Day 8

Music is loved by our neighbors more this morning! Just minutes after 8am, the group camping site is breaking the morning silence with some music (from someone car) and singing. The music from the car stereo keeps going off and changing every couple of minutes. Sounds like they are searching for the right CD to wake everyone up with.

This morning we meet up with the locals at a public shelter on the campground for a pancake breakfast. Two pancakes, three sausages and OJ. Tasty. We got there just in time as there was talk of being nearly all out of pancake mix and minutes later the news that they were out of syrup also surfaced.

Saw a disturbing sight while waiting in like; a young girl no more than 4 or 5 year old walking besides her dad and holding an opened can of coke. Breakfast drink no doubt.

I took Ella to the playground and while she played, I had a chance to meditate. I figured it would be the only time I could do it today as our afternoon plans included meeting with friends.

I am worried about the trailer battery. It has been running low lately and if it gets to low in voltage or will be ruined. I pulled it out and will try recharging it later.

1pm we have a play date scheduled at friends house in London but first a stop at Canadian Tire to pick up a car battery charger. Will return it later, and I will feel better for not killing the battery (and have to get a new one, which isn’t cheap)

We meet at the VanAcker house and meet Stephan, Natalee and Noelle there for a play date. Max, E and Noelle play while the adults caught up.

I set up the battery to charge in their garage. The charger initially shows LO, then half hour later it shows 60%charge. I check the battery charging after a couple of hours and it shows 80%. It’s taking a while to charge this thing. It must be really low on juice. I’m glad I got the charger.

Man it’s hot out. Sitting in their backyard drinking water and chatting was great though the sun was draining.

We all go out for sushi. Before we go I set the charging current to 8A. When we return from dinner. The charger showed 90% charge and it was pushing just under 2A into the battery. This battery needs a slow overnight charge when we get home, maybe even a reconditioning cycle.

Stephan may join H and I for a ride some Fanshawe lake later this week when E is at her overnight camp. We are excited about the prospect of having a third rider with us. Before we leave, H, E and I have a shower at Jackie’s house and we gather the laundry we did earlier. Got to use all facilities when they are available 🙂

When we get back to our campsite we are all tired. I make a fire and we all watch it before E sets off to bed.
Airplanes are still taking off and landing. Business as usual for them.

 

Day 9 Monday

It was a surprisingly quiet night last night. Wrote up at 1:30 last night to take E out for a pee  and only nature sounds could be heard. No human sounds. Very peaceful indeed.

Morning routine continues with tea by the fire.

E is excited about her overnight camp that she will be going on from Tuesday to Friday. The campground is on the west side of London near Komoka where she will spend four days and three nights with other 6 to 10 year olds. A big adventure for her.

I take E for a short bike ride on the local trails to a play park where we find two they boys and they play for a good while. While on the trails I explain a little more about riding her 5 speed bike. When to change gears, to stand out of the saddle when going downhill or over rough terrain and practice using the handlebar brakes. Coming from a single gear bike with reverse pedal brakes this new to her bike is a lot more to think about.

After lunch we had to a local pool for some cooling off. Oddly enough while in the pool, it starts to rain. It only lasted 5 min, but if I were superstitious I would likely conclude that we are attracting rain everywhere we go.  There are many advantages as well as disadvantages to being just outside a city the size of London. Proximity of grocery stores, public pools, civilization in general are the advantages. The same things are also the disadvantages.

This second week of our vacation is feeling more like a trip to another city to visit friends. Instead of staying at a hotel, our accommodations just happen to be the same as the previous week when we were actually car camping. Although having a campfire every day and being in the trees every day is much better then any hotel.

The threat of rain is coming or way. The sounds of thunder plus the darkening of the sky at 5pm made us change or mind about dinner. The pub won as the destination. We will have salmon (our previously planned dinner) for lunch tomorrow.

Back at the camp site, not a drop off rain had hit. False alarm.