Friends and Family, Covid and learning about life on the road (in the cold)

Welcome to New Brunswick. We are so glad you are here. Now please register all entries and exits in and out the province. Zone 1 you say? Oh, time for a circuit breaker. Oh and to track our covid updates, please read our pleasant but long winded weekly email, citing all possible contact locations 🤪.

One key goal of this trip is to visit friends and family who we haven’t seen for a long time due to covid or just life. It had been 2 years since visiting New Brunswick, and it was an absolute joy to return.

There the search for beach glass continued with Grandma, we did puzzles with Grampie, made bread with Nano, bottled wine and helped Boppie pick (and eat) everything out of his garden. Hopefully all those fresh veggies balanced out the unlimited supply of fresh bread, homemade red wine and Swedish Berries. Olivia put her tutu dress on everyday, but it sure didn’t stop her from picking potatoes, or, as I saw her one day, shovelling compost. Barkley also discovered his home away from home, and loved being outside all day, every day, and helping Boppie by tearing apart his deck.

Happily, despite the Covid conditions, we had a lovely time and were also able to visit Nova Scotia twice, once to Musquodoboit Harbour for a fish fry and a visit to Martinique Beach with Uncle Les and Aunt Heather, and once to Halifax area to spend time with Aunt Kate and Olivia’s cousin Henry at Peggy’s Cove. Olivia was so thrilled to spend time with her big cousin. For anyone with Peggy’s Cove on their bucket list, mid/late October is a great time to visit, the fall foliage is amazing and there are many fewer tourists!

We took advantage of having an address for a month, and had many, and I mean many, packages delivered there. Most were items to help us prepare the rig for the next leg of our adventure. Tyrrell kept Boppie busy with many a truck and RV project.

En route back from New Brunswick, we did our first “boondock” at a truck stop in Edmunston, New Brunswick. This was also our first night using the generator, and our first night below zero. Nestled amongst many transport trucks, there was zero sleep to be had. However we did it, we survived, and off we drove for Montreal.

Bienvenue, a Montreal. Surprise! It is already so cold here, that you will not be able to hook up to any water for the week you are here. Please use our tiny hose around the corner to fill up your huge water tank…

This stop just outside of Montreal is where it got cold fast. We learned how to ration water, siphon new water using a hose and Rubbermaid bins, as well as use the tank heaters. We got our flu shots and mommy learned how to drive the big truck in the city. We celebrated Olivia and Iris’s birthday with some of our besties (and mommy got to have a hot shower). We visited our old neighbourhood, and got to spend time with more of our besties, say hello to our former neighbours and see the old house.

Next up on the friends and family tour, was a stop at Nana and Poppa’s in Almonte. Here we dragged Poppa out trick or treating, and we got to celebrate Olivia’s actual birthday. Barkley got to hang out with his besties Mungo and Scotch, and enjoyed sneaking onto Nana and Poppa’s bed at all opportunities. One word, brrrr. With temperatures on the steady decline, we started to plan and book our stops into the US headed south.

Continuing on with our learnings, and firsts, we stopped at our first Harvest Host. Handsome Jack’s Farm is a beautiful spot, located just outside of Peterborough. Since many (ok, all) RV parks close after thanksgiving in much of Ontario, we found that there were no RV parks for us in the East GTA. Tyrrell was excited to book our first harvest host, and we are so happy we stayed there. The host, Tammy, was absolutely lovely and super flexible. The garlic and raspberry jams we purchased were delicious. It was so nice to be out in nature and the weather was mild. www.handsomejacks.ca

The highlight was definitely reuniting with 2 of my sisters and getting to meet Olivia‘s newest cousin Soren, all while spending time with our special guy, Great Grandpa. What a joyful day. At 91, Great Grandpa is still sharp as a tack, optimistic and a positive ray of light.

It had been challenging to find an RV park in the GTA west area too. A quick post to a facebook forum led us to Fifty Point Conservation area in Hamilton. An absolute gem. Tons of land to explore, milder temperatures, a beach, and all just minutes from Great Grandma Hurley. Added bonus was the extra time we got to spend with Boppie and Nano while we were there. Great Grandma and Olivia really enjoyed their time together. And amazingly, at 97 years young, she too, is still sharp as a tack. She was still able to teach me how to knit and give me shit for spending too much on wool. What a legend. Olivia is so blessed to have not one, but two great grandparents.

Update January 6, 2022: Unfortunately, after writing this blog, but before posting it, we lost Great Grandma. The absolute matriarch of the Hurley family, GG Margaret has been keeping track of all family members (and spouses) for years. The glue connecting everyone together. Mother, Grandmother, Great Grandmother. It was always so lovely to see her light up with her grand children and great grand children. We're thankful we were able to spend time with her recently and know she's in a better place, but we miss her and are sad to know that we won't be able to see her again. ❤️

Last Canadian stop before leaping across into the unknown, Amherstburg near Windsor to visit Grandma Dianne and Eric. Sadly we only had one night there, but we packed in lots of fun.

We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Olivia is blessed with many grandparents (4 sets!), and 2 great grandparents. We really wanted to prioritize visits with them and really appreciate everyone’s hospitality. We didn’t get to see everyone while we passed through, but here’s hoping we meet up on the road (if covid allows), or when we swing through later on our journey.

Next stop, USA.

Thanks for checking in!

xo Laura, Tyrrell, Olivia and Barkley