Oct 19 - off we go

On schedule, even 5 minutes ahead of schedule, we left the cottage. We didn't have to go back for to get forgotten wallets, laptops, or anything else. Besides, we couldn't have gotten them in the car !

We were/are piled to the ceiling in the trunk. The back seat has Abby, the cooler and our soft-sided bags piled up against the passenger side door. The trunk is carefully packed so that nothing falls out when it's opened ... thank goodness !

We stopped in Barrie to drop off some leftover food at David's. A half-head of cabbage, a few eggs, sundry things that were practically piled in Sandy's lap. It would have been easier to give them to Bonnie. We used the bathroom, got some gas at the nearby PetroCanada and hit the road again. At the St. Lawrence Market before 1pm, Sandy disembarked. She had lunch there and then went to get her hair done.

I headed out to Stef's. Still mostly smooth sailing, I got there in plenty of time, dropped off Abby -- much to Mya's delight (she told me) -- and then went to the dentist. I got there a few minutes before 2pm, was taken in immediately and finished up at 3pm. From there I went to the optometrist nearby, who replaced the lenses in my sunglasses and adjusted my biking glasses and caught up with Sandy by telephone who was about to leave O Solo Mio (I think that's the name) where she gets her hair done.

I next went to Costco and picked up some of my fruit bars. In the meantime I heard from Sandy that she was on the train but didn't know what time she would be arriving. I got to the train station ahead of her, confirming that she was still enroute. while I was sitting there, I heard from Stef that Aaron was on the same train ... so before long they were both in the car.

We had pizza for dinner ... a local place makes great pizzas. I'm yearning for Bertucci's, our local brick oven pizza place in Radnor. I want one of their Melanzana (eggplant) pizzas. It isn't the same as that fresh pizza in Italy, but it's great.

Stef had an appointment at 7pm so we had eaten before then. She and Aaron went out and did some grocery shopping along the way.

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Sandy has been going to this hair salon since she moved to Ontario from Quebec, or shortly afterwards. We figure that's about 34 years. As a result, she has known Al and his wife Cathy almost as long as me. They too are grandparents, not sure how many grandchildren but their most recent is also a preemie, a little younger than Alexander at this point.

Sandy told Cathy about Alexander, who immediately phoned her daughter-in-law (I think that it's her DIL and not Daughter). She told Al, who completely broke down and couldn't cut Sandy's hair. She did get her roots done and hair blown out, but no cut. As it turns out, the preemie grand-daughter had stopped breathing in the NICU but was revived. They do not use a monitor at home, but may reconsider that.

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Today we leave Stef's after 9am for Sandy's dentist appointment at 9:30. We'll leave ready to roll, Abby packed and ready. Assuming an 8-or-so hour trip, we'll be in Reading around 7 ... or at least that's what I told Sara in an email.

Last night was a wild night here, from a weather standpoint. They had predicted up to 40mm of rain, about 1.5", which is a lot for Toronto. It was blowing like crazy as well, not a great night. At least it wasn't snow .... It's still raining now, but not blowing as much. With a little luck that will be mostly gone by the time we leave although this could be a wet trip.

The weather in Reading is supposed to be mostly sunny but not very warm. 60F or so, not as nice as the 80F that I see is waiting for us in FL. I'm ready for Florida.

A choppy summer, with 3x1200k rides, they were going to stick in my memory, mingled with taking care of Emma while Sara was in the hospital. A wonderful trip in France and Italy over-wrote the biking memory. However, a fateful Sept 23rd will always dominate my memories of 2011. The year is not over yet, but I want it to go out like a lamb, as the saying goes. We don't need any more "big events" of any sort.

Onward ...