Dec 14 - leg two, 220,000

Drizzle and rain but no snow, was the order of the day. I passed 220,000 miles on the odometer a couple of hundred miles short of our destination. I even took a picture albeit a crappy one. Seven months ago, mid-May, I hit 200,000. Rollin' rollin' rollin', keep those wagons rollin' ... Rawhide !

Traffic seemed better the second day. On the trip up 19 from Beckley to I79, I think that I only had to stop at one traffic light. The police were busy the entire way, sitting at their spots and picking off speeding drivers. As usual I set my cruise control at 7mph over the speed limit and they didn't bother me. I love having the NAV to give me an accurate reading !

We stopped at a Subway for lunch, filling the tank, and again just shy of the border for our last cheaper gas. I paid $3.69 and $3.89 vs close to $5.00 in Canada for the next month. The cheapest "regular" gas that we saw on the trip was $3.05. The gas stations rip you off, however, when you buy the higher octane gas, charging about 60 cents more.

We also stopped at the duty free store at the border, picking up Kim's order of Baileys. There were three varieties so I chose "Original". At the border itself, the Canadian officer asked how long we'd been in the U.S., when I handed him our Canadian Passports. I told him that we lived in Florida, he was momentarily confused, asked our status in the U.S., where we were going and never what we were bringing. No questions about firearms (none), alcohol & tobacco (within our limit of alcohol, no tobacco), or gifts/items to be left. I had my list handy, was prepared to pay HST on gifts worth more than $60, but we weren't bringing anything over of ours to be left up north other than a couple of $20 items.

We had Swiss Chalet chicken for dinner, but takeout. That was easier than going to a restaurant, other than the cleanup of course !

Today -- Sandy is going to take the train into town then I'll pick her up. She wants to stop at Sherway Gardens on the way north for the Eddie Bauer store and Parry Sound. We'll pick up some basic groceries along the way somewhere, perhaps I'll pick up milk here before heading downtown. We'll stop at David's house to drop off the Baileys. I'd like to get there before dark but we could be pushing it. There won't be any snow or ice to plow through, so entry will be easy but the driveway could be mucky.

Stef made me some date squares as a present ... great ! It's an interesting recipe, more like a date topping than filling, very good.

I need some exercise !

Oh yes, Arlene sent me an email saying that I shouldn't sound like a martyr about driving all the way to/from Florida. My response to her was that anyone reading my blog knows that I prefer to drive, so it's my choice ! Let it be known that I'm a terrible rider !

Onward ... northward.