Saturday at the dump and JC Diary July 1st through 5th.

I'm posting this on a Saturday.  Saturday is a big grandparenting day for us -- I pick the boys up on Friday and they stay until dinner on Saturday. Max and I do the garbage together on Saturday mornings. This is a normal routine and we've done this most Saturday's when we're around and have for the last couple of years.  Max likes to do it although some days he works harder than others.  

At the dump he usually carries one of the blue-bins to the appropriate dumping box and then he climbs into the bed of the pickup to gather the cardboard boxes to go into the crusher.  Our buddy Darrel who works at the dump takes our money under normal circumstances and helps the old people with their garbage is barricaded with a laptop behind a double row of big blue garbage bins dictating the minimum distance he can be from us. I double respect that and stand a good 15 feet away as we exchange pleasantries and I ask if he ever imagined this would ever have become a deskjob.  He notes on the laptop my one bag of garbage that the township will eventually bill me for -- $2 a bag -- and replies that indeed times are strange. 

Max didn't get out of the truck to do the blue boxes today as enough people were there for me to feel uncomfortable letting him out.  Cases up here in the value are still very low (we've had about 5 in Renfrew County which is physically about the size of New Jersey I believe), the probability of transmission must be tiny. But still, I know the bug circulates quietly for a week or two before you start seeing a jump in cases and that will happen eventually here too.  It will be particularly difficult up here as health facilities are stretched at the best of times. So Max didn't get to help the way he likes too and was a little upset by the change in routine; aren't we all.  He made up for it by throwing the cardboard boxes in the back of the truck all over and laughing at my need to bend over and pick them up.  It's hard for me to judge the danger here -- for Max the virus is probably only slightly more dangerous than the daily drives he has from home to here or to his other grandparent's farm; everything has a risk. For Lorraine and I having the boys here is an obvious increase in risk but while Alex lives here this is also the boy's house.  Not sure if I can come to any useful conclusions except that life comes with dangers and you have to balance and judge them as best you can. 

My neighbours are up in arms because the cottages up here are almost all occupied -- city people have disregarded the orders to stay home and flooded the region ahead of any readiness in the supply chain to accommodate them -- food shelves, while not empty, are low.  Some things, like eggs were down to only the more expensive free-range and omega-3 versions when I shopped on Friday. There was no whole wheat flour on the shelves and while the supplies of regular flour were lower than normal there were still brands to chose from.  I can only guess that the cottagers who come up this way must be health conscious; the preppers who fill the local hills all know that whole-wheat flour doesn't keep. 

Anyway enough about now. Time to get back to John Carter celebrating Canada Day ( wasn't called that then... ) somewhere through the Loire country and into Bordeaux. 

We finish with the blotted pages here at the end of page 48 -- I'm guessing that if John mailed this in batches he stopped and mailed here as a page between 48 and 49 is intentionally blank and would have been the last of the damaged entries on July 1st. 

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Thursday July 1/65 

Canada is 98 years old. Today we drove from the Loire valley to Bordeaux. Not much happened as we anted to make some distance. At dinner we stopped at a cheap restaurant outside of Bordeaux. The washroom was of the stand up type for both number 1 and no. 2 and for both sexes. This is not uncommon in the places which we frequent but smell was enough to gag you. It was impossible to breathe as we each in turn, found out. 

After dinner we drove [obscured] out of Bordeaux to [obscured] town on the Bay of Biscay. As has happened before we drove to the town's lover's lane and slept there. It is usually quite a dark place where one won't be disturbed. The area was surrounded by sand and large pine trees. Over the sandy hill, on top of which some expensive looking houses are planned, is the Atlantic. Quite a spectacular sight.

Bay of Biscay from a Hill...

Friday, July 2/65 

After spending the night under the stars, Robin and I had petit dejeuner at the very modern and inexpensive restaurant which overlooks the water. Rod doesn't eat breakfast but makes up for it later on bread. We were able to see the tide go out and a lovely sand beach appear.

The day was spent in swimming, lying in the sun and throwing a plastic disc affair we have around. [Still early enough in the history of plastic disc throwing that he didn't call it a Frisbee]. We had dinner in the same restaurant after a rum and coke They use rum from some French islands in the Caribbean and that the shot is considerably more than you get at home. As we began dinner they rolled back the canopy so the sky was open to us and we could also see the sun set across the bay which we are on. In the afternoon Rod and I went swimming and put our our clothes down and when we came back the water had risen and covered the spot where they were. Had not a kind neighbour moved them we would have had a wet time of it.

Saturday, July 3/65 

Today was much like yesterday. I got some pictures of the fabulous houses around us. They are of the Spanish style with archways, large covered windows and of white stucco. Most have some grass, flowers and hedge but some have just pine trees and white sand.

We left Arcachon in the afternoon after a late lunch which was really an early dinner. Next stop was Mimizan and a camping spot on a small lake. It seems that we get to bed fairly early these night but with all the sea air and sunshine we're ready to hit the sack when the sun goes down around 9:30.

Sunday July 4/65 

The sun was hidden today and the air was cool. As one didn't want to lie in the sun, we washed our clothes. 

There are some Belgian people here and when they saw our Netherlands license plates the husband came over. They are going to Spain and he mentioned about Pamplona where the bulls run through the streets. It starts today and lasts for two weeks. We had planned to go there but didn't know when the festival was. 

Went into Mimizan sur Plage (on the ocean) [sic -- really means on the beach] for dinner and on the way back we got lost and couldn't find the campsite. We must have driving 15 miles out of our way.

Monday July 5/65 

Today was lovely as the sun shone and the air was warm. Even though we are quite far south the ocean, which we are close to, sometimes cools the air even if the sun is out. Rod and I rented one of the pedal paddle-wheel boats and stayed out for an hour. Both of us got somewhat of a burn but Rod got the worst of it. We left Mimizan and went to Biarritz, one of the resort places for the "jet-set". It is like Miami I imagine as the ocean front is packed with hotels, all with their private beaches. We met two American fellows who were travelling around on a motor cycle.

After dinner I wanted to get to bed as I could feel the chills and didn't want any further effects of the sun. Got a place near a junk yard which overlooks a bay on the ocean right in Biarritz. The sound of the waves lapping against the shore and the lights surrounding the bay would made a romantic setting if we had some girls.