May 29-Jun 2 - there and not back again

We are in quarantine.  They didn't send us back to Florida.  It was relatively easy driving with stops in Wytheville (new, neat hotel) and West Seneca, grocery shopping at Wegmans, ultra quick border crossing and cruise north. 

There was more traffic than I expected.  People are starting to be on the move again and it was the end of the month.  Not all restrooms were open in c-stores; there were no info services at rest areas (not that we needed any); not all hotels were open ...

The West Seneca Country Inn and Suites had combined forces with two other hotels for efficiency even though the three are from different chains.  In reality, knowing the hotel business, even though they are different chains, more than half of hotels are franchises, i.e. not company owned, so all three of these could have one owner.  Our reservation at CI&S bought us a room at the Staybridge Suites.  The Hampton was also dark.

We had takeout both nights.  The first was from our hotel restaurant, the second from a place 1/2 a mile away.  They could have been good meals in person, but were so-so as takeout.

Loading up the car with veggies from Wegmans (a great food store, btw), we then went to the gas station closest to the border and filled up.  I used the bathroom.  We fully expected that we'd have to drive straight through and I was worried about a grilling vis-a-vis distance to drive.

We pulled up to the only open booth just as someone else was pulling away.  The lady asked for our license plate #, since it's obscured by the trailer, how long are you staying (until October) and then I told her that I had completed the ArriveCan app.  Oh, she said, do you have a code for me ?  I said no, you're supposed to give one to me.  She figured that out, read an alphanumeric code to me which I keyed in.  The app responded with another code - I held out the phone so that she could see it.  Have a nice day, as she handed us a page of instructions.

Go ahead, if you need gas pay at the pump. If you need food use a drive-through.  Minimize stops (e.g. use the bathroom if necessary).  Stay at a motel if you have to. Much more casual than I'd expected.

We made two stops - drive through Starbucks in Barrie and pay-at-pump at the service center just south of Parry Sound.

The process continues - calls for us both from the Government of Canada on June 2nd.  Sandy got the first call to the Bell land line.  They called my cell phone but it didn't ring.  A couple of hours later they called the land line.  Confirming much of what I'd attested to in the app and getting our verbal agreement that we were following instructions, it was pretty straightforward.  We both had things to ask, however.  I told them that if they called again, use the 705 number.  The cell phone doesn't work.  Sandy asked about using the kayak - nope.  Stay on property. 

So here we are.  In a couple of hours we'll be two days into this from when we crossed the border.  Yes, we're counting !

Kim dropped over in the afternoon yesterday, stood at the door well away from us, dropped off the milk and eggs, chatted for a minute and left.  She and Graham are next door but I don't expect to see much of them !  Chili is here so Cassie is happy although the weather yesterday wasn't the greatest.

It was sunny when we arrived and there were only a few black flies and mosquitoes around.  Yesterday, being cloudy, was an entirely different story. 

I did a few telephone chores yesterday, cancelling Spectrum (NSB TV), which they make really difficult; adding back channels for our Shaw satellite TV service here; trying to nail something down with my eye doctor, unsuccessfully since the person is on a limited work schedule, will call back Friday; did some RUSA online work.  I ventured outside at a couple of points, tossing the ball for Cassie and bringing one of the bikes down from the trailer.  I'll don bug jacket etc. today and do a few more things in the yard and bring down the other bike.  I've also got to get on the trainer, my back was really really stiff this morning.

We had sausages the first night, salmon last night.  We have ample protein (for us) and starch (for Sandy) but will soon need veggies.  Fish is in limited supply - another meal of salmon and a meal of shrimp.  Annemarie from Sudbury down the lake has installed Xplornet; she and Sandy had a video Whatsapp call which was so-so (two satellite connections) but the voice was relatively clear - clearer than our land line !  She's going back to Sudbury today, I think, and will bring back veggies on the weekend.  We'll survive. 

Counting the days ... not going anywhere !