveled it for almost 35 years together. We noticed this building had been torn down, that one was newly constructed, and this long-abandoned business had new owners who were making another go of it. We drank in the beauty of rural Ontario, with its lakes and streams, farms and forests, small towns and side roads. There were signs for the upcoming fall fair, rental trucks piled high with the belongings of students off to school, moms and dads in the coffee shops heading home after dropping their kids at college or university.
The highway was starting to get busy with Labour Day weekend traffic once we got south of Cobden. We stopped for a quick lunch in a parking area — did we munch a little more hastily than usual, with thoughts of home on our minds?
Soon we were passing all the familiar landmarks of the outskirts of town. Our destination was not for home immediately; we were going to leave the trailer at its summer home at Long Island, just south of the city, unpack our most immediate necessities and then head for the house. With that, we were off again, with the truck unhitched from the trailer for the first time since we left Chilliwack over a week ago!
And here we are! It’s great to be here. We have a busy weekend ahead of us, and beyond, getting everything in order again and I have to return to work on Tuesday. It has been great sharing this narrative with you, and it has been the trip of a lifetime. I will post one more blog of lists and statistics for anyone who is interested, but for now, farewell!