So, we made it to Guelph, Ontario on Saturday. I think everyone knows by now that we had a mission in Guelph - to meet and hopefully adopt a Golden rescue dog. And it all worked out great. We adopted 11-year old Jasper and he has been the best dog. God knows it must be confusing for him - losing his family, being sick, living with a foster family, then meeting us and living in a motel for two days before going on a four-day road trip. And yet he has been calm, loving and just plain wonderful. We hit the jackpot with Jasper.
On Sunday, we spent a relaxing day strolling the quaint historic towns of Fergus and Elora, near Guelph
. Nice sunny day, so lots of people out. Jasper was a real gentleman, letting anyone and everyone pet him. He fell asleep in the car about 2 min after he got in.
We had planned to leave first thing Monday, but S.K. had been complaining about her "rearend" for a few days - very loud rubbing noise. Wawawawawa - kind of like Lorraine"s waaaaa, but more annoying, if you can believe that. Just kiddin', Lorraine. ;-) We were fortunate that Guelph Toyota (within walking distance of our hotel) got us in first thing Monday morning and had it fixed by 11 a.m. (wheel bearing, wheel alignment, oil change while we're at it - $650). :-/ Just glad it was fixed up quickly so we could be on our way.
We drove thru some beautiful rugged scenery on the highway thru Ontario. The road is cut thru interesting rock formations (granite?) and thick forests (some of them even starting to change colour!). We read that parts of the highway are some of the most scenic in Canada
. Very true. We also passed a few Amish horse & buggy rigs on the highway. Neat! Unfortunately, it rained heavily for most of Mon and Tues, and we weren't able to enjoy the scenery as much. Sorry for the poor quality pictures, shot from the moving car in the rain.
Ontario is a huge province. From Guelph, we drove 7 hours a day for three days (with stops in the small communities of Blind River and Schreiber) before we hit Kenora, near the Manitoba border. Jasper was the model passenger, not making a sound. I had to keep checking behind me to make sure he was still there. And the rain meant only quick pee breaks for him, with the occasional break for a longer stretch. He enjoyed our shared snacks of PB&J buns, granola bars, apples, bananas and melons (apparently he eats anything). The rest of the time he slept, or looked out the window, or just laid down. We would never have stopped for walks on a long road trip like this on our own, but we did for Jasper and it was good for all of us
. We also explored on foot the small towns we stayed in, going for longer walks when we settled somewhere for the night. He's better for us already!
On Wed, Jasper met a nice older lady from Liverpool, England (he's quite the networker) who is in Canada visiting her sister & brother-in-law. They were at the same picnic/rest stop as us, but going the other direction, from Alberta to Niagara Falls. She had been to Canada/Niagara Falls once before, fifty years ago in 1967 as a student going to the World's Fair in Montreal. She was quite taken with Jasper and his story. Awww.
Thursday was our last day on the road (thank goodness!). We stayed at the very nice Brewers Inn, in Kenora, ON just before the Manitoba border. Just steps from Beach Road on Lake of the Woods, it was a beautiful peaceful setting to walk Jasper while we admired the fancy houses/cottages lining the waterfront. Dotting the lake are islands with more cottages. Very nice place to stay to wrap up our holiday.
As I finish this entry we are passing Winnipeg. Gonna be good to be home. :)
Kenora, Ontario
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Kenora, Ontario, Canada
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2025-02-15
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Lorraine
2016-09-29
Loved it! esp the new pix of Jasper, me new nephew ;o) Sounds you enjoyed the leg of this trip? ;o)
roganna
2016-09-29
The scenery was nice, but it was cold and rainy for most of it, and it was
a long haul. So many days in a row of driving all day and a different motel
each night. Ready to be home.
On Sep 29, 2016 1:10 PM, wrote:
Eva
2016-09-29
OMG! I am in love with Jasper!! You must frame the picture of him sitting up and looking so handsome :) Sounds like you had some long travelling days but good stops on this last leg. I am excited for you to be home and introduce Jasper to his new fur-ever home!
roganna
2016-09-29
Aw, thanks Eva. I'm anxious for everyone to meet him. Hope you can too one
day. It will be interesting to see how Jasper and Ollie do tonite!
On Sep 29, 2016 4:14 PM, wrote: