Jun 22/23 - riding, safari and reading

On the 22nd, Monday, we each went our own separate ways for most of the day.  I went for a ride, getting some good climbing in over, 100km on Covey Hill.  Sandy, Sheryl and Emma went to Parc Safari, getting in a full day at the zoo.  There are pictures but of course they are on Sandy's iPhone and iPad.   They (the pictures) never make it anywhere else as she doesn't upload them anywhere.  Jim and Abby stayed home; Jim mostly puttering in the yard, I think.

On the 23rd we were off to Reading, leaving just before 9am, coming back a few minutes later to get Abby's blanket, leaving again and arriving in Reading at 5pm in the rain.  We left in the rain and arrived in the rain but it didn't rain much in between.

Crossing the border at Mooers, the two agents were really friendly striking up a conversation with Emma, checking out the trailer etc.  No issues, just not in a hurry.  They don't see a lot of traffic and we were it.

Abby is having back-end problems; can hardly climb stairs.  She's been getting weaker over time, not being able to jump into the car, but the last 10 days something has gone way beyond that.  We're hoping that she simply hurt herself but don't know for sure.  Sandy is going to get her to the vet over the next couple of days when she (Abby) is with Debbie Johnston, the golden-retriever-looker-after.  Debbie used to be our neighbor in The Woods, in Radnor and now runs a Golden sitting service as a business.  Can someone make a living out of that ?  Apparently so !

Speaking of Radnor, the purchasers of our house have sold, getting roughly what they paid us even though they put a lot into the house.  I guess that's not too bad considering that they bought around the market high.  The purchasers on Saxon sold a while ago, so that one is once removed, getting more than they paid for it.  The purchasers on Glenburnie in Mississauga, we believe, are still in the house. 

Today we go our separate ways again; Sandy to Debbie's with Abby and then to Marda's.  I head to Front Royal VA for the 600k / 30,000 feet of climbing Skyline Wintergreen SR600k.  If all goes according to plan, I'll head out at 4am tomorrow morning for the ride. 

Emma had a great time with us but was happy to be home.  Zoe was happy to see us; happier still to see Emma.  Matthew is happy to see anyone; doesn't put two and two together yet :).

I had a bunch of stuff awaiting me here, including the Mega Catch mosquito catcher, a small point-and-shoot waterproof camera to carry with me on the bike and some necessary stuff -- front and back brake pads for the X5, a new battery for the 3-wheeler, and some minor items like a couple of hdmi cables and switch, etc.  It was a big pile of boxes but some of them were almost empty, like the 18" square box with the battery containing the 3"x7"x6" battery or the equally large box containing a very small package of brake pads.  Oh yes, we also have three more mosquito tennis racquets - the battery powered bug zapper.  At $2.99 each they cost almost as much as the 2xD batteries that run them, if not less, depending on where you buy those batteries.

I think that's it ... Onward !