I’ve been slow to blog about my recent trip to Ontario! I’m sorry! This time I didn’t take a million pictures and lived a little more in the moment, but I should record some of the highlights!

Shopping with Dad

Dad picked me up at the Toronto airport and I spent a night at his house. The next day we went shopping. We had thought we’d so something outdoorsy, but the weather wasn’t great (rainy), being the end of November and all, so we visited some outdoor stores! Look at the size of this Yeti Dad spotted!

We tried out a new (to me) sub place for lunch – Firehouse Subs. Nice sandwiches!

When we were at the SAIL store, I bought a new watch for Jeff and I. We’ve been researching these watches for months! With Canada Post on strike, our Christmas shopping ability has been drastically limited. So no Christmas surprises this year, we both have a brand new Garmin watch instead! I have the Garmin Enduro 3 and Jeff has a Fenix. I haven’t missed my Apple Watch for one second. This new watch has a battery life of 30 days!! And can charge via solar! And has so much data. I love data!

Yes, Julie does think it is the size of a wall clock on my wrist, but I dig it.

It has an old school display, without all the bright colours and high resolution, which is perfect for a nice long battery life. I had to charge that stupid Apple Watch twice a day. It was such a ridiculous burden to always have a cord nearby and a way to charge it.

Later that afternoon, Dad got me to Mom’s house after our day of shopping and adventure. I was so tired by this point. Three flights with a night in a hotel just wears me out!

Babysitting

The next day Mom and I had to get to Julie’s house because we were scheduled to babysit my youngest niece and nephew for a day when Selinah’s school was on a break.

We had some excitement when we got the car loaded up but it wouldn’t start! I’d press the brake pedal to hit the start button, but the pedal just pulsed and shook and there were warnings all over the dash about an e-brake failure. Mom’s car is a newer Honda CRV with only 9,000 km on it, so how could it be so broken? I did a couple Google searches and all the answers were the same – the battery was likely dead. That’s the third time this has happened to Mom! This new modern car with all the fancy computer stuff and safety features drains the battery somehow if it sits too long.

So we needed a visit from CAA because Mom didn’t have a jump box. He was there within 30 minutes and we had a nice chat. He said his job is mostly him doing this all day with all the new cars with all the computer features having dead batteries all the time. He said he was the only CAA operator in the Listowel area now and last winter he didn’t get a single I’m-in-the-ditch call! He was hoping this winter would be better with some old-fashioned snow. Here’s some foreshadowing : he got his wish already!

On the way to Breslau, mom’s tire pressure sensors starting alerting that the air pressure in the tires were too low, but it didn’t say how low, or which tire(s). I stopped at a gas station to check them out, and they all were over 30 psi, and the door sticker said they needed to be 33, so I shrugged, parted with my $2.50 for the air machine and tire pressure detector check, and figured we were okay. Mom’s appointment to switch to her winter tires was a week away.

And unfortunately, I found where the button to turn off that terrible steering wheel shake if you approach the white line. Oh these modern safety features!

The next day Mom and I played with the kids and watched movies (Frozen and Frozen II!)

I’ve watched this clip on repeat, listening to their giggles! Jordan stood on me, knelt on me, and I think at one point, even stood on me!

Shopping with Mom

The next day, Mom and I went shopping! We went to the Conestoga Mall and walked all around. I was surprised to see The Body Shop is still a store! The manager(owner?) told me the company is under bankruptcy protection, but only 33 of the stores closed (along with online ordering). They had some good holiday sales so I bought a few nice things to bring home. Their heavy-duty hemp-based cream works miracles on super dry winter hands!

We took a break for lunch from the Jimmy the Greek place in the food court. Delicious pitas!

Mom entered the draw in the mall as she has for many years in the past. She’s won a bunch of times, including Christmas trees and patio chairs, so she couldn’t miss trying for a longer streak!

We also needed something to wear for the upcoming wedding of my cousin Patrick and his beautiful bride Meagan!

We headed over to a newer shopping area I wasn’t familiar with. The Boardwalk? It has a bunch of stores and complexes, open to the parking lot like big box stores, rather than inside a mall. We both found things to wear, and more! I found a couple new pairs of pjs, a new pair of jeans, and a nice knit sweater.

We drove back to Listowel as dusk fell, and then the snow started! Well, it seemed to be a mix. When we pulled into Mom’s garage, I noticed the entire hood and front grill was covered in ice/freezing rain!

Haircuts

The next day we had haircut appointments! My hair has been SO overdue for a trim. It’s long and dry and just bad. I asked Mom’s stylist to chop it all off. It grows fast, and short hair will be nice for winter under a toque, right?

I love it! It’s easy to style.

On Friday I got out in the snow for a nice 5km walk on the trail up to the Listowel sign on the north end of town and back. There was snow on the trail now!

Mom and I got some groceries and did a bit of local shopping, just in case the forecasted snow got any worse. Were we going to make it to the wedding?

We were planning to hitch a ride with Brian and Leanne who were going to spend the night and leave their kids at our place during the wedding, but they were afraid of getting storm stayed in Listowel too!

I took 3 flights to get this far, I wasn’t going to miss the wedding!

So Mom and I packed up on Saturday morning, packed an overnight bag and put some blankets and snacks in the car and off we went.

We left with lots of time padding available so we could take it slow. There were lake effect snowsqualls coming across Highway 23, as they always do. Mitchell was getting the worst of it that day. It was slow going, but not too hideous. We were glad to drive out of it by Elginfield.

And we were about to drive within a block of Jeff’s parents! We had a bit of time available, so I pulled in and surprised them for a couple hugs and a quick 10 minute visit.

We made it to Strathroy with just enough time to figure out where the church was, and to meet Julie and Wole for a quick Tim Horton’s lunch stop.

The wedding

The wedding was so beautiful. It felt really Christmasy. The ceremony was fun and light-spirited, followed by a reception in Ilderton. I don’t have that many pictures, but here’s a few!

I’m stealing/borrowing 3 pics of me that Dad took!

Uncle Jeff and Aunt Teresa and family didn’t make it all the way to the wedding. They were stuck in a 9 hour traffic jam up by Gravenhurst before they could get turned around back for home. There was >100cm of snow up there and I think that highway was not travelable for a few days!

I haven’t seen my Uncle Phil in YEARS so it was great to give him a big hug and kiss and catch-up. I had lovely chats with many of my cousins, and we even hit the dance floor for a while!

But the weather was looming heavy and as people left, we were getting texts about just how bad the roads were. The forecast was for far worse conditions the next day, so we thought we’d be better off to get back to Listowel. We left around 10:30 and it was an old fashioned, white knuckled drive through the snow squalls on Highway 23, like we have so many times before.

We were lucky the visibility wasn’t too terrible, and the snowplows were out. We could only go between about 55 – 75 km/hr. The snow on the road was caking like slush between our tires and wheel wheels making for noisy driving. At times, the snowflakes were enormous and coming directly towards the front window. The sideroads weren’t plowed and the snow was getting DEEP!

Mom was bundled up with a hat on, receiving road updates from family ahead of us, while I cursed at the blinding snowflakes and fancy features in her car like automatic wipers and high beams.

Fortunately, we were home before 1am, safe and sound! WHEW, what a relief.

Squalls

The next day we couldn’t go anywhere. So Mom and I got to watch Netflix and movies all day! It was so peaceful and relaxing.

We kept peeking out the windows to watch different neighbours try to keep on top of their driveway clearing. By night time though, the snow on the road was so deep!

I was starting to doubt I was going to make my flights! I was originally going to hitch a ride back to Brian and Leanne’s house after the wedding, but that was no longer possible, and the forecast had snow squalls all week!

But Dad saved the day, and found a window in the weather to come and get me from Mom’s house and take me to Aunt Cecilia’s near the Toronto airport, so I’d be close for my Tuesday morning flight. He drove through thick fog and on terrible roads but he made it! Once we got back to Kitchener, we were out of the snow area and had smooth sailing.

Birdwatching with Cecilia

I had my birdwatching binoculars with me, so Cecilia and I went and visited some of her local parks and walked along Lake Ontario. There were some ducks around, and I got a few new ones on my life list! Neat to see that iconic Toronto skyline with the CN tower while hiking and bird watching!

While it was a lovely day, we could see some dark snow clouds nearby!

Fortunately, Cecilia got me to the airport relatively easily on Tuesday morning (thank you!).

I had to overnight in Whitehorse, and it was also blowing and snowing there, bad enough that I way overpaid for a cab to drive me across the road to the Airport Chalet. I walked the other 3 times across the highway, and along a bike trail to the airport. It’s a bit humbling doing that while dragging a suitcase over the snowbanks, but I’m cheap and stubborn at times.

My flight home the next day was delayed for awhile, but I worked from the hotel and then from the airport as best I could.

And then I was home! What an eventful trip!!