Leaving Canada tomorrow (just for a while)

For the past week or so we've been preparing for our upcoming trip to New Mexico. The time has come, we're crossing the border tomorrow (Oct 1).  

We've been busy with visiting friends, getting travel medical insurance (MediPac), route planning, van maintenance, etc. It may seem early, but we have the car in today to swap the summer tires for snows, preparing for our early November return. 

Of course we've been over to Bayfield Mews several times too, varying the route in this beautiful (most days) fall weather. We came across a soybean harvest, using some equipment we haven't seen before (not that we're soybean experts!):

Maybe a standard pull-behind harvester?

We're more used to seeing self-propelled combines these days

Serious tractor power!

Notice how short the beans are cut

 

In a Furry Gnome blog back in the spring, Mr F.G mentioned that soybean fields must be worked very level when preparing for planting. Now that we've seen how short the harvesters cut, it's clear why a level field is a requirement.

On our way to Goderich today we were struck by the number of power-generating windmills on the inland horizon from hwy 21. We've seen them before, but maybe because the sun highlighted them, they really stood out today:

Cathie's checkup at the dental surgeon this morning in Port Elgin was positive. Earlier this year she had some surgery there to fix a problem with an old root canal. All better now!

Not a whole lot of progress visible at Bayfield today. There's lots being done inside, but mostly a lot of prep work for insulation and drywall etc. The bricklayers have been busy though:

One neighbour's end wall is done

Our patio area is being bricked today

Later today we're heading to the Sarnia Walmart for overnight, and into the US tomorrow morning. We expect to head for Ft Wayne, then westerly on state hwy 24 for a while. 

Bayfield progress, and plans for October

We went to Bayfield again today to see the progress at the Bayfield Mews , first stopping at Anna Mae's restaurant for a good breakfast. We met with the contractor again and saw good progress inside and out. The biggest step on the outside is that bricking has started.

 

Lots of bricks waiting for install

Efficient looking bricklayers, doing a fine job

 

Garage doors starting to be installed (not ours yet)

Inside there is lots of activity. Insulation and drywalling should be done over the next 2 weeks. 
 
We're also preparing to head into the US next week, leaving Oct 1. We're heading for New Mexico or thereabouts, expecting to be gone for a month. The place should look quite different by then!


 

Southampton Fairy Lake, Bayfield Mews progress

Southampton has a nice little lake right in town, with walking trails. Recently a number of ash trees had to be taken down due to insect damage, and local artists were invited to get creative with the remaining stumps:

Our friend Sherry, deep in thought

 Another great meal courtesy of Don and Sherry for Sunday dinner:

Tasty salads

Roast duck, a rare treat for us

 

Monday we were at the Bayfield Mews for a construction update. No surprises, the new target of Dec 11 is still their best estimate. There has been progress though: the plumbing and wiring has been completed and inspected. Ductwork and insulation is starting. We had a good walkthrough and finalized the remaining decisions we needed to make.

We're still thinking of New Mexico for October, and thanks to a date change in a dental medical checkup can now leave Oct 1 instead of Oct 8. Plans are progressing. The van is in for its fall maintenance today, needed for either a trip or winter storage. If we do end up heading to New Mexico for Oct we'll be staying home for the winter then. We think we'll have a lot of settling in to do in the new place.

Off to Southampton ON for the weekend

 It was a brisk breeze at the Lake Huron shores today at Port Elgin. A beautiful fall day though. We were heading to Southampton for a visit with our friends Don and Sherry there, and on the way we stopped at the Port Elgin beach to watch the waves for a bit.

Looking towards the marina

 

Looking the other way. Lots of waves today.

 

Along the shore road from Port Elgin to Southampton the waves were larger and deeper, less protection out here.

Looking across the multi-use paved trail, with Chantry Island on the horizon

 

A closer look at Chantry Island. Tour boats take people out there.

A brave (?) kite surfer way out there

A wedding on the beach today

There is usually a good trail to the left of the sign, but high water level has drowned it

A gorgeous breezy fall day at Lake Huron

No dips in Don and Sherry's pool today! (a little inside joke - see older post). A fine day for appetizers outside though, and a great roast pork meal inside later on.

For those interested in our plans for the upcoming months: We expect to be meeting with some Mews people Monday, when we hope to get a better feeling for the accuracy of the new target (Dec 11 instead of Oct 15).

Although tentative, our current plan is to leave Oct 8 to head southwest towards New Mexico. Apparently Oct is usually good weather there, and we've never been in the northern parts, like Santa Fe and Taos. Northern New Mexico gets too cold for us in the real winter, it's quite a bit higher elevation there than in the southern parts of the state. Ideally we'd like to head out a bit earlier, but can't do that this time. Yes, if our plans were Jello they'd be firmer than they are right now.    

The revised Bayfield Mews completion date 😒

We got some not-so-good news today. The original Oct 15 estimate for occupancy of our new place has been extended to Dec 11! We haven't talked to them in any detail yet about the change, but it was most unwelcome news.

Now instead of managing another 5-6 weeks, the clock is starting to tick for 3 more months. Ugh. That gets us into colder weather, for which we are not prepared. Most of our winter things are in storage in Owen Sound. 

So what do we do now? We're considering various options, from renting a place to stay maybe in Goderich, or heading west and/or south for a while. Depending on where we go, getting back in December could be problematic from there though.

If you have any suggestions please let us know, in comments or email. We're struggling with this right now.

50 Years!

Today was kind of a special day for us, our 50th anniversary! We celebrated by doing one of our favorite things on a beautiful day, a drive in the country from Waterloo to Bayfield, carefully timed for a lunch stop at Anna Mae's restaurant in Millbank. As George from Our Awesome Travels has said many times, their broasted chicken is really tasty:

After lunch we carried on to Bayfield to check progress at the Bayfield Mews. Roofing our block is continuing and almost done, having had some rain delays in the past few days.

Then back to Clinton to moochdock at our friends place overnight. Tonight we were the audience for some rousing ends at the Clinton Lawn Bowling Club:

All in all a fine day.