8/31/08 -Arnprior, Canada

Captain’s Blog

When we awoke this morning the first order of business was to check the temp in the fridge. Despite cleaning the components and praying for a miracle the temp was still 57. Our Weight Watchers’ desserts are now soup and not much good and the meat has completely thawed.

After breakfast we headed out to the nearest gas station to fill up $3.82 a gallon – OUCH- but the cheapest in the area – on the Mohawk Reservation. Then it was off to the grocery store to buy ice – 50 pounds to be exact. We purchased two Styrofoam coolers and reorganized the food to try to save as much as possible. Since we’ll be in Canada later today and won’t be back in the states for at least two weeks we’ll be buying ice and keeping our refrigerated foods to a minimum.

We were only 10 miles from the Eisenhower Locks in Manessa, New York so thought we would stop even though when had been there 8 years ago. The place was dead and someone told us that very few cargo ships pass through anymore.

Since we were close by we decided to revisit Boldt Castle in Alexandria Bay. We had been there 8 years ago as well but more renovation has been completed and the boat house turned into a museum.

On the way to Alexandria Bay we stopped at a park on the St. Lawrence and had a leisurely lunch, played with Jewel, watched one lake freighter go by and took pictures for some visitors. Not too exciting but definitely relaxing.

Our fridge situation is under control and all things cold are now staying cold with our ice purchase.

Well, we arrived in Alexandria Bay in our RV with car in tow. BIG MISTAKE. The town was in full swing with a fair and three trillion people everywhere not to mention their cars. We got caught in a one-way situation at a dead end. Not good when you are in the biggest vehicle in the town. We had to disconnect the car in the middle of a very small parking lot , nearly run over a few people who evidently didn’t believe that Ronnie was going to turn the RV around is such a small space. He did - WHAT A DRIVER - and I led him out of town where we reconnected at a local school.

Of course the reason we got tied up in Alexandria was my fault !!!!!!! Ron has fired me as navigator because he states that if I looked at the map of the town on DeLorme I would have seen that he could not drive the RV into town hence there would not have been a need to disconnect the car and turn the RV around in a parking lot as small as a stamp.

Once the car was reconnected to the RV we decided to skip Boldt Castle and head over the border to Canada. The trip through customs was without incident and we began out Journey to the far side of Lake Superior. Once again I was fired from my position as navigator because I was foolish enough to believe the directions on DeLorme, which, by the way were right. Ron just decided to take a different route.

Since this is Labor Day weekend in both the US and Canada and all campgrounds are full we are now at a Truck Stop called Pipeline Commercial. It’s in the middle of nowhere in a town called Arnprior about 479 miles from our intended destination of Sault Saint Marie. Tomorrow will bring new adventures I’m sure and I believe we will get a good sleep tonight since there are only a few trucks in this very large Truck Stop.