Reply With Quoteholy shit FM. :jawdrop:
(i have not read yet btw).
This is the long way for me to say
"I had a good trip (I even went for a couple of boat rides). My puter broke. It's fixed now. Hi I'm back."
There. Anyone uninterested in further details can get out now, lol. Those that are interested please read on. (I didn't use smileys at all because 10 is simply not enough so I went with none.)
Aug 10th-Sept 10th: trip details, puter woes, and settling back in
bus ride there took 3 overnights ...
memorable moments on the journey there
-our ears popped going through the mountains and kiddo threw a hissy fit chanting loudly "no more mountains" I thought I was DOOOOOOOMED! but I gave him gum (hear that Tom? gum - thank-you) and once we got through the mountains there were no other hissy fits THE REST OF THE TRIP!
-visited with a friend at one of the rest stops and we all went for a short walk to a nearby park
btw - to all the drug pushers (lol) who said "Dramamine!" My son slept a lot without any help from drugs - cool eh?
biggest challenge on our way there was getting him to eat. He didn't get sick or complain of upset tummy or anything he just never seemed very interested in eating.
We got to our destination at 7 AM on Friday August 13th.
It was freaking cold, 6*C!!! No big deal really ... if it was October! Geez louise! I was worried then cuz I had only packed for hot Ontario SUMMER weather! Thankfully we had a few of those kinds of days also. So our first day there we went to a milestone birthday bash for a friend of the family. Kiddo had a hissy fit and demanded to hide in my step-dad's car for a nap. That was fine. It was a long trip and he wasn't up to meeting a bunch of new people just then.
Saturday Aug 14th
we attended my step-dad's sister's wedding. The weather was much warmer (still not summer hot but it was tolerable enough to be in short sleeves without a jacket - take it from there). At the dinner reception some guy said hi to me and he looked vaguely familiar so I said hi back and walked away a few steps then it hit me .. it was my own fricken cousin Joey! Feeling like a dork I immediately went back and greeted him with a warmer hello. My only defense is that I hadn't seen him in a very long time.
Later that night I went to the wedding dance reception while kiddo spent the night at our aunt's with his cousin Megan. Megan's 10 and she was great with him throughout our visit.
Sunday (15th)
visited with family and Megan's mom gave kiddo a haircut
Monday (16th)
was the best day of the trip for me. It was sunny and hot. Best of all it's the day Megan's dad drove us to the beach ... the beach is on Arid Island in the middle of Lake Huron's North channel - YUP a half hour boat ride there and again back! I was thrilled! It was a fishing boat. Side of the boat had 2070 Crestline on it. I watched the motor when we were in motion and saw it was a 150hp Yamaha hydraulic outboard. I think I like outboards. I saw some digital gadgets in the dash either a depth finder or else it was a speedometer but I was sitting behind my uncle and despite efforts to peer around him I couldn't get a close enough look to tell.
On our way out to the beach I was snapping pics galore cuz it was kiddo's first boat ride ever. I snapped a ton of pics of the view from the boat as well. As we were approaching Arid Island I looked down at my camera to see how many pics I had left on the roll and my heart sank. The thing was still on "S" for start. Seems the film was already used and had been rewound and left in the camera. Bummer. I think I woulda had some nice shots. I just shrugged off the disappointment and decided to have a good day anyway. I was there - I'll remember what I saw. Kiddo loved the boat rides. I wasn't sure at first cuz he wasn't smiling so I asked if he was okay and then he smiled and gave me a thumb up. Later he described it enthusiastically as a speedboat that went super speed fast, lol (it didn't really but it was still great to be in a moving boat). While we were at the beach I got a mild sunburn. Mom called it getting some color - she said I was so pale when I arrived I looked like I'd spent the last three years in prison, lol. While we were at Arid Island, kiddo found a deposit of natural gray clay in the shallows and insisted he had to scoop some up and bring it home to Vancouver for his Dad. So his souvenir gift to his dad was basically uhh dirt in a ziploc bag. Nice. LOL.
I don't recall every single day of our visit but there were quite a few days after the boat rides that were cold and rainy. My memory is random and unpredictable. Case in point: We got another nice day before the weekend and I went to visit my step-dad's other sister. She and her husband were phoning around for some sparkplug that needed to be replaced in one of the cars he was working on. After a few dead ends my auntie was on the phone with the last hope and she didn't have the burnt out sparkplug in her hand to read the code out this time. She was about to put the phone down to go get it when I blurted out "RC12YC" much to our mutual surprise. I had thought I was staring off into space thinking other stuff when they were on the phone but somehow that damn code got into my head and it seems it won't leave. Why? I've no idea. I'll never need to know that code ever again but there it is anyway. Seems I've not much choice in what to remember and what to forget.
On Saturday (21st)
my friend drove in from Sudbury (90 min highway drive) and we spent the day together at the community fun days. Her boyfriend and two kids (boy age 3 and girl age 6) were with her and I had my kiddo (age 7 ... oh pardon me 7 AND A HALF he's insistent about that half business now) with us as well. Afterwards the 6 of us had dinner together at my Mom's. Then my friend spirited me and my son off to their house and we stayed with them Sat-Tues. During our visit we went on a bunch of child-oriented outings with the kids: playgroups, parks and out for lunch at a pizza buffet. After the kids were asleep at night we watched some movies they had that I hadn't seen and my friend and I played Canasta (card game). She kicked my ass (I mean ... I uhh let her win.) The day we were to leave their place we went on one last outing. A lunch picnic at the beach (not Arid Island - a different one Lake Nippi-??? something or other, lol) I got some more "color". The kids had a ton of fun playing in the water. Then she drove us back to my Mom's place and we said all our "goodbye see ya in another three years" sappy stuff.
Wednesday and Thursday were cold rainy days.
Friday (27th)
was a summer day. We went shopping for my son's back to school clothes, shoes and back pack. I got a few new things too. Later that evening we went to the Massey Fall Fair (in a nearby town a mere 15 minute highway drive from my Mom's). Kiddo had such a blast! We took him on a midway ride called the tilt a whirl and during the strongest spins he had this natural laugh from his guts that was making me and my Mom laugh even harder cuz we like that ride too. He has such an infectious laugh. I wish I had a sound byte to share. I love to hear him laugh like that. He "made" me go on the ride again with him one more time just the two of us. Then to my surprise he went on twice by himself. Fair to say he really loves the titl a whirl.
Saturday (28th)
I did laundry and packed up some of our stuff.
(By this point in our visit my son was handfeeding one of three wild chipmunks in the backyard pretty regularly. My step-dad's been feeding all three of them for a while now and he told my boy that if he sat very still and quiet he might earn the trust of Chippy the most tame of the three. He did as suggested and Chippy sat right in his little hand to get a peanut. My little boy was shining with pride. I had requested that he go feed the chipmunk so I could take a picture and he declined. He said, "I don't need a picture Mom. I'll remember Chippy forever." So I don't got a pic of that either but he has one in his heart apparently.)
Sunday (29th)
we went to visit my Grandma and it turned into a mini family reunion. Got to spend time with some relatives I hadn't seen since kiddo was a baby. It was a fun relaxing day. Later we went souvenir shopping and out to the new marina (at my request). I got pics of the windmill and the lookout gazebo (film was new and loaded properly). Snapped some scenery pics, too. When I get the film processed I intend to get a photo disk so I can share some of the pics. We left the marina in favor of going out for fish and chips at the chip stand that my cousin Joe runs.
This was the final night of our visit so I went over to Megan's to visit with my aunt a while. We watched a movie together. My son and I left her place quite late (she's only across the street from my mom's so it was no problem). I ended up having to give him a bath at like midnight cuz he hadn't washed his hair when he took one earlier. then I sent him to bed and got busy packing. At 330AM I took a short nap. We were to get back on the bus at 9 the next morning ...
Monday August 30th
we began our trip home. A different bus schedule meant we'd only be on the bus for two overnights this time.
Memorable moments on the journey home ...
-at Thunder Bay this guy asked if I'd switch seats with him cuz his best friend was in the seat behind us and his seat was further up the aisle. I said sure, my son said no. I convinced my son it was the right thing to do as the guy had asked very politely. We switched seats with the guy. I shoulda listened to kiddo. What he neglected to inform me of was that one of the seats he was trading me for was broken and would not recline. We were stuck with it like that for one overnight until we got to Winnipeg and changed buses. I felt so swindled.
-watched some okay movies on the bus
-went back to the park that my friend had shown us on our way through before took a picture of my son kneeling under a tree on the grass. First time I've gotten a real smile out of him, in front of the camera, in a long time.
-The last day of our journey (Sept 1st) we had the two overnights behind us and a full day of travel ahead of us. That last day of travel was a little rough. I got on my son's nerves seemingly about everything and his annoyance with me made me cranky right back. That didn't really last all day it just sure seemed like it in such close quarters.
A few hours away from Vancouver another passenger cheered us both up by generously sharing some treats with us that she had left over since her own trip was ending at the next stop. I'm a fan of random acts of kindness.
Home at last ...
We got in to Vancouver about 830 PM. My son's father,and his mom and girlfriend were there to greet us. I quickly realised that one of my 3 suitcases from under the bus was missing. I spoke to the bus driver and he told me it was coming in on an overload bus due in about ten minutes. We waited 15 minutes and still no bus. I wanted a hot meal so we all went into the station to eat at Mickeydees. Afterwards I went back to check if the other bus had come in and there's no sign of any overload bus or my luggage so I started asking around. After being redirected twice I was told to enquire at the customer service desk. So I went there to find that it was closed. I spoke to a ticket agent and she paged CS personnel. The guy who answered the page was very helpful and despite having his break interrupted did not get snarky at me. I always appreciate that. He gave me a number for baggage tracing and then my ex-MIL dropped me off at my place.
Puter woes ...
It was ONLY 10PM when I got in. I was dead tired but my puter was calling me so I had to boot her up and check my e-mail and stuff. Well my browser kept closing when I was trying to reply to my e-mails and in general was processing like molasses. When I left for my trip my system was clean: no adware, no trojans, no viruses. Before I left I put the modem in safety mode and had my puter turned off. I decided to run Ad-Aware anyway cuz when my system gets slow sometimes adware is the culprit. To my surprise at some point between 1015 PM and 1125PM my puter had collected 18 new objects that Ad-Aware caught. I checked all items without reading what they were and quarantined them all like I usually do. Then I rebooted. Windows would not load -no how, no way. I gave up and went to bed.
Sept 2nd
I woke up at 3 AM and tried again but it still wouldn't load. I called up the same company that replaced my CPU when the old one was doing the burnt metal smell thing. It was only 430 AM but I was hoping to leave a message. (While I was listening to the ringing phone I saw that damn mouse again! Why won't it die?) Turns out the company doesn't have an answering machine. I rolled my eyes in defeat and went back to bed. A few hours later I called the guy and he picked up my computer that day. Then I called the luggage tracing number and was told that the overload bus had come in the night before and on time but that my suitcase was still missing. I got a call back and they got my address and have sent me some forms to fill out. I think it's a write off unfortunately but I'll still fill out the forms, send them off, and cross my fingers. The suitcase only contained clothes but just the same I'd like to get it back with the contents intact. Some of the new things I bought were in there.
After the phonecalls. I went over to the ex's to visit with my son cuz I was at loose ends without my puter. I stayed longer than I meant to and it got too late for me to get home safely so they let me use their puter and said I could nap on the sofa. I was on the puter until 7 am and slept on their sofa til 130PM. I had to rush off at 2PM for a forgotten appointment.
Sept 3rd
After my appointment I went to see Alien vs Predator.
Sept 4th
I went grocery shopping then went to see "I, Robot". I liked that movie. Then I went grocery shopping again for a few items I knew I could get on sale.
Sunday Sept 5th
I met up with my son, his Grandma, his Dad, and his Dad's gf. We had dinner together at my son's Grandma's. We all spent the night there and I borrowed three books from her bookshelf. I was up til 430 AM reading a Danielle Steele novel. I was almost done too and she caught me and reamed me out.
(Labor Day)
we all had breakfast together and then drove out to Golden Ears Provincial Park for a BBQ picnic at the beach (Alouette Lake). I finished the Steele novel in the car on the way there and immediately started reading a Catherine Cookson one.
When we got to the lake I saw lots of boating going on but still vast areas of open water. I was amazed at the roominess on that lake. I was feeling some severe "wish I could go for a boat ride" pangs seeing all them boats. I thought of the Sandbar and I missed folks at ***boat a lot. That night when I got home I finished reading the Catherine Cookson novel.
Tuesday (Sept 7th)
I watched some episodes of Spiketv's Best of CSI Marathon, started reading some B-class horror novel called The Portent, did some pen and paper writing (that was really harsh for me I was missing my computer big time just then)
Wednesday (Sept 8th)
I watched tv (yawn) and read some more then I finally got a call that my puter was ready. I got it back at 330 PM. She has a brand new motherboard and is behaving well.
Settling back in ...
Thursday (Sept 9th) Started writing this summary, hung out at my fave boards, talked to a couple of good friends in IM, played the Sims for a few hours
Friday (Sept 10th)
My son was just dropped off here from school. I still haven't finished reading the "horror" novel yet (very slow moving story and I get distracted easily if my mind isn't being taxed) parts of it have been interesting but I wanted to be scared. Finished writing this summary.
If you read all that ... wow and thanks for listening to me ramble on, lol.
holy shit FM. :jawdrop:
(i have not read yet btw).
holy shit FM. :jawdrop:
(i have not read yet btw).
Think that's long, Mike? Wait'll you get a load of the mini-novel in your e-mail!
Great account of your travels FM! Sounds like it was a fun trip and you and your son spent some quality time that I'm sure neither of you will forget :smile:
BTW---After reading all that I have an urge to go have a smoke and a donut :shift:
Looks as though you had a wonderful time.
Glad to have you back home safe and sound
Thanks FM for the Blog of your trip, sounds lioke you had a great time and the time away was an energy enhancer, like it recharged ya!! So is that all or is there more???
Mike VG
When you post babe , you post...that was the start of a novel.........( . )( . ).......Ob's are good also..........
Sounds like it was a fun trip and you and your son spent some quality time that I'm sure neither of you will forget
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v5...be/exactly.gif
Glad to have you back home safe and sound
Thank-you Ziggy.
sounds lioke you had a great time and the time away was an energy enhancer, like it recharged ya!! So is that all or is there more???
Mike VG
I believe it did recharge me ... I must be partly solar powered
More? LMFAO! No I think I pretty much covered everything ... wiseguy!
When you post babe , you post...that was the start of a novel.........( . )( . ).......Ob's are good also..........
Yeah what'd ratso call me before? Long-winded wasn't it? Maybe a lil bit eh?
ob's good yes http://www.***boat.com/ubb/icons/icon14.gif boat go zoom!
But the big question is did you miss us? Eh?
But the big question is did you miss us? Eh?
Oh there's no question ...
I thought of the Sandbar and I missed folks at ***boat a lot.
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