In Pursuit of Spring ( and Sanity)

Spring arrives in the valley. It always does, doesn't it?  And this year it is showing up with a vengeance ( for the 2nd time in 3 years).  We've been home two weeks now and done most of the tedious little chores that awaited us. I've done the taxes; six times in fact -- I found that I disliked the amount I owed the government to be painful so I kept trying again for a different answer, lest I be accused of insanity.  I paid the taxes and most of the bills and sorted out a bunch of financial crap that I couldn't do from the road.  Lorraine started painting the dining room .  We had good visits from Max a few times and Bobby once. Max and I even went scouting to find Turkeys so I can get my Turkey license and go hunting in the next month. And then we both got the flu.  Real old-fashioned influenza mitigated only by the fact that we did both have the flu shot. We were a lot less sick than Bobby and Alex and Brian (my co-grandfather, grandfather-in-law? ...

Monday, April 15th, 2019. Round Lake Centre, Ontario. In stories, metaphorical journeys often end where they begin. Dorothy and Ulysses both make it full circle and in doing so find their respective Spring.   Have we found spring? Did we find it and then lose it again ( as we certainly did physically)? My courage is unchanged, I have no new heart or brain; The question goes unanswered as we make the last day's journey. Certainly, we have outpaced spring -- there were little white things falling from the sky as we sat and had coffee with Lorraine's dad's wife Trish in the living room in Innerkip. They both had busy days planned and at this point Rrainy and I just wanted to get home. We're not patient people for the most part; manic, restless, cranky perhaps, and most certainly impatient. Kip made oatmeal porridge and then we were on our way -- about ten minutes after 9 we pulled away from the curb and into an icy morning, with cold rain and the wind still bris...

Sunday April 14th. Innerkip, Ontario. We’re back in Canada; Feels good, and strange, and certainly based on the weather about two weeks too soon. Maybe we turned north too early as I discovered when Lorraine looked at the calendar when we arrived at her dads and said “This is only the 14th? It’s not Easter yet? Why did we come home so soon?” I have mentioned that keeping track of the day of the week and day of the month is a little tough sometimes when you’re travelling. But seriously, we are both tired and ready to get home. Even the dogs are a little tired I think and anxious to be home. Spring isn’t far behind us— less than a week or two, I think, until the buds are breaking even in Round Lake Centre. Just a couple of warm days is all they need; today wasn’t one of those days. We awoke to rain and sleet banging off the trailer in the ex-urbs west of Toledo. The weather radar showed ice, freezing rain and snow to the north of us all the way around the corner of Lake Erie and...

Saturday April 13th. Erie, Michigan. The sunset was bright red below a pastel blue sky as we came out of the Beirut Restaurant in Toledo. A lucky omen for our last night in the United States on this trip at the end of our 40th day here. I believe this is the longest I’ve been away from home since I was 17 and the longest I’ve been in the good ol’ U.S. of A;   It’s been a lot of fun. The red sky at night is supposed to also be an omen of good weather the following day — the Weather Channel disagrees as there are warnings for Sunday all the way up to Round Lake Centre and the crap will begin overnight. Between here and Innerkip, where we are headed tomorrow to see most of Lorraine’s family the weather is only cold and rainy. But Round Lake is getting more snow and has warnings that suggest it could be a lot more than the actual official forecast — they are hedging their bets up to 25cm. If it is any comfort to those of you in Ontario — especially way up the Ottawa Valley —...

Friday, April 12th. Erie, Michigan. I’m writing this one after a long day in the Michigan suburbs west of Toledo. We started the day with only one plan -- go out for dinner at the Beirut in Toledo. But like all plans this one was subject to change. The winds that had tossed us around on the road yesterday continued all night, peaking just before dawn. The trailer rocked and groaned as the wind gusted and we had the heat on for the first time in a few weeks. Overall though, we slept pretty well considering. I was certainly exhausted and couldn’t even read a little before bed last night — maybe the only time I’ve had the bedspins without drinking. The dogs could hear the wind and the rain that came in the early morning so they were in no hurry for us to get out of bed; We managed to hang in until 9, latest lay-in of the trip. We had a nice leisurely morning visit with Cliff and Sandy over Coffee and Toast while Lorraine and Sandy worked out a plan for the day. Sandy with part of ...

Thursday April 11, Erie, Michigan Today was a travel day. Over our first cup of coffee I checked the weather and noticed that there were wind warnings for Horse Cave and Louisville by mid-day and while there were no warnings yet for the corridor up I-75 to Toledo it was clear that the wind was going to be a problem there as well. I closed the iPad and said to Lorraine “We’ve got wind warnings probably all the way to Toledo I want to leave in an hour.” Lorraine responded by moving into high gear with packing the inside of the trailer. I packed up the exterior quickly and by 8:40 we were on the road and out — our earliest departure since the first day of the trip when we were prepared the night before. It’s not a complicated drive between Horse Cave and Toledo but longer than most we would attempt — 630km or so and it would take about seven hours of driving — a long enough day without high winds. We kept the route simple and direct — straight up I65 to Louisville then I71 across to...

Wednesday, April 10th. Horse Cave, Kentucky. What a day for a road trip — our last day of “tourism” on this trip — day 37. We headed off towards the north and west with a general idea of making the Bourbon Trail near Lebanon, or Bardstown or even Louisville but with no fixed plan. We fortified ourselves with the last of the eggs and some bacon and biscuits and the last of the jam. It’s that part of the trip where emptying the fridge may take priority over nutrition or sobriety. Mercifully we were headed to the Bourbon Trail so no bourbon for breakfast. The weather has been as good as one could want. My Canadian friends can take solace that Spring is racing north past Horse Cave and on towards Louisville and Cincinnati. In Central Kentucky this is the 3rd or 4th day of the leafing-out and the sunny day with a temperature in the high 20sC and a light cool breeze is what I must consider perfect weather. Warm enough to feel hot in the sun but cool enough not to be uncomfortable;  p...

Tuesday, April 09th. Horse Cave, Kentucky.  We actually had to set an alarm this morning to ensure we were up and out in time to make it to the caves for our reservation. The alarm went off and Lorraine said “Hit Sleep, Hit Sleep”. “It’s on the kitchen counter”, I said, “I’ll get it”. But by then the dogs were fully motivated and ready for their walk.  And a great walk it was as the rain and gloom of the last 4 days had gone completely. It was already 20C at 7:30 and the sun had just cleared the hills, piercing a light mist that hung softly over the valley in front of me; Robins were all around chirping their territorial spring songs. It was going to be a damned fine day for spelunking.  We took our time enjoying the first coffee — wasting the time that maybe I could have used snoozing if I’d ever reached the phone without rousing the dogs. The second coffee went with me to the shower room but I stopped on the way to look out on the other side of the ridge that the...