Aug 11 - I can't believe it

... but I'm crossing my fingers. More on this later ...

Yesterday -- final bag checks; empty three drop bags and double check contents against checklist. No doubt there is something that I have forgotten, but I don't think that it's major. Do final packing.

Do some yard cleanup -- empty aquarium "marine zoo" and let minnows go. They won't survive until I get back anyway. Pick up some more toys at the beach. Check my one remaining bat-hole (cotton disturbed, will have to figure something out).

Pile wood. It's good exercise ? Not really but the wood needs piling anyway. I moved the huge pile of tarps out of the woodshed that would block the way to my backup generator when I fill the woodshed ... found masses of carpenter ants in the layers of tarps. Well, carpenter ants don't do any damage to tarps but it's disgusting anyway. I'm going to take the tarps to the dump -- haven't used them in three years so it's time.

I piled about 1.5 cords in the woodshed. I'll be able to fill three rows, which will be close to 5 cords -- there might not be much leftover to put in the pile outside the shed.

It's time for lunch. It's time to start packing the car. I got the bike inside, fully clothed as it were (didn't take the wheels off), and packed the bags around it. There's something to be said for air travel -- you don't travel with loose things. Imagine the following:

-- three duffels that are drop bags
-- helmet cover that contains helmet, gloves, glasses etc.
-- air pump
-- soft briefcase with laptop and other stuff
-- bike
-- bike rack-pack
-- Kylie's bag
-- bag with Wii etc.
-- bag of food for Stef
-- single blow-up bed
-- double (queen ?) blow-up bed
-- Kylie's pillow

There was probably more but I forget. This would have been easy packing except for the decision to leave the bike whole. I did that for a reason -- I also have the bike rack on the car and know that I'll have to throw the bike onto the rack once I have Geoff's luggage.

It's time to leave ... 2pm ... Kylie and I hit the road. Abby looks dejected. We leave anyway. It's an uneventful drive, with cruise control set at 12 kph over the speed limit the entire way ... that is until we are onto the 407 and the threatening thunderstorms finally do their part and bring traffic to a crawl. It mostly lets up by the time we get to Stef's though and we unload Kylie's gear in a summer shower. The temperature has been 75-80 the entire way down but cooled below 70 with the rain.

At Stef's I pull up the website and check Geoff's Delta flight from Atlanta (Seattle=>Atlanta=>Toronto). It hasn't departed yet, undoubtedly due to the thunderstorm activity in Toronto. It departs a little after 6pm though and ultimately is only 20 minutes delayed -- great stuff ! I have a little bit of supper at Stef's, knowing that I'll likely have something with Geoff later on.

I leave Stef's at 7:40 for the projected 8:10 arrival and my phone rings just as I'm approaching the airport. Geoff is on the ground, not at the gate yet. I found the cell phone parking -- drove through terminal three and after you leave the arrivals the signs start. At 8:40 -- par for the course for luggage and customs -- the phone rings again and I head back to the terminal. By the time I pick him up (I moved my bike onto the rack while at the cell phone parking lot) and we get to Durham College in Oshawa it's 10:15; 10:45 and we're checked in, unloaded and heading to a Montana's restaurant close by. Food and a beer later, it's 11:45 and I'm hitting the sack.

I can't believe it. The weather forecast says "80F ... 80F ... 82F ... 84F" for the 4 days. Even better, the overnight temps are in the mid 60's. Even better, the winds are predicted at 3mph ... yes, I'm not missing a zero -- 3mph. Even better, they're from the Southeast so the first day will have the wind partly with us. That remains to be seen but I'll take it. Of course these forecasts are all for Toronto but the Collingwood & Bancroft forecasts are not much different. If it goes four days without rain that will be a record for this summer. Sandy & Jason & gang will have great weather ... but I can pretty much deal with anything at the cottage - on the bike it's downright unpleasant in the cold, wet, wind ...

I'm keeping my fingers, legs, eyes, and anything else that can be crossed, crossed.

It's 7am. I've had coffee from my little Melita travel coffee maker. I may have a second cup. Geoff was up briefly a few minutes ago but went back into his room -- may be sleeping since he's still on Pacific Time -- he has 22 hours to get into this time zone. Continental breakfast awaits us whenever he's ready.

Geoff has a lot of work to put his bike together. He's a big guy so it dismantles into a lot of parts. Even the fork is separate. Once together, he has to reattach lights etc. as well. He will want to go for a ride today -- short -- to ensure that everything is working properly. Otherwise, assuming that the bike reassembly goes ok, I've suggested that we might go downtown and do something touristy like go up the CN Tower. The day will fly by though. Check in is late this afternoon. Geoff wants to hit a grocery store along the way -- easy with a car -- and we'll probably be back by the Montana's for dinner. There's also an "East Side Marios" there -- not sure if that's variety, but who knows. Tonight is the "last supper" before the ride so I do have to be careful since it will probably still be with me as I start the ride.

Oh .... and if you haven't noticed already ... I brought my laptop ... and have service. There is no wireless service here; it's wired. Response time is great, compared to what I normally experience at the cottage with the two-way satellite connection. This service is more like the cablemodem in Florida.

Ok, that's it for now.